As the release date for Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness draws ever-closer, fans have been clamoring for a glimpse at the God of Thunder’s next cinematic outing.

While a long-awaited trailer remains unseen, a recent leak (from a toy company, no less) revealed several key characters from the upcoming movie. These included Thor himself, ‘Mighty Thor’, Star-Lord, Groot, and the film’s sinister villain, Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale.

While Bale’s character may be new to fans of the cinematic universe, he comes with a deep lore that spans several iconic Thor comics. and even ties in deeply with the ‘Symbiote’ we’ve seen in Venom and Spider-Man 3. Here’s all you need to know about the MCU’s latest and greatest alien threat.

Who is Gorr?

Gorr’s made his first appearance on the cover of Thor: God of Thunder Vol 1. #2 that was released in November 2012 (pictured above).

Created by writer-artist duo Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic, Gorr’s story begins with hardship and tragedy — like many other Marvel villains. Born over 3,000 years ago on a desolate, barren planet, Gorr’s people lived as nomadic tribes, wandering from place to place in search of precious food and water, and praying to gods that never answered their pleas.

Losing his parents early in life, Gorr’s pain only multiplied as he eventually failed to save his partner and children from his environment’s hellish conditions, turning him against his tribe’s faith, and seeding a lifelong hatred of the so-called ‘gods’ of the Marvel universe.

Cast out of his tribe, Gorr’s doubts about divinity eventually were answered, as he came across two seemingly divine beings who crashed onto his homeworld — one black and one in gold, both beings locked in deadly combat.

When the golden being asked for help after stabbing the dark one, Gorr instead felt his rage and anger at the gods flare up and suddenly, a black ooze leapt up from the dark being’s sword, and began to bond with Gorr. 

Using this newfound power to kill the being who pleaded for help, Gorr then transformed into the God Butcher, leaving his nameless world behind in search of more gods to destroy.

Gorr’s Powers

As you might have guessed, the ‘black ooze’ is of the same species of the symbiote we see bond with Tom Hardy and Tobey Macguire’s characters in earlier films, although this one is pretty much a symbiote on steroids.

The alien ooze in question here is ‘All-Black’ — the very first symbiote ever created. Forged by the dark god Knull, it was used to slay godlike entities for thousands of years, long before it bonded with Gorr. Once crippled and helpless, Gorr now finds himself in possession of one of the MCU’s most ancient and powerful weapons, providing him with immense strength, durability, flight, and even regeneration.

One of Gorr’s most iconic powers is the ability to shapeshift, which he uses to produce weapons such as the Necrosword, a god-slaying blade made from ‘living darkness’. Edgy.

Fan Reactions

Clearly visible on the side of the box art for the action figures, we can see that Christian Bale’s rendition of the character is considerably different from the comic book version.

For starters, we can see that Gorr lacks the iconic black robe and tentacles which appear in most of his comic book artwork. Rather, Marvel seems to have gone with an all-white, pale ensemble – almost reminiscent of their latest hero launch, Moon Knight.

Some didn’t take to the new design,

Others appreciated the design.

With potential ties to Spider-Man and Venom, we can’t wait to see what the film has in store for us, and what new teasers we’ll get to see in Multiverse come May 6th.

Thor: Love and Thunder is planned for a 2022 release.

(Featured Image Credits: Marvel Studios, Marvel Comics)