WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Thor: Ragnarok.
Korg is a revelation. A Kronan, he’s one of the combatants fighting it out in the Grandmaster’s Contest of Champions on the planet of Sakaar. Thor meets fellow contestant Korg after he’s kidnapped and brought to the Grandmaster as an opponent for Sakaar’s newest champion. Who turns out to be Hulk. Korg shows Thor the ropes — he’s a polite, eccentric creature made of “perishable” rocks, with an insectoid sidekick called Miek. Here’s why you’ll love him.
He’s based on real-life New Zealand bouncers
Director Taika Waititi, the creative force behind vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows and last year’s quirky sleeper-hit indie comedy Hunt For the Wilderpeople, also voices Korg. He says he based him on quietly spoken New Zealand doormen. With hilarious results. We’ll let Waititi explain.
“[Korg is] based on bouncers on K Road in Auckland,” he told Australian radio station Triple J. “They’re just like the biggest guys you’ll ever see and they’ve got the most gentle and kind nature. [Mimics bouncers’ gentle voices] Their voices are really gentle: ‘Sorry guys you can’t come in, we’re at capacity. Maybe try again tomorrow night?’”
Then, mimicking a drunken New Zealander: “I want to come in”.
Switching back to the kindly bouncer voice, Waititi continued his impersonation: “Sorry sir, I’m just going to have to break your legs now. Oh damn, I seem to have snapped both your legs. Sorry, would you like me to call you an Uber?”
Waititi finished by saying that Korg is a ‘mother’ character who just likes taking care of people.
His classic ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ joke
In what has got to be the best introduction by a character in a Marvel film ever, Korg spies Thor and says: “Over here. This pile of rocks waving at you. I’m actually a thing, I’m a being. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Korg. I’m kind of like the leader in here.”
Very funny from the off. And then he says this: “I’m made of rocks, as you can see, but don’t let that intimidate you. You don’t need to be afraid, unless you’re made of scissors. Just a little Rock, Paper, Scissor joke for you.” LOL.
His failed attempt at starting a revolution
Korg tells Thor that he attempted to kick off an uprising once but that it didn’t go well.
“Well, I tried to start a revolution but didn’t print enough pamphlets so hardly anyone turned up,” he says. “Except for my mum and her boyfriend, who I hate.”
He continues, “As punishment, I was forced to be in here [fighting in the Contest of Champions] and become a gladiator.”
But he hasn’t given up hope: “Bit of a promotional disaster that one but I’m actually organizing another revolution. I don’t know if you’d be interested in something like that? Do you reckon you’d be interested?”
It’s definitely something Thor should bear in mind later on in the film …
He’s as frustrated by his colleagues’ inability to keep a clean ship as the rest of us
Choosing weapons alongside Thor at the Grandmaster’s gladiatorial arena ahead of the big fight between Hulk and the God of Thunder, Korg is appalled at the state of the weapons.
“Ah, yuck,” he says. “There’s still someone’s hair and blood all over this. Guys, can you clean up the weapons once you’ve finished your fight? Disgusting slobs.”
His confusion over Thor’s hammer
It would be easy to call this sequence the funniest in the film, but to be fair, every time Korg is on screen it’s hilarious. Anyway, here’s how the dialogue in this scene plays out.
When Thor is describing his hammer to Korg, Thor says: “When I spun it really, really fast it gave me the ability to fly.”
“You rode a hammer?” asks Korg, incredulously.
“No, I didn’t ride the hammer.”
“The hammer rode you on your back?”
“No, no, no. I used to spin it really fast and it would pull… pull me off…”
“Oh my God, the hammer pulled you off?”
“The ground! It pulled me off the ground. Up into the air and I would fly. Every time I threw it, it would always come back to me.”
“Sounds like you had a pretty special and intimate relationship with this hammer and that losing it was almost comparable to losing a loved one,” summarises Korg.
This Speech
Ragnarok takes hold. And just as the destruction of Asgard seems to be over, Korg issues a rousing speech:
“The damage is not too bad. As long as the foundations are still strong, we can rebuild this place. It will become a haven for all peoples and aliens of the universe.”
At which point, Asgard meets complete and total destruction.
“Oof,” says Korg. “Now those foundations are gone. Sorry.”
His reaction to Miek dying… and coming back to life
After they defeat Hela, and flee Asgard, Thor says to Miek, whom Korg is carrying under his arm: “Miek, where are you from?”
Korg replies: “Oh, Miek’s dead. Yeah, I accidentally stomped on him on the bridge. I just felt so guilty I’ve been carrying him around all day.”
Miek stirs.
“Oh Miek, you’re alive!” says Korg. “He’s alive, guys. What was your question again?”
You’ll be desperate to see him come face-to-face with Drax
With Thor: Ragnarok building directly into Avengers: Infinity War, and the Guardians teaming up with the Avengers to fight Thanos in that forthcoming film, we can look forward to seeing Star-Lord and the gang alongside Thor and co. very soon. Spring 2018, in fact.
But one of the most enticing things about that has to be the notion that Korg and Drax could feasibly meet up. We don’t know yet if it’ll happen in Infinity War, or if at all down the line, but the opportunity is there. And that prospect makes us excited. With Drax’s bluntness and childlike sense of humour rubbing up against Korg’s eccentricity, we’ll bet that the banter these guys produce would be comedy gold.
Thor: Ragnarok is currently on release in the UK and hits US screens on November 3.