that's what Thorgard does -- that's all he does!

I recently saw an episode of Buck Rogers with the winsome Jamie Lee Curtis & the flyting-winning Gil Gerard being hunted down by a deadly android after a prison escape. I brought it up to an expert cinephile friend to ask if just maybe James Cameron might've seen this 1979 CE BR episode before making The Terminator 1984 CE. He then tells me Harlan Ellison got a settlement from Orion Pictures for The Terminator's alleged plagiarism of his script on the Soldier 1964 CE episode of The Outer Limits, which Ellison adapted from his own short story Soldier From Tomorrow (1957 CE).

In The Tale Of Thorleif The Earl's Poet (Þorleifs þáttr jarlsskálds), events which happen ~990 CE and written down ~1300 CE, the earl constructs a magical driftwood robot assassin named Thorgard who goes relentlessly from Norway all the way to Iceland to kill a guy at the crowded national meeting in Thingvellir. Thorgard strikes his fatal blow, but not before his mark hits Thorgard, who then sinks and disappears into the ground (which so reminds one of the Terminator sinking into the molten metal pit).

[driftwood sculpture by Nagato Iwasaki.]

Yes, it always all goes back to the Norse Lore, including the Thorgard-nator.

#    #    #

Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires' Norse Gods and Giants at age seven. Since then he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the Map of Midgard project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay. If you have employment/opportunities in investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer, do contact him.