Occupation: Monarch

Legal Status: Citizen of Jotunheim in the Nine Realms of Asgard

Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Utgard-Loki except as a mythological character.

Other Aliases: Skrymir, Vashti (Old English name)

Place of Birth: Jotunheim

Marital Status: possibly Widowed

Known Relatives: Bergelmir (possible father), Elli (foster mother), Laufey (possible son, deceased), Farbauti (possible daughter in law, deceased), Loki (possible grandson), Byleist, Helbindi (possible grandsons, deceased), Angrboda (possible daughter), Hela (possible granddaughter), Fenrir, Jormungard (possible grandsons), Ymir (ancestor, deceased)

Group Affiliation: The Frost Giants of Jotunheim

Base of Operations: The Hall of Skrymir in Utgard, Jotunheim

First Appearance: Thor I #272

History: Utgard-Loki is monarch of the Jotuns, an extra-dimensional race of beings who preside in the dimension of Jotunheim. There are two races of Jotuns in Jotunheim, the Hrimthursar or Frost Giants, who for millennia have been the enemies of the gods of Asgard, and the Bergrimsar or Rime Giants, who live in peace with the Asgardians. According to myth, the Giants are descended from Ymir, a primeval being who appeared in Jotunheim from Ginnungagap, the region of sea that existed between Niffleheim and Muspelheim. Ymir was nourished to health by the milk from the enchanted cow Audhumla and grew to great size. He sired the first Giants, but they were visited by the god, Buri, whose descendants were often at war with the Giants. Buri's sons finally slew Ymir. According to Norse legend, when Ymir was killed, Buri's grandsons, Odin, Ve and Vili, created the Earth and sky from his remains and the melting ice from Niffleheim drowned all the remaining Giants except for one, Bergelmir, who survived in a boat, and afterward sired a new generation of Giants. Just how many of these incidents are true or apocryphal is uncertain. It is uncertain if the Giants of Asgard are of any relation to the Giants of Olympus.

Among the next generation of Giants was Utgard-Loki who became king of the other Giants. Utgard-Loki placed his stronghold at Utgard, the capital of Jotunheim. He was also known as Skrymir, but it is unknown if this was his real name or an alias. Utgard-Loki used the name Skrymir when he first met Thor, the son of Odin, the Ruler of the Asgardian gods. Thor had decided to visit Joutnheim and took with him Thialfi and Loki, the god of deceit, as a companion against Utgard-Loki's cunning. Concealing his identity, Utgard-Loki led them into Utgard and treated them to a series of illusions which they lost to prove his power. Angry at the deceit, Thor tried to raise his hammer against the giants, but Utgard-Loki mystically transported them out of Jotunheim.

In recent years, Utgard-Loki learned of the disappearance of Odin, monarch of Asgard, and planned to take the opportunity to conquer Asgard. As a first step, Utgard-Loki and his Frost Giants invaded Nornheim and captured its ruler, the sorceress Karnilla, a sometime ally of Asgard. Utgard-Loki used his enchanted dust to turn the other inhabitants of Nornheim to stone, and forced Karnilla, who was prevented from using her powers by magic shackles, to work as a slave in his fortress. Thus, Utgard-Loki deprived Asgard of a potential ally, and he planned to eliminate Asgard's other allies as well until Asgard would be forced to stand alone against invasion by Jotunheim.

Karnilla's lover, Balder, one of Asgard's leading warriors, went to Jotunheim to rescue her. Using his newly developed power to radiate light and heat, Balder melted the fortress of Utgard-Loki, which had been constructed from ice, and reduced Utgard-Loki and his fellow giants to reduced size. Balder freed Karnilla, took her back to Nornheim, and then returned to Asgard, where, soon afterward, he was made Odin's successor as monarch of Asgard.

In recent years, Loki discovered he was actually the son of Laufey, a giant slain in battle by Odin. Feeling an affinity for the Frost Giants, he used the power of Iceman of the X-Men to restore the size and power of a group of Frost Giants who were loyal to him for an invasion of Asgard. Utgard-Loki separately regained his own power as well and discovered that the Asgardians were under a strange plague that left them paralyzed. He lead an invasion to claim Asgard and was held off long enough by Balder and his allies until Thor arrived and repulsed the attack. Thor and Balder allowed Utgard-Loki and the defeated Frost Giants to leave Asgard in return for his pledge to try and find a cure for the magic that had paralyzed the Asgardians. Utgard-Loki consented to this condition and cured the Asgardians then retreated to Jotunheim.

Height: 50' 0"
Weight: Unknown
Eyes: Blue
Hair: White

Strength Level: Utgard-Loki possesses vast superhuman strength, and can lift (press) 100 tons.

Known Superhuman Powers: Utgard-Loki possesses the superhuman physical attributes of the Jotuns. He possesses vast superhuman strength, is extremely long-lived (although not immortal), and is resistant to conventional injury. His flesh and bone are far denser than similar human tissue; contributing to his superhuman strength and weight, which are also the result of his great size.

Utgard-Loki is also a master of the arts of sorcery as they have been developed in Jotunheim. The full extant of his magical abilities is unknown, and he needs potions and enchanted dust to perform some of his magical feats. Unaided, he can transform a person into a bird. His enchanted dust can turn persons to stone. Using a potion, he can command the weather to grow colder. He can create illusions, such as disguising Jormungard as a house cat, and creating a drinking horn which can tap the ocean. Through unknown means he can control the environment of Jotunheim so as to cause a traveler to return to his starting point without knowing it.

Limitations: Utgard-Loki, like all the giants of Jotunheim, needs cold temperatures to maintain his existence. This seems to be a mystical dependency to the environment of Jotunheim than a physical trait; several Asgardians with Jotun ancestors seem to have lost this trait. Great heat will cause the Frost Giants to "melt," thereby shrinking in size to human size or smaller. Continued exposure to such heat supposedly would cause a Frost Giant to liquefy completely as it occurred to Ymir, eventually turning the Frost Giants into water. It is uncertain if this trait is shared by the Rime Giants, also known as Storm Giants.

Comments: This bio describes Utgard-Loki in the Marvel Universe; he is not known to have appeared in the DC Universe.

Utgard-Loki's relatives here are based on hypothesis. In Norse myth, Utgard-Loki is considered the god of the underworld, the Norse equivalent of of the devil. Loki's father is also identified as the ferryman of the underworld and Angrboda is considered an ogress, a female giant with cannibal tendencies, so a conceptual link can be made between the characters. Furthermore, in Norse myth, Farbaut is the ferryman to the underworld, and Lausus (Laufey) is his wife. In the Marvel Universe, the genders have been reversed.

Last updated: 09/30/11

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