Marvel never disappoints when it comes to cameos and surprise reveals,
and the latest could change Thor's story forever. In fact, the mid-credits scene in
"Thor: Love and Thunder" may have teased a major battle. Warning! Spoilers ahead.
The "Thor" movies have always tried to find the humanity in omnipotent gods.
Thor Odinson may be worshipped across the lands, but at the end of the day,
he's really just looking for acceptance and love from those he holds dear.
Nowhere is that more evident than in his latest excursion,
"Thor: Love and Thunder." The stories of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers may
have closed their final chapters, but Thor's saga is still being written.
In between battling aliens and getting into verbal spars with the Guardians of the Galaxy,
Thor's really just looking for a new purpose. You see,
things didn't exactly end well between him and his former flame, Jane Foster.
"Sorry to hear that Jane dumped you."
"She didn't dump me, you know. I dumped her. It was a mutual dumping."
When she comes back into his life, things get complicated quickly.
They'll work together to bring down Gorr the God Butcher, and in the process,
Thor may just realize that it's better to love those close to you for the short
time you'll be together than to go through immortal life alone.
That said, where one battle ends, another seems just to be beginning.
Throughout his latest adventure, Thor gets into some trouble in
Omnipotent City when he strikes down Zeus. At first, it seems like the Greek god is dead,
but as we see in the mid-credits scene, he's still very much among the living.
And he has some substantial plans to get back at Thor by sending one of his own after him.
It seems obvious that it would take quite a bit more than a lightning bolt through the
chest to take down a god, especially one so adept at wielding his own electrical powers.
And as the tag reveals, he's still around, surrounded by his mistresses.
The scene starts with this tableau featuring Zeus speaking to someone else off-screen,
and it's clear he holds a mighty big grudge against the God of Thunder. Toward the end
of his speech, Zeus makes it clear that he wants an unseen warrior to take Thor down a peg. It's
at this point that we finally get a look at who's on the other side of this conversation.
It's revealed that Hercules, played by "Ted Lasso" star Brett Goldstein,
is now in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He looks determined to make his father
proud. It's at this point the screen cuts to black, and the rest of the credits roll.
It doesn't give away much, but it does imply that Hercules will get into a confrontation with Thor
down the road. It wouldn't be out of the question for this to transpire in a possible "Thor 5,"
especially seeing how the very end of the credits promises that Thor will return.
It seems as though his trip to Omnipotent City will have wide-ranging consequences
when it comes to getting on the wrong side of the Greek pantheon.
Naturally, Hercules in Marvel Comics is based on the hero from Greek mythology,
with a few noteworthy twists. He's been around in the comics for a while through various iterations,
but his formal introduction to mass audiences came in the 1960s when he was introduced as a
rival to Thor. From that point forward, he became a regular fixture in "Thor" comics,
occasionally being a thorn in Thor's side but also being an ally.
Given his introduction in "Thor: Love and Thunder," it would make the most amount of
sense for him to follow a similar trajectory in the MCU. It's possible Hercules will initially
function as a rival, but the two will likely become friends over time and team up to fight
a much larger threat. And from there, the sky's the limit with the character.
In the comics, Hercules went on to join the Avengers. That team may be in a state of flux
at the moment, but it'll inevitably reunite. And Hercules could certainly factor into that
equation. Hercules has a long history from the comics to pull from, so it's unlikely this will
be the last time we see him on screen as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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