Anna Daniels
One of the strategies the makeup artists on Extraction employed to make Hemsworth seem more grizzled and less astonishingly attractive was the application of excessive scarring and tattoos. Reasonable minds can differ as to whether or not this choice achieved the desired effect or just made Hemsworth more handsome, but some of the tattoos at least carried a little extra meaning.
One Redditor, posting under the handle u/driftwood7386, pointed out that Tyler Rake’s most prominent back tattoo is a perfect recreation of the image above. The poster mistakenly identifies this image as the Helm of Awe, also known in Norse mythology as “The Viking Compass”. u/driftwood7386 suggests that this symbol is an homage to Hemsworth’s day job at Marvel as the resident God of Thunder.
While fellow Redditors were quick to point out in the comments that the symbol is actually the more complex Norse “vegvisir,” they all agreed that its inclusion was likely a nod to Thor. For what it’s worth, the vegvisir is a mystical inscription intended to help guide a warrior or explorer back home, and was first seen in medieval viking culture. Aside from being a clever way to link Hemsworth’s performances, the vegvisir also seems like a pretty appropriate tattoo for a mercenary like Rake in the midst of an epic redemption arc.
Extraction is currently streaming on Netflix, where it premiered on April 24, 2020. No sequel has officially been announced, but Russo assures us it’s forthcoming.
Written by: Looper
