Loki & Valkyrie Clash in Thor: Ragnarok Image

Loki and Valkyrie are in the midst of a battle in the latest image to surface from Thor: Ragnarok. For Thor’s third solo film, Marvel Studios is breaking free of the template for the previous Thor films. They’ve handed the reins to the franchise over to Taika Waititi and he’s instantly injected Ragnarok with humor, color, and the biggest supporting cast yet. Chris Hemsworth will still get the meat of the story – with his friend from work, Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) joining in – but the rest of the cast is a great mixture of familiar faces and new ones.

One of the most popular recurring characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far has been Loki (Tom Hiddleston) – who is back for a fourth appearance in Ragnarok. As shown in the Ragnarok Comic-Con trailer, he’ll be part of Team Thor alongside his brother, another former enemy, and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). His dynamic with the latter has not been shown before, but the first image of the two shows that there’s room for improvement.

A new image has surfaced online from Thor: Ragnarok, showing Loki and Valkyrie in the midst or at the end of a duel. Both have their daggers drawn, yet their matching defensive abilities have left them both tied up. The original source of the photo is not known, but a higher-res version should come out from said source (possibly from EW as part of their Fall Preview, which includes lots of Star Wars: The Last Jedi reveals), sooner rather than later.

Marvel Studios’ THOR: RAGNAROKL to R: Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson)Credit: Jasin Boland/©Marvel Studios 2017

While the cause of Loki and Valkyrie’s disagreement is unknown, it appears to happen while they are still on Sakaar. The marketing has shown that Valkyrie helps capture Thor and serves The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) – making the Thor/Hulk fight possible – but Loki appears to be well-liked on that planet, as he’s been shown sitting next to Grandmaster during said fight. However, we know that at some point during Team Thor’s escape from the planet, Thor and his allies find Loki chained up. It is possible that Valkyrie wins the fight pictured above and chains him up, or that this interaction happens later (due to Valkyrie not trusting the god of mischief).

Regardless of the inciting incident, their difference will be set aside eventually. As both are shown standing on the Rainbow Bridge in Asgard with Thor and Hulk as they ready for battle against Hela (Cate Blanchett), they will ultimately decide to do what is best for the fate of the galaxy. Just because they ultimately make this decision, however, is hopefully not an indicator that this photo is part of a brief altercation. With Loki already being a fan-favorite and Valkyrie primed to be a stand out, giving the two of them a memorable exchange would be a great sequence to include in the film.