Tuesday, July 11, 2017

He Stood Alone At Gjallabru

 
Karl Urban has been cast in the role of Skurge the Executioner, a long time villain from the Thor comics. He was the henchman of the Enchantress, another major Thor adversary. Usually he got his ass kicked by Thor even though he had a mythical Axe that is the equal of Mjolnir, Thor's enchanted hammer. In one of the greatest story arcs, a wounded Thor and the army of Asgardians and human soldiers try to rescue thousands of human souls from Hela's realm where all the dead go in Norse mythology. After using his enchanted Axe to destroy Hela's giant ship, an action that cost him his beloved Axe, he makes the ultimate sacrifice. 
 
 
As the heroes tried to escape across the Bridge of Gjallabru, the last post before freedom, Thor volunteered to stay behind and hold the bridge for as long as he could, giving time for the good guys to escape from the army of demons pursuing them. In that moment Skurge knocks out Thor from behind and says that HE will take Thor's place. It was one of the best last stands in comic book history and I will squee like a little girl when they replicate that scene in the movie which is the only reason to include the character in the first place. His heroic sacrifice will have them all crying in the aisles. Yes their are automatic weapons involved but trust me, it all WORKS in the context of the story. It was the crowning moment of Walt Simonson's classic run.
 
 
 
Skurge, an Asgardian was originally depicted as a supervillain that wielded a magic double-bladed battle axe. Skurge fell in love with the Enchantress and was frequently used in schemes by her and the trickster god Loki. He was a long-time antagonist of Thor and other heroes of the Marvel universe and was a member of the original Masters of Evil. Eventually, he joined the heroes of Asgard in a mission to Hel, where he sacrificed his axe to destroy Naglfar, the ship of the dead, and delay Ragnarok, and sacrificed his life to hold the bridge at Gjallarbrú so the heroes could escape the forces of Hel. After a time trapped in Hel, he joined the honored dead in Valhalla
 




6 comments:

j-swin said...

LOVES ME SOME URBAN!!! He's done a great job as Bones, he was amazing as Dredd and his show Almost Human deserved more than just one season. I hope the rumers of Dredd 2 are real.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

I love it when bad guys do the right and heroic thing in the end. Glad he went to Valhalla.

Cal's Canadian Cave of Coolness said...

Urban has been great in everything he did even very early in his career. Almost Human was a very good show. Fuck you FOX. It was such a cool think Debar, especially after seeing him as a bad guy all those years.

jester59388 said...

Now THOSE are some great comics! Simonson's run on Thor is magnificent and these few pages are a shining example of why it deserves every accolade it has received in the past 25 years.

And I can't close this without also joining you in a resounding "FUCK YOU FOX!" for prematurely cancelling Almost Human. And yet the FOUR Gordon Ramsey shows (for example) stay on ... and on ... and on... season after season Fox obviously wouldn't know quality television if it bit them in the nuts. They are the quickest network with the axe for niche shows. I really wish SyFy would have picked it up. Urban and Ealy were excellent and the show deserved a better chance.

DrGoat said...

Agree with all. I guess the Lord of the Rings was the first time I saw him as an actor. Y
But yep, great Bones.

Cal's Canadian Cave of Coolness said...

Oh yeh. He was so good in LOTR. He's just a great actor.