A brief history of Beta Ray Bill, his current lack of presence in the MCU, his potential in LOKI Season 2, and why Rafael Casal should play a version of the cybernetic Korbinite embewed with the power of Thor.
“Just A Theory” is a recurring bait and switch series about what should theoretically happen in franchise storytelling – not necessarily actual scoops.
Who is Beta Ray Bill? Well he was not in THOR LOVE AND THUNDER – as many people speculated. And I’ll be honest here, I’ve seen THOR LOVE AND THUNDER three times and I love it. I love that thunder. It’s probably my favorite film of Phase 4 but that’s a good and bad thing. Good because I like good stories. But bad because it had the least multiversal connections for a phase that is now part of the “Multiverse Saga”. And LOVE AND THUNDER just might be my favorite film of Phase 4 because it focused on Thor. But how does this relate to Beta Ray Bill and Rafael Casal? Well LOVE AND THUNDER made me fall in love with Thor again. Which made me want to know more about Thor. I left the theater wanting to dive back into the comics.
I hadn’t had this kind of a feeling for a character since maybe Phase 2 and Winter Soldier/Civil War era MCU. And yes, this speaks to a greater issue for Marvel Studios: that as the MCU grows it becomes less about the character’s comic history and more about the MCU’s own story. And that’s great for the MCU but bad for the comics industry. In fact it may ultimately result in the company contributing in a huge self-own as over the past few years people have read less and less Marvel comics. Soon enough fans may stop caring about the literature upon which these multi-million dollar films are based upon. But that’s another blog topic. This is about Beta Ray Bill and Rafael Casal and LOKI Season 2. So anyway, after LOVE AND THUNDER, I began reading Thor comics over the last month.
So I went back and read a ton. I read the entire Beta Ray Bill saga in THE MIGHTY THOR along with some of his other adventures in SECRET WARS, NOVA and even THE AVENGERS. And it turns out Beta Ray Bill is one of the most memorable stories and characters I’ve read yet. The BRB origin saga is not long – maybe 5 or 6 issues, 120-150 pages. But if you’ve only been reading manga or newer comics watch out. Those older Marvel comics have A LOT of words. Anybody else notice that? I mean like A LOT of words. So it’s not like I could breeze through it. But it also meant it had A LOT to say, which is a good thing in a Thor story.
And after finishing reading that origin and a few other BRB stories (his escapades with Nova and in Secret Invasion specifically) I came away really wanting a Beta Ray Bill presence in the MCU. He’s as powerful as Thor – at times. He has a mean streak but the heart of a kitten. BRB is also humble, coming from a persecuted race and world, the Korbinites, and is not really a horse man that one might think he is upon first glance. In fact his original form is something much more human-like. But after Surtur and his Fire Demons attacked the Korbinite home world, destroying it and nearly extinguishing their race, the leaders assembled a cybernetic creature, created to become their ultimate champion against Surtur and his Fire Demons. This was Beta Ray Bill.
So BRB actually has three “phases” if you will. The first is his Korbinite version, where he is just a “regular” person of this alien race. The second is his Bill phase, where he has been cybernetically augmented to become the Korbinite champion. He has armor and he has that recognizable equine-esque face. The third is his Mjolnir or Thor phase where he is infused with the power of Thor via Mjolnir. And this phase is his most famous and visually striking phase. And the visual behind any character in comics is half of their allure, for me at least. And BRB is no different. His creator Walt Simonson has said:
“So I basically started with a skull, and then I made him a bit like a horse, with the gap behind the teeth. But horses are beautiful creatures. So what I was aiming for is a sense of death, a sense of monster, underlined by beauty. His costume was the same so that the minute you see that image, when he strikes the stick and becomes “Beta Ray Thor” or whatever, you know: OK, that guy has the powers of Thor. So that’s why Bill had the monstrous face, that’s why that stuff was done the way it was done.”
This “Beta Ray Thor” version (as Simon himself coins here) being the version that most people are used to, the one normie audience might gravitate toward. It is that version where you see the jarring horse-like monster dressed up like Thor. And over time that juxtaposition is both striking and subverting – especially when you learn who BRB is at heart.
Before and after receiving that Thor power, Beta Ray Bill rides around in his ship the Skuttlebutt, fighting Surtur and the fire demons, teaming up with other Marvel heroes like Nova and the Guardians of the Galaxy and also reteaming with Thor and other Asgardians to form the “Thor Corp”. In fact, Thor and Beta Ray Bill first meet when Nick Fury is tracking the Skuttlebutt and asks Thor to check in on it. More on that in a second.
BETA RAY BILL IN THE CURRENT MCU PRIME TIMELINE DOES NOT MAKE MUCH SENSE
Beta Ray Bill’s pre-Mjolnir Korbinite Cybernetic version likely exists in the prime MCU timeline/universe. We’ve seen a gigantic bust of a creature that looks like BRB’s Korbinite Cybernetic version in THOR RAGNAROK upon entering Sakkar. He presumably was forced to fight in the Grandmaster’s Contest of Champions and did so well he was immortalized in sculpture. This is fine and all but to me it seems super weird to have a pre-Mjolnir BRB fighting in a gladiatorial contest when presumably he would still be hell bent on protecting the Korbinite people from Surtur. But hey whatever. BRB has had many adventures in the comics (albit after defeating Surtur with Thor).
Moreover, having a version of a Mjolnir-powered Beta Ray Bill, that the current MCU Thor would meet and interact with, and originating from the MCU prime timeline and universe, would not make much sense. Why can’t the Sakkar champion BRB become the Beta Ray Thor? Well for a few reasons:
1.) Odin created BRB’s “Thor” version. Odin is no longer with us in the MCU.
When Nick Fury asked Thor to look in on the Skuttlebutt, Thor mistook BRB for a threat. The two fought. And Beta Ray Bill first gained “the power of Thor” upon grabbing Mjolnir (when Thor lost hold of it for a moment during battle and reverted to Donald Blake) and he discovered that he could wield it. Odin summoned both Thor and BRB to Asgard where they were then summoned to Skartheim for the right to keep the hammer. First off, Odin doesn’t exist anymore. So I’m not sure who have jurisdiction over Thor, Mjolnir or Bill or at-will access to bifrost. Scene is also incredibly difficult to imagine because of Odin’s reason for doing it.
2.) The confrontation between Bill and Thor was created by Odin to teach Thor humility. This is no longer necessary.
Odin ultimately sent BRB and Thor to Skartheim because the environment there gave Bill’s Korbinite physiology an advantage in the lava-filled realm and so Bill triumphed over Thor again. Remarkably though, BRB essentially stopped fighting when he realized that Thor was gravely injured and brought the wounded body back before Odin in Asgard. His triumph, acumen in battle, and ultimate humility perplexed Odin as he realized that while he could not give BEB Mjolnir, he needed to give him something as both debt and recognition.
3.) Stormbreaker was created for Bill by Odin as a replacement for Mjolnir. But Stormbreaker is essentially Thor’s and REDACTED weapon in the MCU.
So Odin gets Eitri the dwarf (last seen in the MCU in INFINITY WAR) to make the Stormbreaker axe for Beta Ray Bill and infuse him with the power of Thor. Now Stormbreak in the MCU has a WHOLE history now without BRB. It was used by Thor to fight Thanos (INFINITY WAR), kill Thanos (ENDGAME), was used throughout LOVE AND THUNDER as an almost jealous ex type character when Mjolnir returns reformed thanks to Jane Foster’s worthiness and Thor’s admonition to the hammer pre-Hela to always take care of Jane.
Now I am not even going to go into why I think it was a HORRIBLE idea for the MCU to destroy Mjolnir. I get it, it was a bold move by Taika to sort of deconstruct and reconstruct Thor into an interesting character (something I don’t think was totally needed and surely would not happen when characters get half a movie if they’re lucky here in Phase 4-6).
And losing Mjolnir creates one of the major problems of the MCU by giving Stormbreaker to Thor. And (MAJOR SPOILER) now at the end of LOVE AND THUNDER, Thor gives Stormbreaker to his adopted daughter Love. The horse is out of the bar (pun intended) and if BRB enters the MCU in this timeline, he is going to have a different weapon with a different history and have to have gained the powers of Thor in a radically different way for a radically different reason. And I just don’t think that can really work. It’s like too many left turns.
4.) Finally, in many THEMATIC ways, MCU Prime Thor is already a version of Beta Ray Bill in the prime MCU timeline
What the hell does this mean? It means that in many ways Thor has been given a lot of the qualities of comic BRB but in the MCU’s timeline. His fellow Asgardians are refugees (due to Surtur and the fire demons no less), Stormbreaker became his Mjolnir proxy, and he even had a sort of Thor Corp. in LOVE AND THUNDER with Mighty Thor and Valkyrie teaming up together agains Gorr.
And also a lot of the reasons that Beta Ray Bill was created as a character originally – to help teach Thor humility, to teach him that his strength is not the be-all end-all – are arcs that have already been done through other means and adversaries like Hela, Thanos, and even Loki.
BUT A BETA RAY BILL FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE – IN LOKI S2 – COULD BE GREAT
Speaking of Loki and specifically LOKI Season 2, BRB was going to have a live action cameo in THOR RAGNAROK. But Kevin Feige (wisely) cut it saying it was too small and that BRB would appear in another property “that could do him proper justice”. Let’s hope that property is LOKI Season 2. Here’s four reasons why he would be great in LOKI season 2:
1.) An alt-timeline Beta Ray Bill in the multiverse would make a lot of sense in the LOKI’s multiverse story.
Like the deceased Reed Richards, Captain Carter, Professor X, Black Bolt and the very much alive Wanda kids, one can only assume that the Multiverse could also be the way to get Beta Ray Bill into the MCU.
Many of the unresolved issues that plagued comics Thor at the time of Beta Ray Bill’s arrival: lack of humility, belief in his strength above all, could be said to plague Loki, or did at least in season 1. I think some of those issues will still be present in various forms in season 2 so Bill’s arrival could be a way to solidify that growth.
Further a BRB from another universe could mean he had a more comic traditional history, helping Thor. But perhaps Thor died in this universe and the two could bond over the loss of Thor. Although Thor is alive in the main MCU timeline, Loki is not and neither is the Loki in the series so it is a loss just the same.
Further by not coming from this main MCU universe, BRB could possess Stormbreaker free and clear. BRB could also give us the traditional Thor costume (something done quite a bit in Disney Plus shows), which has only been seen in glimpses in the MCU as of yet.
Also seeing BRB opposite Hiddleston would help to elevate both. Putting BRB opposite Loki immediately enhances his appearance. You are not going to get Chris Hemsworth for any extended period of time in the LOKI series. But you can write BRB onto the show. Further LOKI just is not the same without THOR. It definitely works for Season 1 as Loki was finding himself. But watching LOVE AND THUNDER, I admit, I was missing the duo. But putting BRB and Loki side by side would help to almost cheat that relationship. BRB is already a Thor proxy visually and I think Rafael Casal playing him has the potential to make his presence and character a proxy as well.
And side note, BRB and Lady Sif have a real history. She finally moves on from Thor once BRB shows up in Asgard, beginning a presumed relationship and she even fights alongside him for a while. And as many of you may know, Lady Sif returned in LOVE AND THUNDER and BRB showing up in New Asgard would add another layer to both BRB’s and Lady Sif’s story.
2.) Rafael Casal would make a great BETA RAY BILL
It was announced that Rafael Casal would be joining LOKI season 2 a few weeks ago. I loved BLINDSPOTTING. It is a great movie and it featured a great performance from Casal. When I watched this film way back in the theater back in 2019, I thought Casal was a star and I honestly think Casal steals the film from Daveed Diggs. He has great range – can play intense drama, laughs, and emotion and fluctuate between them in a scene, which is a must for a show like LOKI. If you haven’t seen BLINDSPOTTING, it is a definite recommendation in my book.
Though Casal entering the MCU in ANY role is a really good thing, it has yet to be announced which character Casal would be playing. Now usually Marvel Studios keeps role announcements secret unless they are title characters or have some kind of huge role that will be revealed in marketing and even then it is largely kept under wraps till trailer time (like Tenoch Huerta as Namor in WAKANDA FOREVER).
He is also a very handsome guy. Which some might think would signal he is not playing a CGI heavy character like BRB. Not the case though, because handsome dudes and/or great actors often play CGI heavy characters in the MCU – like Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), Thanos (Josh Brolin), Ultron (James Spader), Malkeith (Chris Eccelston) – heck even Taika Waititi tacked Korg so I think there is a healthy precedent for using actors of all ilks and backgrounds to play CGI heavy roles.
Moreover I think Casal could also pull off the romantic angle of BRB with Lady Sif. Maybe his Korbinite form is a bit more human-like. But even if it isn’t, once you hear that voice, see those eyes, see him emote, you might be able to see why even in that Korbinite or BRB form, Casal would be someone that would catch Lady Sif’s eye.
3. Make Beta’s cool again
For far too long, people have been using Beta as a slur. But imagine how cool it would be when one of the MCU’s greatest warriors had “Beta” in his name. Yeah, I said it. But think about it. It would be like when people turned around the meanings of “Bad” or “Stupid”. Last reason why I hope Beta
Beta Ray Bill. The Champion of Betas everywhere
4. His Appearance Will Lead Into NOVA
We all know the NOVA series is coming. While it was not announced for Phase 4, it is believed to be coming in Phase 6 or possibly seven. Considering BRB’s long history with Nova in the comics, it would be great to see him on this series (and I think he will be even without his presence in LOKI Season 2). But setting him up in LOKI Season 2 would be a great jumping off point that would allow his story to grow and blossom in Nova much like it did when he was with Nova in the comics. That way we don’t have to get his entire origin and backstory at that time, which would not make much sense anyway in this prime MCU timeline.
Anyway, I hope we see Beta Ray Bill soon, in either LOKI season 2 or somewhere in the MCU. I’ll take anything to see him, one of my favorite Marvel characters done justice on the big screen.
No Scoops Club 