SKADI
Real Name: Skadi (also spelled Skade)
Occupation: Mountain-Goddess, Goddess of winter, skiers and hunters
Legal Status: Citizen of Jotunheim in the cosmology of the Asgardian Dimension
Identity: The general populace of
earth is unaware of Skadi except as a figure in mythology.
Other Aliases: Mistress of the Mountain Lodges
Place of Birth: Thrymheim
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives:
Thiazzi (father, deceased), Saga (mother), Idi, Gymir (uncles), Angrboda (aunt),
Njord (husband),
Nertha (sister-in-law), Beli, Gerd
(cousins), Frey
(step-son) Freia
(step-daughter), Olvadi (grandfather, deceased), Ymir (ancestor),
Group Membership: The Frost Giants of Jotunheim
Base of Operations:
Thrymheim within Jotunheim
First Appearance:
X-Force and Cable Annual 1997
History:
Skadi is a member of the other-dimensional race of beings known as the Jotuns,
native to Jotunheim, one of the seven worlds in the Asgardian cosmology. She is the daughter of Thiassi, Ruler of the Storm Giants of Jotunheim, and
descendant of Olvadi, who was considered the richest of all the storm giants.
Olvadi had such a vast amount of gold that it could not be weighed and after his
death, it was split evenly through his sons. Her father, Thiazzi, however,
conspired with Loki to abduct the goddess Idunn from Asgard along with her
golden apples of immortality. Loki was sent to bring Idunn back, but as Thiazzi
came to retrieve Idunn, the gods erected a great fire and destroyed him.
Skadi inherited her father’s share of her
grandfather’s fortune, and as the Asgardians offered her gold as retribution
of her father’s death, she turned them down saying that she preferred to have
a husband from among the gods instead. Odin bestowed her wish, but on the merits
that she choose her husband from behind a curtain and the look of his feet and
not his whole appearance. Skadi agreed to this decision and chose from among the
most beautiful feet she had seen believing them to be the god Balder, but whom
she actually chose was the sea-god Njord, father of Frey and Freia. Disappointed
as she was, Skadi stood by her decision and asked the gods to make her laugh to
lift her spirits. Loki appeared again with Thor’s goats, Toothgnasher and
Toothgrinder and created a scene of tomfoolery with them until all the gods laughed.
Njord and Skadi’s marriage, however,
didn’t last very long. He took her to Noatun, his home on the seashore, but
she did not care much for the sunshine and sea or the sounds of the tides and
gulls. She took him to her home in Thrymheim, but Njord grew depressed and cold
surrounded by the howling wolves, the rushing wind and terrible cold. They ended
up splitting their time between both homes.
In recent years, during a random trek through
her home, Skadi encountered the winged-horse Aragorn nursing wounds he had
received from Makekith’s demon dogs and took him under her protection. Sunspot,
Mirage and Meltdown of X-Force
came across Skadi as she was tending to Aragorn’s injuries. She reacted with
surprise to their powers since she had never encountered either humans or
mutants before. She surrendered Aragorn to them to head to Valhalla and seek the
conditions of the Valkyrie imprisoned by Hela and Makekith.
Height: 20' 9"
Weight: Unknown
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
Strength Level: Skadi possesses superhuman strength enabling her to lift
(press) over 50 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Skadi possesses the conventional physical
attributes of the Jotuns. She is extremely long-lived, but not immortal like the
Olympian Gods. She has not aged
since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. She is immune
to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. Skadi also possesses superhuman strength and her
Jotun metabolism
provides her with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities.
(Olympian flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue,
contributing to the Olympians' superhuman strength and weight.)
Skadi possibly possesses some low-level mystical prowess to conjure snowstorms. She also has heightened senses on a near-clairvoyant scale.
Abilities: She is also an exceptional hunter with a bow and arrow.
Limitations: Like all the Jotuns, Skadi needs cold temperatures to maintain her existence. Great heat will cause her to mystically decrease in size to a comparable human scale. Continued exposure to such heat can be fatal to her.
Comments:
Skadi’s aunt, Angrboda, the wife of her
uncle Gymir, is the same giantess credited with giving birth to Fenris, Hela and
Jormungard (The Midgard Serpent) to Loki. Since they’re not technically blood
relations, they’re not listed as relatives.
The Asgardians do have a god of winter,
hunters and skiers named Uller, a son of Sif, but there are no stories of her
and Skadi ever meeting.
Thanks to the Celebrity Giantess Web Site for the use of the picture.
Clarifications: Skadi is not to
be confused with: