VALKYRIE

Real Name: Valkyrie

Identity/Class: Mental construct

Occupation: Mental and later physical manifestation of Thor's insanity

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: former Thor

Enemies: Adam Warlock, Asgard, Beta Ray Bill, Dr. Strange, Drax, Gamora, Odin, Maxam, Moondragon,  Pip the Troll, Sif, Silver Surfer, Thanos, Thor

Known Relatives: None, although she is truly just an aspect of Thor, so Thor's family may be considered hers in an abstract way

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Inside the mind/at the side of Thor

First Appearance: Thor I#460 (March, 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Valkyrie was originally a mental construct created by Thor's own demented mind. She was the manifestation of Thor's insanity, although he believed she was real. As time went on, she exerted more and more control over Thor until he obeyed her every suggestion and was like a slave to her. 

After being given a physical form, the Valkyrie was a proficient fighter with a sword and a superb hand to hand combatant. She possibly had enhanced strength (enhanced human-class 10?), and still exercised complete and total control over Thor.

History: (Thor I#461 (fb) - BTS) - After years and years of mental anguish at having his power handed out to others such as Eric Masterson and Beta Ray Bill and being imprisoned in the form of Don Blake, Thor's mind slowly slipped into insanity. This was given form by the Valkyrie, a construct of Thor's own demented mind, created as a manifestation of its insanity.

(Thor I#460) - The Valkyrie appeared to Thor as he wallowed in self pity and introduced herself, telling him that upon her mortal death she was selected to be one of the Valkyrie, Odin's sword maidens. Thor confided in her that he had undergone a death of sorts recently. Valkyrie promised Thor that should he ever need an ear for his troubles, she would be there. She then vanished without another word.

Later on, Odin sent Thor away from Asgard to clear his mind. As Thor departed Asgard, the Valkyrie again appeared to him out of nowhere in his vessel.

(Thor I#461) - Valkyrie told Thor that she promised to appear to him when she was needed and she had appeared. Valkyrie told Thor that he had gone through much and told him that all his troubles were the fault of Odin, first by imprisoning Thor in the guise of Don Blake, then by giving his power to Beta Ray Bill, and finally by submerging Thor's consciousness in Eric Masterson. As the manifestation of Thor's insanity, Valkyrie began to assert herself and convinced Thor to rise up against his father and never serve Asgard or Odin's will ever again. She started to woo Thor as well.  Later on, when Beta Ray Bill and Sif showed up to try and help Thor, Valkyrie drove Thor to attack and defeat them. Thor proclaimed that from that moment onward, the only will he would serve was his own. The Valkyrie continued to encourage him.

(Thor I#462) - As Thor began to think rationally and wondered if he had been wrong in treating Beta Ray Bill so harshly, Valkyrie convinced him that Beta Ray Bill got exactly what he deserved. Later, Valkyrie congratulated Thor after he nearly beat Ares to death.

(Thor I#463) - Thor and Valkyrie stopped to rest on a nearby planet. Valkyrie continued to woo Thor, but they were interrupted by the Goddess, who arrived to try to recruit Thor to her Infinity Crusade. The Goddess, with her special abilities, was able to see the Valkyrie even though she was only a mental construct. Valkyrie told Thor not to listen to the Goddess, and only to heed her own council. Goddess continued to try to persuade Thor to join her crusade, and the Valkyrie attacked the Goddess. Eventually, Thor broke up the fight and agreed to join the Goddess. The Goddess then struck Valkyrie with her sword and the Valkyrie dissipated. Thor thought she was dead (of course she could not actually be destroyed through physical means because she was a mental construct).

(Thor I#464) - Valkyrie appeared to Thor once again. When Thor asked how the Valkyrie still lived, she replied that she and Thor were of the same soul, and she would never be separated from him.

(Thor I#467) - Valkyrie appeared to Thor once again and showed him her hidden retreat (actually a place spawned by Thor's own insane mind). Once there, Valkyrie fueled Thor's anger at Odin, convincing him not only to never again serve Odin, but to return to Asgard and destroy Odin. Thor wanted to be about this task as soon as possible and asked how to exit this hidden retreat. Valkyrie showed him the way out: a staircase, spiraling ever downward. Little did Thor know that the Valkyrie was actually leading him down the final path to insanity.

(Thor I#468-Silver Surfer III#86) - As Valkyrie and Thor set out for Asgard, she continued to encourage him, tempering his desire to destroy Odin. Then she appealed to Thor's insane mind even more, until she convinced him that he had been misused by the entire universe and the entire universe needed to be taught a lesson. Thor vowed to kill everything in the universe and leave only Valkyrie and himself. 

Before long, Sif showed up and tried to help Thor regain his sanity, but he would not listen to her. As Thor spoke to Valkyrie, Sif asked Thor who he was speaking to and tried to convince him that there was nobody there and that he had been listening to a construct of his own mind. Thor refused to believe that Valkyrie was only a figment of his mind and attacked Sif. Before long, with the Valkyrie's encouragements urging him on all the way, Thor soon forced Sif to flee and had Beta Ray Bill and the Silver Surfer at his mercy.

(Warlock and the Infinity Watch#23) - Adam Warlock showed up to assist the Silver Surfer. Adam Warlock could see the Valkyrie with his soul gem, which he could use to detect all levels of spirituality. Warlock told Thor that his soul gem confirmed that the Valkyrie was not real and that Thor had created her with his mind, but Thor once again refused to listen. Valkyrie instructed Thor not to listen to Warlock. She told Thor to kill Warlock and the Surfer immediately, and Thor soon defeated Warlock and Silver Surfer once again. Valkyrie told Thor to finish them, and Thor prepared to obey, but before he could, the two heroes escaped Thor's wrath, fleeing on the Surfer's board. Valkyrie assured Thor that they would return to haunt him later and when that happened, he would kill them. 

(Thor I#469) - Before Thor and Valkyrie could reach Asgard, they were attacked again, this time by the Infinity Watch. Moondragon used her mind gem to see the Valkyrie and confirmed with her mental powers that she was nothing but a mental figment of Thor's own creation. Moondragon tried to use her mental powers to cure Thor's insanity, but instead, she only succeeded in giving the Valkyrie a physical form. The Valkyrie was no longer only a creation of Thor's insane mind, but was now real, and had just as strong an influence over Thor as ever. Valkyrie told Thor that the Infinity Watch were enemies and he needed to kill them, and Thor agreed. Thor and Valkyrie then attacked the Infinity Watch. Valkyrie defeated Gamora in physical combat, and Thor seized the power gem from Drax the Destroyer. The Infinity Watch fled as Valkyrie and Thor basked in their victory and newfound source of nigh-unlimited power.

(Thor I#470) - Valkyrie and Thor reached the outskirts of Asgard with the intent of killing Odin and destroying Asgard. Before they could reach the city, they were again engaged by Adam Warlock, Dr. Strange, the Silver Surfer, and the Infinity Watch. The truly mad and insane Thor defeated all of the heroes while Valkyrie defeated Moondragon and incapacitated Gamora as well. Beta Ray Bill and Sif showed up once again, but before Valkyrie and Thor could attack them, Pip teleported Thor, Valkyrie, and Silver Surfer aboard Thanos' ship.

(Silver Surfer III#88) - Valkyrie and Thor destroyed all of Thanos' robot drones that he sent to attack them. Thor then engaged Thanos in battle while Valkyrie fought Silver Surfer. Silver Surfer tried to appeal to Valkyrie's sanity, not quite understanding that she was the manifestation of insanity. When it became evident that she could not be helped, Silver Surfer knocked Valkyrie out with a cosmic blast.

(Warlock Chronicles#8) - After the heroes had managed to entrap Thor within a solid block of force, the captive Valkyrie boasted and shouted that soon Thor would escape his confinement and kill them all. Thanos devised a plan to put Valkyrie back into Thor's psyche and then maybe destroy her completely, curing Thor of his insanity. Using Dr. Strange's talents, the heroes imprisoned Valkyrie in a mystical sphere and were able to control and contain her mystical aspect; using Moondragon's mind powers they were able to control Valkyrie's consciousness; and using Thanos' instrumentation the heroes were able to manipulate Valkyrie's physical self on a molecular level as they converted her into energy. Moondragon then transported them all, including the Valkyrie, to the psychic plane and inside Thor's insane mind. From there, the heroes planned to reincorporate the Valkyrie into Thor's psyche, but Thor's own mental defenses proved too much, and the heroes needed to pull out. They had succeeded in returning the Valkyrie to her state as merely a mental construct, no longer having a physical self, but Thor was still insane.

(Thor I#471) - Odin made one last attempt at freeing Thor by entering Thor's mind himself. Once inside Thor's insane mind, Odin saw a representation of Thor chained to a mountain. Odin broke this Thor's chains but was then confronted by the Valkyrie, who said that inside Thor's mind, it was she who was sovereign, not Odin. She said that she ruled Thor and inside Thor she was all powerful. She said that she could not be defeated and if Odin did somehow find a way to destroy her, he risked doing unimaginable damage to Thor's mind. Valkyrie then grew to be larger than the mountain and fought Odin for the mind of Thor. Odin restrained himself during the battle, not wanting to damage Thor's mind any further, but then the Thor mental image jumped into the fray and put an end to the Valkyrie himself, freeing himself from her influence, regaining his sanity, and effectively destroying the Valkyrie.

Comments: Created by Jim Starlin, Ron Marz, Bruce Zick, and Steve Montano

The story in which Thor went insane was called Blood and Thunder.

Keep in mind that Valkyrie was simply Thor's own insanity speaking to him. Whenever Thor drowned out his own rational thought, it was given form in the Valkyrie's encouragements.

It's not entirely clear how Valkyrie was able to attack the Goddess in Thor I#463, prior to gaining a physical form. Maybe it had something to do with the Goddess' ability to to interact with all levels of spirituality. 

The staircase she led him down in Thor I#467 was symbolic of insanity. She led him down the stairs, into the dark, deep depths of insanity. 

A lot of people were really upset that Thor went nuts for a year (or it least it sounds that way judging by their letters). For two years he had been replaced by Eric Masterson, and the first thing the writers did when the original Thor returned was make him insane for yet another year. This is kind of similar to how some people were really pissed off when Dan Jurgens killed off Odin and made Thor like a villain in his own book for almost 4 years in the Reigning.  I personally didn't mind since  Blood and Thunder took place when I was 6 years old and I didn't get the issues until many years later and read them all at once, so I didn't need to put up with it for 11 months. Still, I can see where the people who were frustrated were coming from. Some people didn't like it when Peter David made Captain Marvel go insane for a year and a half either. 

As far as Thor and Valkyrie's relationship...getting it on with your own subconscious mind is some trick. I bet it's something Thor doesn't like to talk about much. Captain Marvel did it also while he was insane. 

Profile by Stunner

Clarifications: Should not be confused with

images: Thor I#471, page 11 panel 1 (top)
Thor I#461, page 8, panel 5 (face)
Thor I#469, page 27 panel 1 (against Gamora)

Thor I#460-464 (March-July, 1993) - Jim Starlin (#450-462) & Ron Marz (writers), Bruce Zick (pencils), Steve Montano (#460), Mike DeCarlo (#461-464) (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Thor I#467-468 (October-November, 1993) - Ron Marz (writer), Bruce Zick (pencils), Mike DeCarlo (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Silver Surfer III#86 (November, 1993) - Ron Marz (writer), Andy Smith (pencils), Bill Anderson (inks), Craig Anderson (editor)
Warlock and the Infinity Watch#23 (December, 1993) - Jim Starlin (writer), Tom Grindberg (pencils), Bob Almond & Harry Candelario (inks), Craig Anderson (editor)
Thor I#469 (December, 1993) - Ron Marz (writer), M.C. Wyman (pencils), Mike DeCarlo (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Silver Surfer I#87 (December, 1993) - Ron Marz (writer), Andy Smith (pencils), Tom Christopher (inks), Craig Anderson (editor)
Thor I#470 (January, 1994) - Ron Marz (writer), M.C. Wyman (pencils), Mike DeCarlo (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Silver Surfer III#88 (January, 1994) - Ron Marz (writer), Andy Smith (pencils), Tom Christopher (inks), Craig Anderson (editor)
Warlock Chronicles#8 (February, 1994) - Jim Starlin (writer), Andy Smith (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Craig Anderson (editor)
Thor I#471 (February, 1994) - Ron Marz (writer), M.C. Wyman (pencils), Mike DeCarlo (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)

Last updated: 01/26/05

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