VIDAR
Real
Name:
Vidar
Occupation:
Warrior, God of the hunt (retired)
Legal
Status:
Citizen of Asgard
Identity:
The general populace of earth is unaware of Vidar except as a mythological
character.
Other
Aliases:
“The Silent God”
Place
of Birth:
Asgard
Marital
Status:
Widowed
Known
Relatives:
Odin (father,
deceased), Grid (mother), Frigga
(step-mother), Solveig (wife, deceased), Mani (brother-in-law), Dag
(father-in-law), Thor,
Balder, Hermod,
Hoder, Tyr,
Loki
(half-brothers), Sigyn,
Nanna
(deceased) (sisters-in-law), Buri (paternal great-grandfather), Bor (paternal
grandfather), Vili, Ve (paternal uncles)
Group
Affiliation:
Gods of
Asgard
Base
of Operations:
Landvidi in the plain of Vidi in Asgard
First
Appearance:
Thor I #293
History:
Vidar is the son of Odin, Ruler of the Asgardians, an extra-dimensional race of
beings once worshipped as gods by the Vikings and Germans, and Grid, a giantess
from Jotunheim. According to the sentient Severed Eye of Odin, the Asgardian
gods have been trapped in cycles of death and rebirth. In an earlier Asgard,
Vidar used his great strength to kill Fenrir, the wolf-god. In
a previous Asgard, Fenrir, also known as Feris Wolf, had escaped his bounds in
the underworld and had devoured Odin at Ragnarok, The Twilight of the Gods.
Vidar had succeeded in surviving Ragnarok with a small gathering of Asgardians
and emerged from a cave afterward. In the plain of Idavoll, Vidar and his
brethren discovered Odin’s old spear, Gungnir, and were able to use it to
restore the Odin to life. Odin then restored all the other Asgardians slain by
Ragnarok back to life, effectively undoing all the events of Ragnarok. It is
unsure just how many of the claims of the Severed Eye of Odin are accurate.
Vidar
subsequently retired in peace to the fields of Asgard with his wife, Solveig,
the sun-goddess, but while he was away, she was killed by the giants, Aslak,
Grolf and Horvald who then stole her belt when she did not prove to be a
gracious hostess to them. Vidar discovered her body and then stormed Odin’s
hall in Asgard demanding help in exacting vengeance on the giants. Odin sent
Thor and Hoder to accompany Vidar on his venture, and they were victorious in
exacting punishment on behalf of Solveig, but Vidar found that the revenge he
had in slaying Solveig’s murderers did give him solace over her death.
Some
years later, Hoder received a vision that Vidar would be required in saving
Asgard from Ymir. As a result, Thor brought Vidar to Asgard to assist them
against the armies of Storm Giants following Ymir's lead. The Storm Giants had
captured Vidar's mother, Grid, but Vidar agreed to aid Thor. To fulfill Hoder's
vision, Vidar was granted a portion of Thor's power by Odin so that he could
face Ymir in battle. Although he could not defeat Ymir alone, Vidar enlisted
Thor to combine his powers with his to defeat their enemies, and Frigga,
Odin’s wife, was able to save Grid from the Storm Giants. To ensure Grid's
safety, Frigga allowed Grid to remain in Asgard afterwards.
Over
the years, Vidar continued to come to the aide of Asgard against the Egyptian
god Seth, Surtur and Dark Gods from another dimension. After Odin’s death,
Thor was pressed to take his father’s throne as ruler of Asgard. Loki took
this as a sign to stage a revised Ragnarok and Vidar was slain battling Trolls
who invaded his lands under the command of Loki. After Thor found his body, he
had Vidar's farms set ablaze to serve as a funeral pyre. Thor then faced off
against Those Who Live Above In Shadow, primeval entities that had been guiding
the fates of Earth’s gods. Realizing they had been responsible on keeping
Asgard in recurring cycles of rebirth, Thor severed the threads of destiny
resulting in Asgard being born anew, effectively destroying Asgard as a result.
However,
recent events have been shown that the Asgardians might still be alive somewhere
in the universe. It remains to be seen if Vidar as well as his wife, Solveig,
have been restored to life as well.
Height:
10'
Weight:
690 lbs.
Eyes:
Blue
Hair:
Blond
Strength
Level:
Vidar possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift (press) over 50 tons
under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Vidar possessed the conventional powers of the Asgardian Gods. Like all Asgardians, he is long-lived, but not immortal like the Olympian gods. He has aged at an extremely slow rate since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. He is immune to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If he were somehow wounded, his godly life force would enable him to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of his bodily molecules to cause him a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for a god of significant power, such as Odin, Njord and Frey or for a number of Asgardian gods of equal power working together to revive him. Vidar also possesses superhuman strength and his Asgardian metabolism provides him with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Asgardian flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the Asgardians' superhuman strength and weight.)
Due
to his half-giant heritage, Vidar was
Abilities: Vidar was quite adept
in unarmed combat, including wrestling as well as using a sword.
Weapons: Vidar
was an able swordsman, but his favored weapon was a near-unbreakable staff. On
one occasion, Vidar was granted a portion of Mjolnir's power, granting him
control over weather and the ability to fire lightning from his staff.
Comments: Thanks to
Michael Hoskins (Prime Eternal) for his help in compiling Vidar’s MU
appearances for this bio.
Last updated: 02/18/07