Hela (Marvel)

"Asgard... is dead."

- Hela in Thor: Ragnarok

Hela is the Asgardian goddess of death in the Marvel Comics universe and an enemy of Thor. She is the daughter of the Asgardian god of mischief Loki and a Frost Giantess with magical powers named Angerboda, and was set by Odin at her birth to rule Hel and Niffleheim, the Asgardian afterlife regions. She appeared as the main antagonist of the 2017 movie Thor: Ragnarok.

She is based on the ancient Norse goddess of the same name.

History
Hela reveled in her rule, and always sought Asgardian souls to take to her realm, especially the souls of Odin and Thor. She created many plots to do so, once taking control of Valhalla, the Asgardian Heaven, for a short time. She once sent her armies of undead beings and spirits to conquer Asgard, during which the former Asgardian villain Skurge the Executioner, sacrificed himself to stop the enemy's progress at the Bifrost Bridge.

Another scheme involved her casting a curse on Thor, making him unable to heal wounds, but also unable to die. After many battles and suffering, Thor finally was destroyed by the Jormungand, and entered Niffleheim in the Destroyer armor. The armor's mystic power was too much for Hela, however, and she lifted Thor's curse and sent him back to Asgard.

Hela has often dabbled in the realm of mortals, manipulating and killing them as she pleased. She has often helped her father Loki in his many evil schemes. Hela was part of a meeting of supernatural demon/death rulers including Mephisto, Blackheart, Dormammu, and Satannish, who met to consort about the mystical mutant Magick finding the soulsword.

Powers and Abilities
Hela's true form is a shriveled, half-dead being, but her cloak revives her and gives her full power. Hela has great magical power over life and death, and can drain the life from anyone she touches, as well as age them quickly with mystic bolts. She is extremely powerful in physical, mental, and magical combat, able to go toe-to-toe with Thor. She is a master at manipulating magic, and can use it to levitate, time-travel, use astral projection, and create illusions, among other powers. She is also an accomplished swordswoman, using her blade "Nightsword".

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Hela appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episodes "The Fall of Asgard" and "A Day Unlike Any Other", voiced by Nika Futterman. After Captain America is blasted into Hela's realm, she tries to convince him to stay among the dead with his fallen comrades from his days in World War II. However, realizing that Loki would betray her someday, Hela agrees to teleport Captain America to Asgard to fight Loki, telling him that, if he falls in battle, his soul will belong to her. After he returns to Earth, having defeated Loki with the other Avengers, he sees Hela' reflection in his broken shield just before he is knocked-out and replaced by a shape-shifting Skrull spy.

Avengers Assemble
Hela appears in the Avengers Assemble episode "Valhalla Can Wait", voiced by Vanessa Marshall, striking a deal with Loki to be entertained by watching Thor and Hulk battling each other in exchange for the Horn of Hela, which could control Hela's skeleton warriors. She is the ruler of Valhalla in this incarnation. After the two take a dive against him, Hela deems Loki the winner and has a giant skeleton take Loki to Valhalla.

Marvel Cinematic Universe
Hela appears in the 2017 superhero movie Thor: Ragnarok as the main antagonist, portrayed by two-time Academy Award winning actress Cate Blanchett who also played Lady Galadriel in the Middle Earth Saga, Irina Spalko in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Marissa Wiegler in Hanna and Lady Tremaine in Cinderella. In the film, she is Thor's unknown older sister and Odin's first born. She sets out to destroy Asgard and the Nine Realms and rebuild it in her own image after being locked away for centuries.