[MARVEL] Thor: The Dark World (2013)

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Slated for a 2013 release, "Thor: The Dark World" is one of two planned Marvel productions to come out next year. Not much is known about the film thus far, other than the fact that it's shooting in London and that Loki will not be the main antagonist. Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios' head honcho, even revealed that "Thor 2" picks up pretty much exactly where the first movie left off. This means that we'll get a more in depth look at the relationship between Thor and Jane Foster, and also hopefully find out how Thor was able to get back to Earth during "The Avengers" with the Bifröst Bridge being destroyed.

But perhaps the most pressing mystery comes from the new subtitle revealed at Comic Con this past weekend: "The Dark World." Just what is this "Dark World" precisely? Where is it located? What does it have to do with Thor? With nothing to go off of but pure speculation, here's a list of five possible locations that could, in fact, be The Dark World.

Svartalfheim
Home of the Dark Elves, Svartalfheim is in the middle region of the nine realms of Yggdrasil on the same level as Midgard (Earth) and Jotunheim (home of the Frost Giants). Svartalfheim sports a heavily wooded landscape populated by Dark Elf towns, villages, and castles. Due to their grotesque appearance, the Dark Elves have been treated very poorly by the other races of the nine realms. This, of course, would explain their extremely hostile nature.

Muspelheim
A realm of eternal fire, Muspelheim is home to the Fire Demons and their ruler Surtur. At one point, Odin had Thor and the Warriors Three travel to Muspelheim in order to retrieve the Wizard's Eye, a device of such immense power that it could ward off the coming of Ragnarok. The appearance of Surtur and his fire demons would make for an awesome "Thor" sequel and could possibly even prove to be more of a handful than Loki.

Niffelheim
Lying underneath the third root of Yggdrasil in the lowest region of the nine realms, Niffelheim is the cold, barren wasteland where Hel (the realm of death) resides. It is the coldest and darkest region by far, infamous for its Shore of Corpses and the serpent that devours them. The ruler of Hel is Hela, daughter of Loki and a giantess named Angrboda. Surely, nothing can be darker than the realm of death!

The Negative Zone
Nobody in our universe knows how or when the Negative Zone was formed, but all sources seem to agree that this alien universe is much older than our own. In fact, the Negative Zone is so old that it has already begun to contract and will eventually implode! Being entirely composed of anti-matter, anyone traveling from our universe to the other must reverse their polarity on a molecular level. Otherwise, they will be instantly destroyed.

Earth
Who's to say that "The Dark World" isn't in fact our own world? Rumor has it that the Enchantress may be the big bad of the "Thor" sequel. If that is the case, the story will most likely follow the first appearance of the Enchantress in which Odin sends her to Earth in order to kill Jane Foster, whom the All-Father has deemed a distraction to his son. "The Dark World" could be referring to either a world without Jane Foster or the dimension in which the Enchantress traps her.