Goddess Bast in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’: Here Is a Detail You’ve Missed
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for its clever nods to comic book lore and hidden references to characters from the larger Marvel universe. And the movie “Thor: Love and Thunder” is no exception. The scenes in Omnipotent City proved to be a real treasure trove of references and easter eggs for other movies and series in the MCU, and Black Panther is one of them. Now let’s see the Black Panther and goddess Bast references that you’ve missed.
Black Panther’s Goddess Bast in Thor: Love and Thunder
We know that Thor, in Thor: Love and Thunder, has a conflict on his hands against one of the toughest foes he has ever faced. Of course, we’re talking about Gorr the God Butcher. Thor knew that he couldn’t stand alone on this one, so he decided to ask for help from the Council of Godheads and additionally warn them of what might come.
Thor makes his way to the Omnipotent City, basically a place where gods from various different mythologies congregate and vote on the issues primarily related to them. Zeus, of course, is presiding over the place, but in the background, we can see plenty of other gods from Marvel Universe enjoying themselves. We’ve already covered Namor’s easter egg in Thor: Love and Thunder, but most fans missed one more reference to Black Panther, Goddes Bast.
Goddess Bast can be seen sitting right in front of Jane, Valkyre, Thor, and Korg. She can easily be recognized by her golden armaments influenced by feline features. Bast, as well as the majority of other gods, dismiss Thor’s request due to a false sense of security. If anything, the scenes from Omnipotent City revealed to us that the gods of MCU do not care about humanity all that much as long as the sacrifice numbers are consistent.
Who is Bast in the comics, and how is she related to Black Panther?
Bast plays only a minor role in Thor: Love and Thunder, but she has a significant role in the history of Black Panther and the nature of this “superpower.” To explain the role, we have to go back thousands of years through the history of Earth-616, up until the point where Wakandans were nothing more than a savage tribe that happened upon massive quantities of Vibranium in the aftermath of a meteor impact.
As with all ancient tribes and cultures, this specific tribe also decided to put this extraordinary metal to good use and create weapons and other items out of it. When they decided to interact with the meteorite, the radiation that the meteorite emitted imbued them with supernatural powers turning them into Vibranium Mutates or “Demon Spirits” as they became known across the ancient Wakandan Tribes.
The radiation that the meteorite emitted affects the animal and surrounding plant life, creating Heart-Shaped herbs in the process.
Vibranium Mutates proved too much to handle for the ancient tribes, and the leader of one tribe, Olumo Bashenga, decided to pray to the panther goddess for help. That panther goddess was Bast. She granted a portion of her powers to Bashenga, creating the first human manifestation of her powers, the Black Panther.
Besides being directly connected to the creation of the first Black Panther, Bast is likewise responsible for guiding the souls of the dead to the afterlife after they’ve passed away.
As you can see, Bast plays a significant role in Marvel Universe. She was the deity behind the first Black Panther and remained to this day, one of the principal deities that the Wakandans worship. The inclusion of Bast into the Council of Godheads was a brilliant idea as it allowed us to see more powerful gods that influenced the Marvel Universe as a whole.
