How Thor Defeated Surtur So Easily (But Couldn’t Beat Hela)

Thor: Ragnarok opens with Thor being held captive by Surtur, who he then defeated quite easily – but later on in the movie, Thor struggled to defeat his sister, Hela. In over 10 years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has explored many places not only on Earth but in other planets and realms. One of the heroes who has taken viewers to other parts of the universe is Thor, who has explored some of the Nine Realms as well as different planets in his solo movies.

In his third solo adventure, Thor: Ragnarok, the God of Thunder visited both planets and realms and came across with never-before-seen threats. The movie’s main villain was Hela (Cate Blanchet), Thor’s older sister and goddess of death, who Odin banished from Asgard and imprisoned in Hel after she massacred many Asgardians and attacked him. Hela was no easy opponent, but before she was set free (which happened once Odin passed away), Thor had to defeat a seemingly bigger threat: Surtur, but he actually got rid of him quite easily.

Surtur was a fire giant and ruler of Muspelheim, one of the Nine Realms. The source of his power was the Eternal Flame, which was kept in Odin’s Vault as the Allfather defeated him a long time ago and banished his entire race to Muspelheim. Odin’s purpose with Surtur’s defeat was to prevent Ragnarök, the event that would destroy Asgard. A prophecy stated that Ragnarök would take place when Surtur, empowered by the Eternal Flame, unleashed his rage upon Asgard. Without the Eternal Flame, Surtur was not as powerful as he used to be, so by the time he imprisoned Thor, he wasn’t that big of a threat.

Surtur himself explains this at the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok, saying he was far weaker without the Eternal Flame, which he needed to restore his full power. Surtur did look quite weak, and he struggled to get up and approach Thor with a sword. Once it was time to fight, Surtur couldn’t even fight back, and Thor ended up defeating him and taking his crown with him. Now, Hela turned out to be too powerful, and as Odin’s true heir, she was tied to Asgard. Thor realized he was not going to be able to defeat her, and in an interesting turn of events, he ended up restoring Surtur’s power by having Loki drop the crown in the Eternal Flame. This unleashed Ragnarök, which was the only way to defeat Hela as Asgard was her power source.

The key to Surtur’s defeat at the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok is in his speech, which many viewers tend to forget as the scene is meant to be humorous thanks to Thor mocking Surtur’s very serious words. Ultimately, Hela wasn’t more powerful than Surtur, but the timing was on Thor’s side when he was imprisoned in Muspelheim, and as much as he tried to protect his homeworld, Asgard had to be destroyed in order to save its people and defeat Hela.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
(3268 Articles Published)

Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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