Did Thor: Love And Thunder's Mid-Credits Scene Just Tease A Major Battle Of The Gods?
The following article contains spoilers for "Thor: Love and Thunder."
The "Thor" movies have always tried to find the humanity in omnipotent gods. Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) may be worshipped across 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 (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) may have closed their final chapters, but Thor's saga is still being writ.
In between battling aliens and getting into verbal spars with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor's really just looking for a new purpose. Things didn't exactly end well between him and his former flame, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), and when she comes back into his life, things get complicated quickly. They'll work together to bring down Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), 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 Omnipotence City when he strikes down Zeus (Russell Crowe). At first, it seems like the Greek god is dead, but as we see in the mid-credits scene, he's still alive ... at least for the time being. And he has some substantial plans to get back at Thor by sending one of his own after him.
Zeus sends Hercules after Thor
In the mid-credits scene, we see that Zeus is still very much alive. We suppose 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 static discharges. As the tag reveals, he's still around for the time being, 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 interlocutor to take Thor down a peg. It's at this point that we finally get a look who's on the other side of this conversation.
While he doesn't say much, we get our first look at Hercules, played by "Ted Lasso" star Brett Goldstein, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He looks determined to make his father proud, and he has a pretty big weapon to get the job done. It's at this point the screen cuts to black, and audiences see the rest of the credits.
It doesn't give away too 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 prospective "Thor 5," especially seeing how the very end of the credits promise that Thor will return. It seems as though his trip to Omnipotence City will have wider-ranging consequences when it comes to getting on the wrong side of the Greek pantheon.
Who is Hercules in Marvel Comics?
Naturally, the Hercules in Marvel Comics is based on the one 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. IGN ranked the character at the number 21 spot in its list of the top 50 Avengers of all time, ahead of the likes of Captain Marvel, Wasp, and War Machine. Hercules has a long history from the comics to pull from, so it's unlikely this'll be the last time we see him within the Marvel on-screen universe.