The History Of Asgard God's and Godesses

All about Brynhilda

Brynhilda is the daughter of Odin, Ruler of an extra-dimensional race of beings known as the Asgardian Gods, and Nertha, the German goddess of earth worshipped by the ancient Germanic and Viking tribes of Germany. Seeing a need for special warrior-goddesses to protect and rescue the spirits of their worshippers who died in war, Odin chose Brynhilda and her sisters to serve as his Valkyrior or Choosers of the Slain, and Brynhilda in particular served as their leader. As Valkyries, Brynhilda and her sisters appeared over the battlefields of the Vikings and Teutonic tribes who worshipped them and chose which of the fallen soldiers were worthy enough to be admitted into Valhalla, the hall of the honored dead in the dimension of Asgard. Brynhilda and her sisters have served Asgard capably in this capacity for centuries and even seemed to have survived the destruction of a much older incarnation of Asgard for the current modern Asgard in the process.

According to a sentient, disembodied eye that once belonged to Odin, the Asgardian monarch once gave his son the mortal identity of the warrior Siegmund. Circumstances reluctantly forced Odin to decree the Siegmund must be slain. Brynhilda, recognizing that Odin was acting against his true wishes, sought to protect Siegmund, but then Odin himself then caused Siegmund's death. Brynhilda helped Siegmund's pregnant lover, Sieglinde, get to safety. As punishment for her defiance, Odin removed Brynhilda's godly powers and immortality and cast her into a trance. She was eventually wakened by Siegfried, who was the son of Siegmund and Sieglinde and was a mortal reincarnation of Thor. Brynhilda and Siegfried became lovers, but Siegfried fell under the influence of magic and betrayed her. Siegfried was later murdered, and Brynhilda, still in love with him, leapt on to his burning funerary pyre. Odin restored both Siegfried and Brynhilda to life, giving back their godly identities, powers and near-immortality as Thor and the Valkyrie, but removing from them all memories of their mortal lives on Earth. It is unclear how much truth, if any, there is to this account by the eye.

Brynhilda and her fellow Valkyries continued to gather heroic mortal warriors for Valhalla until roughly a millennium ago when Odin was forced to cease virtually all intercourse with the Earth in accordance with a pact he and the leaders of the other pantheons of Earth made with the extraterrestrial Celestials. From then onward, the Valkyries could only choose slain heroes from among fallen Asgardian warriors. Brynhilda was bitter over being barred from choosing warriors on Earth and roamed Asgard in pursuit of her purpose in life.

In a tavern on the outskirts of Marmoragard, Brynhilda encountered Amora the Enchantress, who offered her a life of adventure. For several weeks, Brynhilda accompanied the Enchantress in her conquests. Brynhilda soon discovered Amora's inclinations toward immortality and tried to end their partnership. In response, Amora entrapped Brynhilda within a magical crystal of souls. While Brynhilda's body remained in suspended animation, her immortal soul became Amora's plaything. Over the centuries, Amora used Brynhilda's spiritual essence to give herself the powers of the Valkyrie or to pawns of her choosing. The Enchantress usually used her magic to alter the recipient's appearance to resemble Brynhilda herself.

Specific instances of Amora's exploitation of the Valkyrie before recent years are not yet known. the first time Amora assumed the Valkyrie's physical aspect in recent years was in her plot to lead a handful of female Avengers against the male Avengers. Her true identity was discovered, however, and her plan thwarted.

Months later, the Enchantress bestowed the Valkyrie's power upon a socialite named Samantha Parrington in order to try and get some revenge on the Hulk. Finally, a woman driven mad by being trapped in another dimension, Barbara Norris, was given the Valkyrie's power and consciousness by Amora in order to help the Enchantress and her erstwhile allies, the group of superhumans known as the Defenders, escape from the clutches of the sorceress, Casiolena. Amora did not undo her spell after Casiolena's defeat. As a result, Norris's body now possessed Brynhilda's consciousness, appearance and powers, while Norris's own mental essence was trapped in Brynhilda's real body in Asgard. However, thanks to partial amnesia induced by the Enchantress, Brynhilda was unaware that she was not in possession of her real body and full memories. Indeed, while trapped in Norris's body, Brynhilda's personality lacked much of its usual strength of will.

It was not until a minor Asgardian warrior named Oilerus attempted to take over Valhalla that the Valkyrie's two mixed aspects met for the first time. Brynhilda's mental aspect in Norris's transformed body fought Norris's mental aspect trapped in Brynhilda's real body. at the end of that encounter, the Valkyrie's body, still possessed by Norris's mind, was consigned to Niffleheim, the realm inhabited by the spirits of the non-heroic Asgardian dead, while Brynhilda's mind in Norris's transformed body accompanied the Defenders, who had made the other-dimensional journey back to Earth. For reasons as yet unknown, Brynhilda was not concerned at the time about reunited her mind with her true body. It was not until Barbara Norris's body was murdered that the Valkyrie's spirit and mind were inadvertently freed from their mortal host. With the help of Doctor Strange's magic, Brynhilda regained her true body, which was rescued from Niffleheim by the Enchantress. Back in her real body, Brynhilda regained her full memory and normal warrior's personality as well. Brynhilda then battled Amora and banished her into the crystal of souls into which she had once been trapped. (The Enchantress has since escaped this imprisonment.)

Feeling estranged from Asgard in general and Odin in particular for his neglect of her centuries long plight, Brynhilda chose to return to Earth with her mortal friends, the Defenders, rather than remain in Asgard. She had joined the Defenders after their defeat of Casiolena and remained with them continuously until the group's eventual disbanding.

Returning to Asgard, Brynhilda resumed her duties as a Valkyrie, but then Hades, the Olympian god of the dead forced her to participate into schemes which he was masterminding. He had Lorelei, sister of the Enchantress, transform Samantha Parrington into the Valkyrie again, and she served them until encountering Brynhilda and the reunited Defenders, who interfered with their plans. Brynhilda gave Parrington her blessing to serve as her avatar on earth as a member of the Defenders and Brynhilda returned to Asgard. Sadly, Brynhilda was among the many Asgardians who lost their lives during a recent Asgardian revolt in fulfillment of Loki's forced Ragnarok prophecies, but since the recent return of the Asgardians to Earth, it is very likely that the Valkyrie was likely restored to life as well.