So… they’re cool looking, right off the bat – it goes with the unapologetic comic-booky-ness of the whole production that the aliens (or whatever they are) would be guys with impossible-to-look-anything-other-than-evil monster-faces; and I loooooove that they seem to use melee weapons, implying LOTS of hand-to-hand combat.
As for what they “are?” Well, it’s entirely possible that they’re something entirely new or just “The Aliens.” But because it’s fun to keep playing the “spot the Marvel Universe reference” game…
The handsome guy on the right is Beta Ray Bill; probably the most significant character in the “Thor” universe outside of Loki and Thor himself. Created by Walt Simonson in his landmark Thor run in the 80s, Bill is a the sworn protector of The Korbonites, a nomadic/planetarily-displaced alien race whose homeworld was destroyed by Thor villain Surtur.
You may notice that he dresses like Thor. Why? Well, when Thor first encountered Bill they mistoke eachother for enemies. During the fight, Bill got hold of Mjolnir (Thor’s magic hammer) and – per the rules of Odin’s “If Ye Be Worthy, Possess The Power of Thor” spell – was imbued with Thor’s powers. This was kind of a big deal at the time, because very few other beings in the Marvel Universe are supposed to be “worthy” enough to lift it without some kind of loophole or an exception from Odin (Captain America can do it, of course.) Eventually, Bill got his own equivalent to Mjolnir called “Stormbreaker,” and he’s been a fan-favorite Marvel mainstay ever since.
Now, I doubt that that’s Bill in the “Avengers” screencap, but given that A.) Loki as the main heavy and The Cosmic Cube as the likely main MacGuffin tie this very close to the “Thor” universe to begin with and B.) “Thor 2” is further into pre-production than any post-“Avengers” Marvel sequel other than “Iron Man 3;” these guys could very well be Korbonites (controlled/enslaved by Loki?)… and if one of them were to, say, snatch up Mjolnir and suddenly sprout Asgardian armor it’d be one HELL of a tease for “Thor 2” – to say nothing of a garaunteed tear-the-roof-off moment of fanservice.
On the other hand, The Korbonites don’t all look like Bill (he was “modified” into a more monstrous form as part of making him a better soldier) in the comics, but that doesn’t necessarily need to be the case here. Definitely a longshot either way, but… honestly? How cool is it that something like that isn’t a complete impossibility?
MOVIEBOB CENTRAL 
Personally I don't see it as the Baddoon just because I think they're saving that race for the proposed Guardians of the Galaxy movie, the Korbonites sound more likely but if I was guessing I'd say that they're most likely another of the 9 World Races from Asgard, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Ulik the Troll appearance in the film, although I could see them as servants of Set hence their giant serpent monster
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Its late here, 'm tired, wanna sleep. so this is mostly gonna be full on stream of consciousness bullet points as opposed to a fully well versed comment. Sorry.
Like the creature designs. Love their armor and weapon designs. kinda looks like chain mail in some shots. digging it.
Doubt their Skrulls, considering Marvel has said several times they aren't. I don't recall them ever outright lying about their films.
Hope they aren't the Chitauri or simply “aliens”
This just seems like too good a chance to set up something big in the future to simply pass it up and use some generic villain race.
If they are Korbonite then I don't see any way the could NOT hint a Beta Ray Bill.
If they are habitants of one of the nine realms then I don't think those can be considered in any way frost giants. Maybe Dark Elves or Demons but not Jotuns.
Take into account modern comics…
How about the Disir? IIRC, Supposed to be Valkerys cursed by Odin to become ugly monstrosities, doomed to walk through Midgard forever craving the flesh of ghost Asgardians. (Comics are Weird!!!!)
In the new reboot of Journey into Mystery they had them as servants to Loki.
Probably nots, but the helmets and look kinda remind me of them
But then they tangled with Mephisto and- ooh, does Marvel Studios hold the rights to Mephisto? The new Ghost Rider didn't have Mephisto. Could they be actual demons of actual hell?
If they are then that would pretty much be the next paradigm shifting, game changing easter egg that would have the fans going nuts.
Seriously though, Bob, You should check out “Journey into Mystery”. It focuses on Loki, who has been reincarnated as a 12 year old. Its great. Especially the Christmas issue. Sooooooo much better than the “Mighty Thor” series.
I mean it, it's UNGODLY (heh) AWESOME
Right, well that comment deviated from its intended point… off to bed with my delusonal self!
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So hoping they are Korbonites. and even if they are not, they still look pretty kick-ass! The Avengers is gonna be epic! ^^
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Huh. I saw the picture on and instantly thought “That horse-like face reminds me a bit of Beta Ray Bill…” then I scrolled down and saw you say the same thing. It could be coincidence or us hoping for something really awesome, but that will be really cool if they hint at Bill, though I doubt he'll get the hammer in this film. Though there might be a few stragglers left around for Thor 2 should they want to go that route…
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I instantly saw an Egyptian type of motif going. And for some reason I think the helmet kinda looks like Thanos. I was also thinking the face was more Skull fave that Horse Faced. But that Beta Ray Bill thing is an interesting pull. Is it possible they can make some type of Thanos/Egypt connection?
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Agreement on the hand-to-hand combat. It certainly gives Black Widow some kind of advantage on the field with her pistol.
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It's the Badoon. That's the only posibility in my opinion. Joss outright said it's not the Skrulls or Kree, and they're obviously going to use an Avengers enemy, so most Nine Realms races are out. I hope it's the Badoon, but this movie will still be epic even if it isn't.
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comment #7 here: Plus, the way they upgrade people's looks in the movies (i.e. Loki having badass armor, and hotness, instead of some creepy dude in spandex), this is what live-action versions of the Badoon would look like. They have short snouts, armor with weird headband thingies, walk on their toes, have two toes, and have freaky reptilian skin. Plus, they're advanced enough to have spaceships and Green Goblin-esque hover thingies (cut me some slack. I don't know the technical terms), yet still use meelee weapons and ground troops. Plus, if Hulk is the same size as he was in Incredible Hulk, then they'll be Badoon-sized (bout 7 feet). Even if they aren't the Badoon, this movie is still giving me fangirl screams. I'm a dude by the way. Yeah, I think Loki is hot. WHAT OF IT?!?! Anyway, back on topic, I,m so excited about The Avengers I could pee, regardless of the army's species!!!!!!!
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Plot twist they were chitaris but still were very badass
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