balder the brave karnilla queen of the norns

Much of the action throughout the trade is driven by the Frost Giants, whose loss to Balder resulted in their shrinking down to human size. It’s yet another excellent way that Walt Simonson folded real-world mythology into this title. The name is rendered “Grendell” in the comic and he has a wonderful Kirby-esque design, but the single arm definitely points to him being the real deal. The dark elves, fearful of losing their passageways to other dimensions, summon an unusual champion: Grendel, of the epic poem Beowulf.

(I still don’t get the frilly right arm cuff.) At least Thor supports a local industry by forging the armor in Pittsburgh. In retrospect, the armor is a bit too ornate, and the asymmetrical arms, while sensible in context, look a little odd. This was actually his first new outfit since his inception, and its creation warrants a two-issue arc in which its forging apparently causes portals to the other Nine Worlds to shatter. Even if he wasn’t cursed, this fight would have been a close call only a mistake caused by the villain’s blind anger ends it.Īs the trade cover indicates, Thor gains a new costume here. This was shortly after the Absorbing Man began his relationship with Titania, and the death of her doppelganger leads to one of the fiercest beat-downs Thor has ever received. Loki, still smarting from losing control of Asgard, decides to pester Thor by sending fakes of the Super-Beast and the Wrecker after him, followed by the very real and very angry Absorbing Man. Even worse, he can’t die, which is often how Asgardians get around curses.

The curse is an anti-healing factor: any injury Thor receives will not heal and will cause extreme pain. These characters have kept a fairly low profile since then, though Thor: The Dark World may change that.Īnother slowly-building plot point is the Curse of Hela, inflicted when she fought Thor during his invasion of Hel. The three issues of The Mighty Thor collected in that book still had a lot going on, including crossing over with the “Mutant Massacre” storyline in the X-Men titles and Volstagg’s adoption of two orphaned human boys, Mick and Kevin, who play crucial roles in Volume 5 they save the day along with Hildy and Kurse, the amnesiac Dark Elf created in Secret Wars II. The majority of that fourth volume is the Balder the Brave mini-series, chronicling the future king of Asgard and his love interest, Karnilla the Norn-Queen, as they fight the Frost Giants. I’ve decided to skip reviewing the fourth volume of Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson for the time being to get to the run’s amazing grand finale in Thor Visionaries Vol.

Balder the brave karnilla queen of the norns