Beta Ray Bill And Friends
Though Hulk is the Grandmaster’s current favourite gladiator, the faces carved into his tower on Sakaar reveal that his previous champions included some familiar Marvel comics characters. There’s Hulk villain Bi-Beast, Ares (not the Wonder Woman version) and even Man-Thing (no idea how the swamp creature ended up on Sakaar).
The one that will really excite fans, though, is Beta Ray Bill. The horse-headed Korbinite is a beloved cult character from the comics. In fact, he was the very first one who was worthy enough to lift Mjolnir apart from Thor. Initially, the pair had a rivalry over who should wield the hammer, but once Bill got his hands on his own weapon called Stormbreaker, Thor and Bill became staunch allies. Hopefully this nod means he could be on the cards for Thor 4.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Grandmaster’s gladiatorial battles are dubbed the Contest of Champions. This name will ring a bell to anyone who’s played Marvel’s Contest of Champions, a mobile fighting game. It’s also loosely based on a comic miniseries featuring the Grandmaster forcing heroes to do battle. Sound familiar?