With Thor: Ragnarok hitting theaters on Friday, November 3rd, you may be wondering who some of the supporting characters in the upcoming film are. Over the next week, we'll take a look at where some of these heroes and villains come from and their comic book origins.
Heimdall, played by Idris Elba, has already appeared in the first two Thor films, along with Avengers: Age of Ultron, so most fans have a good idea of who this character is. However, the character's roots in comics are somewhat different.
Heimdall first appeared in 1962 in Journey Into Mystery #85. He was created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Larry Lieber and was modeled on the Norse god Heimdallr. The Guardian of the Rainbow Bridge from Asgard has no direct relationship to Thor, Loki or Odin, but he is the brother of Sif, Thor's former lover. Heimdall appeared frequently during the Silver Age of Marvel comics as a loyal servant of Odin and friend of Thor; However, during the storyline of Ragnarok, it appeared that Heimdall had died.
After the cataclysmic event, a newborn Thor found Heimdall hiding in the body of a mortal man. Thor resurrected him and since then Heimdall has been watching over Asgard, which was rebuilt on Midgard (Oklahoma to be precise). Together, Heimdall, Thor, and other Asgardians finally returned their land to its rightful place.
Heimdall is like most other Asgardians in that he has superhuman strength. In addition, he can withstand great forces, has excellent endurance and is extremely maneuverable. What sets Heimdall apart is that he has incredible senses and can see and hear almost everything that happens in Asgard. He doesn't need as much sleep as everyone else – like Odin, who falls into Odin's sleep for months and years – and that makes Heimdall the perfect guardian for Asgard. Eventually, he is able to sense life forces and problems in all of the Nine Realms; However, there have been times when his powers have betrayed him, such as when Loki and Norman Osborn teamed up for the “Siege” storyline.
Looking for reading material about Heimdall? Check out these storylines.
- Ragnarok: The world ends as Asgard faces enemies from every realm. Can Thor and his allies prevent Asgard from being destroyed? Written by Roy Thomas. Art by John Buscema. The collected edition includes Thor #272-78 and Thor: Ragnarok #1.
- Siege: Loki and Norman Osborn join forces and imprison Heimdall to ensure victory over Asgard. Written by Brian Bendis. Art by Olivier Coipel. Siege #1-4 are commercially available.
If you want to know more about the third Thor film, check out our review of Ragnarok. In it, GameSpot's Mike Rogueau said: “Thor: Ragnarok shines when it's allowed to deviate from the formula that set a decade of predecessors in the MCU, and it seems that Waititi owes most of what's fresh and fresh here.” By the end of the film, Thor and Co. have left much of their past behind them, which ensures that the future is exciting in its potential, especially as we approach the plot of Infinity War.
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