The Goddess of death Hela – familiar to many fans for Cate Blanchett’s portrayal in the MCU’s Thor: Ragnarok – gets an awesome new costume in Mark Brooks’ epic Hellfire Gala tribute art. Brooks’ Hellfire design for Hela’s drop-dead costume is at once deeply sexy and horrifyingly scary, perfectly capturing the essence of the Queen of Hel.
Hela is an Asgardian Goddess, daughter of a past incarnation of Loki and Angrboða, who was first introduced to Marvel Comics in 1964’s Journey Into Mystery #102, and has since remained a formidable foe for Thor, X-Men and the Avengers. King Odin gave Hela dominion over the dead in Hel and Niflheim after she came of age, and her power of death has rivaled even the pure incarnation of Death at times.
The Hellfire Gala is a now-annual X-Men crossover event in which the mutants of Krakoa celebrate mutantkind with high fashion. Despite the mutant race having conquered Death, Hela is intrinsically connected to the X-Men and in particular Dani Moonstar, the mutant Mirage, who obtained the powers of the Asgardian Valkyrie back in the ’90s, and is indebted to Hela. Dani Moonstar has, on several occasions, used her connection to Hela to request a “boon” from the goddess, usually reviving a fallen mutant comrade, and surely Hela would not be happy that the mutants have no need for such boons any longer. Frequent Marvel artist Mark Brooks shared the costume Hela would wear to crash the party on Twitter, in a piece of ‘fan art’ that won’t appear in Marvel’s official comics.
Mark Brooks’ breathtaking depiction of Hela ramps up her sex appeal and evil Goddess energy to 11, making Hela seem like a venomous spider, ready to attack. Canonically Hela’s cloak is needed for her to maintain her power and vitality, as when she is not touching it she reverts to a half-dead form. Brooks accentuates this and her iconic headdress (an indicator of her power in her MCU appearnace), lending Hela even more power and decadence.
Hela’s original design was created by Jack Kirby, an artist well known for creating stunning characters and often experimenting with hats and helmets, especially when depicting gods (Odin got a new costume almost every time Kirby drew him.) Hela has gone through a lot in recent times, being sucked into a black hole with Thanos after attempting to kill the Guardians of the Galaxy, and eventually returning to her realm of Hel only to find her power stripped, eventually realizing she is not the Queen of Hel any longer. With the recent announcement that Hela and other enemies of the Golden Realm will be assaulting Asgard during the upcoming Jane Foster & The Mighty Thor, she might finally be making moves to return herself to a position of power.
Mark Brooks’ portrait of Hela, which evokes strong feelings of fear and lust while emphasizing the immortal and everlasting nature of the Goddess, is a perfect homage to the legacy of the Asgardian villain. While Hela herself may not show up at the X-Men’s annual Hellfire Gala, this iconic look will make fans wish Thor: Ragnarok‘s villain was in attendance.
