Full disclosure, I am not a huge Thor fan. Nor am I familiar with Norse Mythology, either the Marvel version or the traditional version. But seeing as how I already blew my "Speed Force" and "Emotional Spectrum" posts, like, a year ago, I'm pressed for things to explain. Plus, "Thor: Ragnarok" is coming up so I suppose this will be relevant. So, let's talk about Marvel's Nine Realms.
Thor's home of Asgard is only one of Nine Realms that exist in another dimension, but this dimension can also be reached through space. When we talk about Asgard I can go into more detail. Like I said, this is Marvel's interpretation of The Nine Realms so if the details seem off you can blame them.
Asgard: Home of Thor, Odin, Loki, The Warriors Three, Sif, and many other Thor characters. Asgard is on top for a reason, it is a golden city with vast oceans and houses many notable warriors, Gods, and Goddesses. It also uses The Rainbow Bridge to cross onto other plains. Thanks to Thor's interactions with Earth, Asgard has a strong connection to Midgar/Earth. So much so that-for a time-the remains of Asgard were teleported atop Oklahoma, of all places. The connection with Earth also explains how aliens have sometimes found their way to Asgard.
Midgard: Or as we call it "Earth". Do I really need to explain Earth? What's nice is that our realm being Midgard isn't fact, it perception. See, Marvel Comics never really decides which mythology or religion is true, they are all real, but none are above the other. This basically means when Thor calls our realm "Midgard" its more of a language thing than a "no, no, it's Midgard! You stupid humans just changed the names".
Alfheim: Home to the Light Elves. I've seen this realm in "Sword Art Online" along with other Norse material, but not much in terms of comics. Then again, Thor has been around for 70-something years so maybe I just missed some things. From light reading it seems like a pretty chill place, especially if Light Elves populate it.
Muspelheim: A realm of fire, inhabited by fire demons, where fire is breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Muspelheim is populated by demons, but it is not the Norse version of Hell. That comes later. It is ruled by Surtur, the strongest fire demon and an enemy of Thor.
Nidavellir: This realm is populated by Dwarves. The only relevant thing about this realm is that Thor's hammer Mjolnir was forged here. There are two origins for how the hammer was forged, one being that Dwarven blacksmiths made the hammer from an Asgardian metal called Uru. The other states they forged it out of the core of a dying star. Either way, these Dwarves created one of the most recognizable weapons in comic book-and mythological-history.
Svartalheim: This realm is home to The Dark Elves and is ruled by the Dark Elf known as Malekith The Accursed. Malekith is another of Thor's dangerous foes, despite his lackluster portrayal in "Thor: The Dark World".
Vanaheim: Home to the sister race of the Asgardians, The Vanir. The Vanir are more associated with wisdom and fertility and nature and stuff. Again, this is a realm not often used in the comics.
Jotunheim: The frozen north! This realm is home to The Frost Giants, regular enemies of Thor and the Asgardians. As some may know, Loki is actually the child of Frost Giants and was raised by Odin.
Hel/Helheim: This realm is populated by the souls of the dead and is ruled by Hela. Now, on the off-chance my friend The Incredible Shae is reading this: Yes, her name is Hela. I am aware the Norse version of this character is named "Hel" and is oh-so-accurately pronounced "He-il", but Marvel Comics took the easy route and named the character Hela and the realm Hel. But to be honest this hellish realm is more like Limbo or Purgatory. Hel traps the souls of dead people (within the Nine Realms) who have not been deemed worthy or unworthy. Hela herself is the daughter of Loki, and is another foe of Thor, sometimes even working with Loki, Surtur, and Malekith.
Now we get on to the other three. I know I said there were Nine, but there are three other realms that aren't directly connected to the initial Nine or, at least, are so far from them they are not often thought of.
Niffleheim: A realm of mist, frozen lakes, and ethereal darkness. Despite the description, this realm is more comparable to the Christian/Catholic Hell than Muspelheim or Hel. Hela also controls this realm from a distance, sending the souls of the unworthy here for eternity. Think of it this way, if Hel is like the trash can icon of The Nine Realms, Niffleheim is where all the trash goes when you empty it.
Valhalla: Comparable to Heaven, Valhalla is a paradise for the worthy souls of the dead. Usually the souls of warriors who died in combat arrive here and spend their eternity fighting, eating, sleeping, and repeating the cycle over and over again. Souls are guided to Valhalla by The Valkyior (Marvel's version of the Valkyrie). The Valkyior are led by Brunnhilde/The Valkyrie who has also been a member of both The Defenders and The Avengers.
Heven: Now this one is pretty interesting. Heven is closely associated with the Christian/Catholic Heaven. It is populated by Angels and was actually The Tenth Realm. As it turns out, Odin and Freyja had a fourth child named Aldrif, but during a war between Asgard and Heven she was kidnapped by the Angels and thought to be killed. As punishment, Odin sealed Heven away from not just The Nine Realms, but from everything. Essentially banishing it to a pocket dimension. The dimension was eventually broken open and Aldrif returned a grown woman by the name of Angela and was completely unaware of her connection to Odin, Thor, and the rest of Asgard. The entire reason this story-as well as the Tenth Realm-was created was so that Marvel Comics had an origin for Angela because Angela wasn't originally owned by Marvel Comics. She was originally a character created in the Spawn Comics. Spawn's creator Todd McFarlane and Angela's creator Neil Gaiman fought over the rights to Angela for twenty years before Gaiman won and sold Angela to Marvel, so the company needed a legitimate story for their new character.
Nidavellir: This realm is populated by Dwarves. The only relevant thing about this realm is that Thor's hammer Mjolnir was forged here. There are two origins for how the hammer was forged, one being that Dwarven blacksmiths made the hammer from an Asgardian metal called Uru. The other states they forged it out of the core of a dying star. Either way, these Dwarves created one of the most recognizable weapons in comic book-and mythological-history.
Svartalheim: This realm is home to The Dark Elves and is ruled by the Dark Elf known as Malekith The Accursed. Malekith is another of Thor's dangerous foes, despite his lackluster portrayal in "Thor: The Dark World".
Vanaheim: Home to the sister race of the Asgardians, The Vanir. The Vanir are more associated with wisdom and fertility and nature and stuff. Again, this is a realm not often used in the comics.
Jotunheim: The frozen north! This realm is home to The Frost Giants, regular enemies of Thor and the Asgardians. As some may know, Loki is actually the child of Frost Giants and was raised by Odin.
Hel/Helheim: This realm is populated by the souls of the dead and is ruled by Hela. Now, on the off-chance my friend The Incredible Shae is reading this: Yes, her name is Hela. I am aware the Norse version of this character is named "Hel" and is oh-so-accurately pronounced "He-il", but Marvel Comics took the easy route and named the character Hela and the realm Hel. But to be honest this hellish realm is more like Limbo or Purgatory. Hel traps the souls of dead people (within the Nine Realms) who have not been deemed worthy or unworthy. Hela herself is the daughter of Loki, and is another foe of Thor, sometimes even working with Loki, Surtur, and Malekith.
Now we get on to the other three. I know I said there were Nine, but there are three other realms that aren't directly connected to the initial Nine or, at least, are so far from them they are not often thought of.
Niffleheim: A realm of mist, frozen lakes, and ethereal darkness. Despite the description, this realm is more comparable to the Christian/Catholic Hell than Muspelheim or Hel. Hela also controls this realm from a distance, sending the souls of the unworthy here for eternity. Think of it this way, if Hel is like the trash can icon of The Nine Realms, Niffleheim is where all the trash goes when you empty it.
Valhalla: Comparable to Heaven, Valhalla is a paradise for the worthy souls of the dead. Usually the souls of warriors who died in combat arrive here and spend their eternity fighting, eating, sleeping, and repeating the cycle over and over again. Souls are guided to Valhalla by The Valkyior (Marvel's version of the Valkyrie). The Valkyior are led by Brunnhilde/The Valkyrie who has also been a member of both The Defenders and The Avengers.
Heven: Now this one is pretty interesting. Heven is closely associated with the Christian/Catholic Heaven. It is populated by Angels and was actually The Tenth Realm. As it turns out, Odin and Freyja had a fourth child named Aldrif, but during a war between Asgard and Heven she was kidnapped by the Angels and thought to be killed. As punishment, Odin sealed Heven away from not just The Nine Realms, but from everything. Essentially banishing it to a pocket dimension. The dimension was eventually broken open and Aldrif returned a grown woman by the name of Angela and was completely unaware of her connection to Odin, Thor, and the rest of Asgard. The entire reason this story-as well as the Tenth Realm-was created was so that Marvel Comics had an origin for Angela because Angela wasn't originally owned by Marvel Comics. She was originally a character created in the Spawn Comics. Spawn's creator Todd McFarlane and Angela's creator Neil Gaiman fought over the rights to Angela for twenty years before Gaiman won and sold Angela to Marvel, so the company needed a legitimate story for their new character.
There! Now you're all up-to-date on Marvel's version of Norse Mythological locations. Now if "Thor: Ragnarok" throws any curve balls at you, you'll be ready! And hey, maybe Angela or Valkyrie will get films in the future and we'll be revisiting The Nine (or Ten (or Twelve)) Realms again. Only time will tell, true believers!
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading!
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