TYR

Real Name: Tyr Odinson

Identity/Class: Asgardian god

Occupation: God of war, courage and justice

Group Membership: Gods of Asgard

Affiliations: Beta Ray Bill, Brunnhilde the Valkyrie, Celtic gods of Avalon, Harokin, Karnilla, Midgard Serpent, Odin, Thor, Tilda, Warriors Three, Wolf gods (former) Fire Demons, Loki, Storm Giants

Enemies: Celestials, Fenris Wolf, Fire Demons, Idunn, Loki, Seth, Storm Giants, Thermal Man, (former) Balder, Odin, Sif, Thor, Warriors Three

Known Relatives: Odin (father, deceased), Frigga (mother), Balder, Hermod (brothers), Thor, Vidar (half-brothers), Loki (foster-brother), Hoder (cousin), Bor (grandfather), Mimir, Njord (granduncle), Buri (great-grandfather, alias Tiwaz)

Aliases: Tiw, Tiv, Ziv, "Shining One"

Base of Operations: Asgard

First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery I#85 (October, 1963)

Powers/Abilities: Tyr possesses the conventional attributes of the Asgardian gods including superhuman strength (Class 35), stamina and resistance to harm. The loss of his left hand, though, has affected his ability to lift incredible weights. He has an exceptionally long life span and is immune to all earthly diseases. As god of war, Tyr has mastered all forms of unarmed combat and the use of all forms of Asgardian weaponry. It is unknown if he has any powers of a mystical nature.

On one occasion, Tyr wielded the Sacred Mace of the Myth-Wars, a weapon Odin once used in the defense of Asgard. It was destroyed in battle against Thor.

Height: 6' 7"

Weight: 510 lbs.

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Black

History: (Norse Myth)- Tyr is the oldest son of Odin, Ruler of the Asgardian gods, and the giantess Saga, who was also a goddess of runes. Tyr, however, was soon overshadowed by Thor, Odin’s son by Gaea in her role as Jord, the Asgardian earth mother. Tyr grew to be jealous of Thor and soon found a way to prove his worth over Thor when the gods of Asgard captured Fenrir (Fenris wolf) in order to keep the wolf-god from bringing about Ragnarok. Odin had had dwarves create a flimsy restraint called Gleipner to restrain Fenrir, but the wolf-god suspected a trick and refused to have the restraint placed on him unless one of the gods as a gesture of trust would place his hand in his mouth. If it proved unbreakable, Fenrir would bit off the hand of the god. Tyr offered to place his left hand in the jaws of Fenrir and as the restraints proved to be unbreakable, Tyr lost his hand.

Odin eventually realized there was a great cauldron large enough to brew ale for all of the gods of Asgard and Tyr informed him that it did exist. It was owned by his grandfather, Aegir, in his role as Hymir, the god of ale. Odin sent Tyr and Thor to retrieve the cauldron and the two of them were greeted warmly by Saga who then tried to hide them from her father. Aegir, however, discovered them and upon recognizing Tyr as his grandson also responded kindly to them. As Thor and Tyr tried to steal the cauldron, Aegir led the Frost Giants against them. As Tyr retreated with the cauldron, Thor summoned all his powers and slew them than allowing them to enter Asgard.

(Journey into Mystery I#106/2)- When Balder deserted a battle to save a bird which had fallen from its nest, Odin put him to the test of Mortal Death. In the course of this test Tyr shot an arrow at Balder, but an eagle came from the sky and plucked the arrow from the air before it could hit him. Ultimately, as a reward for his bravery, Odin bestowed invulnerability on Balder.

(Thor I#474 (fb))- Tyr stood by and watched as Thor and Volstagg engaged in a playful wrestling match. He was presumably involved in the ensuing battle against the forces of Mogul.

(Thor Annual#5)- Tyr took part in the Asgard/Olympus War, and his presence encouraged Thor, as his appearance would mean a glorious battle.

(Journey into Mystery I#85)- Tyr was among those Asgardians assembled who witnessed the return of Loki to Asgard following his defeat by Thor.

(Thor I#240) - With Odin mysteriously absent from Asgard, many of the gods began to grow listless and lose energy. Thor attempted to rouse Tyr, but Tyr would not even acknowledge the thunder god.

(Thor I#300-301 (BTS))- Tyr donated his life energies to Odin to animate the Destroyer against the Celestials who then shattered the Destroyer’s armor and cast out those energies to the cosmos. Thor was the only one to not donate his life energies as he recalled the pact Odin had made with the sky-fathers of the other pantheons to donate the necessary life energies to revive the Asgardians.

(Thor I#302)- Tyr lost a friendly bet he wagered with Thor involving whether his strength had diminished after excessive partying following their resurrection after dispersion of their life-forces by the Celestials. Thor proved his strength was as great as ever by lifting a table containing over a dozen Asgardians and Volstagg over his head.

(Thor I#312)- Tyr made romantic overtures towards Sif, but she rejected him, being loyal to Thor. Angered, Tyr devised a plot to defeat Thor without breaking Asgard's laws. He discovered a seldom-invoked law whereby no Asgardian was permitted to journey to Earth without first receiving a majority approval from the other Asgardians. Odin allowed Tyr the opportunity to invoke this law, and bring Thor back to Asgard. Tyr used this as an excuse to attack Thor, and wielded Odin's own Mace of the Myth-Wars against Thor, but Thor overcame him in battle and destroyed the mace.

(Thor I#313)- When Thor returned Tyr to Asgard, it was only then that he learnt of Tyr's purpose in attacking him, and Tyr claimed that Thor had initiated their fight, and insisted that they hold the vote. The vote was nearly deadlocked, with Odin being left to cast the deciding vote, but then Sif arrived and cast the final vote, in Thor's favour. She also revealed Tyr's attempt to romance her, and Tyr was chastised by Odin.

(Thor I#324/2)- Tyr was recruited by Loki to aid him in overthrowing Odin after Loki had learnt how Odin had had an affair with Queen Jolena. Tyr was incensed by Odin's betrayal to Frigga, and with Loki, they received the aid of the Storm Giants, the Fire Demons of Surtur, Karnilla, and the Wolf gods.

(Thor I#325/2)- In order to possess leverage over the other Asgardians, Loki and Tyr captured Idunn and fed her golden apples to the Midgard Serpent so that the Asgardians would gradually grow old and perish. They then gathered their forces outside of Asgard to prepare for siege warfare.

(Thor I#326/2)- Idunn was rescued from Loki and Tyr by Balder and the Warriors Three, and to escape the siege, Odin determined to bring his forces to earth to seek the aid of Thor.

(Thor I#327)- Tyr and Loki employed the Midgard Serpent to wrap himself around the earth, providing them the means to pursue Odin, and crush the earth simultaneously. However, when they finally met with Odin's forces in combat, Loki turned on Tyr, having realized that Odin had not broken his vows to Frigga. Tyr fought Hogun the Grim and was finally defeated by Odin, while Thor recovered the golden apples from the Midgard Serpent and returned him to gnaw on Yggdrasil.

(Thor I#350-351, 352/Avengers I#249 (BTS))- Despite his past trangressions, Tyr stood alongside Odin and Asgard against the threat of Surtur, and joined the forces of Asgard in battling Surtur's Fire Demons on Earth. When Thor passed command of their forces to Beta Ray Bill, Tyr honored Thor's commands, and helped convince Harokin to lead the Einherjar under Bill's authority.

(Thor I#359 (BTS))- Because Asgard's Rainbow Bridge was destroyed by Surtur during the conflict, Tyr and the other champions of Asgard were forced to remain on Earth for some time, until the combined powers of Thor and Beta Ray Bill returned them all to Asgard.

(Thor I#399)- Tyr fought alongside the armies of Asgard and Avalon against Seth's attemp to conquer Asgard. Tyr did not get along particularly well with the Celtic god Leir. Tyr advised against Balder's personal combat with Seth, but Balderfaced him nonetheless. When Seth cheated, Tyr joined with the Asgardians and Celtic gods in renewing the battle.

(Marvel Super-Heroes III#9)- When the Thermal Man joined forces with the Storm Giants in an assault on Asgard, Tyr stood alongside the Warriors Three, Balder, and Thor in opposing the robot, which proved to be controlled by Loki. After the Thermal Man's defeat, Tyr sang praises of Thor's accomplishment, for having saved Asgard.

(Thor I#454)- Tyr accompanied Tilda, Hermod and Brunnhilde in an attempt to plead for the lives of the Warriors Three, whom Odin had sentenced to death, but Odin was being possessed by Loki, and ignored their request. Ultimately, Loki was driven out of Odin by Eric Masterson, the replacement Thor.

(Thor I#477)- Tyr was present in Asgard when Odin revealed that he had chosen Red Norvell to take over Thor's duties in Asgard.

(Thunderstrike#17/2)- During a feast in Asgard, Tyr and Hoder swapped rumors concerning the time during which Sif had been controlled by Mephisto. Her brother Heimdall came to her aid, but Sif burst into a drunken fit, and ultimately had to seek penance from Odin for her actions.

(Thor II#85)- Tyr fought alongside Beta Ray Bill and the armies of Asgard against Surtur, the Fire Demons, trolls and giants, and perished alongside his comrades as Ragnarok engulfed Asgard.

Comments: Adapted by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Larry Leiber

Despite his importance to the Ancient Norse, Tyr has appeared very randomly in the Marvel Universe. In the myths, it was his right hand that he lost, not his left.

According to the Sentient Eye of Odin, there was a previous Asgard that was destroyed and then rebuilt by the Asgardians restored to life by Odin. If this account is true, Tyr could be one of the gods restored to life from this previous Asgard. This is worth mentioning since Tyr plays an important part in the Norse myth of Ragnarok and if it has already occurred once, then he would have survived it.

In Norse Myth, Heimdall is also a son of Odin by one of the daughters of Aegir. If this is true for the Marvel Universe as well, it would include Sif as well or at least the previous Asgard described by the Sentient Eye of Odin.

Also, there is some suggestion at least in Norse myth, that Garm and Fenrir might be one and the same. Both end up chained to the underworld, both are released at the Twilight of the Gods and both kill Tyr. This, however, does not apply to the reality of the Marvel Universe where they seem to be separate beings. Presumably, they could have been divided during the previously mentioned reconstruction of Asgard.

Tyr was depicted as a redhead in Thor I#240.

Tyr's death during Ragnarok was depicted in Thor I#472 during Thor's nightmare.

by Will U and Prime Eternal

CLARIFICATIONS:
Tyr is not to be confused with:

• Tyr, Mack Devlin, member of the Gene Dogs, @ Gene Dogs#1
• Tyr of the Blinding Blade, inhabitant of the World of a Thousand Galaxies, @ Thor Annual#2
• Arisen Tyrk, of Otherworld, @ Marvel Premiere#45
• Tyrak, Atlantean rebel, @ Avengers I#154
• Anhur, Egyptian god of war and the hunt (not seen in MU)
• Ares, alias Mars, Olympian god of war, @ Thor I#129
• Athena, Olympian goddess of war, wisdom and crafts, @ Thor I#164
• Badb, Celtic god of war, @ Knights of Pendragon#15
• Bellona, aka Discord, Olympian goddess of war and strife, @ Doctor Strange III#54
• Bishamon, Japanese god of war (not seen in MU)
• Cherruvue, Incan god of war (not seen in MU)
• Chi-Yu, Chinese god of war (not seen in MU)
• Harimela, Finnish goddess of war (not seen in MU)
• Hotamintanio, Native American god of war, @ Doctor Strange III#25
• Huitzilopochtli, Mexican god of war once impersonated by Apocalypse (not seen in MU)
• Kartikeya, Hindu god of war slain by Skanda (not seen in MU)
• Kibuka, African god of war, son of Anansi, alleged leader of the 66 Bridges Gang--Black Panther III#54
• Montu, Egyptian god of war and bravery (not seen in MU)
• Nergal, Mesopotamian god of war--Conan the Barbarian I#30, Marvel Spotlight I#18
• Otso, alias Tiermes, Finnish god of war (not seen in MU--unless it's this guy: Tiermes
• Skanda, Hindu god of war (not seen in MU)
• Tiwaz, Buri, son of Ymir, father of Odin, @ Thor I#353
• Triglav, Russian god of war (not seen in MU)
• Tu, alias Ku, Oceanic god of war, @ X-Force I#81

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