Valkyrie: The Ronin

I have a huge love for Marvel movies. I’m one of many who has watched every Marvel movie from Iron Man all the way to Avengers: Endgame. What draws me back is the characters which are largely well crafted and full of layers. Which brings me to one of many characters this week I’ll be writing about this week. Today we will start with Scrapper 142 also known as Valkyrie. Please note: There will be SPOILERS for Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame in this blog.

When we start watching Thor: Ragnarok (which she first appears) she seems a hard edged, beer drinking and competent warrior but maintains her distance, even when Thor enters her life. She seems dedicated to her life just to be a bounty hunter and drink, but things come to pass when Loki reveals something deep in her past.

All her drinking and scrapping was to numb the pain of being the last of her kind. She was once part of an elite, all female Asgardian strike force called the Valkyrior, but was defeated by the forces of Hela killing every single one of them except her. Once Thor and Loki find out their attitude changes to great respect for her position, but Valkyrie finds herself riddled with trauma and fear of being unworthy. It was not so much Thor encouraging her to fight again for Asgard but throwing herself into a ‘do or die’ scenario to join in Thor’s battle.

It also made me think of all the people who have come to me over the years looking for advice. Just thinking about all those different people, its never been specifically about giving advice and being direct. Through Thor’s conversations, Valkyrie rediscovers her own significance and agency. Its partly by being shown by example but also Thor reminding her how important she is. Throughout the movie, she eventually finds her feet, dons her uniform and although a ronin (one without a master) she’s able to fight on her own terms once again. Sometimes, you just need the right coach to show you what you’re capable of.

Until next time, #embraceinfinity and EXCELSIOR!