Real
Name: Balder
Occupation: Warrior-god, Asgardian god of light
Identity: Publicly known on Earth, although the general
public of Earth does not believe him to be the god of Norse
mythology.
Legal Status: Citizen of Asgard
Other Aliases: Balder the Brave
Place of Birth: Asgard
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Gods of Asgard, frequent personal
ally of Thor and the Warriors Three
Base of Operations: Asgard
First Appearance: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #85
History: Due to his many heroic deeds over
the ages, Balder noblest god and its greatest warrior next
to the thunder god Thor, who has long been Balder's closest
friend. Balder has been unsuccessfully sought as a lover
by the sorceress Kamilla the Norn Queen.
Because of prophecies that Balder's death would
help trigger the coming of Ragnarok, the destruction od
Asgard and its inhabitants, Odin, ruler of Asgard, commanded
his wife Frigga to make Balder invulnerable to harm. Frigga
cast spells that would protect Balder from harm by any living
or inanimate thing while he was in the Asgardian dimension.
(The legends describe her as extracting promises from all
of these things not to harm Balder, as if they were all
sentient and capable of speech.) The sole exception was
mistletoe. This omission is probly not due to forgetfulness
on Frigga's part, since she has made him invulnerable to
harm from misletoe since his vulnerability to it became
known. It is more likely that his vulnerably to mistletoe
is a necessary side effect of the spells making him invulnerable
to harm from other things.
Loki, the god of mischief, learned of the prophecies
tying Balder's death to the coming of Ragnarok, and also
learned of Balder's vulnerability to misletoe. Seeking to
bring about Ragnarok, Loki tricked the Blind god Hoder into
firing an arrow tipped with mistletoe wood at Balder. Balder
was fatally wounded, but Odin's power prevented him from
actually dying and instead kept him in a state resembling
suspended animation. Nevertheless, Balder's spirit journeyed
to Hel, one of the Asgardian realms of the dead. There Balder
was appalled at seeing the horrors endured by the spirits
of so many of those whom he had slain in battle.
Odin finally restored Balder fully to life, but
Balder's hair turned white as a result of his experiences
in Hel. His beloved, Nanna, sacrificed her life to save
him from entrapment in marriage by Kamilla, and Balder was
so distraught that he has resolved never to speak of this
incident or of her again. Anguished by Nanna's death and
by what he had seen in the land of the dead, Balder forswore
the life of a warrior, attempted unsuccessfully to forget
his misery through eating, gaining considerable weight in
the process, and finally rode out into the desert, hoping
to die there. Instead, Balder encountered the Noms, the
three goddesses who oversee the working of destiny. The
Noms gave Balder a vision that restored his faith in the
value of life and in the need for him to continue living.
Balder rode back to Asgard and was sent by Odin to Kamilla
to seek her aid in the Asgardians' battle against Surtur
and the legions of Muspelheim. Balder was successful in
the mission, and his relationship appears to have changed
in the process. Balder has, also returned to his normal
weight through vigorous exercise.
Height: 6 ft. 4 in.
Weight: 320 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: White, formerly brown
Strength Level: Balder is somewhat stronger
than the average Asgardian male, and can lift (press) about
35 tons. (the average Asgardian male can lift about 30 tons.)
Known Superhuman Powers: Balder possesses
the conventional superhuman physical attributes of an Asgardian.
Like all Asgardians, Balder is extremely long-lived (through
not immortal like the Olympians), superhumanly strong, and
immune to all diseases. (Asgardian flesh and bone is about
three denser than similar human tissue, contributing to
the Asgardians' superhuman strength and weight.) His Asgardian
metabolism gives him superhuman endurance in all physical
activities.
Because of spells placed on him by Frigga, queen
of Asgard, Balder cannot suffer injury by any living or
non-living thing while he is in the Asgardian dimension.
Any projectile hurled at Balder which is capable of killing
or injuring an Asgardian will be magically deflected from
its path before it can strike him. However, Balder can be
injured or killed by weapons made of mistletoe wood. Presumably
he can also be harmed by the power of Odin, and possibly
by spells and magical energies used by others. Balder could
also die in the Asgardian dimension through means that do
not involve weaponry: for example, he could starve to death
or be asphyxiated. Moreover, Frigga's spells do not protect
Balder when he is in the Earth dimension. It is not known
whether Balder also becomes vulnerable when he is in dimensions
other than those of Asgard and Earth.
Abilities: Balder is a brilliant warrior,
greatly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, and
horsemanship.
