Thor: Ragnarok Comes to ‘Marvel Contest of Champions’

Thor’s smashed his way out of the Sakaar arena and into Battlerealm, bringing the thunder and his electrifying personality direct from “Thor: Ragnarok” to “Marvel Contest of Champions.” Instead of his hammer, the Thunder God wields divine lightning against his foes, and woe be to anyone foolish enough to stand in his way.

Kabam Art Director Gabriel Frizzera and Character Designer Piero Herrera talked with us about this new Thor and all the awesome he brings to the Contest.

Marvel.com: This is an interesting development: the Grandmaster from “Marvel Contest of Champions” nabbing up Thor from the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Grandmaster? My mind is blown.

Gabriel Frizzera: The universes seem to be bleeding into each other, don’t they? That’s one of the best things of developing a story in partnership with Marvel: The awesome ideas cross-pollinate in all directions, and we end up with a much stronger Marvel multiverse. In the case of The Grandmaster, he shares a lot of traits between the movie and the game, and it was very cool that the Contest of Champions is making the jump from comics to game to movie. I hope the MCU guys don’t mind us borrowing their version of Thor to test his mettle; our version of The Contest can be pretty tough. We promised to return him mostly intact!

Marvel.com: And it looks like he’s come straight from the Sakaar arena, armor, weapons, and all! What were some of the most important details the team wanted to get right for this version of Thor?

Gabriel Frizzera: The cool asymmetric armor, of course! “Thor: Ragnarok” has a great art style, in some cases lifted straight from some of Jack Kirby’s most iconic designs. We love everything about “Gladiator” Thor, and his outfit and weapons are pure Kirby goodness.

Marvel.com: We already have a couple Thors in the game. What’s different about Thor (Ragnarok)?

Gabriel Frizzera: For all intents and purposes of a fighting game, other than the name, this Thor has very little in common with his classic counterpart. He was built from the ground up as a gladiator and his moves take advantage of the shield and mace combo, which is a first for us. It would be hard to create something radically different from the two Thors we have in game, so we’re glad we have a chance to create a fresh take on the God of Thunder while keeping his dashing personality, of course!

Marvel.com: Let’s talk about his abilities! Thunder God’s Wrath sounds absolutely awesome. We get to control lightning?!

Piero Herrera: Absolutely! Thor’s entire ability kit is focused around his Special 3 Attack, where he controls lightning and the effect lasts after the Special Attack as well. While this ability is active, Thor will be able to Shock opponents when attacking and being attacked. Shock will not only deal Energy Damage, but will also have a chance to inflict Armor Break and Stuns whenever it activates. This provides Thor huge burst damage capabilities, specifically if you use a Special 2 Attack to land as many hits as you can.

Marvel.com: What other abilities does the Odinson have access to?

Piero Herrera: Like I mentioned previously, Thor’s entire ability kit is focused on his Special 3 Attack, so it makes sense that he has multiple ways to get there. If you are able to maintain 40 hits in your combo meter, he will gain enough Power to do a Special 3 Attack within seconds. This is one of the most powerful Power Gain abilities in the game and will prove very useful whenever you are playing with this Champion.

Marvel.com: And what about his teammates? He might be alone in the arena, but Thor’s always been a team player.

Piero Herrera: Pairing him up with Hulk, Loki, and Hela will provide him unique bonuses that will make him one of the top tier Champions in the game and also make those teammates much more powerful as well. Specifically, the synergy with Hela will allow Thor to recover Health whenever he kills an opponent.

Marvel.com: When can we pick up Thor (Ragnarok) for ourselves?

Piero Herrera: Thor will be available on November 9; be sure to check out in-game messages to know how to get him and get a taste of the Thunder God’s wrath!

Stay tuned to Marvel.com for more “Marvel Contest of Champions” news and interviews and follow us on Twitter @MarvelGames!