MURDER TROLLSMURDER TROLLS
Membership: None identified (four were shown, but they were presumably part of a larger sub-sect of Murder Trolls);
they were likely further a sub-sect of the Trolls of Asgard (see comments)
Purpose: Assassination for hire
Aliases: None
Affiliations: Dormammu;
numerous others unidentified
Enemies: Clea, Valkyrie (Brunnhilde);
numerous others unidentified
Base of Operations: Presumably subterranean Asgard
First Appearance: Fearless Defenders#7 (September, 2013)
Powers/abilities: The Murder Trolls are mercenaries for hire, whose primary function is killing others.
Presumably have the properties of standard Asgardian trolls at least:
Trolls are stocky and massive, have thick body hair (almost fur) and tend toward a ruddy orange in color.
Trolls have superhuman strength (lifting from 25-95 tons), endurance (2.5 times an average human’s) and durability, resistance to disease, and longevity; however, they are generally slower than humans.
Their height varies from 3 to 7 feet, and their weight ranges between 100-800 lbs.
Trolls require less oxygen than humans and their vision extends into the infra-red spectrum, enabling them to see well in relative darkness and making them well suited for underground living.
History:
(Fearless Defenders#7 (fb) - BTS) - Murder Trolls are an obscure order of assassins for hire, hunters worshipping naught but coin, they are vicious and cruel, heartless and without remorse. They are allegedly a dying breed (or, at least, they were dying if Brunnhilde had anything to say about it).
(Fearless Defenders#7 (fb) - BTS) - Having slain Anabelle Riggs while
possessed/controlled by the Doom Maiden of Rage, Brunnhilde the
Valkyrie traveled to Valhalla to meet with Dark Dimension sorceress
Clea in hopes she could resurrect Anabelle.
(Fearless Defenders#7 (fb) - BTS) - Dormammu sent a quartet of Murder Trolls to Valhalla to kill Clea, his niece.
(Fearless Defenders#7) - The Murder Trolls encountered Brunnhilde as she wandered Valhalla to meet up with Clea. They recognized that this was not the "slip of a female their lord and master had sent them to kill," but they considered her "a bit o' sport just the same." When one of their number asked Valkyrie if she could give them a challenge to help pass the dull hours, she noted that she felt she could oblige them.
As she charged one of the Murder Trolls, another yelled, " 'ave at
thee, 'artlot!", but after Valkyrie's sword Dragonfang dug deep into
one of their number, one shocked troll (apparently the same one that
had made the "harlot" statement) stammered, "How...how.." while another
recognized her as "one o' them Valkyries." The questioning troll
questioned, "But they're no more. Is they?" and Brunnhilde assured the
brutes that there was at least one Valkyrie in Valhalla.
As the trolls charged Brunnhilde, one of them warned the "little war-lass" that there was one of her and three of them. However, as she swung her blade and dropped at least another of their number, she countered that in Valhalla of all places, one was enough. With her blade at one of the trolls' throats, Brunnhilde noted that she could guess for whom they were looking and whom had paid them, but she asked how their employer knew to send them to Valhalla. The troll refused to tell Brunnhilde anything, noting client confidentiality, at which point Clea arrived and/or made her presence known. She commented that if Dormammu was hiring trolls, he was either scaping the bottom of the barrel or he was just trying to insult her with quality of her underlings.
After
greeting Brunnhilde, Clea asked to deal with the trolls, using a
magical spell and subsequently explaining that the trolls were no
longer a threat and that they were more useful to her alive than
dead. 
To prove her point, Clea asked the Murder Trolls to tell them what they had planned next, and the surviving trio explained in succession that they were going to return to Dormammu, tell him they found nothing, and "then drive an axe into 'is flaming 'ead when he lets 'is guard down."
As the Murder Trolls departed, Brunnhilde told Clea that she knew that those trolls were no match for Dormammu, but Clea replied that perhaps it would remind Dormammu that she should rank better than a few half-wit assassins.
Comments: Created by Cullen Bunn and Stephanie Hans.
As Dormammu is still around, I'd imagine the Murder Trolls failed in their mission or he somehow recovered, but anything beyond that is pure speculation.
These trolls seemed to have a bit of a British cockney(?) accent, which reminded me somewhat of the Troll Associates. Beyond that, however, there's no known connection.
This profile was completed 5/25/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Murder Trolls have no known connections to
images: (without ads)
Fearless Defenders#7, pg. 6, panel 1 (confront Brunnhilde);
pg. 7, panel 1 (profile of first challenger);
panel 3 (first challenger falls);
pg. 8, panel 1 (attacking with club);
pg. 10, panel 2 (ensorcelled)
Appearances:
Fearless Defenders#7 (September, 2013) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Stephanie Hans (artist), Ellie Pyle (editor)
First posted: 09/18/2021
Last updated: 09/17/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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