Christian Bale steals the show as Gorr the God Butcher in "Thor 4," but what's the story
behind his deadly Necrosword?
And what does it mean for the future of the MCU?
Keep watching to find out.
"All gods will die."
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is packed with iconic weapons and costumes used by the countless
heroes and villains across the multiverse, and it is committed to expanding that armory
in "Thor: Love and Thunder."
In the sequel from "Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi, Thor heads off on a quest to
rediscover himself after the events of "Avengers: Endgame," and he winds up crossing paths with
Gorr the God Butcher in the process.
In late June, Gorr actor Bale told Total Film he was concerned about Gorr's minimal costume
in the comics, telling the outlet, "I thought, 'They don't have the right man
for that!'
And then Taika quickly dispelled any notions of running around in that.
But I always did think what he could do with this in front of a bluescreen — he could
chuck on whatever he wants later on."
Thankfully, the live-action version of Gorr is a little more covered up, and the film
does give the villain his iconic weapon: the Necrosword.
Gorr uses the jet-black weapon with a devastating fury in the highly anticipated sequel, especially
in a brutal fight with Thor, Jane, and Valkyrie in the Necroverse.
But the origins of the Necrosword in the MCU are just as murky as the blade itself.
The object has a fascinating history in the comics — and it could mean that a huge villain
is somewhere on the horizon.
As far as the MCU is concerned, "Thor: Love and Thunder" never actually confirms who the
Necrosword belongs to before Gorr gains control of it.
Instead, Thor explains it's been passed down since the dawn of time, and it corrupts anyone
who uses it, infecting them with darkness until they die.
When Gorr first gets his hands on it, it's next to a dead knight wearing a bulky set
of black armor who's clearly succumbed to its influence.
In the comics, Gorr's Necrosword belongs to Knull the Symbiote God before the "Thor" villain
gets his claws on it.
In Donny Cates' "Venom" #4, the villain recounts his origin to Eddie Brock, explaining that
billions of years in the past, he lived alone in a void that quickly became the battleground
for a Celestial war.
Because they invade Knull's empty kingdom, he conjures a sword out of the void and beheads
a Celestial before turning its severed head into a forge, where he makes the Necrosword
a permanent weapon.
Essentially, it's a blade of living darkness that also traps the soul of anything it kills
inside it.
Because Knull is a key part of the Venom mythology, it seems likely that Sony has the rights to
use Knull however it sees fit, even though the studio bought the rights to Spider-Man
and his related characters a number of years before the villain debuted in the comics.
As such, this is probably why co-writers Taika Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson use an
ambiguous figure rather than acknowledging the Knull of it all.
It's unclear if the two studios could (or would) strike a deal for Knull to appear in
the MCU, but it seems far more likely that he'd show up in a future "Venom" film with
Tom Hardy's symbiotic antihero first.
"All of us should be able to live together upon this ball of rock!"
It's also worth pointing out that the Necrosword is also called the All-Black, and it's actually
the very first Symbiote.
Yes, the sword is technically alive.
What's interesting is that it also cloaks Knull in a set of black armor with a red insignia
on the front, which gives the immortal villain a terrifying look.
So the dead knight in the opening of "Thor: Love and Thunder" clearly a nod to the Necrosword's
origins, without getting into the messy implications of Knull himself being in the MCU.
Gorr briefly meets Knull in "Thor: God of Thunder" #6, where the villain reveals his
origin to an imprisoned Volstagg.
The issue explains that Gorr is exiled from his tribe for his rage against the gods, and
shortly after he stumbles on an armored Knull fighting a golden god in the desert — although
their fight has ended in a stalemate because they've impaled each other.
All-Black quickly jumps into Gorr's hand as a dagger, and he uses it to kill the golden
god in revenge for the deaths of his mother, his wife, and his daughter over the years.
That's not too far from the film's opening, where Gorr stumbles into Rapu's realm and
uses the discarded weapon to kill his former idol.
The Necrosword's symbiote abilities are a huge part of the film too, as Gorr brings
monstrous Black Berserkers out of the abyss inside the Necrosword to plague the Asgardians
and steal the children of New Asgard.
When the villain kills several gods in "Thor: God of Thunder" #1 and #3, he leaves a few
Berserkers behind as sentries to slaughter anyone investigating their deaths.
Taika Waititi clearly did his homework.
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