Valkyrior

Publication history

The Valkyrior, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appeared in Thor #133 (October 1966). The team, led by Valkyrie and Misty Knight is the subject of the 2013 series, The Fearless Defenders by Cullen Bunn and Will Sliney. Bun said about his book: "The basic idea of the book is that Valkyrie is choosing a new team of Valkyrior, and she's been asked to choose all these women from the heroes of Midgard, instead of from Asgard. She has completely failed in this task. Valkyrie has been unable to choose anyone that she feels is worthy to be one of the hosts of the shield maidens. So she just hasn't done it. She's dropped the ball. Because she's not done what she said she would do, nature—or supernature, as it is—abhors a vacuum. The absence of the Valkyrior has opened the door to something terrible. Something awful is waking, and Valkyrie finds that it's really her fault that she's put everything at risk".

Fictional history

The Valkyrior are warrior goddesses of Asgard who ride winged horses. Originally, under the leadership of Brunnhilde, they took mortally wounded human heroes from German and Scandinavian battlegrounds and brought them to Valhalla, an area of the Asgardian dimension where the astral forms of the dead Asgardians and human heroes eternally feast and compete in friendly battles. The Valkyries were no longer able to perform this task when Odin, ruler of Asgard, vowed to the Celestials a millennium ago that he would restrict Asgardian contact with Earth.

In later years, Brunnhilde became a member of Earth's Defenders. The other Valkyries all died when Odin and Hela went to war over who would rule Valhalla. Odin restored the Valkyries to life after he regained possession of Valhalla, but these Valkyries only have physical form within Valhalla; outside it, they exist only in astral form. Valtrauta has taken Brunnhilde's place as ruler of the Valkyrior, and Hildegarde's sister Krista (aka Mist) has filled the role of the ninth Valkyrie, left open since Brunnhilde's departure.

During the "War of the Realms" storyline, Brunnhilde and the rest of the Valkyrior, save Mirage, are massacred by Malekith and his forces invading New York. During the battle, Brunnhilde is beheaded by Malekith. Afterwards, Jane Foster then takes up the mantle of Valkyrie.

Members

Asgard Valkyrior

• Axe – a member of the Valkyrior
• Brunnhilde – former leader of the Valkyrior
• Danielle Moonstar / Mirage – an original member of the New Mutants, she joined the Valkyrior
• Freya – a former member of the Valkyrior
• Gerda – a member of the Valkyrior
• Grimgerta – a member of the Valkyrior
• Gruenhilda – a member of the Valkyrior
• Hercara – a member of the Valkyrior
• Fatal Sisters – an elite trio of the Valkyrior
  • Hilda – a member of the Valkyrior
  • Mista – a member of the Valkyrior
  • Sangrida – a member of the Valkyrior
• Hildegarde – a member of the Valkyrior
• Krista – a member of the Valkyrior, she invited Danielle to join with the Valkyrior
• Leita – a member of the Valkyrior
• Rossveissa – a member of the Valkyrior, but forced to serve Hela
• Svava – a member of the Valkyrior, but forced to serve Hela
• Sygnet – a member of the Valkyrior
• Valtrauta – current leader of the Valkyrior
• Jane Foster – first of a new generation of the Valkyrior, she wields Undrajarn the All-Weapon, a weapon that can change its shape and be whatever she needs, such as a sword, mace, or pair of wings
• Rūna – one of the original nine Valkyries and the original wielder of Jarnbjorn

Disir

• Brün – leader of the Disir, she was the first one to be cursed by Bor due to their rebellion when working with Sigurd
• Göndul – a member of the Disir, she is a coward and a fool
• Hlökk – a member of the Disir
• Kára – a member of the Disir

Defenders Valkyrior

• Brunnhilde – leader of the Defenders
• Misty Knight – a member of the Valkyrior and Defenders
• Elsa Bloodstone – a member of the Valkyrior and Defenders
• Clea – a member of the Valkyrior and Defenders
• Danielle Moonstar – a former member of the Valkyrior and Defenders
• Nova – a member of the Valkyrior
• Ren Kimura – a member of the Valkyrior and Defenders, girlfriend of Annabelle
• Annabelle Riggs – a member of the Valkyrior and Defenders, girlfriend of Ren
• Hippolyta – a member of the Valkyrior and Defenders

In other media

The Valkyrior appear in the 2017 live-action film Thor: Ragnarok. Odin sent them to Hel to prevent Hela from escaping. However, the attack turned into a massacre, as Hela killed every Valkyrie with the exception of Valkyrie / Scrapper 142. The trauma of the massacre led Valkyrie to abandon Asgard and settle on Sakaar.

References

References

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