IGRON

Real Name: Igron

Identity/Class: Asgardian God

Occupation: Sorcerer;
    former advisor to Odin (actually to the Mangog posing as Odin);
    former advisor and servant to Loki

Group Membership: Asgardian Gods;
    led and controlled the Asgardian nobles duplicates

Affiliations: formerly Loki and the Mangog.

Enemies: Asgardian Gods (specifically Balder, Heimdall, Hildegarde, Odin, Sif, Thor, the Warriors Three), the Mangog

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Igron the Invincible;
    impersonated Balder

Base of Operations: currently unknown, possibly Hel or Valhalla, Asgard
    formerly the city of Asgard.

First Appearance: Thor I#177 (June, 1970) - see comments

Powers/Abilities: As an Asgardian God, Igron has superhuman strength (Class 25?), durability, and other physical traits. He ages at an extremely slow rate, and he has great experience with a variety of magical spells, enabling him to accomplish a number of complex feats. Many of his spells take hours, days, or even longer to prepare, and he is thus not a very formidable foe in direct combat.

History: Igron's origins are unknown.

(Thor I#177) - Igron accompanied Loki when the pair fled to Earth after one of Loki's plots had drawn Surtur to attack Asgard. Igron remarked that even Earth might feel the effects of Surtur's attacks, and indeed they did notice an abnormal warmth.

    Later, Igron returned to Loki's castle, where he was discovered by Sif and Balder, who coerced him into telling them the location of Odin. Igron revealed Odin to be in the Sea of Eternal Night and agreed to send Balder there, knowing that Balder would not be able to survive in that realm. However, Balder managed to free Odin, who returned them both--much to Igron's surprise--and then restored Balder and defeated Surtur.

(Thor I#179) - Igron prepared a potion and the Living Mask which would exchange the appearance and powers of Loki. Loki rewarded Igron by banishing him to the dungeons of the Rock Trolls of Asgard, to serve as their slave.

(Thor I#217 (fb)) - For long months, Igron labored under the Trolls' cruel command, all the while he plotted, and seethed with a burning rage

(Thor I#210+211 - BTS/Thor I#217 (fb)) - As Thor battled Ulik, Igron seized on his captor's distraction, working a spell it had taken weeks to devise, which freed him from his bonds.

(Thor I#212+213 - BTS/Thor I#217 (fb)) - Within the hour Igron returned to Asgard, finding the city empty, as it was during that time that Odin and the warriors were captured by aliens.

(Thor I#214-216 - BTS/Thor I#217 (fb)) - After a few days, the warriors of Asgard returned, but Thor and the nobles remained elsewhere. Igron then cast a spell which drew on the need to believe in a higher power which even the Asgardian gods possessed. His spell utilized the energy of that belief to create his own duplicates of the lords and ladies of Asgard (including Odin & Thor), who served his will.

(Thor I#217 (fb)) - Balder was ambushed, defeated, and captured by his own duplicate (actually Igron), which was teamed with the duplicate Thor, Hogun, and others.

(Thor I#217) - Heimdall, Hildegarde, Odin, Sif, Thor, the Warriors Three returned to Asgard to find a false Odin ruling, with duplicates of the others present by his side. The gods attacked the duplicates. Igron (as Balder) led the true gods into a trap, after which he bragged about his accomplishments, only to be swatted unconscious by the flat of the blade of the true Balder. Without Igron to support them, the duplicate gods faded soon after.

(Thor I#250 (fb)) - Igron was sentenced to the dungeons of Asgard.

(Thor I#233-241 - BTS/Thor I#250 (fb)) - Igron observed as Odin wandered the Earth as the amnesiac Orrin.

(Thor I#240 - BTS/Thor I#250(fb)) - Igron siphoned life-force from each Asgardian, causing a mysterious lethargy to sweep the city.

(Thor I#250 (fb)) - Igron discovered the rodent-sized form of the Mangog skittering about the dungeon floor. After proposing an alliance, Igron transferred the power he had stolen from the Asgardians into the Mangog, restoring a measure of his size and power.

(Thor I#242 - BTS/Thor I#250 (fb)) - Igron and the Mangog observed as Odin regained his memories, only to mysteriously vanish yet again. With only the two of them knowing that Odin was gone, Igron used his sorcery to transform the Mangog into an Odin duplicate, who then took the place of the true Odin.

(Thor I#244 / 250 (fb) - BTS) - the Mangog/Odin named Igron as his advisor, releasing him from prison and banishing the royal Vizier in the process.

(Thor I#246 - BTS) - Balder and Hildegarde commented how Odin had seemed to have grown angrier and more cruel since replacing the Vizier with Igron as his advisor. However, their conversation, including the discussion of considering Odin their leader no longer, was overheard by Snaykar the Skulker who planned to pass the information on to Igron.

(Thor I#247) - Igron stood beside "Odin"/the Mangog as he summoned Balder, accusing him on treason. When Balder spoke in his own defense, Igron counseled the Mangog to imprison him, and Balder was forced to flee to avoid capture.

(Thor I#248) - Balder told Thor of "Odin" 's apparent madness, leading Thor to accompany him to Asgard to confront his father. Thor, Balder, and the Warriors Three fought their way past Asgardian warriors sent to stop them, and when Igron informed the Mangog/Odin of this, the imposter vowed to slay Thor if he raised his hand against him.

(Thor I#249) - As Thor and his forces continued to advance on Odin, Igron watched as the Mangog/Odin relocated the Odinsword, so that he might unsheath it and destroy all reality if the rebels opposed him. When the rebels arrived, Igron taunted Thor (the only one to enter the chamber) with his ignorance of the situation, and he revealed "Odin" to be the Mangog.

(Thor I#250) - Igron stood by the Mangog's side, revealing how he had located and formed an alliance with the monster. He then restored the Mangog to Odin's appearance, leading the arriving warriors to attack Thor, though it was Odin/Mangog who felled the thunder god. They then paraded his defeated form throughout the city, and Odin/Mangog used his powers to assault all those who opposed him. Igron cautioned him to not confirm the vague suspicions growing in the Asgardians, but Mangog became enraged and incinerated Igron, leaving only a pile of dust.

Comments: Created by Stan "The Man" Lee, Jack "King" Kirby, and Vince Coletta.

    In Silver Surfer#4 (February, 1969), by Stan Lee (writer), John Buscema (penciler), and Sal Buscema (inker), Loki has a minion that looks pretty similar to Igron. Similar hat/cloak with the circles at the top; not EXACTLY the same, but very similar. Similar costume, similar time period, similar role (Loki's pawn), and same writer all make a pretty convincing argument for it to be the same guy. He doesn't show any sorceries or chemistry things like Igron does, but that doesn't rule it out. If we get to do another Asgardians profile for the OHotMU, I'll seek out an editorial ruling.
    Big thanks to Angelo Mammone for providing me with color versions of these images...I only have the Essentials version, which is black-and-white.

    Back a decade or so, there was a contest in Quasar to name a bunch of obscure characters, I think I was like 3rd place or something, partly because I mistook the Captive for Igron. D'oh!

    I don't think that in Thor I#177 that Igron and the guy who accompanied Loki to Earth were supposed to be the same guy. I don't recall Loki sending Igron back (as they had fled to escape Surtur), and they were even dressed differently. The guy who accompanied Loki to Earth wasn't named until #179, but what's done is done, and now it's Igron!

    Alternate reality versions of Igron appear in both What If? I#25 and What If? II#38.
However, for future reference, I will not be listing this information for profiles, so please don't harass me with it. If you want it so much, do a profile on the alternate world, and then a link will then exist beneath the character on the links pages. That is how it is supposed to be done.
    Please, stop the madness!

I assume Igron went to Hel after his death and perished for good during the Ragnarok in Thor II#85.

Profile by Snood.

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