Marvel Studios today released the first trailer for Thor: Ragnarok, the third solo Thor movie taking place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The trailer offered first looks at several characters making their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, including Hela, Valkyrie, and Grandmaster, but none stirred up quite as much excitement among fans as Karl Urban’s debut as Skurge the Executioner.
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A large part of why fans are buzzing is because the one scene of Skurge that made it into the trailer seems to directly reference the character’s most glorious moment, which comes at the conclusion of one of the more memorable stories in Walt Simonson’s run on Thor, which is widely considered to be the greatest Thor run ever. It is also a moment that may have implications for the plot of Thor: Ragnarok.
Skurge was the henchman of Amora the Enchantress. Skurge was entirely infatuated with Enchantress and would do practically anything she asked, though she continually strung him along in order to keep him under her control.
Skurge eventually decided he had enough of Enchantress’s games and allied himself with Thor, Balder, and the Einherjar – the heroes of Valhalla – on a mission to free a group souls that Hela had stolen and taken to Hel.
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Hela tries to convince Skurge to become one of her warriors on Nagelfar, the ship of the dead that will one day be used to invade Asgard and slay the gods. One of Hela’s minions disguises herself as Enchantress to convince Skurge to join them.
Despite Skurge’s apparent betrayal, Thor and Balder still succeed in their mission. However, as they approach the bridge Gjallerbru that marks the border of Hel, Hela appears before them. In an attempt to goad the Asgardians, she summons Skurge and boasts of his betrayal to Thor and Balder, but when Balder points out that the Enchantress is a fraud, Skurge turns on Hela and destroys Nagelfar.
Skurge rejoins Thor and Balder’s group and the reach Gjallerbru, but Hela summons the dead to stop them. Thor volunteers to stay back and hold the bridge, but Skurge knocks the god of thunder out. He then tells Balder that he is tired of being a joke and constantly being laughed at by Hel and Enchantress and everyone else. Balder has always been the only one to treat Skurge with respect, and so Skurge is determined to stay behind and hold the bridge himself.
Having lost his ax when he destroyed Nagelfar, Skurge takes two machine guns from the stock of Midgard weapons that Thor and company brought with them and sends the rest of the group on their way. What follows is an epic, dramatic, and tragic scene as Skurge goes down with guns literally blazing against the horde of dead.
Simonson’s epic narration sells the entire scene:
And though the Executioner stands alone, and the warriors of Hel seem numberless, not one sets foot upon the bridge across the river Gjoll. They sing no songs in Hel… nor do they celebrate heroes… for silent is that dismal realm and cheerless… but the story of the Gjallerbru and the god who defended it is whispered across the Nine Worlds. And when a new arrival asks about the one to whom even Hela bows her head… the answer is always the same… he stood alone at Gjallerbru… and that answer is enough.
Could we see Skurge’s sacrifice on the bridge of Gjallerbru in Thor: Ragnarok? If not, then that scene in the trailer is certainly an homage to it, but with Hela also in play in the film, it seems quite possible that the scene could be included.
In Thor: Ragnarok currently a 4.11 out of 5 ComicBook.com User Anticipation Rating, making it the seventh most anticipated upcoming comic book movie among ComicBook.com readers. How excited did the new trailer make you for Thor: Ragnarok? Let us know by giving it your own anticipation rating below.
In Marvel Studio’s Thor Ragnarok, Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok—the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization—at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela. But first, he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger—the Incredible Hulk!
Thor Ragnarok is directed by Taika Waititi from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Hopkins.
Thor: Ragnarok opens in theaters on Nov. 3, 2017.
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