As far as MCU movies go, Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War both take place within a very short space of time – hell, the latter practically leads into the former when accounting for Marvel’s post-credit stings.
And things don’t end well for those hapless Asgardians, who become the first on-screen characters to fall before Thanos. It’s the same refugee ship carrying the likes of Valkyrie, Korg and Miek, leading us to believe that the Mad Titan also managed to kill off some of Ragnarok‘s finest characters. Or did he?
The Russo Brothers have since confirmed that Tessa Thompson’s bounty hunter is alive and well, while a new theory posted to Reddit is claiming that Korg (but sadly not Miek) survived Marvel’s Infinity War, and the answer lies in the recently-released Contest of Champions promo.
The new promo for the Marvel Contest of Champions was recently released and the PR is done by none other than Taika Waititi as Korg. I know it’s stretching and probably not canon but there are some big-time winks that Korg and Co. are alive if you take the promo at face value.
ALL THIS HINGES ON THE IDEA that the mid-credits scene of Thor: Ragnarok takes place not too long after the ending when Thor says, “Earth it is.” In fact, the mid-credits scene in which Loki and Thor seem to be discussing the new king’s declaration to bring Loki back to Earth seems to just be a continuation of that previous scene. If that’s the case, then the following should hold true.
Korg and Miek are all together inside of something that resembles the Grandmaster’s ship. The designs on the ceiling and back walls resemble those on Sakaar and the Grandmaster’s style, and through the window we see stars.
Valkyire (“Angry Lady”) is clearly present on-board this vessel just housing a 40 oz. We know she escaped the Grandmaster’s ship, per Joe Russo.
Korg says the line: “…and this little guy by my side is Miek. He doesn’t do much, BUT I FEEL BAD FOR STEPPING ON HIM A COUPLE OF WEEKS BACK, so I hired him as our new recruitment officer.”
Our favorite 3-headed cameo (s/o u/Maxxiexy) who fought alongside Korg on the Rainbow Bridge is also present.
Doug is still dead, as evidenced by the line: “Hey, I know this guy. This is the original Doug! Aw, but Doug is dead.”
Originally drafted up by Redditor ‘LordTeddard’, the theory continues:
So, with this in mind, let’s connect some dots. This takes place “a couple of (i.e. TWO) weeks” after Ragnarok. We know Infinity War takes place over roughly a few days, one week if we round up ~~generously~~. Assuming the mid-credits scene takes place right after the ending of Thor: Ragnarok, Korg and Miek must be somewhere with Valkyrie after the snap at the minimum TWO WEEKS AFTER the assault on the Grandmaster’s ship.
Where could one be when on a similarly themed ship to the one that was destroyed at the beginning of Infinity War with windows showing the stars of the universe in the backdrop? On one of the ship’s escape pods used to evacuate ~1/2 the residents, including our resident 3-headed cameo! Clearly, while 1/2 the universe’s population has been turned to dust, Korg and Co. have found some work pushing PR for spin-off games. Case closed, and I look forward to seeing Korg dawn his own infinity gauntlet in Avengers 4.
Truth be told, we’ve been crossing our fingers (and toes!) in the hope that Taika Waititi’s sentient pile of rocks is still kicking after Avengers: Infinity War, and while this theory is admittedly a bit of a stretch, there are some clear parallels between the Contest of Champions and the bleak opening to Infinity War. Let the speculation commence.
