Skrymir is a character or creature that appears in Ragnarok: Into The Abyss manhwa. What trivia is there about this being and what could be so interesting about him?
Did you know that there is also a figure called Skrymir that appears in Norse Mythology? This is not so surprising to hear when one takes into consideration that the graphic novel in question is actually loosely based on Norse Mythology.
There is definitely emphasis on 'loosely based' though because the only thing the 2 characters have in common may be their names. Let's take a closer look at both of these creatures to compare and contrast them.
In Norse Mythology, the being called Skrymir, who is also known as Utgard-Loki, is actually the King of the Frost Giants. We see Frost Giants in the comic too, but, needless to say, the two are vastly different from each other.
The Ragnarok manhwa's version of the Frost Giants apparently don't have a leader or a king, unless you count the goddess Freya as their supreme ruler, which seems to be the case since they're all under her command.
One interesting story about Skrymir is how he was able to trick the Norse gods Thjalfi, Thor and Loki (needless to say, the Loki in Norse Mythology is beyond different from the assassin who shares his name in the graphic novel).
To make the long story short, the aforementioned trio encounter Utgard-Loki and they are challenged to contests and competitions to show and to prove their strength, prowess and skills.
Loki said that no one could possibly beat him in an eating competition, but he ended up losing to this guy called Logi who could eat everything. Thjalfi said he could beat anyone in a race because he was really fast, but that didn't stop him from losing to Hugi.
Thor himself boasted of several feats that he could do. First, he said that he could drink more water than anyone else.
He was thus given a drinking horn with which to drink from. He readily drank from it, but he soon discovered that, no matter how much he drank, he could never empty it.
Undeterred by this loss, Thor then proceeded to say that his strength knew no bounds, so Skrymir made him attempt to lift a cat. He tried with all his might, but it quickly became obvious that the most he could manage was lifting one of the cat's paws.
Frustrated and getting angry at this, Thor then said that he could wrestle anyone and so he was made to wrestle with an old woman named Eli. Considering he was wrestling with someone so old and with how strong the god was, it seemed that there would be absolutely no question as to who would win.
Unfortunately for Thor though, he wasn't the winner. He tried with all his might, but Eli was stronger than she looked and the old woman even managed to bring him down to one knee.
It wasn't until much later that the trio of Norse gods found out exactly why they lost the challenges that had been set before them as Utgard-Loki soon reveals how he deceived and tricked them.
For starters, Loki lost because Logi was actually fire, and, as we all know, fire is fast and can consume anything and everything. Hugi was actually thought and so it was naturally faster and swifter than anyone.
The drinking horn that Thor was made to drink from was actually connected to the sea, which actually shows how impressive he was because he was able to diminish the waters of the sea even if he wasn't able to empty it.
The cat that he had attempted to lift was actually a part of the Midgard Serpent or Jormungand.
This creature is really huge and heavy and it actually encircles the entirety of the earth or Midgard. Again, we can see how good he is considering he actually managed to lift one paw.
As for Eli, she is actually old age, which explains why Thor couldn't possibly win against her. In the end, everyone will lose to old age if they don't die via accident or illness or some other way first.
It goes without saying that Thor was really furious to hear about how they'd been tricked and how he'd been outsmarted and defeated. Of course, he tried to retaliate by hurling his hammer, Mjolnir, at Skrymir. However, he failed to get his revenge as Utgard-Loki wasted no time in escaping.
In contrast to that, the Skrymir in the Ragnarok manhwa is nothing like the pretty smart and cunning king of the Frost Giants in Norse Mythology. There is actually much confusion regarding this character from the comic. But what exactly is so confusing about manhwa Skrymir?
The confusion actually stems from the fact that the graphic novel can't seem to make up its mind on exactly what Skrymir is supposed to be.
In Volume 8, we are told that Skrymir is actually a homunculus. This reminded me of the homunculus that appears in the anime and manga series known as Full Metal Alchemist.
This in turn made me wonder how similar the two beings would be to each other. Unfortunately, we never get to find out, because, in Volume 9, we are suddenly told, without rhyme or reason, that Skrymir is actually a golem.
Aside from wondering what happened to being referred to as a homunculus and why this suddenly changed, the mention of golem reminded me of the Pokémon called golem. Of course, there may be other references to golems and homunculus in other media, but that's not really the point here.
The point is how can Skrymir transform or suddenly change from being a homunculus to a golem? Why can't the graphic novel make up its mind about this? What's with the confusion? Why the sudden change? So, what do you think this means? Why do you think Skrymir's identity was changed from being a homunculus to being a golem? Why do you think he wasn't kept as a frost giant?
*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki based on the image by Elmer Boyd Smith, Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons
- Image depicts Skrymir or Utgard-Loki, the King of the Frost Giants from Norse Mythology
- The rest of the pics are enlarged product images from Amazon.com; links shown above via Amazon's Native Shopping Ads widget
There is definitely emphasis on 'loosely based' though because the only thing the 2 characters have in common may be their names. Let's take a closer look at both of these creatures to compare and contrast them.
The Ragnarok manhwa's version of the Frost Giants apparently don't have a leader or a king, unless you count the goddess Freya as their supreme ruler, which seems to be the case since they're all under her command.
One interesting story about Skrymir is how he was able to trick the Norse gods Thjalfi, Thor and Loki (needless to say, the Loki in Norse Mythology is beyond different from the assassin who shares his name in the graphic novel).
To make the long story short, the aforementioned trio encounter Utgard-Loki and they are challenged to contests and competitions to show and to prove their strength, prowess and skills.
Loki said that no one could possibly beat him in an eating competition, but he ended up losing to this guy called Logi who could eat everything. Thjalfi said he could beat anyone in a race because he was really fast, but that didn't stop him from losing to Hugi.
He was thus given a drinking horn with which to drink from. He readily drank from it, but he soon discovered that, no matter how much he drank, he could never empty it.
Undeterred by this loss, Thor then proceeded to say that his strength knew no bounds, so Skrymir made him attempt to lift a cat. He tried with all his might, but it quickly became obvious that the most he could manage was lifting one of the cat's paws.
Frustrated and getting angry at this, Thor then said that he could wrestle anyone and so he was made to wrestle with an old woman named Eli. Considering he was wrestling with someone so old and with how strong the god was, it seemed that there would be absolutely no question as to who would win.
Unfortunately for Thor though, he wasn't the winner. He tried with all his might, but Eli was stronger than she looked and the old woman even managed to bring him down to one knee.
It wasn't until much later that the trio of Norse gods found out exactly why they lost the challenges that had been set before them as Utgard-Loki soon reveals how he deceived and tricked them.
The drinking horn that Thor was made to drink from was actually connected to the sea, which actually shows how impressive he was because he was able to diminish the waters of the sea even if he wasn't able to empty it.
The cat that he had attempted to lift was actually a part of the Midgard Serpent or Jormungand.
This creature is really huge and heavy and it actually encircles the entirety of the earth or Midgard. Again, we can see how good he is considering he actually managed to lift one paw.
As for Eli, she is actually old age, which explains why Thor couldn't possibly win against her. In the end, everyone will lose to old age if they don't die via accident or illness or some other way first.
It goes without saying that Thor was really furious to hear about how they'd been tricked and how he'd been outsmarted and defeated. Of course, he tried to retaliate by hurling his hammer, Mjolnir, at Skrymir. However, he failed to get his revenge as Utgard-Loki wasted no time in escaping.
In contrast to that, the Skrymir in the Ragnarok manhwa is nothing like the pretty smart and cunning king of the Frost Giants in Norse Mythology. There is actually much confusion regarding this character from the comic. But what exactly is so confusing about manhwa Skrymir?
In Volume 8, we are told that Skrymir is actually a homunculus. This reminded me of the homunculus that appears in the anime and manga series known as Full Metal Alchemist.
This in turn made me wonder how similar the two beings would be to each other. Unfortunately, we never get to find out, because, in Volume 9, we are suddenly told, without rhyme or reason, that Skrymir is actually a golem.
Aside from wondering what happened to being referred to as a homunculus and why this suddenly changed, the mention of golem reminded me of the Pokémon called golem. Of course, there may be other references to golems and homunculus in other media, but that's not really the point here.
The point is how can Skrymir transform or suddenly change from being a homunculus to a golem? Why can't the graphic novel make up its mind about this? What's with the confusion? Why the sudden change? So, what do you think this means? Why do you think Skrymir's identity was changed from being a homunculus to being a golem? Why do you think he wasn't kept as a frost giant?
*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki based on the image by Elmer Boyd Smith, Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons
- Image depicts Skrymir or Utgard-Loki, the King of the Frost Giants from Norse Mythology
- The rest of the pics are enlarged product images from Amazon.com; links shown above via Amazon's Native Shopping Ads widget
