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Thialfi (comics)
Encyclopedia
Thialfi is a Marvel Comics
character adapted from Þjálfi, a character in Norse mythology
by Dan Jurgens
.
marauders from the north raided his peaceful Norse village and his parents ran for their lives. They were intercepted by a marauder, who brutally murdered his father and left Thialfi and his mother to die. Later, when the Vikings were celebrating their victory and giving praise to Odin and Asgard, a young and naive Thor
appeared before them to join in their revelry. Thialfi's mother P'aesi interrupted them, however; she accused Thor of inciting the Vikings to murder, which Thor of course denied, claiming death was simply a consequence of battle. P'aesi assured Thor that there was no battle, merely the wholesale slaughter of a village, including women and children. Thor decided to see the battlefield and judge for himself, but as he walked away a Viking declared P'aesi a blasphemer and killed her.
Thor returned immediately and looked on the scene with horror. He chastised the Vikings for their brutality and told them that their gods urged them to defend themselves, not murder innocents. He flew P'aesi's corpse over to the battlefield, where the bodies of women and children were strewn alongside those of the men, just as P'aesi had said. Thialfi was there and, upon seeing P'aesi, ran over to her and began crying.
Thor yelled to his father Odin, who appeared before him. Odin responded that the humans behaved that way because they were inherently flawed, so it was best to just turn away. Thor was galled at Odin's apparent lack of compassion and demanded that he at least help Thialfi, who had been rendered an orphan because of the gods. Odin agreed despite Thor's insolent tone, but demanded a boon in return. He used the Odinforce to transform Thialfi into an Asgardian "blessed with wisdom, insight and speed enow to escape any enemy." His boon turned out to be that Thor find Thialfi a home in Asgard and that, upon Thialfi's coming of age, Thor return to him and treat him as he would his closest friend.
--and was accepted. When the cabal of businessmen and political leaders made their strike against Asgard, Thialfi was caught in the turmoil. He noticed Zarrko
escaping and tried to stop him, but he unwittingly ended up falling through Zarrko's temporal portal into the future.
, and her band of resistance fighters showed him Mjolnir abandoned, Thialfi began to doubt Thor. His fears were confirmed when he witnessed Loki's police force quell an uprising through sheer brutality without even trying to find another solution. Thor's regime had benefitted some, but it had also robbed humanity of its self-reliance. After exchanging words with Thor's son Magni
, which planted the same seed of doubt that Kya had given him, Thialfi resolved that, in order for humankind to regain its lost potential, Thor must die. He attempted to kill his friend and king the night he was to enter the Odinsleep. He misjudged the loyalty of Thor's inner circle, however. Thor's wife the Enchantress
managed to free Odin's pet wolf Freki
, who killed Thialfi.
Thialfi's fate after Thor restored the timeline by merging his younger self with his missing humanity in Jake Olson is unclear. It is possible that he fell through the temporal portal anyway and is now either trapped in the year 2170 of the current timeline or dead because the 2170 that the previous timeline was linked to no longer exists. If he did not fall through the portal, he almost certainly died along with the other Asgardians during the events of the "Ragnarok" story in Thor vol. 2 #80-85.
Additionally, Thialfi presumably received training in the Asgardian arts of war granting him some proficiency in armed and unarmed combat.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
character adapted from Þjálfi, a character in Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
by Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for creating the superhero Booster Gold, and for his lengthy runs on the Superman titles Adventures of Superman and Superman , particularly during The Death of Superman storyline...
.
Childhood and Apotheosis
Thialfi began his life as a human boy centuries ago. VikingViking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
marauders from the north raided his peaceful Norse village and his parents ran for their lives. They were intercepted by a marauder, who brutally murdered his father and left Thialfi and his mother to die. Later, when the Vikings were celebrating their victory and giving praise to Odin and Asgard, a young and naive Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
appeared before them to join in their revelry. Thialfi's mother P'aesi interrupted them, however; she accused Thor of inciting the Vikings to murder, which Thor of course denied, claiming death was simply a consequence of battle. P'aesi assured Thor that there was no battle, merely the wholesale slaughter of a village, including women and children. Thor decided to see the battlefield and judge for himself, but as he walked away a Viking declared P'aesi a blasphemer and killed her.
Thor returned immediately and looked on the scene with horror. He chastised the Vikings for their brutality and told them that their gods urged them to defend themselves, not murder innocents. He flew P'aesi's corpse over to the battlefield, where the bodies of women and children were strewn alongside those of the men, just as P'aesi had said. Thialfi was there and, upon seeing P'aesi, ran over to her and began crying.
Thor yelled to his father Odin, who appeared before him. Odin responded that the humans behaved that way because they were inherently flawed, so it was best to just turn away. Thor was galled at Odin's apparent lack of compassion and demanded that he at least help Thialfi, who had been rendered an orphan because of the gods. Odin agreed despite Thor's insolent tone, but demanded a boon in return. He used the Odinforce to transform Thialfi into an Asgardian "blessed with wisdom, insight and speed enow to escape any enemy." His boon turned out to be that Thor find Thialfi a home in Asgard and that, upon Thialfi's coming of age, Thor return to him and treat him as he would his closest friend.
Royal Advisor
After Odin's death at the hands of Surtur, Thor ascended to the throne and followed Odin's instructions, taking Thialfi as his personal advisor. Thialfi's sudden inclusion in Thor's close-knit circle of allies caused some tension at first, especially with Balder, Thor's best friend since childhood. Eventually Thialfi proved himself—he saved Thor's life by delivering the Bloodaxe to him in battle against DesakDesak
Desak Sterixian, more commonly known as Desak the God Slayer, is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Dan Jurgens and Tom Grummett and first appears in Thor Annual 2001....
--and was accepted. When the cabal of businessmen and political leaders made their strike against Asgard, Thialfi was caught in the turmoil. He noticed Zarrko
Zarrko
Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics supervillain, most commonly associated with Thor. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Journey into Mystery #86 .-Fictional character biography:...
escaping and tried to stop him, but he unwittingly ended up falling through Zarrko's temporal portal into the future.
Future Betrayal
Thialfi emerged in the year 2170 to find Earth completely transformed by Thor into New Asgard. At first Thialfi was overjoyed that Thor had finally managed to put the gods' power to use constructing a utopia for the humans Thialfi still identified with; but after Mistress Kya, the mutant sorceress daughter of the Scarlet WitchScarlet Witch
The Scarlet Witch is a fictional comic book character that appears in books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...
, and her band of resistance fighters showed him Mjolnir abandoned, Thialfi began to doubt Thor. His fears were confirmed when he witnessed Loki's police force quell an uprising through sheer brutality without even trying to find another solution. Thor's regime had benefitted some, but it had also robbed humanity of its self-reliance. After exchanging words with Thor's son Magni
Magni (comics)
Magni is a Marvel Comics character adapted from Magni, a character in Norse mythology, by Dan Jurgens. The character exists in an alternate future in which Thor rules over the entire Earth.-Fictional character biography:...
, which planted the same seed of doubt that Kya had given him, Thialfi resolved that, in order for humankind to regain its lost potential, Thor must die. He attempted to kill his friend and king the night he was to enter the Odinsleep. He misjudged the loyalty of Thor's inner circle, however. Thor's wife the Enchantress
Enchantress (Marvel Comics)
The Enchantress is the name of two fictional characters in the Marvel Comics universe, the first of which is a powerful sorceress named Amora and is one of the most notable antagonists of Thor.-Publication history:...
managed to free Odin's pet wolf Freki
Geri and Freki
In Norse mythology, Geri and Freki are two wolves which are said to accompany the god Odin. They are attested in the Poetic Edda, a collection of epic poetry compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in...
, who killed Thialfi.
Thialfi's fate after Thor restored the timeline by merging his younger self with his missing humanity in Jake Olson is unclear. It is possible that he fell through the temporal portal anyway and is now either trapped in the year 2170 of the current timeline or dead because the 2170 that the previous timeline was linked to no longer exists. If he did not fall through the portal, he almost certainly died along with the other Asgardians during the events of the "Ragnarok" story in Thor vol. 2 #80-85.
Powers and abilities
Thialfi was transformed from a human being into a member of the Asgardian race by Odin. Thialfi had superhuman strength and a high resistance to injury due to the increased density of his Asgardian body, as well as an extremely long life span and immunity to all Earthly diseases. Odin enchanted Thialfi with a high degree of superhuman speed, as well.Additionally, Thialfi presumably received training in the Asgardian arts of war granting him some proficiency in armed and unarmed combat.
Weapons and Equipment
For situations where running was not enough, Thialfi used one of Asgard's many flying horses for transportation.Titles
- Thor vol. 2 #43, 46, 49-53, 55-58, 67, 69-74 (January 2002 - April 2004, Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
)
Significant Stories
- "Realization," Thor vol. 2 #52 (October 2002): Thialfi's origin and rise to godhood is recounted.
- "The Reigning," Thor vol. 2 #69-74 (November 2003 - April 2004): Thialfi goes to the future, betrays Thor, and is killed.