[O texto abaixo traz spoilers de Thor: Amor e Trovão]
Thor: Love and Thunder completely independent of the usual narrative entanglement as history Marvel Studiosbut there are at least two key elements of its resolution that could be of great importance for the future of the films MCU and I don’t even speak of this revelation in the postcredits scenes.
Eternity, the cosmic entity that is the main goal of Gorr’s murderous journey (Christian Balle), and love (India Rose Hemsworth), the villain’s resurrected daughter who is later adopted by Thor (Chris Hemsworth), are directly linked to a mythology that, at least in the comics, tends to herald great events involving the powerful and fearsome Galactus, Devourer of Worlds.
WHO IS GALACTUS?
Created by stan lee and Jack KirbyIn 1965, issue #48 of Marvel’s own First Family magazine introduced the almost omnipotent character to comic book readers as the main antagonist of the Fantastic Four. A cosmic being who feeds on the energy of the planets, Galactus travels the universe alongside a herald (typically the Silver Surfer) who, imbued with formidable powers, seeks and chooses which celestial bodies will serve as his master’s meal.
Galactus is consistently used as a menace large enough to bring diverse heroes together and consequently encourage great crossovers and its origins are detailed in a tale of the God of Thunder. Issue number 169 of Thor, published in 1969, began explaining how the villain is the last survivor of the planet Taaan; the most technologically advanced multiverse that existed before the one we know (anchored in Universe616 or Earth616), but was destroyed by a cataclysmic event called the “Big Crunch”.
You see, in the multiversal theory of Casa das Ideias, each fractured reality of the various dimensions that operate within it goes through cycles governed by the cosmic entities of eternity, death, infinity, and oblivion (or variants thereof). At the end of each cycle, an apocalypse puts an end to everything that exists so that new existences can also begin. Galactus, in the seventh cycle of the universe (the editor’s traditional one), is a living remnant of the previous cycle, where he was called Galan. A minor marvel of Taaan’s advanced genetic engineering, he was tasked with finding ways to stop the “Big Crunch” but failed. However, he managed to merge with the sentient entity of the Kosmos (Progenitor of Eternity) and survived the end of his multiverse, gaining virtually unlimited powers and becoming the Devourer of Worlds.
Treated only as a villain for years, Galactus was eventually reconfigured as a fifth entity essential to the functioning and existence of the Marvel Multiverse, becoming a brother to Eternity, Death, Infinity, and Oblivion. Indeed, as the first of these four reveals in 1991’s The Judgment of Reed Richards, the choice of planets for consumption, encouraged by the vast cosmic being, is necessary to prevent overloads and consequently to delay a new “big crunch”.
OK BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MCU?
We had already sung the ball back in 2017, one of Marvel Studios’ biggest acquisitions with the purchase of the then 20th century fox for the Disney were the rights to use the villain on the big screen. Associated with the Fantastic Four (like forgetting that pathetic version of him in the film released by Fox in 2007) Galactus was always perfect to fill the vacuum left by Thanos (Josh Brolin) represents the position of the greatest threat in the MCU after “Avengers: Endgame” (2019). As the mixed reception of most Phase 4 films shows, it must be anticipated in some way to reflect the massive public interest in such a common to maintain narrative.
But that’s not all: The President of Marvel Studios himself, Kevin FeigHe had previously announced that Thor: Love and Thunder would open a wave of MCU productions that would more clearly point to the future big saga of the big screen. The film is reminiscent of Eternals in more than one moment, making a sister entity to Galactus such an integral part of its story Taika Waititi at least it’s clear that future House of Ideas movies will look to the skies with even more excitement and fearlessness than we’ve ever seen. Couple that with statements from the cowriter of the Chloé Zhao film, Kaz Firpoand it’s good that the Fantastic Four are showing up soon for a possible fight with the Devourer of Worlds:
“Galactus is an amazing, amazing character and villain. We set the stage for intergalactic, cosmic, megalomaniac confrontations, especially when you kill a space god and then the space god comes along and kidnaps you and plots to judge earth. I think the door is wide open for worldeating villains,” Kaz explained in November 2021.
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
If Thanos has already called for the convergence of heroes from Earth and other planets to defeat him, there is nothing quite like imagining that a cosmic entity as powerful as Galactus, a brother of eternity alone in the Being able to revive a girl and still fulfill her powers of “a goddess,” as Korg (Waiti himself) puts it requires a much more complex alliance.
Introducing Cupid in the new Thor movie as not just the reborn daughter of Gorr, but a daughter of the cosmos itself, could be key to standing on equal footing with a being as powerful as the Devourer of Worlds. Although she does not exist in the comics, the girl bears a close resemblance to the members of the Children of Eternity group, young, very powerful celestial beings known by the names Empathy, Praise, Convenience, Entropy, Epiphany, Enmity, Eon, Before are and today. Having at least one being of this strength as an ally to Earth’s greatest heroes shows that Feige has a colossal challenge in mind.
Also, it’s no wonder that Mrs. Marvel has diverted all of the attention given to the multiverse concept to alternate dimensions that live almost contemporaneously with what the main characters of the MCU live; These mystical realities may need to be accessed in order to confront a cosmic entity as powerful as the one that Marvel Studios seems to be laying the groundwork for. It even makes sense that Valhalla showed up at the end of Love and Thunder. When treated as another dimension, the afterlife can allow dead heroes to join the fight against Galactus or whatever major threat comes their way should the need arise.
In his new film, Thor (Hemsworth) has to go through a midlife crisis in his 1500s. On his journey of selfknowledge he will meet other gods, he will meet his beloved and also a new extremely deadly foe: Gorr, the slayer of the gods (Bale).
Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on July 7, 2022.