THE VALKYRIE
Real Name: Brynhilda
Occupation: Chooser of the Slain, Adventurer
Legal Status: Citizen of Asgard
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of the Valkyrie except as a mythological character.
Other Aliases: Brynnhilda, Brunhilda Brunnhilde, Brunnhilda (alternate spellings of name), Barbara Norris
Place of Birth: Asgard
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Odin (father), Nertha (mother, alias Erda), Hildegarde, Gudra, Mista, Valtraute, Sigruna and the Valkyrior (sisters) Hoenir, Lodur, Njord (uncles), Frey, Freia (cousins), Thor, Balder, Heimdall, Hermod, Hoder, Tyr, Vidar (half-brothers), Sif (half-sister), Nanna (sister-in-law, deceased), Loki (foster-brother), Sigyn (sister-in-law),
Group Affiliations: The Valkyrior, The Gods of Asgard, The Defenders,
Base of Operations: Valhalla, later New York City, later Defenders Mansion, Denver, Colorado
First Appearance: (The Enchantress as the Valkyrie) Avengers I #87, (Samantha Parrington as the Valkyrie) Incredible Hulk II #142, (Brynhilda as Barbara Norris) Defenders I #3, (Brynhilda in her own body) Defenders #109
History: Brynhilda is the daughter of Odin, Ruler of an extra-dimensional race of beings known as the Asgardian Gods, and Nertha, the German goddess of earth worshipped by the ancient Germanic and Viking tribes of Germany. Seeing a need for special warrior-goddesses to protect and rescue the spirits of their worshippers who died in war, Odin chose Brynhilda and her sisters to serve as his Valkyrior or Choosers of the Slain, and Brynhilda in particular served as their leader. As Valkyries, Brynhilda and her sisters appeared over the battlefields of the Vikings and Teutonic tribes who worshipped them and chose which of the fallen soldiers were worthy enough to be admitted into Valhalla, the hall of the honored dead in the dimension of Asgard. Brynhilda and her sisters have served Asgard capably in this capacity for centuries and even seemed to have survived the destruction of a much older incarnation of Asgard for the current modern Asgard in the process.
According to a sentient, disembodied eye that once belonged to Odin, the Asgardian monarch once gave his son the mortal identity of the warrior Siegmund. Circumstances reluctantly forced Odin to decree the Siegmund must be slain. Brynhilda, recognizing that Odin was acting against his true wishes, sought to protect Siegmund, but then Odin himself then caused Siegmund's death. Brynhilda helped Siegmund's pregnant lover, Sieglinde, get to safety. As punishment for her defiance, Odin removed Brynhilda's godly powers and immortality and cast her into a trance. She was eventually wakened by Siegfried, who was the son of Siegmund and Sieglinde and was a mortal reincarnation of Thor. Brynhilda and Siegfried became lovers, but Siegfried fell under the influence of magic and betrayed her. Siegfried was later murdered, and Brynhilda, still in love with him, leapt on to his burning funerary pyre. Odin restored both Siegfried and Brynhilda to life, giving back their godly identities, powers and near-immortality as Thor and the Valkyrie, but removing from them all memories of their mortal lives on Earth. It is unclear how much truth, if any, there is to this account by the eye.
Brynhilda 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 intercourse with the Earth in accordance with a pact he and the leaders of the other pantheons of Earth made with the extraterrestrial Celestials. From then onward, the Valkyries could only choose slain heroes from among fallen Asgardian warriors. Brynhilda was bitter over being barred from choosing warriors on Earth and roamed Asgard in pursuit of her purpose in life.
In a tavern on the outskirts of Marmoragard, Brynhilda encountered Amora the Enchantress, who offered her a life of adventure. For several weeks, Brynhilda accompanied the Enchantress in her conquests. Brynhilda soon discovered Amora's inclinations toward immortality and tried to end their partnership. In response, Amora entrapped Brynhilda within a magical crystal of souls. While Brynhilda's body remained in suspended animation, her immortal soul became Amora's plaything. Over the centuries, Amora used Brynhilda's spiritual essence to give herself the powers of the Valkyrie or to pawns of her choosing. The Enchantress usually used her magic to alter the recipient's appearance to resemble Brynhilda herself.
Specific instances of Amora's exploitation of the Valkyrie before recent years are not yet known. the first time Amora assumed the Valkyrie's physical aspect in recent years was in her plot to lead a handful of female Avengers against the male Avengers. Her true identity was discovered, however, and her plan thwarted.
Months later, the Enchantress bestowed the Valkyrie's power upon a socialite named Samantha Parrington in order to try and get some revenge on the Hulk. Finally, a woman driven mad by being trapped in another dimension, Barbara Norris, was given the Valkyrie's power and consciousness by Amora in order to help the Enchantress and her erstwhile allies, the group of superhumans known as the Defenders, escape from the clutches of the sorceress, Casiolena. Amora did not undo her spell after Casiolena's defeat. As a result, Norris's body now possessed Brynhilda's consciousness, appearance and powers, while Norris's own mental essence was trapped in Brynhilda's real body in Asgard. However, thanks to partial amnesia induced by the Enchantress, Brynhilda was unaware that she was not in possession of her real body and full memories. Indeed, while trapped in Norris's body, Brynhilda's personality lacked much of its usual strength of will.
It was not until a minor Asgardian warrior named Oilerus attempted to take over Valhalla that the Valkyrie's two mixed aspects met for the first time. Brynhilda's mental aspect in Norris's transformed body fought Norris's mental aspect trapped in Brynhilda's real body. at the end of that encounter, the Valkyrie's body, still possessed by Norris's mind, was consigned to Niffleheim, the realm inhabited by the spirits of the non-heroic Asgardian dead, while Brynhilda's mind in Norris's transformed body accompanied the Defenders, who had made the other-dimensional journey back to Earth. For reasons as yet unknown, Brynhilda was not concerned at the time about reunited her mind with her true body. It was not until Barbara Norris's 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, Brynhilda regained her true body, which was rescued from Niffleheim by the Enchantress. Back in her real body, Brynhilda regained her full memory and normal warrior's personality as well. Brynhilda then battled Amora and banished her into the crystal of souls into which she had once been trapped. (The Enchantress has since escaped this imprisonment.)
Feeling estranged from Asgard in general and Odin in particular for his neglect of her centuries long plight, Brynhilda chose to return to Earth with her mortal friends, the Defenders, rather than remain in Asgard. She had joined the Defenders after their defeat of Casiolena and remained with them continuously until the group's eventual disbanding.
Returning to Asgard, Brynhilda resumed her duties as a Valkyrie, but then
Hades, the Olympian god of the dead forced her to participate into schemes which
he was masterminding. He had Lorelei, sister of the Enchantress, transform
Samantha Parrington into the Valkyrie again, and she served them until
encountering Brynhilda and the reunited Defenders, who interfered with their
plans. Brynhilda gave Parrington her blessing to serve as her avatar on earth as
a member of the Defenders and Brynhilda returned to Asgard. Sadly, Brynhilda was among the many Asgardians
who lost their lives during a recent Asgardian revolt in
fulfillment of Loki's forced Ragnarok prophecies, but since the recent return of the
Asgardians to Earth, it is very likely that the Valkyrie was likely restored to
life as well.
Height: 6' 3"
Weight: 475 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
Strength Level: Brynhilda possesses superhuman strength above that of the
typical Asgardian goddess (The typical Asgardian goddess can lift (press) about
25 tons.) Brynhilda can lift (press) 45 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Brynhilda the Valkyrie possesses the conventional physical attributes of an Asgardian woman. Like all Asgardians, she is exceptionally long-lived, but she is not immortal like the Olympian Gods; she has not aged since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. She is superhumanly stronger than the typical Asgardian woman and immune to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If she were somehow wounded, her godly life force would enable her to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of her bodily molecules to cause her a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for a god of exceptional power, such as Odin or for a number of Olympian gods working together to revive her. Iris also possesses superhuman strength and her Olympian metabolism provides her with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Olympian flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the Olympians' superhuman strength and weight.) Brynhilda's Asgardian metabolism gives her far greater than human endurance in ally physical activities; she can exert at peak strength for an hour before fatigue impairs her ability level.
Like all Valkyries, Brynhilda can clairvoyantly perceive and sense individuals on the verge of dying. When she comes across a person about to die, she perceives a certain "death-glow" surrounding them, although most Asgardians and human beings cannot see this glow. This glow can become so much more obvious when a person is past the point of being saved from dying: hence, a person surrounded by the death-glow is only on the verge of death and can still be prevented from dying until a certain point where death is inevitable.
Brynhilda can transport herself and the astral body (spirit) of a dying person or a person who has died from the dimension of Earth to Valhalla or any other dimensional world just by willing herself to do so. In her presence, the spirits of these mortals take on the appearance of living individuals although lacking in corporeal traits. She can also return by the same act of will.
Brynhilda also briefly a portion of the Odin-Power. Her full extent of powers while she wielded it are unrevealed, but she was able to assume a gigantic form at will.
Abilities: Brynhilda the Valkyrie has had extensive training in unarmed combat, swordplay and horseback riding. Her natural fighting ability is unsurpassed among all Asgardian women, except with the possible exception of Sif herself.
Weaponry: Brynhilda the Valkyrie employs two weapons: an unnamed iron spear and the enchanted sword Dragonfang. An Oriental wizard named Kahji-Da was said to have carved the sword from the tusk of an extra-dimensional dragon. The sword even eventually passed into the possession of the Ancient One, who in turn gave it to his disciple, Doctor Strange. Strange awarded the sword to the Valkyrie after she returned the Ebony Blade which she had been using back to Dane Whitman, The Black Knight, it's original owner. Dragonfang is reported to be virtually indestructible.
Transportation/Pets: In Asgard, Brynhilda the Valkyrie rides a winged horse, but on earth, she rides the artificially mutated winged horse known as Aragorn, a gift from Dane Whitman, The Black Knight.
Comments: The Valkyrie is a character in the Marvel Universe; she has only been seen briefly in the DC Universe.
Clarifications: The Valkyrie is not to be confused with:
Last updated: 11/21/11