What's so great about Beta Ray Bill exactly?

[Babyhater666]

People want nothing more than to see Bova of Wundergore kick, ass utter free in outer space without hurting her role as MU
wet-nurse.

[The Black Guardian]

This thread reminds me how unnecessary Ragnarok really is in the 616 save for being a low rent Thor in Dark Avengers.

Heck, when you really think about it, there are already other Thor clones out there.

The Replicoid is probably still gone, but with its power, who's to really say for sure...
Nobilus is probably still in a High Evolutionary lab. Still tainted by Loki?
We have to presume the Worldengine destroyed all of those Thor clones. Or do we?
And what ever really became of Magus' Thor doppelganger? Hmm?

The real reason behind Beta Ray Bill's popularity is... the winged helm and horse face make everybody think of My Little Pony pegasi and instantly fall in love with him!

[Malevolent1]

Saw the Thor movie...loved it. I was on another forum where they were discussing what they (fans) would like to see in a Thor sequel. Couldn't believe the amount of people that thought Beta Ray Bill should be in the sequel! Why!? What purpose would he serve exactly?
Which brings me to the subject...why are fans so enamored with this guy? Is he original in any way shape or form? No...he's exactly like Thor (you know, the star of the book). W. Simonson created an ALIEN GOAT version of Thor and called him....wait for it (snicker..haha)....Bill. Surprisingly people were like "wow this guys so cool! So original..what a concept! The Thor comic really needed a god-like persona with a magic hammer. And Bill...what a name! Love it!"
Somebody please tell me exactly what the appeal of this Bill the Goat God is?

Exactly. Agreed entirely with this post. Not sure where Simonson was coming from on this one. Betting there was something semi-humorous behind this creatures creation.

[The Black Guardian]

Exactly. Agreed entirely with this post. Not sure where Simonson was coming from on this one. Betting there was something semi-humorous behind this creatures creation.

According to Simonson, he began the design by coming up with a monster "bad guy," then turned the concept on its head. Bill's head is not just a horse's head design. It's a horse's skull design. So, he basically looks like an undead horse. Not so humourous, no.

[Frank]

I loved Beta Ray Bill but I don't think he should have been used outside of Simonson's run. For one thing, nobody else can draw him well! And it reduced his impact by making him just another in a large cast of supporting characters.

I don't want to see him in the movie because I'm not interested in seeing the same story I read in the comics.

Yea he was only great and only made sense in the Simonson run. That's where it starts and ends with him. I actually think giving him a horse face was a bad decision for the character having a longer life cause nobody will want to read a lead character looking like Sara Jessica Parker.

[The Black Guardian]

Only thing really dreadfully sketchy about Bill is his spaceship. "Skuttlebutt?" Really?!?! What, "Rumormyll" was taken? Does he keep it docked at the Tabloid space station?

I happen to think the horse-skull-face is a great boon. Horses are quite significant in Norse myth already, and Marvel's Asgard has always had a hefty sci-fi element. Alien horse-man with Thor powers is just a perfect fit.