It feels like every other time that
I’ve covered Thor or a related character I go years between them. But in the
last six months I think I’ve covered at least five of them. Or will by the time
the post after this comes out. Neat. Norse Mythology is something I’ve always
enjoyed and I like how Marvel has tweaked some of it to fit in with their unusual
reality. So last time we covered Amora the Enchantress, a powerful sorcerous
that just can’t seem to get that Thor is just not that into her. Today we’re
going to cover the guy that needed to learn that lesson, Skurge the Executioner.
Let’s get to it.
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| I think the Gun is his most favorite invention of all time. |
Skurge is a half Asgardian known
across the cosmos for his immense strength. Part of that is due to his unique physiology,
his father was a Storm Giant (a cousin species to Frost Giant’s like Loki) and his
mother was an Asgardian woman from the realm of Skornheim. It’s an Asgard adjacent
region where unspeakable horrors and killer predators are just part of an average
Tuesday. He earned his title after siding with Asgard in a bloody war with his
Storm Giant kin, whom he cut down with relative ease. Afterwards he traveled to
Asgard, met and fell madly in love with Amora the Enchantress. Not sure if it’s
a natural love or magically induced one, with Amora it’s pretty much a 50/50
shot. He joined her on her first attempt to win over Thor in his new human
guise of Donald Blake. When she was spurred, she called him up and had him “dispose”
of Jane Foster, Thor’s human love interest. He cut a whole into another dimension
and tosses her in. After, he tells Thor that if he wants her back, he has to
turn Mjolnir over to Skurge. I guess Skurge was the only one that remembered
Loki told them about what Thor’s been up to and that he wanted the Thunderers
hammer. What a surprise. Thor does hand Mjolnir, I think to everyone’s shock.
But, Amora is less then pleased when Skurge keeps his end of the bargain and
brings Jane back. She starts turning him into a tree, at which point he releases
Thor for their bargain. Thor get’s Mjolnir back and he knocks the twosome back to
Asgard. Only to be sent right back because banishing someone to the realm they’d
just left so they can continue to menace your son and his friends makes perfect
sense to Odin.
He spent the next few decades
following Amora and helping her with her schemes. Apparently Love makes Storm
Giant’s stupid or forgetful… I guess. Right after returning to Earth they found
out about Baron Zemo from a newspaper, tracked him down and helped him form the
original Masters of Evil. They worked with the Masters for several years,
attempting to kill Thor and his allies, The Avengers. Obviously, they were thwarted
repeatedly. He led several invasions of Trolls on Earth and Asgard but the monsters
are usually easily dispatched. I suppose calling up any of his dad’s relatives
among the Storm Giants for backup would be a bit awkward.
After decades of working with
Amora, Skurge’s heart took as much abuse as it could handle. The straw that
broke the camel’s back was seeing Amora drop her affection for Thor and shift
it to Heimdall, the guardian of the Bifrost. Apparently, he could handle her
loving the God of Thunder instead of him, but seeing her shift to someone other
than himself broke his heart. Sad. Wanting to drown his sorrows in glorious battle,
he joined Thor, Thor’s brother Balder and the Einherjar (warrior hero spirits
from Valhalla) on a mission to the realm of Hel to rescue some human souls sent
there by Malekith the Accursed and held in contempt by Hela. Apparently, Hela
is the sort to keep anyone in her realm once they’d been dropped off,
regardless of if they’re supposed to be there or not. While Thor was hesitant
to trust a man that had tried to kill him dozens of times, he decided to give
him a chance. They traveled into the bowels of Hel, battling ghosts and the
monsters from the crypt. Hela tried to trick Skurge into turning on his allies
by using a shapeshifter in the form of Amora. She lied to Skurge and said Heimdall
killed her and begged her true love to save her. While shaken by the vision,
Skurge is able to break the illusion by trusting Balder the Bright One over the
desires of his own heart. Who’d of thought a fella with the name like Skurge
the Executioner would be capable of emotional growth?
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| He probably thanks Odin everyday for that trip to Tex-Ass. |
While in Hel, they learn that the Naglfar, a
warship made entirely from the finger and toenails of the dead of Hel (gross
and totally part of the legend of Ragnarok), was nearly complete. This is bad
as it was one of the signs that Ragnarok was about to begin. Hela offered
Skurge a position as her #2 minion, feeling that the barely reformed villain
would do well under her leadership. Skurge decides to use his magic Bloodaxe to
shatter the ship, pushing back the Twilight of the Gods, if only for a little
while. The group beats a hasty retreat once they collected the imprisoned souls.
They’re able to cross the Gjallerbru, the bridge that connects Hel to the
outside world. Thor swears to hold the Bridge while the Mortals and his allies
escape. Wanting to make up for the years wasted serving Amora, Skurge knocks
Thor out, gives him to Balder and takes his place on the bridge. His last words
to the Bright One was a request that Thor and him raise a drink to Skurge’s
name once they get home. He defends the bridge with the Bloodaxe and a M16 rifle
one of the Einherjar lent him. Not a single one of Hela’s minions were able to
pass him until after the others departed. While he was eventually overrun, he
at least impressed Hela enough for her to give him a short eulogy. “He stood
alone at Gjallerbru. And that answer is enough.”
Skurge remained trapped in Hel
following his death, as Hela is loathed to let a soul go after she has it. He
may have remained their indefinitely if it weren’t for Thor. The Thunderer had
been cursed by Hela so that his bones were brittle and never heal while he was
still immortal. So, the result was he was in unending pain. To circumvent this,
he assumed control of the Destroyer Armor. The suit requires a potential wearer
to project their mind into it for it to move. In the Armor, Thor attacked Hel
and started wrecking the place. Skurge tried to talk Thor down, but Thor
ignored him, knocking his former opponent aside. It’s eventually revealed that
Thor was 100% in control but was playing up the crazy to force Hela into
lifting the curse. She does, eventually. Before he left, Thor asked Skurge if
there was anything he could do for his departed enemy. Skurge just reminded
Thor that he needs to raise a glass to him with Balder. As Thor and his little
brother toasted Skurge the Executioner, Hela decided that his honor and courage
were enough for him to earn an exemption from Hel. Hela might be a villain, but
she’s not made of stone. She released his soul and he was able to transcend to
Valhalla. I wonder if he ever learned that upon hearing of his death, Amora
realized she did have feelings for him and mourned his passing. While this
marked the end of his regular appearances, Skurge seems always willing to lend
a hand when the Einherjar are called to arms. He’s usually first in line to
make an appearance and fight the foes of Asgard.
Skurge power comes from being half
Storm Giant and Half Asgardian. The mix made him immensely strong even by Asgard
standards. He hit with the same force as Thor, who’s in the upper echelon of
Asgardian. He’s incredibly long lived like all Asgardians, being well over a
thousand years old but not appearing as more then 35 or so. His body can heal
incredibly rapidly, and is highly impervious to damage. He also owned the
Bloodaxe. This magic artifact allowed him to teleport or literally cut holes in
reality. It’s one of only a handful of weapons that can easily kill a God-level
being. It can also project a fiery, icy, or gale force blasts. He can also deflect
bullets with it.
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| The Bloodaxe sings for... well, you know, blood. |
Skurge has appeared about as often as
his other half, Amora. Its one of those partnerships that seems to have stood
the test of time. Also like his partner, while he’s not based on any character
from known Norse myth, I also wouldn’t be shocked to discover someone like him
in a “thought forgotten” myth or something. What? A powerful Giant warrior,
trying to earn the heart of a fickle goddess while helping her in her schemes
to woo the God of Thunder, for him to eventually be struck down and only then
his love discovered that he did hold a special place in her heart. That’s the
sort of tragedy that the ancients ate up. Maybe more the Greeks then the Norse,
but, hey, it’s possible.
Skurge appeared in The Avengers:
Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. He’s Amora’s silent muscle throughout the series.
He often ended up fighting Thor or the Hulk when they faced off against the
Avengers. In the season 1 finale, Hulk is able to beat his butt across one of
the nine realms and steal the Bloodaxe from him. Afterwards he upgraded to
rifles. After Amora was forcibly recruited by Surtur, he was imprisoned with
the rest of the Masters of Evil in the extra-dimensional prison 42. He was among
several villains that helped the heroes when natives of the Negative Zone where
42 was located, led by Annihilus, and even saved Thor’s life from several of
the extra-dimensional bugs. In gratitude, Thor told Skurge about what had
happed to Amora, and promised to give him a chance to help save her if the
chance arises. Thor’s a good dude.
He made an appearance in Disney’s Ultimate
Spider-Man. Fun fact, this version speaks and was voice by Travis
Willingham whom also voiced Thor on the sister show Avengers Assemble.
In the episode he led a version of the Wild Hunt through New York hunting
Spider-Man, whom been turned into a Spider-Ham by a hotdog that Loki had enchanted.
The weird part of that sentence for me is knowing that Marvel either could do
or totally did that plot line at one time or another. So weird. Peter is
protected by his team consisting of Power Man, Iron Fist, Nova, and White Tiger
with an assist from Thor. After surviving to sunset, returning to normal and
punching Loki in the face, Skurge admits Spider-Man led him on a grand chase and
tips his metaphorical hat to him. He appeared in the background of several episodes
after this point, and made an appearance as part of a new Cabal in Avengers
Assemble. Their group consisted of himself, Arnim Zola, the Enchantress,
Kang the Conqueror and the Leader.
A super condensed version of Skurge’s
entire plot arc appeared in Thor: Ragnarok. He’s introduced as Loki’s
replacement for Heimdall when the God of Lies took on Odin’s form and rule
Asgard for a few years. He’s portrayed by Karl Urban. This version appears to
be kind of dumb and incredibly vain but not an out and out horrible person. Other
than almost letting Thor die on Muspelheim because he was showing off his M16
rifles that he got from Tex-Ass to some Asgard-skanks. When Hela arrives on
Asgard, she offers him a job as her Executioner which he takes up. I got that
this was more a form of self-preservation for him than an actual from the heart
decision. It becomes pretty clear within minutes of him taking up the Job that
he regrets that decision. He flees Asgard with the rest of the citizens when
Thor shows up with a big arc ship. Seeing that the group would be overrun by
Hela’s army long before they could escape, Skurge opens fire with his M16s on
the undead force. He leaped into the fray shouting “For Asgard!” He’s able to kill…
er re-kill several of the undead host charging the Asgardians. Hela, unimpressed
with his heel face turn, executes the Executioner.
Skurge is a pretty standard
villain, much like his love, Amora. I’ve seen him as deadly serious and humorless
in Avengers: EMH, a boisterous Asgardian hunter in Avengers Assemble
and a bit of a loveable oaf in Ragnarok. It seems like they can’t decide
what the best way to present him as. His kind of tragic yearning for Amora is a
bit depressing to be honest. He does whatever she asks, fights and kills for
her, all in the hopes that she’ll decide that the man that offers his heart to
her is better than the guy that’s said no 500 times. Skurge is a glutton for
punishment. I did like the ultimately noble sacrifice that he made in both the comics
and the movies. I’m a sucker for villain redemption story arcs. That and his
magic axe is really cool. I mean it shoots fire and ice, can kill Gods and is
so corrupted by his soul it literally drives mortals mad with its power. I mean
how awesome is that? I’d be happy seeing him and Amora in other Thor stories. For
our final Thor mini-theme week we’ll talk about a much newer but destructive
addition to Thor’s rogues gallery, Gorr the God Butcher.
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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero
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