She may well have been able to pose a threat to Thanos himself if they had met. She was able to easily defeat Thor in battle and lay waste to entire armies of Asgard’s greatest warriors. In the comics, Hela can even utilize a touch of death to kill someone - including Asgardian deities - simply by placing her hand on them. If there is one thing that Thor: Ragnarok showed us it was that Hela was incredibly powerful. She is also capable of projecting this energy to devastating effect, and she has the ability to travel through the astral plane, like Doctor Strange, and is just as powerful in her astral form as she is in the real world. Hela, on the other hand, wields far more powerful magic, including the ability to channel magical energy into her hand in a technique she calls her "Hand of Glory." This is likely what is going on in the film when she destroys Thor's hammer simply by holding it in her hand.
![thor ragnarok hela thor ragnarok hela](https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/009/330/120/medium/andy-park-hela-hair01-andypark.jpg)
Some Asgardians, like Loki and Frigga, have shown magical abilities, but these abilities have typically been considered mere tricks. But she's more than just super strong and durable, she also has a few other special abilities that put her in a league of her own. Loki admits in one of the film's trailers that Hela is stronger than both he and Thor, and since he nearly conquered Earth and Thor is the strongest Marvel hero save for Hulk, that's saying something. However, as Goddess of Death, she also has some extra strength to tap into that makes her stand out a bit from the rest of the Asgardian pantheon. Like all Asgardians in Marvel comics, particularly the gods and goddesses, Hela is super strong, fast, and resilient bordering on immortal. So what exactly can the comic book version of the character do? Marvel took this idea and expanded it to make her the Goddess of Death, while also turning her into more of a straight up villain than she ever was in the ancient Norse religion. Hel wasn't technically a goddess, but rather a cosmic being who ruled over the realm of the undead that bared her name, Hel, which is where the name "Hell" comes from. The comic book version of Hela, who first debuted in 1964, was based on the Norse being Hel. In the film, Hela is the Asgardian Goddess of Death, and like many of the characters from the Thor movies, she is based on a comic book character who was inspired by Norse mythology. In the trailers for the film, she is seen destroying the Thunder God's "indestructible" hammer, Mjölnir, but just what are Hela's powers in Thor: Ragnarok?
![thor ragnarok hela thor ragnarok hela](http://www.mwctoys.com/images3/review_hela_1s.jpg)
Not only because she's the first female main villain of a Marvel film - though that is very significant - but also because she's immensely powerful, with the potential to really cause a lot of problems for Thor and the other heroes.
![thor ragnarok hela thor ragnarok hela](https://media.entertainmentearth.com/assets/images/daff88cc82774e5891119295954b0043lg.jpg)
Cate Blanchett's character in Thor: Ragnarok, Hela, is tremendously important in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.