7. Hela – Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok isn’t just the best Thor movie, but is generally considered one of the best MCU offerings to date. It’s pretty obvious why: the threequel made use of levity in a way that the MCU hadn’t fully tapped into before. Adding comedy to a high-stakes action tragedy was a gamble that paid off well, all things considered.
However, there is one part of the film that this comedic tone impacts in a major way. Ragnarok‘s villain, Hela (Cate Blanchett), is evil and generally pretty serious as an antagonist, and that puts her at odds with the general lighter tone of the film. Her plans for death and conquest are pretty dark in comparison to the film’s silly humor, and it makes Hela seem somewhat out of place.
Ragnarok‘s Hela might work well as a villain, but she doesn’t suit the colorful vibe of the film as a whole. In truth, she’d perhaps have seemed more at home in any of the MCU movies that don’t bear Waititi’s comedic stamp. It’s a simple matter of a sound but serious villain not matching the lighter aspects of the movie she exists in, but it’s jarring enough to make Hela seem distinctly out of place.