Hero Profile: Beta Ray Bill

There are a select few beings capable of lifting Mjolnir, one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. Most of these wielders are from Earth. Captain America, Storm, Wonder Man, Thor, his father Odin, and Odin’s father Bor are all on the short list. Loki also eventually proves he has the right stuff to wield the mighty hammer. Shocking, I know. Also, it is one of Dr. Doom’s long standing obsessions is getting his hands on Mjolnir, but I don’t think we ever need to worry about Victor getting it. It makes sense, we’ve all seen the destruction Thor can create with just one swing of the hammer, obviously it is a desirable weapon, and one that is nearly impossible to wield. The first not of Thor’s familial line to lift the hammer, however, was in fact an extraterrestrial organism, Beta Ray Bill.

I'm just going to surrender now, okay?

Beta Ray Bill is a Korbinite, an alien race from a far galaxy. Korbin was a peaceful, scientifically advanced planet, think Krypton but with Orange people, but, as well all know that never lasts long, kind of like Krypton. Surtur, a powerful fire Demon, Lord of the Realm of Muspelhiem, and age old foe of Asgard, escaped his bindings and set about repairing his most powerful weapon, the Twilight Sword. To do so, he destroyed…well, everything in Korbin’s galaxy. I assume the blaze the galaxies destruction created was necessary to repair the dark weapon. Or Surtur’s just a satist… we’ll say it’s a forty-sixty split. The Korbinities had a slight heads up to the destruction of their home, Fire Demons flying down and snatching people being a pretty decent sign of doom, and set about plans to escape. They built a fleet of warships, the most powerful and impressive of which being Skuttlebutt, and went about putting as many Korbinities into suspended animation as possible. While the AI’s of Skuttlebutt and the other warships were impressive, the Korbonite leaders felt they needed a champion to watch over their sleeping people. So they set about designing one using advanced scientific methods. After several failed attempts, they succeeded. They combined Korbin DNA with the fierce, horselike predator of their world, added extensive genetic and cybernetic enhancements, and finally transferred a Korbinite’s consciousness into the body. Beta Ray Bill was born. The champion was unable to test his mettle, however, as he and the remaining Korbinites were put into cold storage. Skuttlebutt was given instructions to wake Bill first, at the first sign of Demonic threat.

He has the POWER!

The Korbinites escaped and flew for an untold amount of time in suspended animation. They flew into Earth’s space, gaining the attention of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury sent Thor into investigate. Thor boarded the ship and beat back its extensive defenses. Skuttlebutt, realizing the danger Thor presented, awakened Bill. It should be to note that Skuttlebutt’s sensors perceived Thor’s Asgardian magic in the same way it read the Fire Demons, hence why the ship attacked him. The Korbinite Champion and the Prince of Thunder fought an intense battle. They were evenly matched until Thor was afflicted by his stupidest weakness, he was separated from Mjolnir for over a minute and reverted back to his “mortal” form of Donald Blake. Blake is a lame, as in crippled, PhD, so Bill took him down in about fifteen seconds. After taking a moment to let the weirdness of this day wash over him, Bill lifted Mjolnir, which had reverted to its hidden form of Donald Blake’s cane and struck it on the ground. Beta Ray Bill was filled with Thor’s power and even got the nifty costume. Skuttlebutt landed on Earth and Bill used Mjolnir to devastate an advanced S.H.I.E.L.D. team sent out to investigate. Odin, sensing a disturbance in the For- er, World Tree, summoned Mjolnir’s wielder to Asgard.  Imagine his surprise when an orange horse looking guy materialized in his hall. After, oh, thirty seconds of shock (in which time Bill threw around several Asgardian warriors like ragdolls) Odin disabled Bill and summoned Thor.

He makes this look good.

Now we have a problem. Two beings worthy of Mjolnir? Such a thing had never happened before. Odin believes in Highlander rules, so, you know, There Can Only Be One. He orders Thor and Bill to fight to the Death to see who is worthiest of Mjolnir. Again, great parenting Odin. The two battle loving warriors agreed. Thor and Bill throw down, it’s an intense fight with explosion and lava and such in the Asgardian realm of Skartheim. They are evenly matched, and knock each other out. Bill’s enhancements allow him recover faster and he won the right to hold Mjolnir. He could have left Thor to the fire, but saved him since Thor was such a worthy opponent. But, what with them both surviving, the issue about who should hold Mjolnir remained. Odin decides the best option is to call in a favor he had with the Dwarves and has a new hammer created. The hammer, Stormbreaker, is infused with the same powers as Mjolnir, including the option to strike the hammer on something and revert to his normal, pre Beta Ray mind transfer, Korbinite form.

Bill is then informed that Surtur was behind the destruction of his whole galaxy, and is rightly PO’ed. He joins Asgard in its war against Surtur. He helps defend Earth while Thor, Odin and Loki take on Surtur in Asgard. When the battle was finished, Bill remained on Earth for a short time, bonding with various heroes including Iron Man and Sif, before returning to guard his people. A warrior’s work is never done.

I say thee Neigh!
I mean Nay!

Things were fine with Bill for a while, until Galactus destroyed the new Korbinite home world and killed all the remaining Korbinites. Mad with grief, Bill swore vengeance on Galactus. Galactus’ Herald the Silver Surfer, whom thought it was pretty much insane and futile to try to defeat the immortal Galactus, voiced this opinion to Bill. They fight for a bit, and Bill tells the Surfer he is going to destroy every world that Galactus seeks to feed on. Hm… starving Galactus, it’s just insane enough to work. Heavy emphasis on Insane. After a few successful planetary destructions, he loses the ability to wield Stormbreaker. Who knew destroying innocent planets removed one’s “Worthiness?” What? Everyone could tell? Well, then, stupid move, Bill. Bill then swaps Stormbreaker out for alien weaponry. He eventually finds Galactus, and finds the Devourer under attack by another alien species. It’s at this moment that Bill realizes the error of his endeavor and saves Galactus. Bill regains the ability to wield Stormbreaker, and Galactus, feeling one of those rare moments of gratitude, makes a Korbinite mate for him. Bill remains a close ally of his Oathbrother Thor and the Asgardian people. I haven’t read how he reacted to the new Thor, but if Thor Odinson approves of her, I imagine Bill will at least begrudgingly accept her. He’s the worthy Guardian of Korbin and of Earth, the powerful Beta Ray Bill.

He's a cyborg? Shocking, right?

Bill is a highly advanced alien superwarrior. His body is a genetically modified Korbin predatory beast that looks suspiciously like a horse. They also gave it extensive cybernetic upgrades. Bill’s mind was later transferred into the body, the first being to survive the process. Bill possesses immense strength, speed, durability, and stamina. Even before gaining Stormbringer he was physically on par with Thor. He’s also an expert tactician and hand-to-hand combatant. Stormbringer gives him the same powers as Thor, including flight, the ability to generate powerful lightning bolts, and allows Bill to survive in the most hostile environments like the vacuum of space. He also has command of Skuttlebutt, the sentient warship. I wouldn’t make fun of the name in front of Bill, just saying.

Beta Ray Bill is an underused Marvel character. I assume it’s because that most series focus mostly on the characters from Norse Myth. He has appeared once or twice, when Thor’s backstory is flushed out enough to have a horse-faced super-warrior flying around.

His major TV appearance was in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in the episode “The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill.” The show follows more or less the same plot, Thor finds the ship, explores it and Bill takes Mjolnir when Thor is separated from. He is taken to Asgard, befriends Thor and Sif and gets Stormbringer. The three battle Surtur’s fire demons and his new lieutenant Amora the Enchantress. He’s played by voice acting Heavyweight Steven Blum. Which is a little confusing because Blum also voices Wolverine and Red Skull with the same voice. I’d hate to see those three in the same room. No, wait, that would be pretty freaking awesome. He probably would have made another appearance had the show continued and the battle with Surtur actually happened. Sigh, if only.

Yeah, wouldn't want to face him in a cage match.

He also appeared in the Marvel movie Planet Hulk. In it, he replaces the Silver Surfer because of licensing issues. He chases several fugitives to Sakar, a planet that Hulk also was dumped on. Bill is enslaved and forced to battle other citizens of Sakar. After being freed, Bill offers to bring Hulk, but Hulk declines having found a home on Sakar.

He hasn’t appeared in any video games as himself, but he’s usually the alternate skin for Thor. So, he at least makes an appearance. 

I really enjoy Beta Ray Bill. He’s a clever mix of science and magic. It’s not the first time the mix has been done, look at Dr. Doom, but Bill is somewhat unique in that all of his abilities are designed to do one thing, make him a badass. He’s got a unique look, thanks to his horse-ish face, and a lot of power. He’s also got the honor of Thor, and the equally heavy burden of defending his species. Even his hammer Stormbreaker, while reminiscent of Mjolnir, is unique to him. It’s like the offspring of a hammer and an ax. Which, honestly does make it a more effective weapon, though I don’t recall seeing him use the bladed side. I hope that he can be included in future Marvel series. Though it will be difficult, given how heavily he relies on Thor’s mythos, and that Thor’s next movie is subtitled Ragnarok. Kind of hard to meet a dude after the apocalypse. We’ll just have to wait and see I guess. He’s the Robust, Righteous, and Brawny Beta Ray Bill. Next time, the X-man that got the axe too quick, Darwin. 

 http://www.comicvine.com/forums/gen-discussion-1/who-makes-the-best-superhero-duo-593727/

 http://es.marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Beta_Ray_Bill_%28Tierra-616%29

 http://marvel.wikia.com/Beta_Ray_Bill_%28Earth-8096%29

http://imgur.com/gallery/N01FW

 http://jadensadventures.wikia.com/wiki/Beta_Ray_Bill

 http://marvelanimated.wikia.com/wiki/Beta_Ray_Bill_%28Planet_Hulk%29