Bor (Marvel)
Bor is a male comic character who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Bor was a member of the race of deities known as the Asgardians where he was the son Buri. (Journey into Mystery v1 #97)
As a child, Bor had attempted to read the Book of Kings, but due to his age he was unable to read its contents. (Thor v6 #8) By adulthood, he was noted to had married and had a number of sons. (Journey into Mystery v1 #97) These children were Cul, Odin, Vi and Villi. (The Mighty Thor v1 #7) He was regarded as one of the gods that created the universe with his son Odin from Bor and his wife Bestla making him one of the Aesir. (Thor v3 #7) It was said that he was the architect of Asgard. (Thor v1 #600) Bor with his children later discovered a crack in the world and studied it. The Asgardian King later went through and discovered the Worldheart that he planted which became the World Tree Yggdrassil. (Thor v1 #619)
When Odin was but a boy, Bor sought to master death itself where he had magics employed to create the Black Stone. Around this time, he had become aware of a mysterious stranger neither Jotunn or Troll that wandered through the lands. It was through his seer Miskunn that King Bor learnt of the travellers intentions. To Bor, the presence of this time traveller meant that he succeeded in creating the Black Stone that night. Thus, he re-tasked his sorcerers to use the shell of the Worldheart that was tempered with the Eternal Flame of Muspel. However, instead of a stone the ritual manifested a living child who had the power over death. (Thor v6 #33) Around this time, two other time travellers became involved in this event with the second being Bor's own grandson Thor Odinson. At first, Bor simply intended to use the child as fuel for his goals but after seeing his grandchildren he came to witness events in the future. Thus, he allowed them to depart after seeing everything was predestined and that he was simply fulfilling his role in these events. (Thor v6 #34)
Long ago, he also crafted his own group of Valkyries that served him with these being known as the Disir. (New Mutants v3 #11) In the time before myth, these shieldmaidens served oaths to King Bor to follow his commands and remain virgins. One day, he went off for a hunt and had the Disir guard his castle where he said he would return by full moon. Afterwards, a mercenary company that swore allegiance to Bor arrived at the gates with among their number being the hero Sigurd. The shieldmaiden Brün became enchanted with him and allowed them men entry into the castle where eventually they joined them in the dining hall. Afterwards, the Disir slept with the men of the mercenary company and were asleep when King Bor arrived early at the castle to find that his maidens had broken their oath. In a rage, he sought out Sigurd in order to kill him for his actions but Brün had allowed him to escape. Thus, King Bor's anger turned to the Disir where he cursed them for succumbing to the pleasures of the flesh by making them into undead beings where they begged for death but he stated that Hel was too good a fate for them. (Journey into Mystery v1 #638) This state meant that they were ravenous beings that could sate their hunger by consuming the souls of gods that were exiled. (New Mutants v3 #11) Bor's curse meant that the only way to remove it was for the Disir to either kill Sigurd or to marry him. (Journey into Mystery v1 #638)
His son Odin was taught how to fight, think, rule and serve by his father Bor. In this era, Midgard existed but had no life on it with Odin having a dream to create a legacy. As a result, Odin breathed life and created mankind with this act displeasing his father. Bor, however, did not seek to undo Odin's creation but instead sought to punish his son by inflicting on the mortal race's the worst sufferings imaginable. (Thor v3 #7) At some point, a war came to Asgard with Bor battling the enemies of the Asgardian people that had arisen in number against them. During the heat of battle, King Bor pursued a fleeing Frost Giant only to be confronted by a sorcerer. This powerful sorcerer cast a spell that turned Bor into living snow that began to dissipate just as Odin arrived. Bor asked his son to find the most powerful sorcerer he could find and use their magic to resurrect him as his essence would still remain within the snow. (Thor v3 #7) Following his death at the dawn of time, his funeral was conducted at Asheim with his sons present by his body. With his death, his son Cul inherited the throne and became the new ruler of Asgard until he was overthrown by Odin who turned against his brother due to his cruel ways. (The Mighty Thor v1 #7) Afterwards, Odin became king of Asgard and he could hear his father Bor's voice calling on him to resurrect him. However, the All-Father Odin did not and instead had his own son named Thor that had his grandfather's eyes. (Thor v3 #7)
Revival
In the modern day, Loki initiated his machinations against Thor and Asgard. This saw him undo the spell that turned Bor into snow and resurrect the ancient king of Asgard in the modern day. Bor's senses were clouded making everything around him appear as if they were demon causing him to go on a rampage whilst he sought his son Odin. This saw Thor arrive to confront the Asgardian when Bor was causing destruction across Broxton. Thor attempted to stop he destruction caused by Bor but the ancient king perceived his foe as a demon that claimed to had killed Odin. This resulted in a devastating battle with Thor throwing Mjolnir at him that Bor managed to catch but he discarded it as he saw it as a murderers weapon. Thor then called upon the Avengers but the Dark Avengers arriving on the scene with Bor battling them. Eventually, Bor had a final confrontation with Thor with the former being slain in the final battle. It was then that Thor realized that he had mortally wounded his own grandfather just as Balder and Loki arrived on the scene. In his final moments, Bor still plagued by the enchantments on his vision believed he had failed his son but stated that his spirit would go to Valhalla. As Bor was king, his death meant that inadvertently he had slain a member of the family royal with the punishment for such an act being loss of title and honor along with banishment from Asgard. As a result, Thor was subjected to this punishment by his fellow Asgardians as the law of Asgard stripped him of his position. (Thor v1 #600)
When Thor was accidentally transported to Hel, his presence threatened Hela's schemes where she managed to separate him from his hammer. However, she was unable to wield it and sought to break the enchantment over Mjolnir. Thus, she reanimated the body of Bor and convinced him that his bloodline was over with the fate of the realms requiring him to wield the weapon as his grandson was dead. Bor did not trust the goddess of death but under the promise of being restored to life he tried to lift the hammer. Bor was unable to raise the hammer and determined that it was because Thor was alive. Angered at the deception, he attempted to strike down Hela but she turned him to dust as she banished him back to the underworld. (Avengers Prime v1 #4)
In Hel, he was sharpening his blade when he was asked by Hela's Valkyrie Dani Moonstar to officiate the marriage ceremony of the Disir to Sigurd with him being pleased at this development. (Journey into Mystery v1 #638) Bor officiated the ceremony where his chauvinistic attitudes saw him derive the Disir as property of men and he degraded their marriage to Sigurd. This angered Dani Moonstar who opposed Bor where he struck her to the side causing the Disir to turn on him. With his power, he managed to push his foes aside but the New Mutants joined in the battle where Dani Moonstar managed to cut Bor causing him to bleed. This made the Disir ravenous as they became consumed by their soul-hunger forcing Bor to flee to Hel. The Disir pursued him as he sought shelter at the palace of Hel but the doors were closed shut. Trapped with the Disir in pursuit, Bor had no option when Loki revealed that he had closed the gate. As part of his machination, he stated that the only way for Bor to avoid the soul-hunger of the Disir was by freeing them from his curse. An angry Bor had no choice but to agree to his grandson's plan and used his power to strip the curse from them. This saw the Disir pledging their allegiance to Hela and accepting her patronage as they became her Valkyries. Their first task then became to escort Bor to Hela's palace. (New Mutants v3 #43)
Afterwards, Angela went to Hel in order to take the throne from Hela so that she could be its new ruler and free her love Sera. During this rebellion, Bor arrived and brought with him the army of the dead to stop the usurpers but was defeated by his granddaughter Angela. (Angela: Queen of Hel v1 #4)
Overview
Personality and attributes
He referred to himself as the Father of the Gods and as the First Lord of Asgard. (New Mutants v1 #43) Among the Asgardians, he was known as the first King of Asgard' and as the Architect of Asgard. (Thor v1 #600) The Angels of Heven though knew him by the name of Bor the Butcher. (Angela: Queen of Hel v1 #4)
He was known to make use of a warrior stance. (Thor v1 #600)
Bor was said to had not been a forthcoming man. (Thor v6 #29)
With regards to his son, Bor was responsible for teaching him everything about fighting, serving and ruling. He grew displeased with Odin when he had breathed life into mankind. Rather than undo his creation of mortals, Bor instead sought to inflict his punishment on his son by inflicting suffering on them. (Thor v3 #7) Despite his cruel treatment of Odin, Bor was shown to grieve for his son and intended to avenge him when he believed him slain. (Thor v1 #600)
He was shown to be eager for battle and beloved by the inhabitants of Asgard during his reign. (Thor v3 #7) Bor prided himself on his speed and of being fleet of foot as well as quick of mind. However, he believed himself invincible and did not consider his enemies such as the Frost Giants capable of bringing forth magic that could challenge him thus making him lower his mystical defenses. (Thor v3 #12) Some had regarded him as a vicious and ugly brute. (Journey into Mystery v1 #638) Bor was shown to be highly patriarchal and chauvinistic with a dismissive view of women that matched those from the Dark Ages as he saw them as property of men. (New Mutants v1 #43) The Angels of Heven knew him as 'Bor the Butcher' that despised women and hate for having the love of another. (Angela: Queen of Hel v1 #4)
He used to think he was eternal but this changed when he came to see a glimpse of the future and a time when he was no longer king. (Thor v6 #34)
Bor was the son of Buri and the father of Odin. (Journey into Mystery v1 #638) After a glimpse into the future, he came to see his grandchildren rise to heights that were far ahead of Bor himself and he became proud of his son Odin for raising such children. (Thor v6 #34) It was said that Thor Odinson was nothing at all like his grandfather. (Thor v6 #30)
As King, Bor commanded the Valkyries but he was always suspicious that they had a loyalty to the dead over him. It was said that he did not understand their commitment to the dead. It was this challenge to his authority that saw him attempting to find a means of controlling death itself. (Thor v6 #30)
Powers and abilities
As a member of the Asgardian race, Bor had many of the traits of their kind and was much more powerful than ordinary humans. He possessed strength enough to lift vehicles and strike with such impact that can damage buildings. He was able to sense the presence of his son Odin in any of the Nine Realms though this link could be clouded. Bor was strong enough to challenge a person that bore the Odinforce with any other god dying in an attack against him. He was among the few beings that was able to hold onto the enchanted Mjolnir. In close combat, Bor was able to fire beams of energy from his eyes at his enemies. Such was his power that it was said that he could tear out the living heart of the world itself. The force he was able to unleash was so strong that it was said to be capable of destroying the earth itself. (Thor v1 #600)
With his power, he was able to curse Asgardians into a dead-like state and cause them to be consumed for the hunger for the souls of gods. (Journey into Mystery v1 #638) He was the only one able to break this curse on others. (New Mutants v1 #43)
The Valkyries were made originally to serve him. (Thor v6 #30)
Notes
- Bor was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in Journey into Mystery v1 #97 (October, 1963).
- The character was based on Bor from Norse mythology and adapted for Marvel Comics.
- In Journey into Mystery v1 #97, the character was referred to as Borr with his subsequent appearances having him called Bor.
- There is some conflict between the events portrayed of Bor's death as Thor v3 showed that he died when Odin was an adult yet The Mighty Thor v1 instead showed that he died when his children were young.
In other media
Films
- In Thor: The Dark World, Bor made a brief appearance in the live-action film during a flashback where he was portrayed by actor Tony Curran. It was shown that eons ago he led Asgard during its war with the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim that were led by Malekith who had the weapon known as the Aether in his possession. The Dark Elves were defeated with Bor taking the Aether that he sealed away in a stone column but was unaware that Malekith along with a small number of Dark Elves survived the destruction of their world.
Appearances
- Thor v1: (1963)
- Avengers Prime v1:
- New Mutants v3:
- Angela: Queen of Hel v1:
- Thor v6: (2023)
External Links
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