Valkyrie (Marvel Comics) Character Review
Valkyrie is a fictional superhero (Character) created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics, based on the Norse mythological figure Brynhildr. The character first appeared in The Avengers (December 1970) and has become a mainstay of the superhero team known as the Defenders. An Asgardian by birth, Valkyrie, also known by her real name Brunnhilde, was selected by Odin to lead the Valkyrior.
Among her other aliases are Barbara Denton-Norriss, Samantha
Parrington, and Sian Bowen who all were host bodies to the spirit of
Brunnhilde. Samantha Parrington, a previous host of Brunnhilde, later
received Valkyrie's powers and became a member of the Defenders herself.
An ally and one-time love interest of Thor, she was ranked 65th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list...More about Valkyrie (Marvel Comics) Character Review - keep reading !!
Fictional Biography
Brunnhilde was selected by Odin, King of the Gods of the realm of Asgard, to lead the Valkyrior
(the Choosers of the Slain), a group of warrior goddesses who would
appear over the battlefields of mortal worshippers of the Asgardian gods
and choose which of the fallen were worthy to be taken to Valhalla, the land of the honored dead. Brunnhilde served capably in this capacity for centuries.
According to a sentient, disembodied eye that claimed to have once belonged to Odin, the Asgardian monarch once gave his son Thor
the mortal identity of the warrior Siegmund. Circumstances forced Odin
to decree that Siegmund must be slain. Brunnhilde, recognizing that Odin
was acting against his true wishes, sought to protect Siegmund, but Odin himself then caused Siegmund's death. Brunnhilde helped Siegmund's pregnant lover, Sieglinde get to safety.
As punishment for her defiance, Odin removed Brunnhilde's Asgardian
powers and immortality and cast her into a trance. She was eventually awakened by Siegfried, the son of Siegmund and Sieglinde and another mortal incarnation of Thor.
Brunnhilde and Siegfried became lovers, and she made him invulnerable
so long as his back was not turned on his foe. Siegfried fell under the
influence of magic and betrayed her. He was later murdered, and Brunnhilde, still in love with him, leapt into his blazing funeral pyre (this part of her background was based on the Volsunga saga).
Odin restored both of them to life, restoring their Asgardian roles and
powers, but removing their memories of their earthly lives. It is unclear how much truth, if any, there is to this account by the eye.
Brunnhilde and her fellow Valkyries continued to gather heroic mortal
warriors for Valhalla until roughly a millennium ago, when Odin was
forced to cease virtually all interaction with the Earth in accordance
with a pact that he and the leaders of Earth's other pantheons of gods
made with the extraterrestrial Celestials.
From then onward, the Valkyries could only choose slain heroes from
among fallen Asgardian warriors. Brunnhilde was bitter over being barred
from choosing warriors on Earth and roamed Asgard in pursuit of
something meaningful to do. In a tavern on the outskirts of Marmoragard,
Brunnhilde encountered Amora the Enchantress,
who offered her a life of adventure. For several weeks Brunnhilde
accompanied the Enchantress on her conquests. Brunnhilde soon discovered
Amora's immoral nature and tried to end their partnership. In response
the Enchantress trapped Brunnhilde within a mystic crystal of souls. While Brunnhilde's body remained in suspended animation, her immortal
soul became Amora's plaything. Over the centuries the Enchantress used
Brunnhilde's spiritual essence to give the Valkyrie’s powers to herself
or to her pawns.
Specific instances of Amora's exploitation of the Valkyrie before
recent years are not yet known. The first time the Enchantress assumed
the Valkyrie's physical aspect in recent years was in a plot to lead a
handful of female superhumans against the male Avengers as the Lady Liberators. Her true identity was discovered and her plan thwarted. Months later,
the Enchantress bestowed the Valkyrie's power upon a socialite named
Samantha Parrington in an attempt to get revenge on the Hulk.
Finally, a woman driven mad by being trapped in another mystical
dimension, Barbara Norriss, was given the Valkyrie's power and
consciousness by the Enchantress to help her then-allies, the group of
superhumans called the Defenders, escape from the clutches of the sorceress Casiolena. Amora did not undo her spell on Norriss after Casiolena's defeat. As a result, Norriss' body now possessed Brunnhilda's consciousness,
appearance, and powers, while Norriss' own mental essence was trapped in
Brunnhilde's real body in Asgard. Aware that she was an immortal
essence in a mortal woman's body, the Valkyrie briefly left the
Defenders in an attempt to discover Barbara Norriss' past. She meets Norriss' father, Alvin Denton, shortly before his death and then returns to the Defenders.
It was not until a minor Asgardian warrior named Ollerus attempted to take over Valhalla that the Valkyrie’s two mixed aspects met for the first time. Brunnhilde’s mental essence trapped in Norriss’s transformed body,
fought Norriss’ mental essence trapped in Brunnhilde’s real body. At the end of that encounter, the Valkyrie’s body, still possessed by
Norriss’ mind, was consigned to Niffleheim, the realm inhabited by the
spirits of the non-heroic Asgardian dead, while Brunnhilde’s mind in
Norriss’ transformed body accompanied the Defenders, who had made the
other dimensional journey with her, back to Earth.
For reasons yet unknown, Brunnhilde was not concerned at this time
about reuniting her mind with her true body. It was not until Barbara
Norriss’ body was murdered that the Valkyrie's spirit and mind were
inadvertently freed from their mortal host. With the help of Doctor Strange's magic, Brunnhilde regained her true body, which was rescued from Niffleheim
by the Enchantress. Back in her real body, Brunnhilde regained her full
memory and normal warrior personality as well. Brunnhilde then battled
Amora and banished her to the crystal of souls. Feeling estranged from
Asgard in general and Odin in particular for their neglect of her
centuries-long plight, Brunnhilde chose to return to Earth with the
Defenders
Odin placed the dangerously powerful self-styled goddess Moondragon into Brunnhilde's charge. Brunnhilde was to teach Moondragon humility, and Moondragon served
alongside Brunnhilde in the Defenders. Brunnhilde was to take action
against Moondragon should she again become a menace. Eventually
Moondragon reformed, but later she fell once again under the malevolent
influence of the alien entity called the Dragon of the Moon.
Moondragon attacked the Defenders, but Brunnhilde, given temporary
additional powers by Odin for this occasion, including the power to grow
to gigantic stature, opposed her. Brunnhilde summoned other Valkyries
to her aid and together with two other Defenders, the Angel and Cloud, they defeated Moondragon but failed to capture her.
Months later Moondragon returned to attack the Defenders. During this encounter, her power was vastly augmented by the alien Beyonder. In order to defeat the Dragon, Brunnhilde and the Eternal called Interloper projected their immortal life forces against it. They were joined by Defenders member Andromeda and the Defenders' former foe Manslaughter, for it was necessary that Brunnhilde's and Interloper's life forces pass through "mortal instruments" in order that Moondragon
be defeated as well. Joining hands, the four allies hurled the
tremendous power of their combined life forces at the Dragon,
Moondragon, and the Gargoyle
II, whose body was now under the Dragon's control. Three other
Defenders went to rescue endangered innocents, and when they returned,
Brunnhilde, Interloper, Andromeda, Manslaughter, Moondragon, and
Gargoyle had all seemingly been transformed into statues of ashes and
dust, and the Dragon of the Moon was apparently gone.
Brunnhilde was restored to life by Doctor Strange, now in the host body of a woman known as Sian Bowen. The other Defenders, Interloper, Andromeda, and Manslaughter were restored to life as well and they formed the Dragon Circle (the Defenders) to battle the Dragon of the Moon. After the Dragon of the Moon was defeated, Brunnhilde returned to Asgard. Brunnhilde was killed in battle just before Loki's destruction of Asgard.
With the return of the Asgardians to Earth, Brunnhilde was next seen as a member of the Secret Avengers. Writer Ed Brubaker confirmed that the Valkyrie on the team was indeed the original Brunnhilde.
After the resurgence of the Asgardian Serpent on Earth (Marvel Comics) and their defeat at Thor's
hand, Brunhilde seemingly defects from the Secret Avengers, embarking
in a mission to steal and recover for herself the hammers used by the
"Worthy", Cul's servants. She later reveals to have stopped consuming
the Apples of Idunn, thus lessening her stamina and resilience and
reverting to a mortal form, and as a Valkyrior she's able to seal within
herself the hammers. She plans to die after the deed is over, so as to
banish the worthy from the human plane of existence for the rest of
eternity. At the end of the series, the All Mother (Freyja, Gaea, and Idunn) task
her with selecting a new group of Valkyries. Only this time the new
Valkyries are to be all women from Earth...
Powers and Abilities (Valkyrie)
Valkyrie is the strongest of all Valkyrior. Like all her people, her
tissue and bone are several times as dense as the mortal equivalent.
Though she is not immortal, she ages far more slowly than humans.
Valkyrie is immune to all terrestrial diseases and is resistant to most
forms of injury. Her Asgardian physiology grants her superhuman levels
of stamina.
Valkyrie can perceive the approach of death, in the form of a
"deathglow" surrounding a person's body. She doesn't know how death
will come but she can tell that it is imminent. Valkyrie can transport
herself and a dying or dead body to and from the realm of the dead by
willing it. Valkyrie has had extensive training in sword fighting as
well as unarmed combat and horseback riding. Her natural fighting
ability is among the best of all Asgardian females, matched only by Sif.
Weapons and Equipment
Valkyrie carries two weapons of choice.
- An enchanted sword named Dragonfang. A wizard named Kahji-Da was said to have carved the sword from a tooth of an extra-dimensional dragon. The sword eventually passed into the possession of the Ancient One, who in turn gave it to his disciple Doctor Strange. Strange awarded it to the Valkyrie after she had returned the Black Knight's Ebony Blade, which she had been using, to its rightful owner. The sword is virtually indestructible.
- An unnamed iron spear.
Valkyrie rides a winged horse named Aragorn. Aragorn was given to her by the current Black Knight.
In Other Media (Film/Movie)
- Brunnhilde appears in the Hulk vs. Thor segment of the Hulk Vs DVD, voiced by an uncredited Nicole Oliver. She and her Valkyrior troops defend Asgard from an attack by the Hulk, who had separated from Bruce Banner by Loki. She is immediately swatted aside by Hulk when she attacks him.
- Brunnhilde appears in Thor: Tales of Asgard voiced by Cathy Weseluck.
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