Hela (Marvel)
Hela is a female comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Hela was a female goddess native to the Nine Realms of Asgard. (Journey into Mystery v1 #102) Her origins were tied to ancient times during the reign of the Asgardian All-Father Bor Burison. The Asgardian King came to recruit sorcerers to create a powerful weapon which would end all ears in existence allowing himself to be crowned as the god-king of life and death itself. This weapon turned out to be the Black Stone that was to be the seventh Infinity Stone. The experiments were conducted in a forbidden area in Niffleheim when they came under attack from a being coming from the future called Thanos. The Mad Titan looked to claim the stone for himself but was prevented by Bor and his Valkyries. During the experiments, the power of the Galactus Seed was combined with the Eternal Flame to create the stone. Miskunn and her fellow magicians created the stone to act as fuel just as Thanos came to confront them only for the Black Stone to take the form of a baby girl. (Thor v6 #33) Thanos sought to sacrifice her in order to gain her power, only to be stopped by Doctor Doom, Thor Odinson and Laussa Odinsdottir from the future. Laussa came to take in the newborn Hela through time, resulting in her becoming a teenager before leaving her in the care of a young Loki to be raised her as his daughter. (Thor v6 #35)
The three Asgardian goddesses of fate known as the Norns were said to had warned the Asgardian gods that Hela would prove to be a great danger to them. By this point, Odin served as the ruler of Asgard who decreed that Hela would become goddess and ruler of the spirits of the dead on the day of her maturity. These spirits were in the other-dimensional realms of Hel and Niffleheim that were two of the Nine Worlds, both of which Hela ruled. However, Odin himself directly ruled the souls of Asgardians and their human worshippers who died in battle as heroes, and had the palace of Valhalla built in a distant section of Asgard to house them. (Thor Annual v1 #5)
During World War II, Baron Strucker came to acquire a device called the Gods' Whisper that allowed him to control gods and used it to command Hela to serve him. This led to her unwillingly serving Nazi Germany during the conflict where she came to kill Major Liberty until she was freed by the Invaders whereupon she departed for her realm. (All-New Invaders v1 #2)
After the death of Harokin, the barbarian warrior was declared worthy of a place in the honored afterlife. Thus, he prepared for the final journey as Hela appeared alongside the Stallion of Doom and the Valkyrie guard to escort him to Valhalla. (Thor v1 #133)
With the destruction of Asgard, the realms treasures became lost across space where they sought wielders for their power. Among them was the Twilight Sword which Hela acquired where she used its powers to merge the realms into a nightmare world under her rule. Iron Man, Captain America and Thor were accidently transported to this land via the Rainbow Bridge whereupon learning of the danger united to stop the death goddess. The Enchantress came to lend her aid where they succeeded in defeating Hela along with removing the sword from her possession. Upon returning to Midgard, Thor gave the Twilight Sword to Heimdall for safekeeping as he intended to ensure it never fell into the wrong hands again. (Avengers Prime v1 #5)
Mighty Thor
For ages, Hela sought to bring more Asgardian souls under her control, and especially longed to possess the souls of Odin and his son, Thor; however, during their first meeting, when Thor offered his own life in exchange for that of Lady Sif, who was a prisoner of Hela, the goddess was impressed by the young thunder god's nobility and let both of them go. (Journey Into Mystery v1 #102) When Harokin died, the Asgardians prepared his body to be collected by the Stallion of Doom. They all gathered to await the arrival of Hela to escort him off to Valhalla. (Thor v1 #133) When Thor appeared to have been killed by Wrecker, his body was then visited by Hela, who had come to claim his soul. However, before she could give Thor her killing touch, his still living body projected an astral image that stayed her hand. He then reclaimed his body to defeat the Wrecker. (Thor v1 #150) When Lady Sif was injured in battle, she and Thor were visited by Hela who has come to take Sif to Valhalla. Thor refused to allow Hela to take his lover, and when Hela attempted to entice Thor into joining the warriors of the dead in Valhalla, he refused even when he was beckoned by his old foe Harokin to join them. Upon refusal, Hela departed, leaving Thor to contemplate the situation. (Thor v1 #154)
Hela stole a piece of Odin's soul while he was on the Sea of Eternal Night. This created the powerful entity called Infinity. Hela then unleashed it upon the Nine Realms. Infinity came to Odin and took over his body. Hela killed Thor, but he was restored to life by the sacrifice to the Silent One. (Thor v1 #186) Hela was then slain by Odin to save Thor, but was restored to life; as there needed to be a natural balance of life and death. (Thor v1 #188) Hela later managed to kill Thor by putting humans in danger, (Thor v1 #190)
Hela later battled the Olympian Death-god Pluto for the right to claim Odin's soul, as Odin had been killed by the monster Mangog. (Thor v1 #200) As a result, Hela restored Odin to life to prevent Pluto from claiming him. (Thor v1 #201) Hela met Thor again when he travelled to Niffleheim in search of Odin. Once there, Thor was confronted by the legions of the Einherjar. Thor tried to reach Odin, only to learn it was Grombar, not Odin. Hela then let Thor leave unmolested from her realm. (Thor v1 #251) She then plotted with Loki to bring about Ragnarök by slaying the god Balder then attacking Asgard. She summoned Volla's spirit before this to tell her and Loki about Ragnarok, after which she prepared an army of monsters to attack Asgard. However Odin used his powers to prevent Balder dying. (Thor v1 #278)
Hela trapped Thor and the Warriors Three in a idyllic paradise, with their loved ones all around, leading them off. But when Thor saw Sif and she spoke words of love, he knew the truth: that they were leading the Einherjar to their deaths, and the image of Sif changed to that of Hela herself. (Thor v1 #360) Thor challenged Hela to combat; if he won, they all go free; if she won, Thor was hers forever. During their bout, Hela slashed Thor's face. Writhing in agony, he managed one last feat, tearing Hela's cloak from her. Thor discovered her secret: her cloak is the key to her power, and without it, she was a half-decayed corpse with no power at all. Hela relented, and Thor led them all out of Hel. (Thor v1 #361)
Journey into Mystery
Her realm was later approached by an emissary from the Serpent who had recently been freed and waged war against Asgard. The Tongue of the Serpent stated his master's desire for Hela's loyalty to him and offered her freedom from Hel. He warned that a refusal of the offer meant that Hela did not fear the Serpent and that his master would destroy any that showed such disrespect to him. Hela commented that she would consider the offer with her debating whether to side with the Serpent or Asgard as she intended to continue her duty for the dead. Her handmaiden Leah advised that she side with the Serpent instead of facing destruction from his wrath whilst her general Tyr voiced the opinion of siding with Asgard in order to continue honorably by fighting. (Journey into Mystery v1 #624)
When the Doom Maidens were released, the threat posed by the blighted host of the Valkyrior led to Hela looking for a means of stepping them after her Valkyrie Dani Moonstar was abducted. Thus, she made deals with the collective death gods of various pantheons in order for the Amazon Hippolyta to be resurrected. She was returned to life where she took the name Warrior Woman and was to be her champion in stopping the Doom Maidens. Hela approached the All-Mother of Asgardia where Hippolyta was invited to join Brunnhilde's Fearless Defenders that were forming as new Valkyrior to stop this threat. (Fearless Defenders v1 #3)
Angela entered into Hel in order to free Sera from imprisonment and dethroned Hela from her seat as ruler of that realm. (Angela: Queen of Hel v1 #1)
She later returned to Hel that was divided and the midst of being conquered by Sindr who was the Queen of Cinders. At the time, Balder the Brave served as the King of the Undead with her seeking to dethrone him causing a battle between her and the Odinsons. Tyr betrayed his siblings to side with Hela in order to restore order to the realm as the two sides fought for control of the dead. Ultimately, Loki suggested a truce against Sindr that could be sealed with the marriage of Hela to Balder as a compromise that would unite both factions. However, during the wedding, Thanos arrived interrupting it with Hela claiming that she was spoken for by the Mad Titan. (Thor v5 #3)
Overview
Personality and attributes
She was known as the Goddess of Death for her dominion of the underworld. (Defenders v1 #66) Due to this, she also came to be known as the Death Queen. (Thor: Wolves of the North v1 #1)
According to her, being a general of Hel meant one had to deal with monsters and learn swiftly that monsters had their charms. (Journey into Mystery v1 #624)
Powers and abilities
She was stated to not be a simple sovereign but a full blown goddess with powers equal to that of Odin. (Angela: Queen of Hel v1 #2)
Hela was able to send her soul outside her physical form with this taking the form of a black raven and she used this to safeguard it from destruction. In this form, she could re-enter her mortally wounded body and restore it back to life. (New Mutants v3 #32)
She could also turn others into an immortal with her offering this to individuals in exchange for their service. (Journey into Mystery v1 #102)
A weapon she was known to wield was the blade Nightsword that she could summon to her hands at any moment. (Thor v1 #199)
One of their servants were the Legion of the Lost that consisted of numerous dead warriors. (Thor v1 #154)
Among the Nine Realms, Hela's home was the realm of the dead which was Hel with her palace being Helheim. (New Mutants v3 #29) Her realm of Hel was bound to her mind and she could twist it according to her wishes. (Angela: Queen of Hel v1 #1)
Notes
- Hela was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where she made her first appearance in Journey into Mystery v1 #102 (March, 1964).
Alternate Versions
- In Infinity Wars: Iron Hammer v1 #1 (2018), an alternate world was created when Gamora using the Infinity Stones used its powers to merge various individuals with one another leading to Hela along with Madame Masque combined into a single entity that had her own unique backstory called the Madame Hel.
In other media
Television
- In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Hela appeared in the animated series in the episodes "The Fall of Asgard" and "A Day Unlike Any Other" where she was voiced by actor Nika Futterman.
- In Avengers Assemble, Hela appeared in the animated series episode "Valhalla Can Wait" where she was voiced by actress Vanessa Marshall.
- In Guardians of the Galaxy, Hela appeared in the setting of the animated television series where she was mentioned first in "Breaking Stuff is Hard to Do" with her being voiced by actress Kari Wahlgren.
Films
- In Hulk Vs. Thor, Hela made an appearance in the animated film where she was voiced by actress Janyse Jaud. She was the daughter of Loki and the ruler of the Asgardian afterlife of Hel. Hela claimed the soul of Bruce Banner after he was separated from the Hulk and killed by Loki. Thor and Loki later sought to free Banner's soul as the Hulk was on a rampage in Asgard destroying everything in their path. Once in Hel, they met Hela who had claimed Banner's soul and kept him in an idyllic dream. Loki managed to convince his daughter to bring the Hulk to Hel in order to merge the pair to make a complete soul. She agreed but this proved to be a trick by Loki as the Hulk then began creating havoc in Hel until Hela helped Banner merge with the beast. Hela believed that the Hulk was too dangerous a soul to keep and returned him to life on Midgard but then demanded a soul to replace him. Thor stated that he would fight to live leading to Hela claiming her father Loki instead. Before the Odinson departed, Hela warned him that she would claim his soul in the future.
- In Thor: Ragnarok, Hela appeared in the live-action film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where she was portrayed by actress Cate Blanchett. She was depicted as the first born daughter of Odin who was the goddess of death where he and her expanded Asgard's reach leading to the conquest of the nine realms with her as his Executioner. However, Odin grew tired of the bloodshed and desired peace yet Hela wanted to expand to conquer all of existence. As a result, he decided to imprison her due to the threat she posed and dispatched the Valkyrie in apprehending her. All of their number were killed by Hela except one yet the goddess of death was imprisoned and trapped in another dimension. Odin's power kept her banished until he passed away in the modern age allowing her to return. Upon returning, she battled Thor and Loki with her destroying the hammer Mjolnir whereupon she used the Bifrost to enter Asgard with her conquering it. As her power was tied to Asgard, she grew stronger the longer she stayed on the throne with her reawakening her army to take over. However, she was trapped on Asgard as the key to the Bifrost was taken by Heimdall and she conducted a purge to recover it. Thor and his allies later returned where they battled her but were unable to defeat Hela. Thus, Thor decided to unleash Ragnarok by freeing Surtur to complete his prophecised charge and had all the Asgardians evacuated. Hela then battled Surtur but ultimately perished before the fire giant whereupon the entire realm of Asgard was destroyed.
Video games
- In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Hela appeared as an antagonist in the video game where it was said that her creation came due to Loki with no love lost between her and the God of Mischief. The goddess of death desired to rule all the nine realms and was assisted by numerous undead Draugr Warriors.
- In Marvel Future Fight, Hela appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game.
- In Marvel: Contest of Champions, Hela was introduced as a playable character in the mobile video game.
- In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Hela appeared in the setting of the video game where she was voiced by actor Nika Futterman.
Appearances
- Journey into Mystery v1: (1964)
- Thor:
- Avengers Prime v1:
- New Mutants v3:
- Fearless Defenders v1:
- Loki: Agent of Asgard:
- Unworthy Thor:
- Thor v5:
- Guardians of the Galaxy:
External Links
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