When you’re making a show about the things that drive American beliefs, guns would likely be on the top of that list. We’ve become a nation obsessed, frantic and reactionary when it comes to any conversation about gun control and/or gun-related deaths. I mean, heck: the Second Amendment is a hot button issue for a reason. So it makes a lot of sense that, even on a show as expansive and thorough in its dissection of American culture and its motivations, that American Gods‘ TV adaptation would concoct a brand new character from the Roman god of weaponry and fire, Vulcan. And we’ve got your exclusive first look at him in action right here.
One of Mr. Wednesday’s oldest friends, he and Shadow head to Vulcan’s home base in the forthcoming episode “A Murder of Gods” in order to recruit him to their side. But given how much he’s commodified his way of worship—through guns and firepower, tiny volcanoes in American hands—don’t expect him to be all that quick to sign on the dotted line.
In a quote from an interview with Entertainment Weekly, co-showrunner Michael Green explains the genesis of the character as “a brand-new addition who came from an experience Neil [Gaiman] had. He was going through a small town in Alabama where he saw a statue of Vulcan. It was a steel town and, as he told the story, there was a factory that had a series of accidents where people were killed on the job and they kept happening because an actuarial had done the numbers and realized that it was cheaper to pay out the damages to the families of people who lost people, rather than to shut down the factory long enough to repair, and that occurred to him as modern a definition of sacrifice as there might be.” And oh, does Vulcan ever collect himself some sacrifices in the latest episode.
In that same interview, co-showrunner Bryan Fuller also added that they “started talking about America’s obsession with guns and gun control and, really, if you’re holding a gun in your hand, it’s a mini volcano, and perhaps, through this character, there’s a conversation to be had.”
So get ready for a little bloodshed, and watch out for falling bullets when American Gods‘ sixth episode premieres on Sunday. What do you think of the clip? Let us know in the comments below.
Images: Starz
Alicia Lutes is the managing editor of Nerdist, creator and host of Fangirling!, and can frequently be found on Twitter.
