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Executioner (character)

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The Executioner
Skurge, the original Executioner, as depicted in Hulk #10 (August 1978).
Art by Bob Layton.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceJourney into Mystery #103 (April 1964)
Created byStan Lee (writer)
Jack Kirby (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoSkurge
SpeciesAsgardian Half-giant
Team affiliationsMasters of Evil
Mandarin's Minions
Legion of the Unliving
Einherjar (warriors of Valhalla)
Lethal Legion
PartnershipsLoki
Enchantress
Notable aliasesHans Grubervelt, The Evil One
AbilitiesSuperhuman strength, stamina, durability, and visual acuity
Extended lifespan
Use of enchanted axe

The Executioner is the name of three 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 Gjallarbrú so the heroes can escape 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

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The Executioner first appeared in Journey into Mystery #103 (April 1964), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.[3]

Fictional character biography

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Skurge

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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 Thor at the behest of Loki. He exiles Jane Foster to another dimension and tries to get Thor to surrender his hammer to him in exchange for Jane. Thor agrees to this, but when the Enchantress turns Skurge to a tree for bringing Foster back he releases Thor from the bargain, whereupon Thor returns the two to Asgard.[4] The Executioner and the Enchantress are exiled to Earth by Odin, where they learn of Heinrich Zemo from a newspaper. They become members of Zemo's original Masters of Evil and fight the Avengers. The Executioner disguises himself as a former aide of Zemo, and lures Captain America to Zemo's kingdom, while the Enchantress uses her powers to turn Thor against the Avengers. Later the Executioner helps Zemo escape from Captain America by knocking out Captain America.[5]

Once Amora the Enchantress set her sights on Heimdall as a potential lover, Skurge sought to ease the wounds of his heart in battle, joining Thor, Balder, and the Einherjar on a rescue mission in Hel. A group of souls belonging to living humans had been trapped there by Malekith the Accursed, and Hela had refused to permit them to return to Midgard (Earth).[6] Despite initial misgivings, Thor permitted Skurge to accompany the group. Skurge is tempted by Amora, who claims Heimdall had slain her. This was not Amora, but Mordonna, a shapeshifting sorceress in the employ of Hela. The disguise is revealed when Skurge decides to trust Balder more than the desires of his own heart. Hela whisks Mordonna away before Skurge can gain revenge.

Naglfar, the ship of the dead, is nearing ready to sail, and Hela promises Skurge a place of honor beside her on it at the battle of Ragnarok. Enraged at being manipulated, Skurge destroys the ship with his axe. The group is pursued out of Hel, with Skurge sacrificing himself to protect them from Hela. This honorable act of heroism has earned Skurge great respect across Asgard and beyond.[7]

Following his death, Skurge remains in Hel until Thor - currently cursed by Hela with brittle bones - 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 Hela to remove the curse, which she does before Thor can destroy Hel. Recognizing Skurge's honor and courage, Hela allows him to depart for Valhalla.[8] Skurge's spirit was briefly summoned from Valhalla by the Grandmaster as a member of the Legion of the Unliving.[9]

Brute Benhurst

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After Skurge's death, Amora gives the Bloodaxe to a mortal called Brute Benhurst, making him a replacement Executioner. Thor initially believes Benhurst to be a resurrected Skurge, as he wore a mask. Thor tries not to fight him until the Executioner attacks Kevin Masterson. Thor recognizes hitting a child as an ignoble thing which Skurge would never do, and defeats Executioner.[10]

Crazy Gang

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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.[11]

Daniel DuBois

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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."[12][13] It is later revealed that this Executioner is the son of Princess Python,[14] 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.[15]

Powers and abilities

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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 life force 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

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An alternate universe version of the Executioner from Earth-238 appears in Marvel Super-Heroes #377 as a servant of Mad Jim Jaspers.[16]

In other media

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Television

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Film

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Skurge the Executioner appears in Hulk vs. Thor.[17]

Marvel Cinematic Universe

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Karl Urban as Skurge in Thor: Ragnarok

Skurge appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portrayed by Karl Urban.[19]

Video games

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References

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  1. ↑ Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-1465455505.
  2. ↑ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains. New York: Facts on File. p. 125-126. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  3. ↑ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  4. 1 2 Journey into Mystery #103 (April 1964)
  5. ↑ The Avengers #7 (August 1964)
  6. ↑ Thor #360 (October 1985)
  7. ↑ Thor #362 (December 1985)
  8. ↑ Thor #382 (August 1987)
  9. ↑ The Avengers Annual #16 (October 1987)
  10. ↑ Thor #403 (May 1989)
  11. ↑ Excalibur #4 (January 1989)
  12. ↑ Richards, Dave (February 7, 2009). "NYCC: Cornell Talks "Dark Reign: Young Avengers"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009.
  13. ↑ Rogers, Vaneta (February 20, 2009). "Mark Brooks: Designing the Young Masters". Newsarama. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009.
  14. ↑ Dark Reign: Young Avengers #2 (August 2009)
  15. ↑ Dark Reign: Young Avengers #3 (September 2009)
  16. ↑ Marvel Super-Heroes #377 (September 1981)
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Skurge the Executioner Voices (Thor)". Behind The Voice Actors (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.). Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Comics Continuum: Marvel Super Hero Squad". Comics Continuum. July 28, 2009. Archived from the original on July 31, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  19. ↑ Strom, Marc (May 20, 2016). "Marvel Studios Confirms Stellar New Cast Members of the Highly Anticipated 'Thor: Ragnarok'". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  20. ↑ Elvy, Craig (September 22, 2021). "What If...? Every MCU Easter Egg In Episode 7". Screen Rant. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  21. ↑ Chabala, Ben (October 27, 2017). "'Thor: Ragnarok' Takes Marvel Games By Storm". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
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