One of the most visually striking figure designs in the Mythic Legions line is the evil warmonger known as Gorgo Aetherblade. With his red and black armor and his imposing helmet topped with a pair of large antlers, he is certainly a force to be reckoned with as the “merciless commander of the Legion of Arethyr.”
Before Gorgo was Gorgo
When Mythic Legions was first unveiled at our Toypocalypse event in 2014, Gorgo was amongst the figures that were shown – or was he?
Back then the line was intended as a 4-inch scale series using the popular Glyos system that would allow the figures to have swappable body parts. The idea was that fans would vote on different parts configurations for the toys which we would develop. As such, the figures we showcased at Toypocalypse were simply examples of what could be created using the available parts library. What we found, however, was that fans loved the examples we came up with! Those sample characters we had on display eventually became named characters that were part of our first Mythic Legions Kickstarter campaign. Some of these sample figures which became key characters included the red skeleton Clavian, the heroic knights Sir Galeron, Sir Gideon Heavensbrand, and Sir Ignatius, the blue armored dwarven mage Jorund Runeshaper, and of course - Gorgo Aetherblade.
When the Mythic Legions 1.0 Kickstarter eventually launched in February of 2015, Gorgo Aetherblade was one of the initial characters available for backers to add to their pledges – and add him they did! Right from the start of the campaign, Gorgo was one of the most popular characters in the Mythic Legions 1.0 wave. He would also later be revealed to be an important part of the overall story of Mythic Legions, as would the weapon his wielded.
A Warmonger’s Weapon
All of the figures in the initial Mythic Legions wave came with similar weapons as a way for us to minimize tooling costs as we established our initial funding needs for the line. As we surpassed those funding requirements, we began to open up stretch goals that would allow fans to add additional characters and weapons to their collections. The various “Weapons Packs” that we offered included brand new accessories that were not available with any of the individual figures, but which paired wonderfully with specific characters. A perfect example of this was the “Weapons Pack 3” set, which came with two swords that were critically important to the story of Mythic Legions – the Heavensbrand and the Aetherblade.
One of the powerful weapons wielded by the evil godlike beings who once threatened to destroy the Realm, the Aetherblade had the power to dematerialize life and draw souls into a dark plane. This ancient weapon was key in summoning the dark personification of war, Arethyr, back to Mythoss. This exact scene would play out later in the line as more of the story of Mythic Legions was slowly introduced.
The Mystery of Gorgo
When Mythic Legions 1.0 eventually shipped out to our Kickstarter backers and pre-order customers, fans began to get their first glimpse at the story behind these characters and the Realm of Mythoss as a whole. The biography of Gorgo Aetherblade did not shed much light on this mysterious warrior, however, as his race was not identified by his backstory. In fact, his bio stated that “Gorgo Aetherblade is a dark mystery even to his closest confidants. His origin is as cryptic as the identity hidden under his imposing war helmet.” It would go on to add that “what is immeasurably clear are Gorgo's plans for the hellish army that he has amassed for a sole purpose: to usher in the return of their master Arethyr.”
This dark prophecy would be detailed in the comic that was part of the “Mythic Legions Art Book”, from which some panels can be seen below. Gorgo is shown presenting his blade to his dark master, and that sword then erupts in flames once it is in Arethyr’s hands. The version of the Aetherblade that would eventually be shown to be included with the Arethyr figure has these flames included, creating a powerful new version of this important weapon.
Another interesting fact adding to the mystery of Gorgo Aetherblade is the neck post that this toy comes with. If you do not have a Gorgo in hand, or if you’ve never removed his head, you may not have noticed that this figure actually comes with the skeleton neck post, painted in solid black. Over the years we’ve seen many fans who purchased a Gorgo for the first time discover this neck and question whether they may have gotten a mistake version of the figure. Nope, that skeletal neck was definitely meant to come with the character! Does this mean that Gorgo is actually a skeleton underneath that dark armor, or is he some other form of evil being? All will be revealed in due time.
The War of the Aetherblade
It was early 2021 when Four Horsemen Studios announced that there was a video game being developed for the property. The name of the game – Mythic Legions Tactics: War of the Aetherblade!
Right from the start, it was clear that Gorgo was an important part of this new game and the storyline that would unfold. He was featured in the marketing materials, early models of Gorgo were some of the first ones showcased, and the name of the relic weapon from where he draws his name was part of the title of the game itself! You can see one of the images from the early game promo content below.
One thing that Legions fans were surprised by during this initial private crowdfunding campaign was the fact that, while there were figures offered to help fund the development of this new game, Gorgo Aetherblade was not one of them. As surprising as this may have seemed, there was a bigger plan at play for the return of the black armored warmonger.
By mid-2021, a full public crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter was planned for the new video game, and this time a new version of Gorgo was introduced! The Mythic Legions Tactics: War of the Aetherblade 2-pack featured brand new versions of both Gorgo and his sworn enemy – Attila Leossyr.
Fans were thrilled by this new release. Not only did it give them another shot at these two faction leaders from Mythoss, but the versions were updates on the initial figures. They included newly sculpted armor pieces and fully wired soft goods. Attila came with new head sculptures and his Leossyr hammer, and Gorgo would wield the Aetherblade sword! That weapon had been part of an early accessory pack in the first Mythic Legions wave, so acquiring both Gorgo and his namesake sword was terribly challenging before the release of this new set. The image of the “Gorgo Aetherblade 2” figure can be seen below.
Gorgo’s Story
So who exactly is Gorgo and what is his story? Why does he follow the fiery God of War and what is his ultimate goal in leading his evil faction? There is more story to be told of the war that is unfolding in Mythoss, and the role that Gorgo Aetherblade will play in this epic clash of Mythic Legions.
First published on 06.19.20
Published on 07.08.22