Thor 4 Concept Art Teased The Connection Between Christian Bale's Gorr And Venom

"Thor: Love and Thunder" hosted some moments that really upset fans, but there's no doubt that one of the good things it had going for it was an ink-grinning adversary in Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher. The foe that was bent on killing off deities, including the hammer-wielding hero, was a compelling character. Still, one that might have been even more intimidating had concept designer Jerad. S Marantz had his way.

Revealed on Instagram and Artstation, Marantz's initial attempt at Gorr conceptually had a closer look than the original comic book version of the character. It also presented resemblances to another part of Marvel comic lore that wasn't included in Taika Waititi's film. Arriving in "Thor: God of Thunder #2" in November 2012, Gorr got hold of the Necrosword, a symbiote that's part of the same species Venom belongs to. The inky black blade was much more imposing than the narrow and simplistic sword we got in the film, and it's something that fans admitted they'd have preferred to see than the final product.

Jerad S. Marantz wrote along with the post, "This was an early pass, and I was going for something very close to the source material. I always have so much fun working on these iconic characters." Following the post, fans quickly flocked to share their thoughts, admitting that Marantz might've nailed it on his first try. "I liked how you gave him a very venomy look, knowing his connection with the necrosword," said @verinexa_. Meanwhile, @v.ista added, "Bro, I swear if they use some of these concepts, it would've looked better."

Other fans that chimed in made no effort to mince their words either, with @cwamacorn saying, "This is amazing, which is the exact opposite of that movie." One fan, @codymac88, didn't hold back with the facepalm emoji when ridiculing Disney and Marvel for overlooking the concept art. 

Thankfully, Bale's performance did enough to keep Gorr worth watching, but there's no doubt seeing him like this could've been way more intense, proving sometimes prayers to Marvel don't always get answered.