Why Beta Ray Bill Will Be in Avengers 4
Marvel India released teases of weapons both old and new in the form of photos. We got a look at Thanos’ double-edged sword, Thor’s Stormbreaker ax from Infinity War, and then a look a new hand-held ax. The immediate theory was that the ax belongs to Black Dwarf. Fans shared concept art of him holding a very similar weapon. The issue with that though is that Black Dwarf is very, very dead. He was killed by David Banner in Infinity War when Banner shot him into the force field surrounding Wakanda, and he exploded. Another guess is that the ax belongs to Captain Marvel. In the comic Avengers Forever, Captain Marvel and her team travel back in the past to seek Odin’s help. Odin provides her with an ax. There are a few ways this theory can work. Odin may be very, very dead too, but he doesn’t need to be the one to give Captain Marvel the ax. As we all know, the MCU doesn’t follow comic plotlines to the letter. If they’re willing to change Thanos’ entire motivation for using the Infinity Gauntlet, they could switch up the way Captain Marvel obtains this ax, but that’s a discussion for another time. This is about how this newly teased ax could signify Beta Ray’s potential break into the MCU through an old theory involving the two forges we saw in Infinity War.
Who is Beta Ray?
First, a little background on Beta Ray. While he’s not necessarily an obscure character, we’re pretty sure some of you have no idea who we’re talking about. Beta Ray is the original wielder of the Stormbreaker hammer. Yeah, that very same one Thor is wielding now. In the comics, Beta Ray ends up beating Thor in combat with Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer. Odin is so impressed by the feat that he creates the Stormbreaker for Ray to wield.
Thor: Ragnarok had plans to introduce Beta Ray into the MCU, but there was so much going on in the movie already that Marvel decided it would better to leave him out. This way they could avoid accidentally assassinating his character with very little screen time. To make up for his absence, Marvel opted to leave a little Easter egg of him in the movie instead. You can see his likeness carved into the side of Champion’s Tower.
Missing Handle Theory
During the forging of the Storm Breaker hammer back in Infinity War, there was a brief moment when it looked like two different forges were going at the same time. Fans came up with a theory that the second forge was there for Strombreaker’s handle. You know, the missing handle Eitri was scrambling to find while Thor was cooking from the heat of a star. The fact that Eitri had no idea where the handle was is the main issue with this theory though. If the second forge were home to Strombreaker’s handle, wouldn’t make sense that Eitri would just, I dunno, go there and get it?
Two Halves, Two Forges
The next theory is more plausible. It’s so plausible that it’s probably what actually happened in the movie, but you know how we do. Remember how Groot decided to chop his arm off so that he could use it to create Strombreaker’s handle? Well, in the process of doing that, Groot also fused two halves of Storm Breaker’s head, effectively completing the weapon. So, the idea is that the two forges were running because they were each creating one half of the Strombreaker ax head. The only problem with this theory, however, is that we see--and more importantly “hear,” Eitri pull and break open a single mold from one of the forges. He then runs off to look for the missing handle. When Groot looks over at the mess Eitri left, both halves of the Storm Break ax head are clearly resting together, cooling amongst the shattered mold. This heavily implies that both halves of the head came from the same mold; therefore, they came from a single forge. If this is the case though, then what the heck was cooking in the second forge?
Two Forges, Two Axes
Well, the new theory spreading around the block is that the two forges were creating two axes. Technically, this is an old theory, but it was promptly dismissed because it made absolutely no sense for Eitri to waste time trying to create two different axes. But now, with this new ax being teased, we’re thinking that if Eitri was creating two axes, then it only makes sense that the second one is this new ax. If that’s the case, then the ax definitely wouldn’t belong to Black Dwarf. Once the Avengers found out about it, it would go to one of Thor’s team members. Now, again, it’s likely that the ax would go to Captain Marvel considering that scenario matches up more closely with her history in the comics. But, Beta Ray was already supposed to be in the MCU. He has an Easter egg in Ragnarok, and Thor is currently rocking a weapon named after his. It’s not impossible that we see him pick up this hammer instead. It’s a really big reach, but the theory does have its legs (even if they’re chicken-like). The main problem is figuring out how Beta Ray would fit into the Avengers 4 plot. If they thought Ragnarok had a lot going on, then Avengers 4 would definitely be a challenge.
