Skurge was an Asgardian warrior who was tasked with becoming the guardian of the Bifrost Bridge by Loki following the banishment of Heimdall. When Loki was revealed to have been ruling Asgard in secret, Skurge was demoted and made the janitor, however he was later recruited by Hela to become her personal Executioner. However, Skurge's disillusion and inner conflict of his new position upon seeing her brutality against her own people and the threat she posed to the Nine Realms ultimately made him turn against the Goddess of Death. During his final moments, Skurge fought Hela's entire army of the Berserkers and then allowed all of his people to survive the Destruction of Asgard at the cost of his own life. These actions also finally made Skurge a hero of Asgard.
Biography
Early Life
Battle of Vanaheim
Born in Asgard to a stone mason father and his wife, Skurge had one ambition throughout his young life, to prove himself as an Asgardian warrior worthy of being remembered. Skurge trained to eventually become a soldier in the Asgardian Army, prepared to sacrifice his own life for the protection of the throne and his fellow Asgardians. As a soldier of Asgard, Skurge fought alongside Thor, Lady Sif and all the Warriors Three during the Battle of Vanaheim against the Marauders during the Marauders' War. Despite fighting alongside one another in Vanaheim, Thor had no idea who Skurge was despite Skurge holding the memory close to his heart.[1]
Bifrost Guardian
Replacing Heimdall
Skurge is named the Guardian of the Bifrost
- "Heimdall was an idiot. This job should of made him rich. Now the job ain't easy, but it does have its benefits. The Bifrost gives me access to everything the Nine Realms has to offer, I mean it's all mine for the taking. Behold! My stuff."
- ―Skurge to Asgardian Ladies[src]
Skurge was finally given his own long awaited opportunity to prove himself when Loki, who was currently still disguised as Odin and was ruling Asgard, banished Heimdall, claiming it to be due to neglecting his duty of protecting Asgard. As a result of Heimdall's banishment Loki then made Skurge the newest guardian of the Bifrost Bridge and was given possession of Hofund. He was also assigned to announce Thor's arrival whenever Thor had returned back to Asgard since the disguised Loki granted Thor independence allowing him to travel between all the Nine Realms as he pleased to do so.
Skurge shows off his collection of items
In reality, this was secretly to give Loki a warning that Thor was on his way back so Loki would have time to switch back to Odin's strict personality. While Skurge resided in Heimdall's Observatory, he took advantage of the new role to impress women as well as to travel to all locations, obtaining many items to add to his collection, including a pair of M-16 Rifles from Earth which he named Des and Troy, with Skurge claiming that when put together, they would destroy.[1]
Thor's Return
Skurge showing off to his beautiful dates
One day while still on duty, Skurge was again personally entertaining two Asgardian ladies inside of Heimdall's Observatory as he began boasting about how Heimdall was a fool for not taking advantage of having complete access to all of the Nine Realms. Skurge then showed off his collection of stolen items to both of the girls, including a Shake Weight before showing them Des and Troy which particularly impressed them.
Skurge is covered with Fire Dragon blood
However, Skurge's showing off ended when Thor, who was currently under attack in Muspelheim, called for transport. Because he was distracted, Skurge missed the initial call until one of his companions pointed it out. When Skurge finally activated the Bifrost Bridge and Thor came through, followed by the head of a Fire Dragon that had been chasing him which sprayed its blood everywhere, causing his completely horrified companions to leave in utter disgust.
With both of his beautiful companions having run away, the irritated Skurge confronted Thor over scaring them away and drenching his Observatory in Dragon blood. When Thor questioned who Skurge was, he reminded him of how they had previously fought together during the Battle of Vanaheim where they had battled against all the vast armies of Marauders, although Thor had clearly still struggled to remember Skurge as Thor then asked of Heimdall's whereabouts.
Skurge then explained about Heimdall's banishment and that he was now the Guardian of the Bifrost ever since he had gone. Thor then flew away to see Odin, ignoring the fact that Skurge was meant to announce any arrivals to Odin first, unaware they were actually made by Loki in order to prepare him if Thor had arrived. Skurge was then forced to awkwardly run across the Rainbow Bridge to announce his arrival, hoping to arrive before the king just before Thor did.
Skurge fails to annouce Thor's arrival in time
Skurge eventually made his way to announce Thor, only to be too late, as Odin was revealed as Loki, which made him furious. Irritated that Skurge had failed to give him enough warning, Loki reminded him of how Skurge had been given just one job, to announce Thor's arrival, and Skurge had failed to do even that. Skurge then watched as Thor then used Mjølnir to force Loki to confess to Odin's current location on Earth as they both went to bring him back home.[1]
Hela's Return
Recruited by Hela
With Loki's deception finally revealed, Skurge was removed from his position as guardian of the Bifrost Bridge and was given the task of cleaning up all the Fire Dragon's blood which was covering almost the entire floor and walls of their Observatory. Under the supervision of Volstagg and Fandral, Skurge was busy mopping the floor when the Goddess of Death, Hela, had returned to Asgard, much to everyone's surprise.
Skurge chooses to follow Hela's new rule
Volstagg demanded to know what happened to Thor and Loki who they had expected to come through the Bifrost, however Hela had refused to answer and responded by launching her Necroswords at the warriors, killing them both in seconds while Skurge looked on in horror. As Hela walked over to him,. Skurge claimed to only be the janitor, impressing Hela with his survival skills which convinced her to recruit him to help her in finally overthrowing all of Asgard.
Skurge chooses to follow Hela's new rule
With no other possible choice that would result in his survival having seen the massacre of two members of the Warriors Three, Skurge reluctantly got back onto his feet and followed behind Hela, leaving the bodies of Volstagg and Fandral behind. Skurge then followed Hela as she walked down the Rainbow Bridge with the intention of taking over all of Asgard and claiming the Asgardian Palace as her own, leaving Hofund behind still inside the Observatory.
Skurge overlooks Hela's murderous rampage
They were approached by the entire Einherjar army who had come to attempt to stop Hela from achieving her goals. However, Skurge then rejoined Hela after she had single-handedly slaughtered all of the Einherjar with considerable ease, killing the soldiers and bringing down the Asgardian Skiffs with her own Necroswords. The horrified Skurge was then left to walk around the field of corpses while Hela delighted in her complete and utter victory in the battle.
Skurge was left completely helpless as he then watched Hela brutally slaughter Hogun who remained as the last soldier standing at the end of the horrifyingly brutal Siege of Asgard before Hela decided to return to her Palace. During all this utter violence, Skurge was still completely horrified and ashamed of the ruthlessness that he was standing by of, but at the same time wanted to keep himself safe so he silently continued with Hela towards the throne room.[1]
The Executioner
Skurge is shown the true history of Asgard
Skurge and Hela then made it to the Throne Room, where Hela then started to talk about how everything that people believed about Odin and his rule were all lies that were made into a fresco. Hele used her Necroswords to completely destroy the fresco and reveal a different one which had been hidden underneath that depicted Hela and Odin Building their Empire through destruction and war.
Skurge is taken down inside of Odin's Vault
The two then went into Odin's Vault where Skurge admired the great treasures that Odin kept there, only to witness Hela casually pushing over the Infinity Gauntlet and declaring it to be a fake, noting that most of the items in the Vault were fakes. Skurge then watched on as Hela had called the Casket of Ancient Winters weak and the Crown of Surtur smaller than she had expected it to be, only showing small interest in the Tesseract which she claimed was not bad.
Skurge watches as Berserkers are resurrected
Skurge watched on as Hela found what she had been looking for as she showed him the Eternal Flame, taking the flame into her hand. Hela then proceeded to smash through the floor and found scores of dead Einherjar buried under the Vault. Skurge then stayed in the Vault and watched as Hela then used the true power of the Eternal Flame to revive her Berserkers and Fenris, giving her a terrifying army of the undead which Skurge was now forced to serve alongside.
Skurge tells Hela of his desire to prove himself
Having wiped out Asgard's defence and resurrected her own army, Hela then took over the throne as Queen of Asgard. During this time, Skurge informed her of a bunch of Asgardians were trying to knock down the doors and overthrow Hela. Upon sending her Berserkers to deal with them, Hela then asked Skurge to tell her about himself. He started talking about his family history but Hela immediately stopped him, explaining that she wanted to know about his ambition.
Hela appoints Skurge as her own Executioner
Skurge then told her that he only ever wanted the chance to prove himself as a warrior. Hearing this, Hela told Skurge of how previous Kings of Asgard had used personal Executions, with Hela herself having been Odin's Executioner. Hela then decided to make Skurge her own personal executioner, telling this that this would be a great honour and she made him a Bloodaxe to become his new weapon of choice so the two could then finally begin their conquest.
They then went towards Heimdall's Observatory with the intention of going through the Bifrost Bridge and beginning their conquest of all the other Nine Realms so Hela could become all powerful. However when they arrived, they discovered that the Hofund was gone, having seemingly been taken by Heimdall, meaning that they now could not proceed with the plan to take over the realms. Hela had then ordered Skurge to gather the Asgardians who were reeling against her.[1]
Threatening Asgard
Skurge the new Executioner of Asgard
Skurge gathered the Asgardians who had been rebelling against their new Queen and then demanded that somebody finally confess to the location of Hofund, otherwise there would have to be consequences, indicating towards Fenris. When no one in the entire crowd had spoken up, Hela then singled out one of them and ordered Skurge to execute her in front of everybody, which he felt uneasy about as he did not want to kill anyone, let alone an innocent woman.
Skurge is told to execute an innocent woman
Skurge was at first reluctant to do as he had been instructed by Hela, but knew to continue protecting himself he had to kill the innocent woman regardless of his personal feelings. While the horrified crowd looked on helplessly, Skurge raised up his Bloodaxe and prepared to execute the innocent woman. Fortunately someone in the crowd had finally spoken out, revealing the true location of the sword, stopping Skurge from killing an innocent woman as Hela had wanted.
Skurge and Hela locate the hidden Asgardians
The two then made their way to a mountain that Heimdall was hiding all of the other Asgardians in who also challenged Hela's claim to the throne of Asgard. As Skurge watched from the sidelines, still armed with his axe in case their was any resistance, Hela proceeded to use all her Necroswords to break down the entrance, causing the large doorway to fall before them creating a bridge for Skurge and Hela to cross with ready to confront Heimdall and all the others.
The two then entered to find everyone had escaped and were already heading towards the Bifrost Bridge. Before they could investigate any further however, suddenly they heard clanging sounds coming from the Asgardian Palace where Thor was banging Gungnir on the floor in order to call to Hela. While Hela then approached Thor to answer the challenge, Skurge went onto the Rainbow Bridge, knowing that soon Heimdall would attempt to transport with all the Asgardians.[1]
Battle of the Rainbow Bridge
Skurge leading the entire army of Berserkers
Skurge was then able to trap Heimdall and all of the rest of the still escaping Asgardians on the Rainbow Bridge as they were trying to get to freedom. While Fenris stopped them from reaching Heimdall's Observatory, Skurge then sent in the army of Berserkers to charge them, in hopes to retrieve the Hofund from him to continue Hela's conquest. While all the Berserkers fought the Asgardians, Skurge did not actually fight as he only sided with Hela only to survive and not kill his people.
Skurge decides to escape from Hela's forces
While the fight had initially gone Skurge and Hela's way as the armies of the Berserkers soon overwhelmed the Asgardians, when Loki and the Sakaaran Rebellion had arrived, they offered up valuable backup before Thor returned and destroyed the army. While the Asgardians were being transported onto their ship for freedom, Skurge decided to put down his Bloodaxe and before making his escape, knowing he would not survive if he continued to side with Hela's armies.
Skurge hides away with the other Asgardians
Attempting to get away without being seen, Skurge then disguised himself by putting on a large cloak and hood to hide his armour and head tattoos before he then bordered the Statesman, continuing his cowardliness to only do what helped him. Skurge then watched on as more of the Asgardians got on board, with several women and children sitting beside him while Thor and Heimdall, along with the help of Korg and Miek continued keeping Berserkers at bay.[1]
Saving the Asgardians
Skurge makes his final stand for Asgard
- "For Asgard!"
- ―Skurge[src]
Just as the Statesman had begun to take off, Hela managed to stop it by using her Necroswords to create a large spike that anchored it to the Rainbow Bridge. As the Berserkers then began to climb up and eliminate the guards on the ship, making their way towards the innocent women and children. Unwilling to allow this to happen, Skurge revealed himself, using Des and Troy to destroy the incoming enemies, but knowing they would not stop coming, he jumped out, sacrificing himself.
Skurge defeats Hela's army of Berserkers
As he leaped from the Statesmen, Skurge's shots from Des and Troy destroyed Hela's spike, allowing the ship to be freed. Trapped on the Bridge, Skurge looked up at the departing ship, accepting his fate, but knowing that he was now finally doing the right thing in keeping the Asgardians safe from harm. He then began to mow down the horde of Berserkers on the Bridge with his rifles with great ease as their bodies shattered from the bullets.
Skurge is finally killed by Hela's necrosword
Hela noticed Skurge's change in sides and was actually intrigued by watching him fight, however this was then redundant when he ran out of bullets and slowly was overcome with Berserkers. Skurge then used his rifles as clubs to defeat the army, which he then managed to destroy all of them before he called out to Hela. Just as Skurge then came face to face with Hela, she responded by unhesitatingly killing Skurge by launching a Necrosword straight through his chest.[1]
Legacy
Proving Himself
Skurge's sacrifice proved to be crucial for his kin's survival as they were able to flee Asgard due to Skurge's distraction and it appears that his people, even Heimdall, finally saw Skurge as a hero, as they looked sad when Hela killed Skurge with a Necrosword.[1]
Personality
Despite siding with Hela when she took power in Asgard, Skurge was conflicted and disillusioned with his decision and questioned if his hunger for power and desire to survive is worth the suffering of his kin as all he ever wanted was to be respected and not to be the executioner of a tyrant. Eventually, he proves to have morals that overpowered his concern for himself and desire for power, while being content with the fact that he was finally doing something significant and his people would finally respect and recognize him as the hero that allowed them to survive, as seen by how he willingly sacrificed himself to allow his people to flee Hela and Asgard. The fact that he dared oppose the Goddess of Death proves Skurge was also capable of being very brave when he wants it.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Asgardian Physiology: As an Asgardian, it can be assumed that Skurge possesses all of the various superhuman attributes that are common among the race, such as:
- Superhuman Strength: Like all Asgardians, Skurge is superhumanly strong and possesses strength greater than that of a normal human being. This was shown when he easily wielded Hofund to activate the Bifrost Bridge for Thor's return from defeating Surtur or when he wielded two M16 assault rifles and fired them akimbo with ease.
- Superhuman Durability: Skurge's body is much more resistant to physical harm than the body of a human being.
- Superhuman Speed: Skurge can move and run faster than a normal human being. When Thor returned from defeating Surtur and went to "Odin," he arrived to find Loki minutes later.
- Superhuman Agility: Skurge naturally possesses greater agility, dexterity, balance, and body coordination than that of a normal human being.
- Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite his body's resistance, Skurge can be injured like any other Asgardian. However, his metabolism enables him to rapidly regenerate damaged bodily tissue with greater speed and efficiency than a human being is capable of.
- Longevity: Like all Asgardians, Skurge ages at a rate that is much slower than that of a human being.
Abilities
- Expert Marksman: Skurge is shown being able to easily gun down Hela's Berserkers with a pair of assault rifles.
- Combatant: Skurge has proficient combat skills, for he survived the Battle of Vanaheim and can take down several Berserkers before being killed by Hela.
Equipment
Weapons
- "I'm particularly fond of these. I pulled 'em out of a place in Midgard called Tex-as. I even named them. Des and Troy. You see, when you put them together... they destroy."
- ―Skurge[src]
Skurge arming himself with Des and Troy
- Des and Troy: Skurge wields a pair of M16A1 assault rifles that he retrieved in Texas, weapons traditionally adopted for Humans.
- Hofund: When Skurge was appointed the Guardian of the Bifrost, he was given Hofund which allowed him the ability to open the Bifrost Bridge. Heimdall eventually regained Hofund after Skurge was deprived of the role.
- Bloodaxe: After Hela's return to Asgard, she made Skurge her Executioner and crafted the Bloodaxe with her powers and gave it to him.
Skurge's Stuff
Skurge shows off his personal collection
During his time as Guardian of the Bifrost Bridge, Skurge took the opportunity to transport anywhere to steal items and add them to his collection, which he used to impress women.
- Shake Weight: Skurge kept a Shake Weight, and used it while in company with several Asgardian women.
- Vespa: Skurge brought a motor powered scooter manufactured from Earth. The appearance of this vehicle is a Vespa brand that is evolved from a single model motor scooter.
Relationships
Family
Allies
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Enemies
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Trivia
- In the comics, Skurge fell in love with Amora the Enchantress, who began to use him as a bodyguard and in her various schemes to seduce Thor, conquer Asgard and help Loki.
- Despite being called the Executioner, Skurge isn't seen executing anyone in Ragnarok, and only briefly executed Hela's vision by collecting the remaining Asgardians before Hela.
- Skurge's death is a direct reference to his last stand from "Thor #362" (December 1985), where he fended off Hela's army with a pair of M16A1 assault rifles, at the cost of his life, to save the Asgardians from Hela's Army.
Behind the Scenes
- On Skurge aligning with Hela, Karl Urban described it as "a working relationship", and said, "I think he makes a deal with the devil. And that's when the rubber meets the road... He’s her henchman. He does the dirty jobs. And that sort of is something he has to – it plays on his conscience. It crossed a certain moral line." [3]
- Karl Urban states that: "Skurge quickly realizes that he either has to join her or die. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's bright enough to make the right choice for him. He's a survivalist."[4]
- Ryan Green was a stunt double for Karl Urban in the role of Skurge.
References
| Preceded by: Heimdall |
Guardian of the Bifrost Bridge Skurge 2017 |
Succeeded by: - |
| Preceded by: Hela |
Executioner of Asgard Skurge 2017 |
Succeeded by: - |
