The following story contains minor spoilers for Loki Season 2, episode 3, “1893.”
FOR COUNTLESS quantity The heroes, villains and anti-heroes of the Marvel Comics universe who have made the leap into the Marvel Cinematic Universe – Iron Man, Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch, Thanos, etc. – are as many who have yet to make the Jump. Fans have been waiting patiently for any hints about a future that includes the X-Men, Fantastic Four or Blade, but the third episode LokiInstead, season two gave fans a hint of someone with more depth: Balder the Brave.
We know what you’re probably thinking: WHO? And that makes perfect sense. Loki himself speaks for most viewers in this episode: “Why did they include Balder?” – he asks Mobius. “Nobody had even heard of him.” Mobius, of course, as usual, knows better: “Of course there is! Balder the Brave.” It’s obvious that Mobius is the deep head of the Marvel Comics group because Balder the Brave is a tired, seasoned Marvel character, even if he’s not on the level of Wolverine or Blade.
This moment occurs in a branched timeline of 1893 Chicago, as Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Moebius (Owen Wilson) search for both the con artist Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and any version of He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors). possible to find. Just before they accidentally stumble upon He Who Remains – in the form of fussy inventor Victor Timely – they find what Loki calls a “diorama” depicting a statue of Odin in all his splendor with an eye patch front and center, flanked by . Thor and…Balder are repeatedly to his left and right.
It’s confusing for anyone who hasn’t been exposed to the deeper Marvel mythology for decades, but we’re here to tell you everything you need to know about Balder the Brave (and how he became Very close to the MCU’s high-profile debut not too long ago).
Who is Balder the Brave in Marvel Comics?
Balder Odinson, better known as Balder the Brave, was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in October 1962. Journey into Mystery No. 85. Being the son of Odin, Balder is the half-brother of Thor and Loki. Like his father and siblings, Balder has roots in Norse mythology; it is based on the god Balder, a god most often associated with beauty and light.
Balder has appeared in various Thor comics and stories over the years (including a famous story by Walt Simonson), but the revelation that he is Thor’s half-brother was only relatively recent. He is also considered a fast, agile and strong Asdgardian warrior and, unlike his brother Loki, is generally popular among his people and peers.
Perhaps the most notable thing about Balder’s comic history is that he features heavily in the Marvel Comics version. The story of Ragnarok, which leads to the destruction of Asgard (and the formation of New Asgard in Broxton, Oklahoma). Obviously, the MCU took the story differently in 2017. Thor: Ragnarok, where Balder was not a character on screen.
Thor: Balder the Brave
Thor: Balder the Brave
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Will there be Balder the Brave in the MCU?
While Loki Season 2 episode “1893” marked the first official mention of Balder the Brave in MCU history, and the character has already come close to debuting several times.
Although Balder appeared in early versions of the script in 2013. Thor: The Dark World before it was eventually removed, it was reported that it was almost coming in 2021. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness it seems more interesting and noticeable.
It was reported that in the “Illuminati” scene the film took some liberties when it came to what characters And what actors, for sure it will be included. Elizabeth Olsen said in her famous book Vanity Fair video, for example, about how she’s “never met” John Krasinski (“I Don’t Know Him”), who plays an alternate universe version of Reed Richards, despite the two sharing the screen and dialogue in the scene.
As it turns out, Krasinski’s role at one point wasn’t Reed Richards at all, but rather Balder the Brave, and was said to be played by Daniel Craig. Presumably this only fell through due to Covid-19 isolation and travel issues.
Although these types of reports are not the most reliable, Elizabeth Olsen said during an appearance on Happy Sad Confused podcast about how she truly believed this was the plan. “Yes, I thought so too,” she said. “I saw art. They made the costume. They had a design.”
In fact, the concept of the film by Darrell Warner, who worked on Multiverse of Madness –shared concept art of Balder on Instagram. “It’s a shame this character didn’t go further than this watercolor,” he wrote in the caption of the drawing, which clearly bears a resemblance to Craig.
Ironically, Craig himself denied these rumors during his press tour Glass bow. “It’s all rumors,” he said during an appearance on BBC Radio 1. “I mean, I don’t know where these things come from… There’s a lot of lockdown madness going around.”
Multiverse of Madness Costume designer Graham Churchard said in an interview that he even began creating Balder’s costume, adding a few more hints to Balder’s story. almost:
We got very far along creating Balder the Brave, and then we waited and waited and waited for casting. I took it to the prototype stage, we kind of did the design, collected fabrics, ideas and waited for the actor. Poor Balder the Brave, he almost made Thor 1, Thor 2 and Thor 3 if I can simplify it. Then it’s just like, “Yay!” He will appear! Poor guy. I’ve seen archival Marvel book designs for Balder’s helmet going back to Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. So, he’s been waiting a long time and I don’t think he’s coming anytime soon.
But… here we are! It’s October 2023 and Balder has made his MCU debut. Something like that. Could we see Balder the Brave in the future? There are several potential projects he could appear in – read more Loki it would have made sense, although here it was just used as an easter egg and punchline. See you in the future Thor a movie or whatever is in the works for Brett Goldstein’s Hercules (if he ever appears again) would make sense.
As Marvel appears to be rethinking its entire strategy – both in film and television – the future is looking increasingly bleak. But remember, this is a studio that rarely leaves anything unattended. some kind of goal.
Evan is the culture editor of Men’s Health magazine and a contributor to The New York Times, MTV News, Brooklyn Magazine and VICE. He likes weird movies, watches too much TV, and listens to music more often than not.