Surtur (Marvel)
Surtur is a demonic comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Surtur
He was the lord and master of the fiery natives of Muspell. (Thor v1 #349) Among his spawn were the Fire-Trolls who ruled as sub-lords of Muspelheim. (Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme v1 #35)
At the dawn of the world, Surtur was prophecised with destroying all of existence in the future where he would ignite his Sword of Doom on the Eternal Flame of Destruction which was dictated to by the fates. A young Odin along with his brothers Ve and Vili arrived in Muspelheim on a period of discovery where the Fire Demons brought the three sons of Bor before Surtur. They questioned the fire giant about his role in ending existence and he confirmed the prophecy where he showed the Eternal Flame to them. This led to the three Asgardians challenging the demon of fire and threatening to destroy the Eternal Flame to prevent the fulfilment of the prophecy. Surtur revealed that the flame could not be smothered and in his anger he was ready to destroy the three gods. The Asgardians fought off the Fire Demons and with Ve along with Vili merging with their brother Odin to empower him into a giant form to fight Surtur in a battle between their swords. This fight was so devastating that it knocked the three Asgardians back into their normal forms whilst causing Surtur's Sword of Doom to shatter and leading to him tumbling into his Sea of Flames. Odin and his brothers then stole the Eternal Flame and attempted to escape the Kingdom of Fire with an angry Surtur along with a horde of demons in pursuit of them. To ensure their brothers escape, Ve and Vili made a last stand to hold off Surtur where they collapsed the doorway to Muspelheim as they perished. A grieving Odin was empowered by the lifeforce of his slain brothers which became the Odin-Power with him taking the Eternal Flame to Asgard in the hope that it would prevent Surtur from ever accomplishing his prophecised role. (Thor v1 #349)
Long ago, the Trolls forged an alliance with the Fire Demon Surtur with the goal of the destruction of Asgard. All-Father Odin learnt of this plot and made his way to the Kingdom of the Trolls where he defeated them. This led to his eventual confrontation with Surtur himself with the demon attempting to entangle the Asgardians with fiery snakes that emerged from his hand. However, King Odin managed to fight off his foe who had to maintain his distance. Without being able to challenge Odin directly, Surtur decided to strike at the one thing his enemy loved namely the mortal world of Earth itself. The Fire Demon went to Earth and embedded himself into the planetary core where he discharged a large sum of mass that became the Moon. However, Odin arrived in time after forging the Rainbow Bridge where he spun the planetary core at such speeds to create a spinning rotation that trapped Surtur inside the core. Thus, Surtur became an eternal prisoner in the core where he had to give nourishing heat to the world he had tried to destroy. In the hope of being freed in the future, Surtur gifted Odin with a winged horse thinking that this would appease the Asgardian King. (Journey into Mystery v1 #99)
An unknown time ago, Surtur observed the growing divide between the Aesir and Vanir races of Asgardians. All-Father Odin had intended to force the Vanir to unite with his people in order to bring all of Asgard under his rule. Freyr of the Vanir refused but was unable to stand up to Odin's forces causing him to secretly with Surtur to aid him. The Fire Demon empowered the Vanir with his power causing them to fight but they lost the war against the Aesir leading to Odin uniting the two tribes through his marriage with Freyja. (Mighty Thor v1 #18)
Ragnarok
A Norwegian cult managed to acquire the Amulet of Surtur that they intended to use to revive the fire giant on Midgard. (Thor v2 #36) At Oslo, Surtur manifested in the realm of Midgard with an army of demons of the flame that were opposed by the warriors of Asgard and their allies. Due to Odin's weakened state, he was unable to bring his power against the fire giant and instead summoned various allies into the battle such as Hercules, Beta Ray Bill and Kurse. The battle turned to the Asgardians side when Thor who was recently healed by the Designate entered the fray. Combining Tarene's power with his own, Odin charged at Surtur with the attack seemingly killing both the fire giant and the All-Father. (Thor v2 #40)
Everything Burns
Within Limbo, Surtur consumed any demons in his path in order to build his strength in order to escape this realm. In this time, Balder the Brave rode with seven other dead Asgardians to slay any demons in order to keep Surtur trapped within this timeless land. By the second war of the Serpent, Loki arrived in Limbo in order to enlist the aid of Surtur against Cul Borson. (Journey into Mystery v1 #626)
As part of his scheme, he intended not to only destroy Asgard but all of reality to succumb to his flame by lighting the fire from Otherworld whose connection to all realities would achieve this feat. (Mighty Thor v1 #20)
Surtur later re-manifested again back in his realm but he came to find that his sword Twilight would not respond to him again. Whilst Sindr ruled Muspelheim, Surtur looked to make himself worthy of his sword once more. To accomplish that, he looked to battle a strong opponent and defeat them to prove his worth once more. Such a moment came to pass when Beta Ray Bill travelled to the infernal realm to claim Twilight in order to restore his old power after his own hammer Stormbreaker was shattered. Arriving at the sword's location, he came to find Surtur waiting for him where the two battled with the fire giant looking to effortlessly defeat his opponent. However, the Korbinite wanted a fair duel between them leading to Surtur deciding to grant his wish and he shrank himself to humanoid size so that the two could fight one another. Initially, he seemed to had overwhelmed Beta Ray Bill and nearly killed his compatriots but they gave him an opening to wound Surtur. The fire giant then decided to restore himself to his true size in order to kill his enemies but was badly injured when Skuttlebutt transformed herself into a gun that was fired at fiery villain. In his weakened state, Beta Ray Bill then was successful in claiming Twilight and killing Surtur where he and his friends were taken back to the normal universe by the Valkyries. (Beta Ray Bill v1 #5)
Overview
Personality and attributes
The fire colossi once claimed to be referred to as the Father of All Cataclysms. (Mighty Thor v1 #20) Surtur was also called the Inventor of Flame and the Lord of Ragnarok. (Mighty Thor v2 #22)
He was noted to hate the All-Father Odin due to the Asgardian tricking and imprisoning him long ago. (Thor v2 #40)
Surtur's hunger was said to be insatiable and had a ferocity beyond the understanding of god or man. (Thor: The Rage of Thor v1 #1) The demon of fire waited for the end of the world so that he could go forth to destroy gods and men alike. (Journey into Mystery v1 #97) Loki claimed that even amongst flame colossus's that Surtur was insane. (Mighty Thor v1 #20)
At some point, he had spawned a daughter by the name of Sindr who served as a high ranking leader in Muspelheim. (Mighty Thor v2 #22) He had an unintentional child in the form of Laussa Odinsdottir whose parents Odin and Freyja laid together in a space that was once used to imprison Surtur. This led to some of his essence being added to their union making him the third parent to the Asgardian child who was half-demon as a result. (Angela: Asgard's Assassin v1 #4)
Powers and abilities
He was regarded as a flame colossus from the race of Muspelheim. (Mighty Thor v1 #20) Surtur also claimed that he was a god and had all the powers of such a being. (Beta Ray Bill v1 #5) According to Odin, Surtur was more a force of nature that was limitless in scope rather than being a physical foe. (Thor v2 #40) Surtur himself had said that he had the power of a thousand blazing suns. (Journey into Mystery v1 #104) He was able to magically transform his fingers to undergo an awesome change to sinister serpents. (Journey into Mystery v1 #99) The fire demon was also capable of shrinking his form to that of a human and surviving great wounds on his body. (Beta Ray Bill v1 #5)
He could distil his form into one of pure flaming energy that appeared as a giant fireball that could destroy an entire galaxy. (Journey into Mystery v1 #104)
The link between Surtur and his blade cannot be broken with this being the same between Twilight and its long shadow. (Journey into Mystery v1 #626) Twilight was capable of rejecting Surtur if it deemed him unworthy of its power. (Beta Ray Bill v1 #5)
Notes
- Surtur was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in Journey into Mystery v1 #97 (October, 1963).
- The character was based off Norse mythology namely Surtr.
In other media
Television
- In Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Surtur appeared as a minor antagonist in the episode "The Vengeance of Loki". After Iceman was banished to Asgard by Loki, he was mystically transported to the Sea of Flame where he was attacked by the Fire Demon Surtur. Bobby Drake would have perished in the hellish environment at the hands of the villainous giant but was saved by the deposed Frost Giant Queen Zerona.
- In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the villain made an appearance as an antagonist in the background of the second season where he was voiced by Rick D. Wasserman. In the episode "Acts of Vengeance", Baron Zemo used the Norn Stone linked to Muspelheim to protect himself from the Enchantress with this act freeing him from his imprisonment. The breaking of the seal was later sensed by Thor, Odin and Balder. Surtur attacked the realm of the Dwarves as the Dwarf King Eitri held fragments of his Twilight Sword. The Enchantress later awoke in the presence of Surtur who told her that she now served him. In "The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill", Surtur sent a possessed Enchantress to unleash Fire Demons upon various lands with one of them being the Korbinite homeworld. Thor and Beta Ray Bill defeated the Enchantress with Surtur speaking through her telling his foes that Amora was no longer in their control before teleporting her away. Afterwards, Surtur was re-forging the Twilight Sword from the fragments he had collected from Eitri.
- In Avengers Assemble, Surtur made a brief unvoiced appearance in the episode "Back to the Learning Hall". During a journey to Asgard, the portal towards that real was disrupted by the Space Stone causing Thor, Hulk and Hawkeye to tumble towards Surtur until the Asgardian opened another portal back to his home.
Films
- In Thor: Tales of Asgard, the character only was referenced and seen in a flashback sequence. It was shown that he once held a fiery blade known as Elderstahl that was an immensely powerful sword crafted by the Dwarves with it mystically fitting into the hand of its wearer. Long ago, the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim were besieged by the Frost Giants of Jotunheim with them calling upon the aid of Allfather Odin. However, the King of the Asgardians refused to intervene leading to the Dark Elves desperately calling upon Surtur's aid. He would arrive in Jotunheim but was confronted by Odin who wielded his magic spear Gungnir. Despite Surtur's attacks, he was unable to strike the more nimble Odin who pierced the fire giant's chest with his spear thus defeating him. The blade Elderstahl was lost in the ruins of the mountain of Surtur's defeat and the Frost Giants would proceed to exterminate the Dark Elves leaving Algrim the only survivor. Many years later, it became a rite of passage to adulthood among Asgardians to embark on a quest to find Elderstahl. After feeling he was not respected as a warrior, the young Prince Thor embarked on a quest to find the Lost Sword of Surtur alongside his brother Loki and the Warriors Three. They would ultimately find it but were pursued by the Frost Giants forcing Thor to use its immense power which he lost control of that led to the death of a few of their number. This sparked a war with Allfather Odin agreeing to surrender the blade to Frost Giant King Thrym. However, his Dark Elf advisor Algrim would betray the Asgardians by taking the Elderstahl and slaying the elite Einherjar warriors whereupon he unleashed its power against Asgard itself and targeted Odin for his role in the death of the Dark Elf race. He was ultimately defeated by the young Prince Thor with Loki taking Elderstahl and killing Algrim. Afterwards, to secure a peace with the Frost Giants, Thor relinquished the blade to them with King Thrym agreeing to return to the peace he had with Asgard.
- In Thor: Ragnarok, Surtur appeared in the live-action film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he was voiced by actor Clancy Brown. He was a fiery entity that Odin had long ago fought and defeated though Surtur could not be killed as he was the prophecised end of Asgard. To accomplish this event, he required the Eternal Flame to ignite his crown whereupon he would grow to the size of a mountain and had the power to destroy Asgard. He could be defeated if his crown was knocked from him but he would always reform afterwards. After Thor received a vision, he came to believe that Ragnarok was coming and confronted Surtur where he defeated the weakened fire giant with him claiming the crown that kept Surtur's essence in Odin's vault. When Hela took over Asgard, the god of thunder was unable to stop her as her power was drawn from the Realm Eternal. However, Thor decided to release Surtur who destroyed Asgard and Hela after all the Asgardians were evacuated with Ragnarok being fulfilled.
Video games
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Surtur was referenced in the setting of the video game if the player recovers Volla's lost ring. She then tells them a vision she sees of the future where an attempt on Odin's life will lead to the capture of Surtur in the years to come.
- In Thor: God of Thunder, the character appeared as an antagonist in the video-game tie-in of the movie. He was shown as the ruler of the realm of Muspelheim and leader of the Infernir (Fire Demons). Among his creations was the Worldkiller that was a doomsday weapon located in Muspelheim that was a harvester of worlds. Thor journeyed to that fiery realm and battled through the Infernir to destroy the supports for the weapon.
- In Avengers Alliance, Surtur appeared as an antagonist in the video game. He was stated as being the oldest being in all the realms who was the Lord of Muspelheim and Odin's eternal rival. Wielding the Twilight Sword, Surtur sought to destroy all the realms in fire and leave nothing but the ashes of creation behind. Surtur was one of many Asgardian related threats that emerged on Midgard following the disappearance of Thor.
- In Marvel: War of Heroes, Surtur appeared as multiple playable cards in the video game.
- In Marvel Heroes, Surtur appeared as an antagonist in the MMORPG video game where he ruled the realm of Muspelheim. He reforged the Twilight Sword where he rallied the normally chaotic and disorganised Fire Demons in order to bring about Ragnarok.
- In Marvel: Future Fight, Surtur appeared as an antagonist in the setting of the mobile video game. The Enchantress had allied with him in secret and acted on his behalf to acquire the Norn Stones which were used to take control over everyone on Asgard. This was until the players characters worked together in defeating Surtur allowing for Odin to be free from the Fire Giant's control.
- In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Surtur appeared as a boss level antagonist in the setting of the Switch video game where he was voiced by actor Jamieson Price. He was unleashed against the heroes by Hela when they were transported through the Rainbow Bridge. Whilst battling the fire giant, they managed to dislodge him from the Bifrost causing him to tumble into space but he vowed his revenge.
Appearances
- Journey into Mystery v1: (1963)
- Thor v1:
- Thor v2:
- Mighty Thor v1:
- Beta Ray Bill v1: (2021)
External Links
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