Grandmaster (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

The Grandmaster is the secondary antagonist of the 2017 superhero movie Thor: Ragnarok. He is the ruler of the planet Sakaar who enjoys putting life-forms into gladiatorial fights for his own amusement.

He was portrayed by Academy Award nominated actor, Jeff Goldblum, who also played Seth Brundle in The Fly.

Enslaving the Hulk
Starting out as the eccentric tyrant of Sakaar, the Grandmaster dedicated much of his desire to win the people's hearts by using different life-forms in a gladiatorial event (known as the Contest of Champions) held in a large arena. He is aided by his personal bodyguard Topaz, and took in a sole Valkyrie dubbed 142 as a new bodyguard following the massacre of Valkyries committed by Hela (the Asgardian Goddess of Death). The Grandmaster even got 142 to successfully capture the Hulk (who exiled himself from Earth following the deaths of Ultron and the Ultron Sentinels), and he made Hulk his new champion due to the latter's super strength that has admired much of the Sakaarian people.

Enslaving Thor
When Thor and Loki end up being banished from Asgard by Hela, they end up crash-landing on Sakaar, where Thor is enslaved and becomes a gladiator while Loki manages to win the Grandmaster's favor and becomes an ally of his. As the Grandmaster and Loki arrange a fight between Thor and the Hulk, the Grandmaster informs Thor that he will grant his freedom if he defeats the Hulk. Despite some reluctance, Thor almost defeats the Hulk, but the Grandmaster secretly sabotages the fight to ensure the Hulk's victory, as he has no intention in setting Thor free.

Facing a Revolution
Eventually, Thor manages to escape from confinement and freed the Hulk from the Grandmaster's control by using a recording of Black Widow. Outraged by this action, the Grandmaster orders the Sakaaran Guards to capture both Thor and the Hulk, but after reliving the deaths of her fellow Valkyries (thanks to Loki's magic), 142 decides to help Thor in defeating Hela, even capturing Loki to prove her goodwill.

Working together, Thor, Hulk and 142 staged a revolution against the Grandmaster and his forces by freeing the other gladiators from confinement. After sending Topaz to her death, Thor, Hulk and 142 head over to Asgard through a wormhole in order to save the surviving Asgardians from Hela and her army of Berserkers, even Loki and several gladiators provided one of the Grandmaster's giant ships to evacuate the Asgardians as Loki summons the fire demon Surtur (per Thor's orders) to destroy all of Asgard, killing Hela and the Berserkers in the process.

The Grandmaster is last seen confronting his own subjects, who are still fighting against the revolution caused by the gladiators. He attempts to appease them by taking credit for the revolution, claiming that a revolution cannot be had without having someone to overthrow, before declaring the revolution "a tie."

Trivia

 * The Grandmaster happens to be the brother of the Collector, who appeared briefly in Thor: The Dark World and Guardians of the Galaxy. Same relationship between them happens in 2010 Marvel Animated Universe.
 * Unlike most of the traditional villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Grandmaster (alongside with the Collector) is considered to be a unique type of villain as he had shown no hatred or animosity towards Thor, 142, Loki or Hulk/Bruce Banner (the same action that was shown by the Collector towards to the Guardians of the Galaxy), had a sense of humor as well eccentric qualities and mannerisms despite his villainous motivations though not considered as a major threat.
 * The Grandmaster takes the role of The Red King but unlike the Red King, the Grandmaster is portrayed for humor and comic relief instead of being an overly serious threat.

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