POPPO The CUNNING

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Asgardian) magic user

Occupation: Sorcerer

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Aragorn, Bag Lady, Casiolena, Tom Hale, Barbara Norris, Ollerus the Unmerciful, She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), Telekinian (Ian Soo)

Enemies: Defenders (Hellcat, Hulk (Banner), Nighthawk, Valkyrie/Brunnhilde), Harokin, Hela

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Niffelheim, Asgard

First Appearance: Defenders I#66 (December, 1978)

Powers/Abilities: Poppo is a sorcerer of unknown capabilities. Using the Crystal of Eternal View, he could view other worlds. He possessed the ability, with the Barbara Norris Valkyrie to slay Earth men and women and to transport their souls to Valhalla. He also powered a magical mountain, used by Ollerus as his headquarters. Upon his defeat, all the humans' lives were restored.

History: Little is known about the origins of Poppo the Cunning.

(Defenders I#66 (fb) – BTS) – Poppo ‘braved a thousand deaths and worse’ to steal the Crystal of Eternal View. Ollerus the Unmerciful, who sought to replace Hela as the Asgardian God of Death, recruited an army and two mystics who could aid him in battle, Casiolena and Poppo the Cunning.

(Defenders I#66) – Poppo watched the return of the Valkyrie to Hela’s forces through the Crystal. He devised a plan that would use the Valkyrie against Hela’s forces, turning the tide of battle to Ollerus’s favor. He informed Ollerus of his plans and where they could implement it, though Casiolena briefly tried to convince Ollerus that she was the better ally. As Ollerus’s forces battled Hela’s, a rising mountain caused an earthquake that broke the battle up. Valkyrie investigated the mountain and was drawn through a portal to her original body. She touched it and the souls switched; Valkyrie was unconscious in her true form while the form she’d been using became possessed by the soul of the maddened Barbara Norris.

(Defenders I#67) – Ollerus and Poppo confronted Valkyrie, who tried to fight against them; Poppo fired mystic bolts at her and put a spell on her door so that she could not escape. Poppo continued to boast about the success of his plan. Ollerus soon marshaled his forces to fight against Hela, and Valkyrie escaped. Poppo, Ollerus, and the Barbara Norris Valkyrie saw to it that several Earth humans, including Defenders Nighthawk, Hellcat, and Hulk, were slain and brought to Valhalla.

(Defenders I#68) - Ollerus further convinced the humans to fight for him, giving the Defenders them leadership of his army. Ollerus’s army neared victory when the Hulk downed Valkyrie, and he commanded his forces to head for a final strike. The Defenders realized they were on the wrong side, however, and switched. The Defenders fought with Hela’s forces and they gained the upper-hand, so Ollerus used his mountain as a weapon, crushing the heroic army, until Hulk smashed the mountain. Ollerus vowed that if he was banished to Niffelheim, that he would marshal his forces and attack anew, so Hela conceded control of Valhalla to Harokin and banished herself, Ollerus, and Norris to Niffelheim. It is unknown what became of Poppo or Casiolena, though it is to be presumed they were banished to Niffelheim as well. The slain humans were restored to life and returned to Earth.

SECRET WARS III HAPPENED

(Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat#5 (fb)) - In Asgardia, when someone compared Casiolena to the Enchantress, she grew furious and lashed out at Thor, Odin, Freyja, and others. She and Poppo the Cunning were banished to Earth for their actions.

(Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat#4) - Poppo the Cunning aided Casiolena in gathering a mortal army of super-powered criminals, including Bag Lady. Casiolena cast a spell to contain Hellcat, Valkyrie, and Aragorn.

(Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat#5) - Casiolena kept Valkyrie, Bag Lady, Hellcat, and Poppo (who had turned against her) captive until She-Hulk, Ian Soo, Tom Hale, and Aragorn arrived to battle them. They turned her army against her, including Phil, and then Valkyrie returned Casiolena and Poppo to Asgardia.

Comments: Created by David Kraft and Ed Hannigan.

Profile by Chadman.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Poppo the Cunning has no known connections to

images:

Defenders I#66, p12, pan1
Defenders I#66, pan3

Appearances:
Defenders I#66 (December, 1978) - David Kraft (writer), Ed Hannigan (penciler/inker), Bob Hall (editor)
Defenders I#67 (January, 1979) - David Kraft (writer), Ed Hannigan (writer/penciler), Bruce Patterson (inker), Al Milgrom (editor)
Defenders I#68 (February, 1979) - David Kraft & Ed Hannigan (writers), Herb Trimpe (penciler), Pablo Marcos (inker), Al Milgrom (editor)
Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat#4-5 (May-June, 2016) - Kate Leth (writer), Brittney L. Williams (artist), Wil Moss (editor)

First Posted: 11/17/2006
Last updated: 06/04/2017

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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