Executioner (character)
The Executioner | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Journey into Mystery #103 (April 1964) |
Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Skurge |
Species | Asgardian Half-giant |
Team affiliations | Masters of Evil Mandarin's Minions Legion of the Unliving Einherjar (warriors of Valhalla) Lethal Legion |
Partnerships | Loki Enchantress |
Notable aliases | Hans Grubervelt, The Evil One |
Abilities | Superhuman strength, stamina, durability, and visual acuity Extended lifespan Use of enchanted axe |
The Executioner is the name of different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Skurge, an Asgardian, is originally depicted as a supervillain who wields a magic double-bladed battle axe. Skurge falls in love with the Enchantress and is frequently used in schemes by her and the trickster god Loki.[1] He is a long-time antagonist of Thor and other heroes of the Marvel universe and is a member of the original Masters of Evil.[2] Eventually, he joins the heroes of Asgard in a mission to Hel, where he sacrifices his axe to destroy Naglfar, the ship of the dead, and delays Ragnarok, sacrificing his life to hold the bridge at Gjallarbrú so the heroes can escape the forces of Hel. After a time trapped in Hel, he joins the honored dead in Valhalla.
The name was later used by two other characters: an axe-wielding android member of the Crazy Gang and a vigilante named Daniel DuBois, the son of Princess Python.
Skurge has made several appearances in media, such as animated television series, video games, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: Ragnarok (2017), in which he was portrayed by Karl Urban.
Publication history
The Executioner first appeared in Journey into Mystery #103 (April 1964), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.[3]
Fictional character biography
Skurge
Skurge was born in Jotunheim; he is the son of an unnamed Storm Giant and an unnamed Skornheim goddess, making him a half-giant. He later becomes a warrior, gaining the name Executioner after fighting in a war against the Storm Giants. Skurge has always had feelings for Amora, the Enchantress, and regularly aids her in various evil schemes to gain control of Asgard. However, the Enchantress only manipulates him, using her charms to keep Skurge under her thrall. Loki, the trickster god, also has used Skurge many times.
In his first appearance, the Executioner teams with the Enchantress to battle
The Executioner menaced Jane Foster, and fought
Apart from the Enchantress, Skurge attempted to establish an empire by the conquest of an alternate future 25th Century Earth. He battled the Hulk after he was accidentally transported there.[9]
He was reunited with the Enchantress, and joined the
He next led a Troll invasion of Asgard.[11] Odin banished him to the realm of Casiolena. Skurge abandoned the Enchantress to become Casiolena's co-ruler.[12] He led Casiolena's forces against the Defenders, and resumed his alliance with the Enchantress.[13]
Skurge attacked Dr. Strange alongside Enchantress, but they were defeated.
Skurge led an assault on Asgard, and fought Balder again.
Once Amora the Enchantress set her sights on
Following his death, he remains in Hel until Thor - currently cursed by Hela so that his bones would become brittle and never heal while simultaneously being immortal - assumes control of the Destroyer and attacks Hela's domain. Skurge attempts to use diplomacy to reach Thor's spirit inside the armor, but is knocked out by Thor. Unknown to all, this is all part of Thor's plan to force her to remove the curse, which she does before the thunder god can destroy Hel. Afterwards, Skurge tells Thor he guessed that Thor was truly in control when the Destroyer spared his life rather than killing him. Thor asks Skurge if there is anything he could do, and Skurge reminds Thor of his promise to have a drink in his name. Recognizing that Skurge's honor and courage belonged somewhere better, Hela allows him to depart her realm and releases him to Valhalla. Thor and Balder are said to have many drinks to Skurge's name.[21]
While there, his spirit was summoned from Valhalla by the
Once, Amora gave the Executioner's axe to a mortal man called Brute Benhurst. Thor, believing him Skurge (this second Executioner wore a mask), tried not to fight him until the Executioner hit Kevin Masterson (son of
Odin later recruits Skurge to aid Eric Masterson in fighting off the influence of the
Enchantress attempts to attack Yggdrasil to free Executioner from Valhalla, although doing so threatens all reality. She is stopped by Thor, Loki, and Balder, who convince her that her actions are dishonoring Skurge's memory.[28]
Kid Loki disguised himself as Enchantress to get Executioner out of Hel so that he can assist the Asgardians of the Galaxy in securing the Nagalfar Beacon.[29]
During the "
Crazy Gang
The Executioner is a silent android swathed in a long robe and hood and armed with an axe. It follows the commands of the Red Queen and seems to lack any real intelligence. It was destroyed under unknown circumstances,[31] but it had been destroyed and repaired before.[volume & issue needed]
Daniel DuBois
A character named The Executioner (Daniel DuBois) appears in Dark Reign: Young Avengers. He is described as "a rich and organized urban vigilante who hunts and kills criminal scum. And likes to hurt pets."[32][33] It is later revealed that this Executioner is the son of Princess Python,[34] and knows Kate Bishop from school, and is aware of her secret identity, knowledge that he uses to try to blackmail his way onto the team.[35]
Executioner is not aware of his mother's identity as Princess Python until it is actually pointed out to him. However, it may be that he was simply in denial about this matter, as Norman Osborn comments that if his mother was Princess Python, then he would like to think he would know and Kate Bishop immediately realizes who she is upon meeting her.[35]
Powers and abilities
Skurge possessed the superhuman abilities of a typical male Asgardian. Due to his unique hybrid physiology, with a half Storm-Giant and half Skornheimian pedigree, Skurge's physical strength, stamina and durability were considerably greater than those of the average Asgardian male. He also possessed superhuman visual acuity. Skurge was extremely long-lived, aging at a much slower pace than human beings, though not truly immortal. His body was highly resistant to physical damage, and he was immune to terrestrial diseases, toxins, and some magic. In the event of injury, Skurge's godly lifeforce would allow him to recover with a superhuman rate. Skurge had proficiency at hand-to-hand combat, and mastery of most Asgardian weapons. He would often fight wielding his large, enchanted, double-bladed battle axe that allowed him a number of abilities including cutting rifts into other dimensions and control over fire and ice that he could project at his enemies. Skurge also sometimes wore an enchanted impregnable horned helmet that completely covered his head. In his first appearance, Skurge demonstrated a 'super-human falcon hunting vision', that enabled him to find Jane Foster in a crowd.[4]
The second Executioner is a vigilante with no super powers.
Other versions
Earth-238
JLA/Avengers
Executioner is among the villains enthralled by Krona to defend his stronghold.[volume & issue needed]
In other media
Television
- Skurge the Executioner appears in "The Mighty Thor" segment of The Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Henry Comor.[citation needed]
- Skurge appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "Mental Organism Designed Only for Kisses!", voiced by Travis Willingham.[36]
- Skurge the Executioner makes non-speaking appearances in Prison 42.[citation needed]
- Skurge the Executioner appears in Ultimate Spider-Man, voiced again by Travis Willingham.[37]
- Skurge the Executioner appears in Avengers Assemble, voiced again by Travis Willingham.[37] In the two-part episode "Avengers No More", he appears as a member of the Cabal and helps them scatter the Avengers across time and space. In the episode "The Most Dangerous Hunt", he chains the Hulk and Black Panther together, ties the former's transformations to a control crystal, and hunts them across Asgard.
Film
- Skurge the Executioner appears in Hulk vs. Thor.[citation needed]
- Skurge appears in Asgard, she recruits Skurge and dubs him her Executioner. However, he slowly begins to have second thoughts and attempts to flee along with the rest of its population. When Hela attempts to stop them, Skurge sacrifices himself to save his fellow Asgardians by holding back Hela's forces.
Video games
- The Executioner appears as a boss in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by Peter Lurie.[37] This version is a member of Doctor Doom's Masters of Evil.
- The Executioner appears as a boss in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.[citation needed]
- The Executioner appears as a playable character in Marvel: Future Fight.[39]
References
- ISBN 978-1465455505.
- ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.[1]
- ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
- ^ a b Journey into Mystery #103. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The Avengers #7. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The Avengers #9. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Journey into Mystery #116-117. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Fantastic Four Annual #3. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Tales to Astonish #76–77. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The Avengers Annual #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Hulk #102
- ^ The Avengers #83. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The Defenders #4. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Marvel Two-In-One #6,7. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The Defenders #20. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thor #258-261. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thor #263-264. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thor #350. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thor #360. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thor #362. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thor #382. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Avengers Annual #16. Marvel Comics.
- ^ New Mutants #85. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thor #367, #375 and #376. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thor #440. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thor #403. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thunderstrike #23-24. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thor: God-Sized Special #1 (2008). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Asgardians of the Galaxy #1-5. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Asgardians of the Galaxy #10. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Excalibur #4. Marvel Comics.
- ^ NYCC: Cornell Talks “Dark Reign: Young Avengers”, Comic Book Resources, February 7, 2009
- ^ Mark Brooks: Designing the Young Masters, Newsarama, February 20, 2009
- ^ Dark Reign: Young Avengers #2. Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b Dark Reign: Young Avengers #3. Marvel Comics.
- ^ "Comics Continuum". Comics Continuum. 2009-07-28. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
- ^ a b c "Skurge the Executioner Voice - Mighty Thor franchise | Behind The Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 24, 2019. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - Marvel.com. Archivedfrom the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- Executioner at Marvel.com