Midgard Serpent (Marvel Comics)

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This article is about the Marvel Comics version. For the sea serpent in Norse mythology, see Jörmungandr. For the manga series, see Jormungand (manga).
The Midgard Serpent
Marvel Tales #105 (Feb. 1952)
In-story information
Full nameJormungand
Place of originEarth
Notable aliasesThe World Serpent, Fin Fang Foom
AbilitiesExtreme strength and stamina
Fire and venom generation
Illusion projection

Jormungand, also known as the Midgard Serpent and the World Serpent, is a character appearing in

Marvel Tales #105 (Feb. 1952), in the period between the Golden Age of Comic Books and the Silver Age of Comic Books
.

Publication history

The Midgard Serpent debuted in

Marvel Tales #105 (Feb. 1952) and was later tied firmly to Marvel continuity in the Silver Age of Comic Books in Thor #127 (April 1966). As in Norse mythology, the Marvel version of the Midgard Serpent is the nemesis
of the Thunder God, who has two encounters with the creature – the events based directly on mythology – in Thor #272-273 (June–July 1978).

An attempt to cheat the fatal prophecy made regarding a final battle between Thor and the Serpent occurred in Thor #274-278 (July-Dec. 1978), although the creature returned in Thor #325 (Nov. 1982-Jan. 1983). A "larger than life" battle between Thor and the Serpent was depicted in Thor #379-380 (May–June 1987), with writer-artist

splash page
to depict the creature's size, and then full pages to demonstrate the battle between the pair.

Although killed, the Serpent was

resurrected in Thor #486-488 (May–July 1995), and featured in The Avengers
vol. 3 #1 (Feb. 1998) before reappearing in Thor vol. 2 #80 (Aug. 2004).

Fictional character biography

The Midgard Serpent first appears when a scientist draws what he believes to be venom from a statue of the creature, the liquid becoming a deadly solvent.[1]

In the realm of

Volla makes a prophecy that the Thunder God Thor will battle the Midgard Serpent during Ragnarök after it surfaces from the ocean and does terrible damage. Although the god will successfully kill the creature, he will only walk nine steps before dying from wounds carrying its deadly venom.[2]

Thor has two encounters with the creature that reflect the Norse myths. The first is a visit to the castle of the Storm Giant

Utgard-Loki, who excels in the use of illusions. Challenging Thor to lift his pet "cat", who in reality is the Midgard Serpent, the Storm Giant is terrified when the Thunder God lifts all but one of the cat's feet off the ground.[3] The second encounter occurs when Thor decides to cheat fate and kill the creature. Taking a fishing boat with the Giant Hymir, Thor uses the head of an ox on a chain to draw the Midgard Serpent to the surface of the ocean. Although the creature takes the bait, Thor is unable to deliver the killing blow as Hymir, fearing for his life, cuts the chain.[4]

Being aware of the prophecy regarding his son's death, Odin (the king of the Norse gods) cheats fate during a false Ragnarok by replacing Thor with a surrogate known as Red Norvell, who, after gaining the power of Thor and his hammer, dies battling the Midgard Serpent after it dives into the ocean. The prophecy fulfilled, Thor drives off the creature.[5] The Midgard Serpent reappears briefly when a group of Odin's enemies feed the Golden Apples of Idunn, intended for the Norse Gods, to the creature, intending to weaken the gods before an attack. It is used as a bridge by Tyr and Loki's army. Thor imprisons the creature and forces it to return the apples.[6]

The character appears on Earth disguised as the monster

Hela: his bones become as brittle as glass, but he is unable to heal or die[7] (Thor "resurrects" himself by taking mental control of the Destroyer and forcing Hela to recreate his body and free him from her curse).[8]

The Midgard Serpent is released from Hel (the Norse land of the dead) by the

Kurse to use against Thor, who is swallowed by the creature. Together with ally Beta Ray Bill, Thor blasts free of the creature's stomach and kills it a second time.[9]

The Midgard Serpent is apparently

resurrected by Morgan le Fay, who summons it to Earth to distract the superhero team the Avengers while she abducts the Scarlet Witch.[10] The Midgard Serpent briefly reappears during Ragnarök.[11]

During the Secret Wars storyline, King Loki, a more evil version of Loki from an alternate future, frees the Midgard Serpent from Hel as part of a plot to attack Asgard.[12]

Powers and abilities

The Midgard Serpent normally exists in an ethereal form around Earth. A huge serpent, the character has immense strength and stamina, can generate both lethal fire and venom, and project powerful illusions. He can cause earthquakes by flexing his coils around Earth.

In other media

Television

  • The Midgard Serpent makes a cameo appearance in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "A Day Unlike Any Other". This version was assigned to torture Loki following his defeat.
  • The Midgard Serpent appears in Avengers Assemble. This version possesses the ability to continuously grow in size and can be controlled using a special axe created by Ulik.

Video games

Footnotes

  1. ^ Marvel Tales #105 (Feb. 1952)
  2. ^ Thor #127 (April 1955), 200 (June 1972) and 294 (April 1980)
  3. ^ Thor #272 (June 1978)
  4. ^ Thor #273 (July 1978)
  5. ^ Thor #274-278 (July-Dec. 1978)
  6. ^ Thor #325 (Nov. 1982-Jan. 1983)
  7. ^ Thor #379-380 (May–June 1987)
  8. ^ Thor #381 (Jul. 1987)
  9. ^ Thor #486-488 (May–July 1995)
  10. ^ The Avengers vol. 3 #1 (Feb. 1998)
  11. ^ Thor vol. 2 #80 (Aug. 2004)
  12. ^ Loki: Agent of Asgard #14
  13. ^ "Marvel Pinball: Vengeance and Virtue pack gets Thor". www.destructoid.com. 5 December 2011. Retrieved 2014-02-15.

External links

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