Hunding (Neiding clan; Siegmund foe; Sieglinda husband)

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly a house in an unspecified location in northern Europe

First Appearance: (Wagner's Hunding) Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), the second of four parts in the "Der Ring Des Nibelung" (The Ring of the Nibelung) opera (August 14, 1876);
(Marvel's Hunding) Thor I#296 (June, 1980)

Powers/Abilities: Hunding appeared to be a strong and capable warrior, experienced with the spear, the sword, and the shield.

Hunding took a wife via forced marriage (which was probably not that uncommon at the time) and treated her roughly, both physically and in terms of his demands and expectations of meals and presumably cleaning, etc.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6'1", assuming Siegmund is around 6'2," although there is poor height comparison)
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 275 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown (with full beard)

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - The Neiding clan (presumably including Hunding) assaulted the abode of Wulf (an alias of Odin) while Wulf and his son, Siegmund (a mortal incarnation of Thor), were out hunting. The Neidings burned down the house, laid waste to Wulf's lair, slew Wulf's wife, and abducted their daughter and Siegmund's twin sister, Sieglinda.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - When Siegmund and Wulf returned home, Siegmund assumed Sieglinda had been consumed in the house fire. Wulf told Siegmund the Neidings had done the deed.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - Expecting the Neidings to return for them, Wulf and Siegmund fled and eventually faced the Neidings at a time of their own choosing; many Neidings perished, but Wulf vanished without a trace during the conflict. It is unrevealed whether Hunding was present during this conflict and somehow survived/escaped.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - Sieglinda became an unwilling bride to Hunding of the Neidlings. Their home had a large ash tree growing within and out of the top of it.

(Thor I#296 (fb)) - At Sieglinda and Hunding's wedding feast, a grey-clad stranger (Wulf) suddenly arrived, holding a gleaming sword, which he drove deep into the ash tree that grew within Hunding's house, before he wordlessly departed.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - Much later, Siegmund answered a woman's cry for help, and fought to rescue her from a marriage she did not want to one of the Neiding (whether Siegmund knew who they were or not). Not wishing to see her kinsmen slain, however, the intended bride intervened in the fight and eventually fell beneath the blade of one of her own people. Wounded and realizing more kinsmen would be coming, Siegmund fled on foot.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - Arriving at the wedding site late, Hunding found his fallen clansmen and followed the departing tracks back toward his house.

(Thor I#296 (fb)) - Seeking rest by the house's hearth, Siegmund entered Hunding's home (though he neither knew the owner of the home, nor did he know that Hunding was one of the Neidings; see comments) and collapsed. Only naming herself as the wife of the house's owner (Hunding), Sieglinda began tending to Siegmund's wounds shortly before Hunding's return; the two siblings did not recognizing each other, presumably indicating that they had been separated for a long time.

While Hunding was clearly angered by his wife's attention to another man, Sieglinda explained that the visitor was a wanderer in need, and Siegmund assured Hunding she had done no wrong. Welcoming the traveler as a guest and commanding Sieglinda to bring them some food, Hunding noted that his guest was as fair and blonde as his wife and that there was no horse tethered outside. When Hunding asked from where his guest had come and his guest vaguely answered, "...from the storm," Hunding grew suspicious and painfully grabbed Sieglinda's wrist as he queried whether there was more going on.

Siegmund told Hunding to stay his hand, thanking his hospitality but insisting he would not have Hunding's wife innocently accused. Hunding assured his visitor that his wife was used to such caresses and knew he meant no harm. Telling Hunding he could call him "Woe-King," Siegmund shared his early and recent history.

Hearing Siegmund's tale, Hunding revealed Siegmund's foes were his kin as he drew his sword. However, Sieglinda stopped Hunding, reminding him of his oath of hospitality, and the strength of his people's oaths. Hunding vowed the visitor would be his guest, but that he should arm himself for tomorrow when he would pay his debt in blood whether he had a sword or not.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - Feeling a connection to her guest, Sieglinda mingled a potion with Hunding's drink to send him into a heavy sleep.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - Sieglinda entered Siegmund's bedroom and showed him the sword imbedded in the house's tree. Calling the blade Needful as he pulled it free, the guest revealed his real name to be Siegmund. Hearing this, Sieglinda stated her own name and that she was his twin sister. Siegmund rationalized that they were not "true" siblings, more like unto godlings.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - Siegmund and Sieglinda apparently had relations, after which they fled Hunding's house.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - Odin's wife, Frigga, confronted Odin, demanding Siegmund's death for his transgression of wedding vows (see comments). Accepting Frigga's demand, Odin agreed to take back the sword Needful and not protect his son. Odin further commanded Brunnhilde the Valkyrie to slay Siegmund.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - As Siegmund and Sieglinda ascended out of a deep gorge, Siegmund vowed to stand and wait here for Hunding, delivering vengeance for Sieglinda's rough treatment.

Confronted by Brunnhilde, Siegmund convinced her not to enforce Odin's command so as to spare Sieglinda further violence at Hunding's hand.

(Thor I#296 (fb)) - Hunding then arrived and challenged Siegmund, taunting him for being weaponless, but Siegmund revealed that he had taken the sword from the tree in Hunding's home. Hunding reasoned that "some meddlesome god" had helped him, but -- noting that no god was standing by his side now -- Hunding hurled his spear into Needful.

Siegmund acknowledged this to have been a mighty toss, but then leapt down and slashed a chunk off of Hunding's shield with Needful. Drawing his sword, Hunding acknowledged that they would fight it out hand-to-hand, and he taunted that soon his foe would lie lifeless at his feet.

However, armed with Needful, his own demi-godly might, and apparently the protection of Brunnhilde's power, Siegmund shattered Hunding's shield.

Hunding called out to Frigga to help her avenger, after which Siegmund struck a blow that shattered Hunding's sword and knocked Hunding to the ground near where his spear was imbedded.

Upon Frigga's urging, Odin invisibly backed Hunding's spear with his own, shattering Needful, allowing Hunding to fatally impale the shocked Siegmund through the chest.

After Brunnhilde fled atop her winged steed with Sieglinda, Odin slew Hunding -- telling him to go kneel before Frigga in death -- and vowed punishment beyond all imagining for Brunnhilde for her disobedience.

Comments: Created by Richard Wagner;
adapted by Roy Thomas, Keith Pollard, and Chic Stone.

For this and all profiles related to the Ring of the Nibelung, you should open up another page in your browser and load Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyrie"

The Hundings (Old English Hundingas, the "hound-clan") are a legendary tribe or clan in early Germanic sources, mostly mentioned due to their feud with the Wulfings (the "wolf-clan"). In the Poetic Edda, Hunding is a king of the Saxons, slain by Helgi Hundingsbane. The Gesta Danorum mentions a Danish king Helgo who slew Hundingus, king of Saxony, in single combat. The historical core of the story is likely a conflict between the Eastern Geats (the wolf-clan) and the Lombards (the hound-clan).

Hunding itself is a patronymic translating to "son of a hound", while the Hundings as a clan (sibb) would be the descendants of Hunding. Being named a "hound" or "dog" was by no means an insult in pre-Christian Germanic culture, but that the animal was rather a symbol of the warrior, while in Christian Germanic culture, it became associated with heathendom, "heathen hounds" being an appellation especially of the pagan Vikings.

That's all I've got, another than knowing "hund" is German for hound/dog, as in Dachshund meaning "badger hound."

From the comic version, it would seem that Frigga only cared about weddings and their bonds, but didn't think it wrong for women to be forced into unwanted marriage. As referenced below (see the notes about Die Walküre), in the original stories, Frigga demanded Siegmund's death due to his committing incest.
Thor I#297 has Brunnhilde describe Sieglinda as Siegmund's bride.

Hunding was apparently a pretty impressive warrior. Siegmund certainly overpowered him in short order, but to do so Siegmund utilized the enchanted sword Needful, his own demi-godly might, and apparently the protection of Brunnhilde's power.

I would suspect that it was more than coincidence -- and almost certainly the guidance or plottings of Odin -- that led Siegmund to seek shelter in the house in which Needful was lodged.

There are multiple other good images of Hunding, most notably in the bottom portion of the Siegmund profile.

These stories were among those told to Thor by the Eye of Odin, and the events therein, particularly the origins of the current Odin incarnation, have been called into question.

Hunding was based on the character Hunding from Richard Wagner's Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), the second of four parts in the opera "Der Ring Des Nibelung" (The Ring of the Nibelung) opera. You can Google it for more information.

The Ring of the Nibelung comes, in a very general way, from the old Norse/Germanic legend of the Nibelungenlied ("The Song of the Dwarves"). Wagner created the story of the Ring by fusing elements from many German and Scandinavian myths and folk tales. The Old Norse Edda supplied much of the material for Das Rheingold, while Die Walküre was largely based on the Völsunga saga.

Although Die Walküre is the second of the Ring operas, it was the third in order of conception. Wagner worked backwards from planning an opera about Siegfried's death, then deciding he needed another opera to tell of Siegfried's youth, then deciding he needed to tell the tale of Siegfried's conception and of Brünnhilde's attempts to save Siegfried's parents, and finally deciding he also needed a prelude that told of the original theft of the Rheingold and the creation of the ring.

Fricka sought punishment on Siegmund and Sieglinde (as it was spelled) for their incest.

Here's some big information spelled out in Die Walkure not covered in the Thor comic (and thus not part of continuity):
Wotan explains his problems: troubled by the warning delivered by Erda (at the end of Das Rheingold), he had seduced the earth-goddess to learn more of the prophesied doom; Brünnhilde was born to him by Erda. He raised Brünnhilde and eight other daughters as the Valkyries, warrior maidens who gather the souls of fallen heroes to form an army against Alberich. Valhalla's army will fail if Alberich should ever wield the ring, which is in Fafner's possession. The giant has transformed himself into a dragon, lurking in a forest with the Nibelung treasure. Wotan cannot wrest the ring from Fafner, who is bound to him by contract; he needs a free hero to defeat Fafner in his stead. But as Fricka pointed out, he can create only thralls (i.e. servants) to himself. Bitterly, Wotan orders Brünnhilde to obey Fricka and grant victory to Hunding in his battle with Wotan's beloved son Siegmund.

Hunding's home was isolated, amid the wilderness, and a great tree grew from its center and out through its roof.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - Sieglinda became an unwilling bride to Hunding of the Neidings.

(Thor I#296 (fb)) - Much later, after another violent encounter with the Neidings, Siegmund happened upon Hunding's home, leading to an encounter with Hunding who vowed to slay him. Sieglinda showed Siegmund the sword, which he pulled out as no other could, and the two fell in love and fled.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - The Neiding clan (presumably including Hunding) assaulted the abode of Wulf (an alias of Odin) while Wulf and his son, Siegmund (a mortal incarnation of Thor) were out hunting. The Neidings burned down the house, laid waste to Wulf's lair, slew Wulf's wife, and abducted his daughter and Siegmund's twin sister, Sieglinda.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - When Siegmund and Wulf returned home, Siegmund assumed Sieglinda had been consumed in the house fire.

Wulf told Siegmund the clan called the Neidings had done the deed and that they would soon return to slay the two of them as well. Though they both wished to stay and fight, they realized it was foolish to let their foes choose time and place.

(Thor I#296 (fb)) - Eventually, Siegmund and Wulf stood and faced "those thieving, murdering Neidlings, and many the dogs who fell before the wolves there in the dark forest night."

Yet, when their foes lay dead or else scattered, Siegmund found only his father's wolfskin cloak, with his father apparently vanished.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - Sieglinda became an unwilling bride to Hunding of the Neidlings. Their home had a large ash tree growing within and out of the top of it.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - Much later, with Wulf having having long since mysteriously vanished following a confrontation with the Neidlings, Siegmund answered a woman's cry for help, and fought to rescue her from a marriage she did not want to one of the Neiding (whether Siegmund knew it or not). Not wishing to see her kinsmen slain, however, the intended bride intervened in the fight and eventually fell beneath the blade of one of her own people. Wounded and realizing more kinsmen would be coming, Siegmund fled on foot.

(Thor I#296 (fb) - BTS) - Arriving at the wedding site late, Hunding found his fallen clansmen and followed the departing tracks back toward his house.

images: (without ads)
Thor I#296, pg. 4, panel 2 (home);
        pg. 5, panel 6 (full);
        pg. 6, panel 2 (face);
        pg. 7, panel 1 (Wulf vs. Neidings);
        pg. 8, panel 1 (Neidings at wedding falling before Siegmund);
        pg. 15, panel 1 (hurling spear at Siegmund);
        pg. 16, panel 1 (swordfight with Siegmund);
            panel 5 (Odin floating over fallen Hunding);
        pg. 18, panel 3 (Odin slays Hunding)

Appearances:
Thor I#296 (June, 1980) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Keith Pollard (penciler), Chic Stone (inker), Jim Shooter (consulting editor)

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com