all while wearing clothes that cover her whole body, without being a zippered cat-suit.

While the presence of Hela is ground-breaking, it is the combination of Hela and Valkyrie that truly launches Thor: Ragnarok to the upper branches of the MCU tree. The film affords both women not only a significant amount of screen time, but also the influence to drive the plot forward. These female characters actually have a vital impact on the narrative and action, rather than simply functioning as sounding boards and support systems. Moreover, Cate Blanchett does this while being a 48 year old woman, and with a character that is in no way, shape, or form, a romantic interest for anybody. Tessa Thompson draws the romantic interest of Thor, but never panders to it, and is, in fact, far too busy to even engage on that level....

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