Asgard characters in Stargate
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In the Stargate fictional universe, the Asgard are one of the most advanced races ever encountered, and the most friendly towards Earth.
This is a list of the Asgard characters that have appeared so far in Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.
Contents |
[edit] Freyr
| Stargate character | |
|---|---|
| Freyr | |
| Race | Asgard |
| Gender | Asexual clone |
| Rank | Counciler |
| Portrayer | Brian Jensen (voice) |
| First appearance | "Red Sky" |
Freyr is an influential Asgard and member of the Asgard High Council. He does not care as much about the humans of Earth as Thor does. However, he is strong-willed and true to his word.
Freyr was first encountered by SG-1 when the team visited the planet K'Tau, a planet protected by the Asgard under their Protected Planets Treaty. The people on the planet K'Tau worship Freyr like the people on Cimmeria worship Thor. He was also presented through a viking hologram, like Thor was on Cimmeria. Freyr appeared himself when SG-1 contacted the Asgard after their attempt to dial to K'Tau damaged its sun, endangering the lives of K'Tau's population. Freyr refused to help SG-1 to return the star to normal because it would be a violation of the Protected Planets Treaty, but when SG-1 tried to undo their mistake themselves and failed, the Asgard covertly intervened, saving both K'Tau's people and upholding the Treaty with the Goa'uld. [1]
Later, after Earth was threatened by an approaching asteroid, SG-1 again met with the Asgard High Council. Freyr and the rest of the Asgard High Council again could not intervene because the Protected Planets Treaty does not allow the Asgard to protect planets against natural disasters. Although the asteroid eventually proved to be artificially set on a collision course with Earth by Anubis, and the Asgard were in their right to assist the Tau'ri, SG-1 was forced to stop the asteroid themselves. [2]
Freyr eventually visited Stargate Command to request SG-1 for the rescue of one of their scientists. He also informed them that Thor had been killed, however this turned out to be incorrect as Thor had been captured by Anubis, not killed. He later protected SG-1, the Asgard scientist Heimdall and his studies with a fleet of three O'Neill class battleships. Anubis, who was pursuing SG-1's cargoship, was forced to retreat. [3]
[edit] Heimdall
| Stargate character | |
|---|---|
| Heimdall | |
| Race | Asgard |
| Gender | Asexual clone |
| Rank | Scientist |
| Portrayer | Teryl Rothery (voice) |
| First appearance | "Revelations" |
Heimdall is an Asgard scientist who was conducting research into finding a solution to the Asgard's cloning difficulties.
After an ancient Asgard ship containing three cryogenically frozen Asgard was discovered after 30,000 years being adrift, the Asgard came to believe the last perfectly preserved body might hold the key to the Asgard's failing cloning technology, and Heimdall chose to study his ancient ancestor. To prevent the Replicators from intervening, this study took place on an uninhabited planet in the Milky Way galaxy, protected by the Protected Planets Treaty. Unfortunately, his research outpost was discovered by the Goa'uld Anubis, who sent a ship under the command of Osiris to the planet. Thor attacked the invading Ha'tak according to the Treaty, but his ship was destroyed as Anubis had upgraded his fleet with Ancient technology.
As the Asgard were occupied fighting the Replicators, Freyr asked the SGC for help. SG-1, without Daniel Jackson who ascended earlier, was sent to the planet where they met up with Heimdall. He told them about his studies and asked them to help rescuing Thor. SG-1 was able to do so, although the laboratory was eventually invaded by Osiris. The team and Heimdall were able to flee on a Tel'tak together with Thor and Heimdall's research, and were finally rescued from the Goa'uld by three Asgard ships. [3]
When the Replicators were defeated, Heimdall worked hard in the Ida Galaxy to find the missing link to the flaw genome with Thor. [4] But it seems Heimdall was unsuccessful in his/her research.
- He is based on the Heimdall of Norse mythology.
- Heimdall is voiced by Teryl Rothery, who also played Dr. Janet Fraiser in Stargate SG-1.
- Heimdall was created as a possible replacement for Thor when Michael Shanks left the show.
[edit] Hermiod
| Stargate character | |
|---|---|
| Hermiod | |
| Race | Asgard |
| Gender | Asexual clone |
| Rank | Technician |
| Portrayer | Trevor Devall (voice) |
| First appearance | "The Siege, Part 3" |
Hermiod (named after the Norse god Hermóðr) is an Asgard technician assigned to the Daedalus.
He is tasked with operation of the ship's Asgard transporter and hyperdrive engine, working primarily with Lindsey Novak. Hermiod has been observed to mutter to himself in Asgard when he is displeased with the crew's demands, and has an uneasy relationship with some of the humans on the Daedalus.
During the Daedalus' first mission to Atlantis, he was ordered by Daedalus' commanding officer, Colonel Steven Caldwell to transport several nuclear weapons on board a Wraith hive ship. Hermiod expressed resistance to carry this order out because using the shared Asgard technology offensively by humans was prohibited by the Asgard. However, because the Wraith were constantly bombarding the ship he reluctantly agreed to do as ordered. [5]
After a Wraith computer virus was discovered interfering with the Daedalus' computer systems, Hermiod helped remove it from the Daedalus and the F-302s on board. He also transported Lt. Col. Sheppard and Dr. McKay into the hangar bay and rescued them from being blown out into space when the virus opens the hangar doors by activating the hangar shield. [6]
Hermiod also worked with Dr. McKay on the Wraith technology during Atlantis' failed alliance with a Wraith Hive-Ship. [7]
Script writer Paul Mullie says they gave him "a little bit of an attitude problem", [8] being an angry foreigner utterly convinced of his own brilliance above those around him, much as McKay would have been when he was in Siberia. [9]
[edit] Translations
Hermiod's "Asgard" dialog is actually normal English played backward.
- The Siege, Part III
Responding to the order to beam nuclear weapons into the Wraith ships:
- Hermiod: "When will these humans learn there are consequences to action"
- The Intruder
- Sheppard: "Is he supposed to be naked like that?" (To McKay)
- Hermiod: "These humans are infants"
- Caldwell: "It didn't work, we're still on course for the coronosphere."
- Hermiod: "The incompetence of these humans is beginning to make me angry!" (This may be a reference to Marvin the Martian.)
[edit] Kvasir
| Stargate character | |
|---|---|
| Kvasir | |
| Race | Asgard |
| Gender | Asexual clone |
| Rank | Emmisary/Scientist/Ambassador |
| Portrayer | Morris Chapdelaine (voice) |
| First appearance | "Ripple Effect" |
Kvasir was an Asgard scientist and expert in their time-dilation technology.
Kvasir visited Earth in Thor's stead, who was working with Heimdall in the Asgard home galaxy. At the time, Earth had become a hub for several different alternate realities, with teams from several alternate universes arriving through Earth's Stargate.
After Samantha Carter deduced the black hole created by the Ori during their attempt to create a Supergate near Kallana was responsible for sending the alternate teams to this reality, Kvasir proposed using a time dilation device to allow SG-1 access to the black hole, hoping to seal the rift and prevent further incursions. It being a dangerous undertaking, Kvasir boasts about the merits of courage in making the mission a success; however, he then promptly wishes the team luck and beams himself off the Prometheus. Daniel quips, "I miss Thor."
After the first plan was abandoned, Kvasir loaned the SGC an Asgard energy weapon to manipulate the Stargate into returning each alternate team to their proper reality. [4]
Kvasir also assisted SG-1 during the Battle of P3Y-229, reprogramming one of the control crystals of the Supergate. After this crystal would have been reinserted, the gate would have activated, blocking the Ori's only access to this galaxy. However, this attempt failed, and his O'Neill class battleship was forced to engage the invading Ori battlecruisers.[10] While the fate of his vessel is unknown, Kvasir himself survived the battle, and was on the Odyssey helping to repair the transporters. However, the damage they received was so massive that Kvasir was forced to rewrite the basecode line by line. While he was unable to transport in Lt. Col. Carter, he was able to transport Teal'c from the Lucian Alliance mothership.[11]
[edit] Loki
| Stargate character | |
|---|---|
| Loki | |
| Race | Asgard |
| Gender | Asexual clone |
| Portrayer | Peter DeLuise (voice) |
| First appearance | "Fragile Balance" |
Loki is a rogue Asgard scientist who planned on finding a way to cure his species from the decay of their genome caused by their constant cloning. Around 1985, his actions were discovered, and the Asgard High Council stripped him of his title.
After O'Neill had downloaded the information from the Ancients Repository of Knowledge into his brain, it had become clear to the Asgard that human biology had evolved to a point beyond the assumptions of the Asgard. After this information was shared with the entire Asgard population, Loki came to believe that O'Neill's DNA could prove to be the key to solving the Asgard's cloning problems.
Four years after that, Loki got his chance. While the majority of the Asgard were searching for a new home after their previous home was destroyed by the Replicators, Loki came to Earth in order to do genetic research on Colonel Jack O'Neill. In order to accomplish this Loki cloned O'Neill so he could study the original for a prolonged period of time without arousing suspicion of the SGC. However, due to a marker placed in O'Neill's DNA by the Asgard government, the clone stopped his rapid maturation in his teens, rather than becoming fully mature.
After the cloned O'Neill remembered being abducted by the Asgard, the SGC suspected foul play and searched for a way to capture the unknown Asgard. While researching O'Neill's dream, they encountered more people who experienced the same situations as the Colonel. However, none of them ended up becoming younger. SG-1 developed a plan to capture the Asgard, and when Loki beamed up the young O'Neill, the clone was able to stun the Asgard with a Zat. Afterwards he beamed up his teammates, who discovered the Asgard's identity. Shortly thereafter, Thor arrived and revealed that Loki has been doing non-sanctioned experiments on humans for some time. A visibly angry Thor took Loki into custody, and his experiments have come to a halt. [12]
- Loki's illegal behavior is in keeping with Loki, the Norse god of mischief upon whom he is based.
- Although the name of Loki's ship isn't mentioned, it is of the same class as Thor's ship the Daniel Jackson.
[edit] Thor
| Stargate character | |
|---|---|
| Thor | |
| Race | Asgard |
| Gender | Asexual clone |
| Rank | Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet |
| Portrayer | Michael Shanks (voice) |
| First appearance | "Thor's Hammer (humanoid hologram)" |
| Key episodes | Thor's Chariot (real form) Unending |
Thor is a recurring character in Stargate SG-1. He is voiced by Michael Shanks (who also plays the regular character Dr. Daniel Jackson on the series).[13] Thor is the Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet.
Thor has risked his life multiple times in order to save SG-1 and Earth from both the Goa'uld and the Replicators, apparently seeing the Tau'ri as a very worthy race for an alliance. That alliance proved useful for him as SG-1 has saved him on many occasions from the Replicators [14] and once from Anubis himself. [3] Thor's friendship with SG-1 even led him to personally make an appearance at a secret meeting between members of Earth's UN Security Council taking place in the Pentagon, to speak on General Hammond's behalf. [14]
Like the rest of his race, Thor is an asexual clone, incapable of cellular meiosis (therefore infertile), and has no sexual organs. This has allowed him to cheat death on multiple occasions, by means of downloading his consciousness into a newer, younger clone body, but also makes him vulnerable to the slow, genetic degradation being suffered by the rest of the Asgard. This has become something of a running joke on the show; at one point, O'Neill remarks, "That just never gets old, does it?" [15]
[edit] Early Encounters
A holographic recording of Thor was first encountered by SG-1 in 1997. Appearing as a humanoid Viking, a holographic message awaited all Goa'uld who visited Cimmeria after they were transported to an underground cavern by Thor's Hammer. When SG-1 visited the planet, both Teal'c and Jack O'Neill were transported to the cavern, where they were greeted by the intimidating hologram.
However, during Teal'c's escape, the Hammer was destroyed, leaving Cimmeria vulnerable to Goa'uld attack. [16] Heru-ur eventually invaded the planet, forcing the Cimmerians to become his slaves and worship him. However, Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter sought Thor's help in saving the people from the System Lords in the so-called Hall of Thor's Might, an elaborate sequence of tests to gauge whether the people of Cimmeria had advanced enough in order to see the Asgard in their true form. Thanks to SG-1's artificial advancement, they were able to inform Thor about the situation on the surface, who soon came to save Cimmeria. Thor admitted to SG-1 that his race had visited the Tau'ri on many occasions, but still considered them too young of a race to ally with against the Goa'uld. [17]
After Jack O'Neill accidentally got the Ancient information of the Repository of Knowledge downloaded into his brain, he eventually managed to contact the Asgard, developing the beginnings of a friendship. [18] Thor eventually had Earth included in the Protected Planets Treaty, safeguarding the planet from a direct Goa'uld attack. [19]
[edit] Thor and the Replicators
In 2000, Thor's ship, the Beliskner was overtaken by the Replicators, who found the location of Earth, a planet with plenty of raw materials, in the ship's database. The Replicators set a course for Earth, while Thor attempted to stop the Beliskner from reaching the planet. He managed to sabotage the outbound transporters to prevent the Replicators from beaming down, but he got severely injured in the process. Before losing consciousness, he beamed up Jack O'Neill, for whom he had left several recordings with instructions. Eventually, Jack O'Neill, with help from Teal'c and Carter (Daniel Jackson was suffering from appendicitis at the time) was able to destroy the ship and escape through the Stargate which had been beamed aboard earlier. [20]
When the Asgard homeworld was threatened by Replicators several weeks later, Thor, who was impressed by SG-1's primitive but effective tactics to destroy the Replicator-infested Beliskner menacing Earth, came back to Earth by Stargate to request help. He enlisted Carter's help and "less-advanced" ways of thinking in order to save his world. Eventually, Carter came up with the idea of luring away the approaching Replicator-infested ships by using the prototype for the extremely advanced O'Neill class battleship, and then destroying the ship, taking the chasing vessels with it. Thor subsequently rescued O'Neill and Teal'c at the last minute, who were battling Replicators on board a Russian submarine at the time. He promised to one day help the Tau'ri defeat the Goa'uld in return for saving his homeworld. [21]
[edit] Thor in SG-1's debt
When Adara II, a planet protected by the Protected Planets Treaty, was attacked by Anubis some time later, Thor was dispatched in a single Beliskner class cruiser. However, Thor's weapons were insufficient to combat Anubis' newly upgraded Ha'tak's, and he was subsequently captured. Anubis probed Thor's mind to find out about Asgard technology, However, Thor managed to tap into the ship's systems instead and render assistance to Jack O'Neill and Teal'c who had come to save him. After the two destroyed the Ha'tak's shield system, the three were beamed back and rescued by three Asgard battleships, although Thor's body lapsed into a coma. [3] Apparently, Thor had downloaded his consciousness into the Ha'tak's database, which he later commandeered and piloted to Earth, where his consciousness was salvaged and later transferred into a new body. [22]
Thor asked again for SG-1's assistance some weeks later after his people's plan to trap the Replicators inside a time-dilation field on the planet Hala backfired. Thor asked the SG-1, using the relatively primitive Prometheus, to land on the planet, discover what went wrong, and rectify the situation by resetting the time-dilation device. Although SG-1 came in contact with the first of the new generation human-form Replicators, they were eventually successful in activating the device, trapping the Replicators on the planet. [23] In return, Thor personally made an appearance at a secret meeting between the permanent members of Earth's UN Security Council taking place in the Pentagon, to speak on O'Neill's behalf and ensure the SGC retained control over the Earth Stargate. Proving that the Asgard can be canny political operators when it suits them, he used this moment to publicly give Earth advanced shield and weapons technology for the Prometheus, as a token of thanks for all of what SG1 had done. He stated that although future relations with Earth were not contingent on the status quo of SGC operations and personnel being maintained, it was "preferred". [14]
He later rendered assistance to SG-1 after Jack O'Neill had been cloned by Loki against the wishes of the Asgard High Council. [12]
[edit] Later appearances
As the Asgard realized the time-dilation device on Hala would not keep the Replicators bottled up for ever, Thor was sent to collapse Hala's sun into a black hole. However, some Replicators were able to escape before they crossed the black hole's event horizon, which later almost infested the new Asgard homeworld, Orilla. Luckily, O'Neill, who recently had the information contained in the Ancient Repository of Knowledge again downloaded into his brain, managed to come up with an effective weapon to combat the scourge, the Replicator Disruptor. The Replicators were eventually forced to retreat from Orilla. [24]
After Replicator Carter contacted the SGC with false information that Fifth had devised a way to shield the Replicators from the Disruptor, Thor delivered a Disruptor satellite to the Alpha Site, and instructed Teal'c how to position the device. However, the entire plan was an elaborate ruse so that RepliCarter could make her brethren resistant against the Replicator Disruptor. [25]
Some weeks later, the Replicators launched an all-out attack against the Goa'uld, and the SGC was forced to ask Thor for assistance. Thor and Carter devised a way to again modify the Disruptor, although the Replicators quickly adapted. They realized the only way to defeat them would be to destroy all Replicators in one strike using the Dakara Superweapon although Thor's ship was boarded before the plan could be put into action. He was forced to beam Carter down and leave Earth, although he again downloaded his consciousness into the ship's database and later transferred it to a new clone body. [15]
After the SGC became a hub for several alternate realities, Thor was unable to render assistance to SG-1 as he was dealing with a "sensitive matter" in a neighboring galaxy with Heimdall. Instead, the Asgard sent the less likable Kvasir in Thor's place. [4]
[edit] End of the Asgard Civilization
Thor summoned the Odyssey to the Asgard homeworld Orilla. When the ship arrived, Thor revealed that the last attempt to save the Asgard civilization from their genetic difficulties had failed, and that it had instead left them all with a rapidly progressing disease. He stated that "very soon, we will all...be gone." Thor installed an Asgard Computer core with the entire knowledge base of the Asgard race into the Odyssey's engine room and provided an interactive holographic program designed to assist the humans who would later use the technology. He seemed very proud of this and at first misunderstood Carter's comment that it wouldn't be the same. Before beaming away, Thor received a hug from Carter.
Although some Asgard were still wary of giving Earth such advanced technology, Thor was one of the Asgard who very strongly argued that they could be trusted, having proved themselves. Once again calling Earth and humanity "The Fifth Race", he expressed to Colonel Samantha Carter that now it was humanity's turn to take its place and preserve the future. His one regret in his species passing was that they were unable to help them further.
Thor perished along with the rest of the Asgard race when they caused their planet to self-destruct when the Ori attacked Orilla and the Odyssey.[26]
[edit] Other Asgard
| Name | Rank/Position | First Appearance | Status | Voiced by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aegir | Commander of the starship Valhalla. | "New Order, Part I" | Unknown | Michael Shanks |
| Aegir commanded a small fleet of ships which protected Orilla and attacked the Replicator ship as it exited hyperspace. Although Aegir destroyed the ship he could not stop massive numbers of Replicator blocks from raining down on Orilla. | ||||
| Penegal | Member of the Asgard High Council | "New Order, Part II" | Unknown | Michael Shanks |
| A member of the Asgard High Council. He informed Thor of the Replicators, which attacked the settlement of Orilla but the communication was interrupted. | ||||
[edit] References
- ^ "Red Sky" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Fail Safe" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ a b c d "Revelations" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ a b c "Ripple Effect" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "The Siege, Part III" (Stargate Atlantis)
- ^ "The Intruder" (Stargate Atlantis)
- ^ "Allies" (Stargate Atlantis)
- ^ "Stargate Atlantis: Season Two Preview", TV Zone Special #64, Visual Imagination, 2005, pp. 76-77.
- ^ "48 Hours" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Camelot" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Flesh and Blood" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ a b "Fragile Balance" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ Michael Shanks IMDB profile
- ^ a b c "Disclosure" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ a b "Reckoning" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Thor's Hammer" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Thor's Chariot" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "The Fifth Race" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Fair Game" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Nemesis" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Small Victories" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Descent" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Unnatural Selection" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "New Order" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Gemini" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Unending".
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