Gilius Thunderhead

Gilius Thunderhead is a character from Golden Axe series, he makes his debut on the 1st Golden Axe game as one of the main protagonists.

Golden Axe
Gilius Thunderhead and his young brother and only relative (in the games), "Garī", were among the soldiers from the Firewood Kingdom fighting against Death Adder's army. When Death Adder attacked, Gilius was knocked out during the battle. Gilius was the only soldier that survived the attack. When he recovered consciousness, his dead brother was lying on Gilius, apparently protecting him from the massacre.

Six years later, Gilius learns that Death Adder invaded the Southwood Kingdom and captured the King and Princess. Seeking revenge and justice, Gilius Thunderhead took up arms against Death Adder and his dark forces. Along with Tyris Flare and Ax Battler, Gilius pushed back the forces of Death Adder, retrieved the Golden Axe, and renewed peace across the land.

Golden Axe II
Gilius Thunderhead takes up arms, along with Tyris Flare and Ax Battler, to fight the evil giant Dark Guld, retrieve the Golden Axe and restore peace across the land once more.

Golden Axe III
Many years have passed, and Tyris Flare and Ax Battler have passed away (possibly due to old age). Gilius Thunderhead decided that the Golden Axe should be returned to the gods, so that it would not fall into the hands of evil again.

With the Golden Axe in hand, Gilius bade farewell to everyone and set sail from the mainland on a voyage to the ends of the world. After some time sailing, a fierce storm suddenly appeared and brought wave after wave upon Gilius's ship, causing massive damage and throwing all crew members off the ship; including Gilius himself. Gilius couldn't hold onto the Golden Axe, and as he lost consciousness he could hear a loud, evil laughter.

Gilius washed up on the kingdom of Splash Hill in East Land, and stayed to recover his wounds. Some time later, when he regained the ability to walk, he set out to search for the Golden Axe, but what he saw was a dark world caught in a battle of hatred, tainted with blood and flames. Though once a peaceful kingdom, the mysterious Damned Hellstrike suddenly appeared with an army of demons and overrun the kingdom, imprisoning and enslaving all who lived there. The king's whereabouts were unknown and the princess was imprisoned in the castle.

Gilius knew that must be the work of the Golden Axe. Too old to take to battle once more, and also injured, Gilius sent out a call to the bravest of heroes to take up arms and fight against the evil king and retrieve the Golden Axe.

Gilius briefly appeared during the introduction and does not fight directly, instead, he acts as mentor and sage to the new warriors that have taken up arms against Damned Hellstrike. He has also swapped his axe for a walking stick.

Golden Axe: The Revenge of Dark Adder
Taking place after the first Golden Axe (the story of Golden Axe II and III are separated from this game), Gilius Thunderhead returns to the battlefield to take up arms against Death Adder. Gilius sits upon the shoulders of Goah the giant, apparently lending his axe to the giant. His only action during the game is using Magic Pots in Goah's place.

After the final showdown with Death Adder on the back of a dragon, the giant attempts to destroy the warriors by casting a powerful magic. Gilius strikes Death Adder with Goah's axe, interrupting him and causing them both to fall from the dragon's back. They are engulfed in the resulting explosion of Death Adder's magic, apparently killing both.

Golden Axe Warrior
Although not named Gilius, the dwarf Gillian appears to be a misnamed/renamed Gilius as he resembles him and has a role similar to Ax Battler and Tyris. Gillian is from Numibi, a dwarf village in the mountains that was destroyed by Death Adder. He managed to escape, but is wounded and hides in a cave in Lake Whale to recover and avoid Death Adder's monsters.

The player can find Gillian's cave by chopping the trees in Lake Whale with the Battle Axe. Gillian asks for a Golden Apple to heal his wounds, and if the player helps him, he will give the Thunder Magic Scroll as thanks. After the player obtains four of the nine crystals, Gillian will upgrade the Thunder Magic if revisited, and has faith that the warrior can defeat Death Adder.

Golden Axe: Beast Rider
The proud and ancient Gilius Thunderhead was entrusted by the Axirian Sisterhood with their piece of the Golden Axe. During a ceremony, Death Adder's minions attack The Island of Axir and kill all members of the Axirian Sisterhood, except for Tyris. Alone, the dwarf warrior was unable to stop the Great Dragon's capture and is injured. When Gilius sees Tyris in the Diyar Highlands, he is surprised to see her alive and gives her the pieces of the Golden Axe he collected, trusting her to repair it and defeat Death Adder.

Crossover Appearances
SEGA and Sonic All stars Tournament Arena

Gilius is one of the characters that represent Golden Axe series along with Sara Burn and Mustang.

Sega All-Star Heroes

Gilius and Ax Battler appears facing Golden Axe series in the game.

SEGA Superstars All-Out Battle

Gilius appears as an unlockable character.

SEGA Fighting Super Heroes

He is one of the characters of the game.

Sega vs. Capcom

Gilius and Death Adder appears facing Golden Axe series in the game.

Sega vs. Capcom: All-Star Battle

He is one of the characters from Sega side.

Sega vs Capcom: Battle of the Allstars

He is one of the characters from Sega side.

Nintendo & Sega at the Olympic Games

Gilius is one of the characters from Sega side.

Capcom X Sega: All-Stars Competition

Gilius is one of the Sega characters in the game.

Shonen Jump vs. Sega

Gilius is one of the unlockable characters from Sega side.

DC vs. Sega: Chaotic Justice

He is one of the characters from Sega side.

Project X Zone 3: War of Infinite Worlds

Gilius appears as a Solo Unit.

Project X Zone 3: The Azure Eclipse

Gilius appears as a Solo Unit.

Project X Zone 4: Fate at Hands

Gilius makes a cameo appearance in Ulala's Solo Unit attack.

SSB4: Remake

He is one of the characters from the starter roster.

Heroes Infinity

He is one of the characters from Sega side.

Trivia

 * Gilius was planned to appear in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing with a Chicken Leg as his transport, but is absent in the final version. However, he was later included in the sequel Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed with his own car.
 * In the manual from the computer versions of Golden Axe, Gilius's story was altered. In it he is a dwarf from the mines of Wolud, where he lost his twin brother in the battle to defend their homestead against Death Adder's forces. Members of the Dwarvish race are very closely bonded to their relatives by emotional ties - and in the case of twins, this bonding is immensely strong. Gilius Thunderhead has sworn by all he holds sacred to join his brother in death by killing Death Adder and then committing suicide. This is not part of the main story, as he appears in sequels.
 * Gilius made a cameo in Shining in the Darkness as a weapons merchant.