Beowulf SPOILERS - Beowulf Story Mode and Other Lore

[Kuzlalala]

Because I cannot stop thinking about Beowulf's Story Mode, let's discuss what we've got so far.

I will update this every time we get new information. Once his Story Mode is released, I'll add it here to compare with previous speculations and most likely add more speculations based on the Story Mode.

What we've known from Beowulf up to this day are:

• In Skullgirls, Beowulf was a pro-wrestler who retired early because he killed Grendel's mother to prevent her from eating the audience.
  • According to the DLC character vote page:
    "Beowulf retired at the height of his professional wrestling career, defeating the seemingly unstoppable Grendel, as well as his frenzied Gigan mom when she nearly ate the audience after her son’s defeat. Years later Beowulf has become restless, wondering if that was his limit. He announces his plans to fight once again. What he didn’t mention was that it wouldn’t be in the ring, since there’s no telling where his greatest opponent will show up."
  • According to his trailer description:
    "Loosely based on the epic poem of the same name, Beowulf is a wrestler returning after a long hiatus. Literally armed with Grendel's severed arm and his folding chair, The Hurting, Beowulf fights to restore his faded glory."

• In the poem Beowulf, Beowulf is a prince who fought against Grendel and his mother to save the people of Heorot. Later in his life he becomes king and eventually fights against a dragon that was attacking his kingdom to his death.

• In Double's Story Mode, there is a doujinshi in Aeon and Venus's realm featuring Beowulf and Taliesin.

• Grendel is revealed to still be alive and is part of Beowulf's action portrait.

• Beowulf will return from retirement to the streets because he wonders if his retirement was his limit.

• Aside from his name (and Grendel's) his moves are based on terms found in the poem Beowulf that are not common in the modern English world, in particular "Wulf", "Geatish", "Heorot", and "Naegling".

• He has a wolf motif, with a wolf logo and moves akin to a wolf, in particular Three Wulf Moonsault, Aroo Ready? and his burst. Other less-important notes include his expressive hood.

• Beowulf's entrance reveals the Lab Zero team.

• When Beowulf grabs the Hurting, he kisses it.

• Other character's quotes against him that seem to be related to his Story Mode include:
  • Parasoul's "You're in over your head.", "Take him to custody." and "You served our cause back then. You should just retire now."
  • Double's "You will regret challenging the Skullgirl." Note that this is Double's only quote that is related to the Skullgirl. She also says, "Foolish Buffoon. A false warrior." after winning against him.
  • To a less extent, Cerebella's "After this, can I have your autograph?", "So, you can still sign my hat... right?" and "It was an honor..."
  • Peacock's quotes against Beowulf mention her friend, Andy, who said that Beowulf would return from his retirement from Peacock's Story Mode.
  • Other characters also have quotes for him, but probably not too relevant to the story.

• Beowulf's lines themselves (along with an exclusive announcer, crowd, and penguin referee):
  
  • References found:
    • There is a single reference to the infamous super dragon chants.
    • One slightly altered scott steiner quote (the big bad wolf is your hookup).
    • "To be the man you've got to beat the man" is a catchphrase of ric flair.
    • One reference to the ho train and the godfather (the aroo train.)
    • "It's beowulf time" is a vader thing.
    • "It's true" is a Kurt Angle reference.
    • About a million rock quotes. (finally, jabronis,it doesn't matter, know your role, etc)
    • "This business" is a pretty clear reference to triple h.
    • "Sweet" on the superkick..sweet chin music/hbk
    • "The wildest there is, was, and ever will be" is a reference to bret hart
    • Numerous instances of beowulf directing his opponent and even the cameras (hardcam, body bump, highspot, slow it down.)
    • A winner is you is a famous meme from nes pro wrestlingReference to smark terms such as: botching (messing up a move), back bump (jump on your back), corpsing (breaking character in the ring), shooting (a type of out of character interview or statement), -5 stars is actually a reference to david meltzer who is probably the biggest wrestling journalist in the world.
    • Blading is the carney practice of using a razor blade to let a little blood in a match.
    • A hot tag is the type of tag where one guy in a tag match is getting beat on, and after a good length of time he gets his partner in the ring, who then proceeds to cleans house.
    • "Can you dig it?" is a booker t reference...which he stole from the warriors.
    • "Hell Yeah" is a random exclamation and also steve austin's catch phrase.
    • The 128 inch pythons line is a reference to hulk hogan talking about his pythons. Running wild..brother...wolfamania. etc.
    • Oh yeahhhh...totally a randy savage quote thar.
    • Chopping while wooing is another flair reference.
    • Pipebomb..cm punk dur.
    • bang bang is a reference to cactus jack.
    • the announcer quote about someone being broken in half is a paraphrased quote from jr.
    • "Hammer" may or may not be an allusion to the legendary burning hamaaa.
    • When doing the Hogan ear he'll shout "What?" in homage to one of the most annoying mid-promo chants started by the legendary Stone Cold Steve Austin.
  • Beowulf calls Eliza the Crimson Scourge, a nickname given to Neferu (not her disguise Eliza)
  • He calls Samson, Filia's parasite whose presense is supposed to be hidden from the public.
  • Beowulf expresses a certain dislike for Double (namely, "You're done fooling me!", "This business gets ugly enough without you.", "Imposter!", and some blaming intonation when calling her name)

• Alex Ahad's statements from interviews:
  • He's NOT Scythana's dad. [emoji14]
  • The Hurting is just a really durable chair
  • Around 20- to 30-year old. In his mid-30s. Older than Parasoul but younger than Mrs Victoria
  • Beowulf and Annie might have met and have a respect/acknowledgement of each other considering that they're both celebrities who have a lot of kid fans.
  • It would "make sense" if Beowulf has been drafted during the war, perhaps becoming something of a war icon. This is undetermined
  • Beowulf’s intelligence might not be particularly noteworthy, but he gets the job done
  • Beowulf’s weight class is the mid-lower end of cruiserweight, the level just below heavyweight
  • Beowulf respects Annie as he thinks they are both hard working people in the entertainment industry with stage personas to maintain. Like most people, he only thinks that she is an actress playing the part
  • Beowulf is basically a side-character who is pretty detached from the main story. Until now his career has not brought him into contact with the main group
  • As for Beowulf’s reason for retiring from wresting after his match with Grendel: most fans thought that it was to keep his winning streak, but ripping off your opponent’s arm and killing their mom… you have to think about where your job is taking you.
  • Beowulf is currently undefeated with a win-loss ratio of approximately 32:0 (which is a completely arbitrary number and will probably change in the future)
  • Beowulf is 287 lbs
  • Ms. Fortune is next to Beowulf on the SG Power Level Scale, which is pretty low.

• Beowulf's personality from Night Phyre:
  • He's a man of action, tackling problems head on without hesitation... but that also means he's the kind of guy that gets an idea in his head and immediately starts chasing after it with all of his energy, without necessarily thinking it through all the way, and he sometimes drops/forgets things just as quickly.
  • Always excited to perform for an audience, always ready to laugh (at and with you), and DOESN'T AFRAID OF ANYTHING.

• Playlist given by Night Phyre that projects the mood of Beowulf's Story Mode where the last three songs are possible endings:
  
  

• Annie will appear to have a conversation or two.

• The empty NMO Arena has a different track to the normal NMO Arena, a jazzy version to be exact.

• In the Empty NMO Arena, the crowd can still be heard because it's all in Beowulf's imagination.

• There will be a possible still with subtle sexual imagery.

• The Story Mode:
  

What we can speculate based on the information is that:

1. He either didn't originally come from the Canopy Kingdom and he's from the Skullverse version of Geatland/Sweden (like how Eliza's from the Skullverse version of Egypt) or that himself or his family was influenced by Geatish literature.
2. He might be a veteran soldier who worked for Parasoul. Alex Ahad himself said that it would make sense for him to be on military service in a similar position to Captain America.
3. In the beginning of his Story Mode he would somehow clash into Parasoul for doing something either illegal or talking bad of her family, which gives Parasoul the need to arrest him. Later on Double's quote indicates that Beowulf is out to fight the Skullgirl just to challenge his limits.
4. Cerebella would fight against Beowulf for fun. Either she fights against him in the NMO Arena or Beowulf just happens to find Cerebella who is willingly ready to wrestle. When Peacock meets Beowulf, Andy will point at him and fanboys. Perhaps Beowulf asks Peacock to challenge him as well, based on Peacock's quote: "Whatever, Andy! I can take him!"
5. Grendel might be in the game as a boss and that's probably where Beowulf will have an assist. As for Beowulf's assist, it's either Parasoul, Cerebella, or Peacock. I'm going with Parasoul for now because Peacock assisted Big Band while Cerebella assissted Eliza.
6. He used to be a prince of a kingdom (possibly what is now part of No Man's Land). He didn't want to be a prince (he wasn't the crown prince anyway) and he's very adventurous so he traveled to the Canopy Kingdom without ever returning. That's when he started his pro-wrestling career.
7. Beowulf's possible motivations:
   • Beowulf might want to rebuild his abolished kingdom with the Skullheart.
   • Because of the war he became insane and his actions are seen as criminal by the law. He might even get stopped by Grendel and get killed.
   • Beowulf might be soul-searching
   • Beowulf just plain wants to know how strong he can be.
   • Beowulf wants to do a publicity stunt and redeem himself after the (possible) bad reputation he had gone through.
8. He has a very close relationship with the Hurting that he occasionally talks to it.
9. This guy is the Dragon of Beowulf's story.
10. We will learn more about the Grand War.
11. Beowulf's Story Mode will break the 4th wall frequently.
12. Beowulf has a special connection with Mrs. Victoria, perhaps marriage.
13. Taliesin will encounter (and possibly flirt) Beowulf.
14. Beowulf can leap into different dimensions.
15. After retirement, he will try out different careers, including becoming a nurse.
16. Valentine will try to interfere with Beowulf in a way.
17. There will be another Beowulf-related stage aside from the NMO Arenas.
18. Annie's role in the Story Mode:
    • Annie shows up and is an important character who helps Beowulf out but doesn't really do much fighting.
    • Annie shows up for a few scenes, or even just one scene. Doesn't do much of significance, or few things of major significance
    • Annie is secretly playable and is only going to be revealed as of Beo's story mode
    • Annie is a new boss character.
      
    • Annie will attempt to fight Beowulf in the ring but fail.
    • Annie will warn Beowulf about the Skullgirl.
    • Annie will be the dragon
19. The "real vs. fake" stigma of professional wrestling is reversed in SG's universe
    
20. Beowulf is either an immigrant or he is born from immigrants from a tribe that loves fighting
21. Parasoul used to idolize Beowulf
22. Grendel's mother is still alive
23. Beowulf knows too much about the Skullgirls and Double and Valentine are there to stop him.
24. Valentine will be Beowulf's assist.
25. Beowulf is the Dragon
26. Beowulf will fight against Big Band who has Painwheel as his assist.
27. Beowulf's retirement lasted for around 3-5 years.

Speculations not based on evidence:

1. If Beowulf doesn't die in the ending, he might be polishing the Skull Heart that he has taken and then he gets invaded by Black Dahlia or Double in disguise who tries to take the Skull Heart. Then there's a cliff hanger.
2. If Big Band is an example of a man destroying the Skull Heart, Beowulf would be the example of a man trying to wish on the Skull Heart. Then again, all the DLC characters beside Beowulf destroy it, so it's likely that he'd destroy the Skull Heart as well.
3. What will happen in the Empty NMO Arena
   • Grendel will fight against Beowulf for revenge.
   • Beowulf will ponder about coming out of retirement before someone barges in for a fight.
   • Beowulf will beat himself up. Possibly we will play as the pallete-swapped Beowulf against the default one.
   • Double will taunt Beowulf which leads to a fight.
4. After Beowulf fights against the dragon, he hangs up the persona for good and embraces a new life, becomes a wanderer, or an author and pens an amazing tome of his adventures or it ends with him being the author detailing all the events of Skullgirls. Shows an old Wulf holding a book, telling the tale to little ones, closes it with a smile on his face, roll credits.
   
5. The Dragon will not appear on the current Skullgirls game but the 2nd or the 3rd.
6. Beowulf will be romantically involved with Parasoul.
7. Grendel will team up with Beowulf.
8. Beowulf will fight against Eliza, possibly from the terrible things she's done to the Canopy Kingdom.
9. Beowulf is a librarian/reads books a lot and knows a lot about the history of the Skullverse.
10. Beowulf will challenge the Skull Heart by wishing to be a girl. As the result, he becomes a Skullgirl.
11. Beowulf and Big Band are war buddies.
12. Beowulf and Big Band will fight over the Skull Heart.
13. After defeating Marie, and if he is able to cross through dimensions, he might end up in the Abyss (Aeon and Venus's realm).
14. Beowulf dreamed the entire game and has been in a coma for the past 2 weeks.

OK what else can you think based on the information we're given?

 

[JinKazama'94]

Don't we already have a Beowulf Thread called Retiring from Retirement?

I don't think that the Grendel will be a boss due to the Money/time it will take.

 

[Kuzlalala]

Yeah I checked it out but that thread was closed since Beowulf was released in Beta.

 

[Hidgerknight]

Captain New Meridia... Wait, that's a lame pun.

 

[Denizen]

Thanks Lala, for creating a lore thread for Beowulf. I don't see any mistakes with your information so I guess we can get straight to discussion. As we discover more canon information you should edit the first post to reflect it.

Yeah, I'm 95% sure that we won't be seeing a brand new boss due to the amount of time and money it would take up. It would be cool for Grendel to show up as an NPC though, in fact I think it will be likely. Speaking of NPCs, there are several characters in the original epic poem who could have Skullgirls counterparts. Namely Wiglaf and The Dragon.
I actually wrote up a backstory for an original character based on the former. Alex Ahad would probably do better.

 

[Kuzlalala]

For Wiglaf's character I'm going with the penguin who will probably be Beo's companion. I had a speculation that the penguin is from the same country as Beowulf but I found it unlikely since Sweden is on the Northern Hemisphere while all penguins are native to the Southern Hemisphere.

As for filling the role of the Dragon it's either Marie or another character who will appear after his Story Mode.

 

[Hidgerknight]

His Chair is dubbed "The Hurting", the same as the sword in the poem named, but with a little bit of different spelling.
Skullgirls: "The Hurting"
Beowulf: "The Hrunting"
I presume the chair will take a part of the lore for Beowulf too?
(This isn't a joke, tho.)

 

[Denizen]

For Wiglaf's character I'm going with the penguin who will probably be Beo's companion.

Nah the Penguin is just a humorous reference to this:

I don't think he'll be that important to Beowulf's story.

 

[Kuzlalala]

Yeah he'll probably just as significant to Beowulf's story as the people behind the stage he ripped through.

 

[Denizen]

I'll be very disappointed if Marie ends up being Beowulf's Dragon. I think Alex Ahad much can do better than that considering how well written the most recent story modes have been. Personally I'm hoping it's that character with the draconic parasite that only appears in one of Alex's sketches. Regardless, I hope that Beowulf's story mode introduces a lot of fresh and new characters and settings, instead of expanding on the ones that we're already familiar with.

 

[The Dave]

For Wiglaf's character I'm going with the penguin who will probably be Beo's companion. I had a speculation that the penguin is from the same country as Beowulf but I found it unlikely since Sweden is on the Northern Hemisphere while all penguins are native to the Southern Hemisphere.

As for filling the role of the Dragon it's either Marie or another character who will appear after his Story Mode.

...And suddenly I remember Topper the Penguin from Santa Claus is Coming to Town. (Basically, a random penguin Santa found that got very, very lost trying to find the South Pole.)

As for the Dragon... Leviathan? Nah, that's crazy. D. Violet? Possibly even crazier.

Also... the Wolf motif- any chance it's related to his old country's coat of arms? Kind of like Captain America and the flag? The indestructible, throw-able chair was referenced to work kind of like Cap's shield, as I recall.

 

[PKStoopKid]

I don't feel like we'll meet new people in Beo's story, but I feel like Beo's story will have a different boss maybe a surprise that L0 isn't telling us similar to how Nightmare Crest and Gehenna were supposed to be surprises, I know Annie is gonna be mentioned and probably Black Egrets though

 

[Hidgerknight]

...And suddenly I remember Topper the Penguin from Santa Claus is Coming to Town. (Basically, a random penguin Santa found that got very, very lost trying to find the South Pole.)

As for the Dragon... Leviathan? Nah, that's crazy. D. Violet? Possibly even crazier.

Also... the Wolf motif- any chance it's related to his old country's coat of arms? Kind of like Captain America and the flag? The indestructible, throw-able chair was referenced to work kind of like Cap's shield, as I recall.

The chair is a mix of Cap's shield and Beo's Hrunting.
Beowulf is pure Meridian, so his Wulf fanatism's probably just his own stereotype as he climbs up the wrestling leaderboards, and kinda just got to be his advertising tool. (Such as people's posters implying that you need to "Obey the Wulf.")

 

[TechPowah]

Nah the Penguin is just a humorous reference to this:

I don't think he'll be that important to Beowulf's story.

That said, every character who consists of multiple people use all of them in the story, even if as ancillary characters. The referee may or may not be as important to Beowulf's personal story as, let's say, Albus and Horace are to Eliza or Avery, Tommy and Andy are to Peacock, but it's not like L0 to have an additional character as part of a moveset and not also utilize said extra character for the corresponding character's story mode.

Maybe the penguin Feral is actually Beowulf's friend and/or manager who doubles as Beowulf's personal referee.

 

[Kuzlalala]

Another idea popped out of my head. What if because of the war Beowulf became insane and claimed that he wanted to challenge but became some wanted criminal instead? After Beowulf defeats Marie, Grendel would be there to stop him (and possibly end his life).

 

[Denizen]

That's creeping into head canon territory, but I like the creativity.

 

[Kuzlalala]

Were still talking about the Story Mode. Who knows if that will actually happen?

 

[BallotBoxer]

While I can't see Beowulf going insane, being a secret prince, or appearing as a werewolf/ feral, there are plenty of angles to speculate before we see the story mode. (good thread!) But I am 100% sure Grendel won't be a boss as others have explained in previous posts (money and memory play big factors against it).

Might as well include canon info thread material too, right?

- He's NOT Scythana's dad. :p
- The Hurting is just a really durable chair
- Around 20- to 30-year old. Older than Parasoul but younger than Mrs Victoria
- Beowulf and Annie might have met and have a respect/acknowledgement of each other considering that they're both celebrities who have a lot of kid fans.
- It would "make sense" if Beowulf has been drafted during the war, perhaps becoming something of a war icon. This is undetermined
- Beowulf’s intelligence might not be particularly noteworthy, but he gets the job done
- Beowulf’s weight class is the mid-lower end of cruiserweight, the level just below heavyweight
- Beowulf respects Annie as he thinks they are both hard working people in the entertainment industry with stage personas to maintain. Like most people, he only thinks that she is an actress playing the part
- Beowulf is basically a side-character who is pretty detached from the main story. Until now his career has not brought him into contact with the main group
- As for Beowulf’s reason for retiring from wresting after his match with Grendel: most fans thought that it was to keep his winning streak, but ripping off your opponent’s arm and killing their mom… you have to think about where your job is taking you.
- Beowulf is currently undefeated with a win-loss ratio of approximately 32:0 (which is a completely arbitrary number and will probably change in the future)​

Parasoul is 25. She was around Umbrella's current age, 10, when the Grand War started. Since Beowulf is a little older than Parasoul, he might be draft age to serve in the military.

The Grand War (a war between the Canopy Kingdom, the Chess Kingdom, and the Gigan Nation that lasted about a decade) is estimated here in lime:

I hope they touch on the Grand War a bit in the story mode. It will be interesting to see how humans and Gigans transition from enemies on the battlefield to sparring in the ring. Or as Double says in her new quotes "Foolish Buffoon. A false warrior." From a real fight to the farce of wrestling (maybe wrestling isn't fake in the Skullgirls universe if dismemberment is an outcome).

 

[Denizen]

I'm thinking Beowulf is at least 30. He's gotta have some time in his life for possible involvement in a war, professional wrestling, and retirement. As for Double's remark about him being a false warrior, I think that may just be a criticism of him fighting for sport, rather than questioning the legitimacy of pro wrestling in the Canopy Kingdom. Alex Ahad has confirmed that it is a real blood sport.

 

[Beowolf Fanboy]

As for Double's remark about him being a false warrior

wait..when did double call him that? not trying to call you out or anything but im just curious.

 

[TechPowah]

It's one of her winquotes against him.

 

[Beowolf Fanboy]

??really??

 

[Beowolf Fanboy]

wow i just played the game to hear double say that and boy do I have quite a theory.

 

[Denizen]

The Grand War (a war between the Canopy Kingdom, the Chess Kingdom, and the Gigan Nation that lasted about a decade) is estimated here in lime:

Wow I just realized that your estimation for the span of the Grand War is exactly the same as mine.

 

[Kuzlalala]

I edited the OP to add Alex Ahad's statements and more speculation as well.

Also, if Grendel's not going to be a boss in Beowulf's Story Mode, who do you think will fight against him in the Empty NMO Arena? What kind of scenario would bring him there?

 

[Denizen]

Maybe it'll be a symbolic moment where he fights himself.

 

[North888]

There are a number of possible things. Maybe the empty arena won't even be the final boss area. He could return the arena at night, thinking about his life decisions, find someone there for some reason, fight them, and decide to come outta retirement, all culmination in a final boss and THEN a random fight in the arena!

 

[TechPowah]

Maybe it'll be a symbolic moment where he fights himself.

What if, instead of you fighting a palette swapped Beowulf <usually presented as either Double in full-on disguise mode or when Painwheel fought the Brain Drain color to symbolize her fighting her brainwashing>, it's YOU as the palette swapped Beowulf fighting the default, to better symbolize Beowulf beating himself up over what happened with Grendel/his mom.

 

[Kuzlalala]

Man, that's deep and depressing, but I like it.

 

[Denizen]

Put Tech on the team Lab Zero, what are you waiting for?

 

[Kuzlalala]

As for Grendel being a boss, I don't 100% know how animation works (I wish I do because I want to be one myself), but somehow the key animators said they're done even though it has been weeks after Beowulf has all his rough animations done.

 

[Beowolf Fanboy]

What if, instead of you fighting a palette swapped Beowulf <usually presented as either Double in full-on disguise mode or when Painwheel fought the Brain Drain color to symbolize her fighting her brainwashing>, it's YOU as the palette swapped Beowulf fighting the default, to better symbolize Beowulf beating himself up over what happened with Grendel/his mom.

wow that is exactly where my theory was going to begin. because just think about it. Parasoul quote to, double calling him a false warrior. what if beowulfs story mode is him regretting what he did and he is just soul searching.

 

[Shockdingo]

About the dragon; I remember a few of us discussing this a bit back, but I think that since SG was planned to be a trilogy the Dragon might be someone he encounters at the end of the second game, having things end on a cliffhanger (did he die?!) ooooooooooor, the dragon is met in the 3rd game, they have an epic fight, people wonder about Wulf's fate and it turns out that he "died." Retired from fighting for good due to an injury, or that was his final and greatest fight, so he hangs up the persona for good and embraces a new life, becomes a wanderer, or an author and pens an amazing tome of his adventures or it ends with him being the author detailing all the events of Skullgirls. Shows an old Wulf holding a book, telling the tale to little ones, closes it with a smile on his face, roll credits.

 

[Kuzlalala]

If one of Beo's likes is literature, that will make my day.

 

[Beowolf Fanboy]

If one of Beo's likes is literature, that will make my day.

maybe he'll fight parasoul and make out with her...just sayin'

 

[Kuzlalala]

Wow, we never had a single romance story in Skullgirls (which I like) so Beowulf making out with Parasoul would be a stretch.

 

[North888]

It'd be funny if, through some magical plot device, had to team up with Grendel in some regard. It's not going to happen, but I'd find it funny if they did.

 

[Denizen]

Don't say it's not going to happen, you don't know that.

 

[North888]

True, I don't know...man you're building my hopes up! It's all your fault if it doesn't happen now! >_<

Anyway, on a secondary note, something inside me says Beowulf may not actually fight Marie, and I also get the feeling that his final fight in his story mode won't actually be in the cathedral or related area. Kind of a gut feeling, I guess.

 

[Hidgerknight]

As for Grendel being a boss, I don't 100% know how animation works (I wish I do because I want to be one myself), but somehow the key animators said they're done even though it has been weeks after Beowulf has all his rough animations done.

You want to become an animation.
What a surprise.
(Just jokin'.)

On topic now, I support the idea of Beowulf making out with Parasoul, though I'd rather question you guys if it would add up a bunch more of the storyline, like "Beowulf became the king of Canopy Kingdom and ruled New Meridian with Parasoul, but is killed by the dragon silently" type of thing.