The Valkyrior are female demi-goddesses who choose worthy souls and conduct them to Valhalla.
- Amazon Brigade: And they have a rivalry with the actual Amazons.
- Cool Horse: They ride Asgardian steeds that can fly.
- Psychopomp: Like in the original myths, it is their duty to escort the souls of the deceased to Valhalla or their respective afterlives. Without them Jane Foster ends up having to do it alone.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: They are massacred by Malekith during the opening stages of the War of the Realms.
Original Nine
Brunnhilde
The original Valkyrie, Brunnhilde, was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, first appearing (or so it seemed) in The Avengers #83 (dated December 1970). This Valkyrie would be revealed as an impostor in her debut issue, with the actual Brunnhilde first appearing in The Defenders #4, dated February 1973.
Brunnhilde is an Asgardian warrior chosen by King Odin to lead the Valkyrior — a group of warrior goddesses tasked with deeming slain souls worthy of Valhalla.
She held this role for many, many years, until she fell in league with the villainous Amora the Enchantress. Upon learning Enchantress' true nature, Valkyrie decided to part ways with the vixen, which resulted in Amora keeping her soul hostage and even assuming her identity for a bit.
When Brunnhilde's essence eventually escaped Amora's snare, she began possessing the body of a human woman —with all her memories and powers intact— and joined The Defenders, becoming a stalwart member of the team. Brunnhilde would eventually return to her original body years later, and serve as a founding member of the Secret Avengers. During this time, she also teamed up with Misty Knight and Dani Moonstar to form the all-female Fearless Defenders.
Brunnhilde provides examples of:
- Amazonian Beauty: She is of a more battle-oriented beauty than the Enchantress, but no less of a Ms. Fanservice. Its par for the course for female Asgardians.
- Back from the Dead: Was resurrected along with other Asgardians.
- Berserk Button: She really doesn't like people controlling her mind after what the Enchantress did previously to her. When Emma Frost psychically attacked her in Fear Itself, Valkyrie declared that no one will control her mind ever again and smashed her with a hammer. She might have killed Emma if she hadn't turned to her diamond form.
- Braids of Action: As seen in her picture, she wears Norse-styled braids.
- Chainmail Bikini: Her original outfit not only exposed her shapely legs, but also had two circular metal plates that always draw attention to her rack. Even after she received some pants, the plates remained in the same place.
- Cool Sword: Brunnhilde wields a magical sword called Dragonfang, which is made out of a dragon's fang.
- Depower: Odin once stripped Brunnhilde of her powers after she disobeyed his orders.
- Deity of Human Origin: In Secret Avengers, her backstory reveals that Brunnhilde was a princess from Midgard, who was elevated by Odin as his Chooser of the Slain.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: During Ragnarok, she died in Sif's arms.
- Distaff Counterpart: Of Thor.
- Most Common Superpower: She's very buxom.
- Ms. Fanservice: While she is no seductress like Amora, Valkyrie tends to be one of the most scantily-clad females in Asgard, with her outfit baring her legs and showing off her fit build.
- Off with His Head!: Decapitated by Malekith with a magic-forged sword in War of the Realms #2 after his forces had annihilated the entire Valkyrie host.
- Psychopomp: Her job was to guide the souls of the brave and worthy dead to Valhalla, before Odin put an stop to it after making a pact with other pantheons and the Celestials to not interfere with humanity.
- Queer Establishing Moment: For most of her history, she was attracted to men, but established herself as bisexual when she kissed lesbian Annabelle Riggs.
- Sharing a Body:
- Enchantress once bestowed the Valkyrie's power upon a socialite named Samantha Parrington in an attempt to get revenge on the Hulk.
- She would later share body with Annabelle Riggs, switching places whenever they needed.
- Spirit Advisor: After her death, Jane occasionally visits Valhalla and ask for her advice.
- That Man Is Dead: During the whole "Barbara Norris" thing, she tried to repeatedly get through to Jack Norris that she wasn't Barbara at all. He refused to acknowledge this.
- Warrior Princess: Before becoming Valkyrie, Brunnhilde was a Norse princess who would spar with her lover Sigmund. When Sigmund was killed by Odin in combat, Brunnhilde refused to abandon his body and stood up against Odin, who was so impressed by her bravery that he made her an Asgardian and charged her with guiding the dead to Valhalla.
Hildegarde
Alter Ego Hilda, Svanhild
First Appearance Journey into Mystery #91
Hildegarde was an Asgardian Valkyrie, gifted with extraordinary strength and great skills with the sword.
- Ascended Extra: She debuted early in Thor's comic history, but didn't play a major role until the new Thor, Jane Foster, took Odinson's role.
- Big Beautiful Woman: She's heavier-set than Sif and Brunhilde, but as an Asgardian, she's certainly not ugly.
- Braids of Action: Just like Brunhilde, her hair is in twin braids and she's a former valkyrie.
- Brawn Hilda: Her name really is Hilda, but she's more of an Amazonian Beauty combined with Big Beautiful Woman.
- Cool Helmet: Like other Asgardians, she has a nice helmet, hers having a crescent moon design.
- Last of Its Kind: Although she wasn't a member at the time, she was the only Valkyrie that survived the attack of Malekith's forces during War of the Realms, thanks to being away. This means she's the last of the original valkyries, but she has other duties and can't help Jane at the moment.
- Lovely Angels: With Sif during the War of the Realms.
- Sibling Team: Her younger sister Krista served alongside her at the Valkyries.
Later Recruits
Gruenhilda
First Appearance Thunderstrike Vol 2 #1
Gruenhilda is a member of the Valkyrior. Assigned by her queen, the Lady Sif, to teach young Kevin Masterson the skills of a warrior and the uses of the enchanted mace, Thunderstrike, she travels to Earth to fulfill her duty.
- Badass Teacher: Like all valkyries she's a trained warrior and was sent to teach Kevin Masterson how to use Thunderstrike.
- Fiery Redhead: A valkyrie with red hair and a strong temper.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: She hasn't reappeared since her initial debut in 2011, being completely missing from all subsequent stories involving the valkyries, like Fearless Defenders, Asgardians of the Galaxy and War of the Realms, leaving her fate after Malekith's slaughter of the Valkyrior ambiguous.
Jane Foster
After the deaths of the entire Valkyrior in War of the Realms, Jane Foster —who harnessed the power of Thor when her predecessor was deemed unworthy— assumed the role of Valkyrie, despite her still being in remission from cancer. Spinning off from the aforementioned crossover, it was soon revealed that Jane would be headlining the first-ever Valkyrie ongoing series. For more tropes about Jane, refer to her own page.
Rūna (Earth-616)
Another version of the character —also inspired by Thompson's portrayal— was introduced in King in Black: Return of the Valkyries #1 (dated December 2020), created by Jason Aaron, Torunn Grønbekk, and Nina Vakueva.
Rūna's backstory mirrors that of the Earth-22681 Valkyrie, mainly in that she was also one of the very first Valkyries of Asgard, but her characterization is more in line with Thompson's Valkyrie than the former. Lost to time as a prisoner in the body of a dead Celestial, Jane Foster uncovers her during the battle against Knull and helps fight off his forces. Because of her long absence, she is shown to have forgotten her past and even her name, prompting her to embark on a personal odyssey to fill in the gaps of her history. She is also revealed to be the original owner of the Jarnbjorn axe that later became an important part of Thor's personal arsenal.
- See here
Alternate Valkryies
"Val" (Earth-22681)
Inspired by Tessa Thompson's portrayal of the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Earth-22681 version of Valkyrie was introduced by Saladin Ahmed and Javier Rodriguez in Exiles #2 (dated April 2018).
Hailing from an undesignated alternate universe, this version of Valkyrie is recruited by Blink to join her latest team of reality hoppers. While with them, she begins a courtship with Sgt. Becky Barnes after meeting the Peggy Carter of a reality where the latter became Captain America, and even assumed the role of Ali Baba of folklore.
This Valkyrie's backstory is slightly different from Brunnhilde's. Whereas Brunnhilde was chosen by Odin to lead the Valkyrior, "Val" note was born from a thunderbolt alongside six other girls, and she earned her spot as the only Valkyrie of Asgard.
Val's personality is also quite different from Brunnhilde's. Whereas the former is regal and feminine, Val is boisterous and has some "masculine" traits, not unlike Thor. In fact, it's not been confirmed if her universe even has a Thor, and it could be argued this version of the character is a composite of himself and Brunnhilde, as Val is technically the Allfather's daughter.
After the conclusion of Exiles, Marvel would eventually introduce a 616 version of the character in King in Black: Return of the Valkyries, who also resembles Thompson's portrayal.
Val provides examples of:
- Composite Character: In some ways, she's this between Brunnhilde and Thor, as she's techncally the daughter of Odin as well as being a Valkyrie.
- The Lad-ette: She loves to drink and have a good time.
- Race Lift: This version of the character is black, unlike the Nordic blonde original.
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Recursive Adaptation: The comic book version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe version based on the original Marvel Comics version.
