Hela's death in Thor: Ragnarok could have set up Christian Bale's villain, Gorr the God-Butcher, in Thor: Love & Thunder. The fourth Thor film will be heavily influenced by Jason Aaron's iconic Thor run, which saw Jane Foster become the Mighty Thor. What's more, the two Gods of Thunder will be going up against one of Aaron's most memorable villains; Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale.

In the comics, Gorr's story goes back 3,000 years. He grew up in an arid, doomed world, and eventually developed a bitter hatred of the gods who had failed to save his family from death in the harsh environment. Finally, Gorr stumbled upon the bodies of two gods who had fallen to the ground locked in combat; one had stabbed the other with a fearsome weapon called All-Black the Necrosword, which imbued him with the power to slay the gods. He was transformed into one of the most powerful beings of all creation, slaughtering gods for millennia.

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It's not hard to see why Marvel Studios want to introduce Gorr the God-Butcher in the MCU. There is, however, one major problem; Marvel has actually already introduced All-Black the Necrosword, meaning it will be very difficult to render him in anything remotely like a comic-book-accurate way.

Hela Used All-Black The Necrosword In Thor: Ragnarok

MCU Hela - A scene from Thor Ragnarok

In the comics, Hela traditionally wields a cursed blade called the Nightsword. But in Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel merged the Nightsword with All-Black the Necrosword, making Hela even more power than in the comics themselves. Hela could manifest the Necrosword to magnificent effect, forming swords and spears powerful enough to slaughter the armies of Asgard and tear through actual spacecraft. The sheer might of Hela's weapon was perfectly displayed with the ease with which she killed Thor's closest friends, the Warriors Three, legendary champions who had waged war across the Nine Realms on Asgard's behalf.

This naturally causes a major problem for Thor: Love & Thunder, because the Necrosword is the key to Gorr's power - and it has already been done. Marvel will either have to reinvent Gorr completely, in which case they might as well create a brand new character in the first place; or else they can rewrite Gorr's backstory in order to create a narrative link between Hela and Gorr.

How Hela Could Be Woven Into Thor: Love & Thunder

Surtur destroying Asgard in Thor Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok ended with Thor and Loki unleashing Surtur on Asgard in order to destroy the Realm Eternal, which they considered the source of Asgard's power. They watched from a safe distance as this ended with Asgard's total destruction, which they assumed would be sufficient to kill her. But that is an assumption - and it is entirely possible Hela survived, albeit badly injured. Her body could have been blasted through space - or, alternatively, she could have been plunged into the portals beneath the cataract around Asgard, just as Loki was in the first Thor film. These unstable portals transported Loki into Thanos' presence, and they could have taken Hela's burning body anywhere in the cosmos.

Related: Thor: Love & Thunder Is Too Late To Fix The MCU's Asgard Mistakes

Set photos from Thor: Love & Thunder appear to tease Gorr's origin story, and it could easily be rewritten to incorporate Hela. In the comics, Gorr stumbled upon All-Black the Necrosword when he came across the near-dead bodies of two gods who had been attempting to kill one another. In the MCU, though, Gorr could actually have come across the body of Hela - and plundered the Necrosword. This would allow Gorr to retain his signature weapon in the MCU without feeling reductive due to the similarities between his weapon and Hela's; there would be a simple narrative thread running between the two.

Such a narrative connection would serve to reinforce the sense Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love & Thunder director Taika Waititi had relaunched the entire Thor franchise. Appropriately enough, it would suggest Thor: Ragnarok served as the end of one cycle - with the destruction of Asgard, and the deaths of Odin and the Warriors Three - and the beginning of the next. Thor Odinson and Jane Foster's Thor would find themselves confronting a capricious being with all the power of Hela, who burned with bloodlust to slay the gods, and whose power would force Thor to ask whether he had unwittingly unleashed an even more terrible force on the universe. Rather than a moment of sacrificial triumph, Asgard's destruction would be recast as a flawed decision that increased the scale of the threat.

All-Black The Necrosword Has Untapped Potential

Thor vs Knull

Marvel has recently revealed the full history of All-Black the Necroswordm as part of a phenomenal ongoing story told by writer Donny Cates. It was forged in the days when the universe was young, by Knull the God of Death and Darkness. He ruled in those long-distant days, using the Necrosword as a weapon against the evolving pantheons and even slaying the Celestials. According to Silver Surfer: Black, Knull's rage delayed the development of life across the entire universe. The few civilizations that were able to develop were hidden, afraid of the dark, destined to be hunted down by Knull and his servants. It took the combined power of a time-traveling Silver Surfer and Ego the Living Planet to drive Knull away, banishing him for a time and giving life a chance to gain a foothold in the universe. The story of Knull is literally coming to a head right now in the hugely popular King In Black event - and All-Black could be used to set something similar up in the MCU as well.

If Marvel does choose to use Hela's All-Black the Necrosword in Thor: Love & Thunder, then ironically this would be a case of good luck rather than judgment. Relations between Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios have improved over the last year, but they were tense and distant through much of Donny Cates' build-up to King In Black, meaning it is doubtful anyone involved in the MCU had any real idea what he was planning. Even if they did, they could not have possibly predicted how popular King In Black would be. But, by revealing the Necrosword passed from one bearer to another, they would implicitly create the potential for Knull in the MCU as well - because there is no reason Thor: Love & Thunder would need to suggest Hela was its creator.

More: Is Hela Dead After Thor: Ragnarok? How She Could Return

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