Ymir (Earth-616)

Ymir
Name	Ymir
Aliases	Aurgelmir, Y'mir, the Living Winter, the Cosmic Giant, Ymik, Imir (possible typos)
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Ice Giants
Relatives	Mitra, Lir ("half-brothers"); Thruthgelmir (son); Buri (possible son); Atali (possible daughter); Atali's brothers (possible sons, deceased); Bergelmir (grand-son);Bori, Mannanan ("nephews"); Morrigan ("niece"); Ice Giants, Frost Giants, Mountain Giants, Rime Giants, Storm Giants (descendants); Frostlings (descendants); Hoarfen, Iceworm (descendants); Jack Frost (possible descendant)
Marital Status	Single
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	1000′ (304.8 m)
Eyes	Irises: White
Hair	No Hair At All
Unusual Features	Since Ymir is an Ice Giant whose body continually generates intense cold, Ymir's body is always thickly covered with snow and ice.
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Ice Giant deity, also considered a Demon, and progenitor of the Giants
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	Ginnungagap, Niffleheim
Personal Information
Identity	No Dual
Citizenship	Niffleheim
Occupation	King of the Ice Giants, lord of storm and war, chief of all gods
Education	No formal education
Base of Operations	Niffleheim, formerly Jotunheim
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Robert E. Howard, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
First	Journey Into Mystery #97 (July, 1963)
First	Journey Into Mystery #97 (July, 1963)

History

According to Norse legend, before the world existed, there was a massive void, the Ginnungagap, with a land of fire, Muspelheim, to the south and a land of intense cold, Niffleheim, to the north. Ymir, first of the Frost Giants, was allegedly born when the head of Muspelheim met the ice of Niffleheim above the primordial Well of Life, Hvergelmir. Seconds later, the enchanted cow Audumla (believed by some to be an incarnation of the Elder Goddess Gaea) rose from the ice. Ymir subsisted on Audumla's milk, while she gained nourishment from the endless ice. For ages, Ymir and Audumla roamed the frozen wastes alone. Over time, Audumla wore down the ice to reveal Buri, the first of the Asgardian gods; one account identifies Buri as Ymir's son. Ymir became mortal enemies with the massive fire demon Surtur, the only being in creation older than Ymir himself. In time, Ymir came to dwell in Niffleheim and sired the entire race of Giants (aka Etins), including the Frost and Ice Giants (who congealed from his ice that melted as he slept), as well as the Mountain, Rime and Storm Giants. The later generations of Frost Giants subsequently migrated to Jotunheim. Some of Buri's grandchildren, the young Odin and his brothers Vili and Ve, fought a war with the Frost Giants and slew Ymir, and according to Asgardian legend, created the Earth and sky from his corpse.

During the Hyborian Age (circa 16,000 to 8,000 BC), Ymir was worshiped by the people of Nordheim, composed of the eastern Aesgaard's Aesir (ancestors of the Aechians/ancient Greek, Gauls/French, Britons, the Nemedians of Irish legendry and other Germanic people) and the western Vanaheim's Vanir (ancestors of the Danes and other Germanic people); both races were almost certainly named for the Asgardian Aesir and Vanir. Ymir was considered to be their lord of storm and war, and chief of all their deities. Ymir's domain was believed to be Valhalla, a snowy, shadowy place that was home to soldiers slain in battle and that was apparently connected to northern Vanaheim's mountains by some mystic portal. Ymir's daughter Atali acted much like a Valkyrie, appearing to dying combatants as the harbinger of their journey to Ymir's realm; circa 10,000 BC, Atali appeared to the warrior Conan, sole survivor of a brutal battle in Nordheim. For the Vanir, was was a sacred duty waged in Ymir's name. According to Vanir legend, a group of vampire-like monsters once established a city in Vanaheim from which they lured animals and men to their deaths. Ymir himself allegedly buried the creatures' city beneath a mountain of frozen rock. It remains uncertain whether this Ymir was the Asgardian Frost giant - perhaps in a variant incarnation of the Asgardians' life cycle or simply a misinterpretation of Ymir's true nature - or another Hyborian era deity mistaken for usurping the role of the Asgardian Frost Giant.

Ymir eventually regenerated and in the early days of Asgard the Frost Giants ravaged the land and was ceaselessly fought the Aesir. After ages, a final battle was waged as the giants attacked Asgard. Odin assaulted Ymir's forces and split the mountains on which they stood, opening up a chasm containing an interdimensional nexus through which Ymir's army plunged into Muspelheim, where the native fire-demons took the giants prisoner. Odin then led Ymir to a volcanic area and released flames from the ground. Ymir became a prisoner, surrounded by a wall of flame he could not penetrate.

Centuries later, the mystic cult called the Sons of Satannish conspired to cause the end of the world by releasing Ymir and Surtur on Earth. To this end, they assaulted the Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Stephen Strange, and his lover Clea, stealing the Book of the Vishanti. Their leader, Asmodeus (Dr. Charles Benton), absorbed the mystical energy of his fellow Sons, consigning them to oblivion, but was nonetheless overwhelmed by Strange's superior magical might. Suffering a fatal heart attack, with his dying breath Asmodeus recited the Book of the Vishanti's Spell of Fire and Ice: "Thermidorus...Frigibus...Nihilus!" Asmodeus died, but the spell freed Ymir and Surtur from their imprisonment. Ymir appeared in the African nation Wakanda, causing the normally tropical climate to undergo intense cold, while Surtur appeared in Antarctica and brought about volcanic activity. Dr. Strange recruited the Black Knight (Dane Whitman) and Avengers members the Black Panther (T'Challa), Hawkeye (Clint Barton) and the Vision to aid him. The Black Panther and the vision fought Ymir in Wakanda and the Black Knight and Hawkeye battled Surtur in Antarctica while Dr. Strange readied a spell to return the mythical giants to their captivity. Though Surtur and Ymir brushed off the Avengers' attacks, their distraction allowed Dr. Strange to use the Crystal of Conquest, which contained mystic power from the Hell-lords Satannish and Mephisto to transport Surtur and Ymir into each others' presence at the very instant they lashed out with their weapons. As the giants struck each other, they created a mystical implosion that temporarily canceled out their powers, and returned each giant to his home dimension: Surtur to Muspelheim, while Ymir became imprisoned in Niffleheim.

Under unrevealed means, the Frost Giant Bjorn the White took control of Ymir. Upon hearing of this, the Storm Giants, led by Grim Graybeard, formed an alliance with the Frost Giants. The giants marched to Asgard and issued Odin a challenge: Odin would send a champion to face Ymir, or else they would order Ymir to storm Asgard's walls. Odin chose his son Vidar to fight on his behalf, and temporarily transferred Thor's power to him. Vidar held his own against Ymir until Bjorn threatened Vidar's mother, Grid, at which point Vidar attacked Bjorn, who then ordered Ymir to attack Asgard. Thor and Vidar joined their power to create a chasm in the ground which swallowed Ymir, leading the giants to retreat.

According to the legend of the Endless Circle, Ragnarok, the death of the old gods and the birth of the new, was destined to occur when fire joined with ice. The Frost Giant wizard Bellos of the Bold eye, aiming to hasten thees events, killed seven Frost Giant children and threw their blood into the Crack of Doom, where Ymir was imprisoned. Awoken by their blood sacrifice, Ymir rose from the Crack and slew a band of Frost Giants. Odin had foreseen Ymir's return and sent Asgard's forces to Jotunheim to stall the rampaging giant. Ymir easily battled his way past Asgard's defenders, approaching the city of Asgard itself. Odin possessed Surtur's form and fought Ymir personally while Thor journeyed into the Sea of Eternal Night to retrieve Surtur's Twilight Sword with which to oppose the elemental giants. Surtur freed himself of Odin's control, and upon seeing Thor light the Twilight Sword in the Eternal Flame, Surtur and Ymir set aside their differences, seeking to seize the Twilight Sword, fulfill the Endless Circle prophecy and lay waste to the universe. However, as Surtur and Ymir both struggled for the hilt of the sword, Thor used his hammer to banish both of them, as well as the sword, to the Sea of Eternal Night, where they would remain trapped in suspended animation. Although Odin believed Ymir and Surtur would be incapacitated for thousands of years, Odin's Vizier later observed Surtur and Ymir awakening and grappling for the sword once more. Surtur later returned to threaten the Earth, but whether Ymir escaped his imprisonment is unrevealed. An Ice Giant identified as a kinsman of Ymir later assaulted Earth alongside an army of undead monsters under the command of Kurse, but was defeated and returned to Hel by Thor, his Asgardian allies and the High Evolutionary (Herbert Wyndham)'s Godpack.

Ymir was presumably destroyed along with the rest of Asgard during the true Ragnarok, but like many Asgardian entities, he eventually manifested anew on Earth. More powerful than ever, Ymir attacked New York City, conjuring a fierce blizzard in May and apparently trying to merge Earth with Niffleheim, or convert Earth into a facsimile of his home dimension. Thor opposed him, but the more powerful Ymir defeated the thunder god with ease, beating him into submission. By this time, the Avengers had split into several factions, including a corrupt government-sanctioned team consisting of Iron Patriot (Norman Osborn), Olympian war god Ares, Sentry (Bob Reynolds) and super-hero impersonators Captain Marvel (Noh-Varr_, Hawkeye (Lester/Bullseye), Ms. Marvel (Karla Sofen), Spider-Man (Mac Gargan) and Wolverine (Daken); and a more genuinely heroic team of outlaw Avengers including Ronin (Clint Barton), Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Mockingbird (Bobbi Morse), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Luke Cage (born Carl Lucas), Wolverine (Logan/James Howlett), Iron Fist (Danny Rand), Captain America (James Barnes) and Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew). When Thor fell to Ymir, Spider-Man (Parker) and the other outlaw Avengers came to Thor's aid, though they lacked the raw power to accomplish much beyond distracting and delaying the giant. The intervention of Iron Patriot's more powerful government-backed Avengers did little to tip the balance at first, but Ares realized the Twilight Sword had somehow fallen to Earth and that it was capable of banishing the Ice Giant. Ares led both groups of Avengers in pursuit of the blade, which Ymir defended by conjuring a huge ice fortress and horses of ice demons. The Avengers fought their way through these defenses until Area seized the Twilight Sword, expelling Ymir from the Earthly plane to parts unrevealed.

Attributes

Power Grid

Powers

He can generate and manipulate ice, snow and sleet, creating blizzard-like storms large enough to envelop a city. he can conjure and command objects or creatures composed of ice, such as a huge, elaborate ice fortress and an army of clawed, winged ice gargoyles to defend it.

Abilities

Ymir continually generates extreme cold from his body in an unknown, perhaps magical fashion. Ymir can cause anything he touches, including the air, to freeze, and can project blasts of pure cold.

Strength

Ymir has virtually limitless strength, lifting well over 100 tons. He is extremely long-lives, possibly immortal. Ymir's body is extraordinarily resistant to injury, and although it can be shattered, as ice can, Ymir can reassemble the fragments of his form. Even major injuries such as decapitation can be healed within moments as the icy fragments of his body reintegrate rapidly when severed or smashed.

Weaknesses

His body greatly resembles ice in various ways, and if it was not for his ability to generate intense cold from his body, Ymir would melt when exposed to high temperatures.

Paraphernalia

Weapons

He wields an enormous, ice-covered club.

See Also

• 17 appearance(s) of Ymir (Earth-616)
• 7 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Ymir (Earth-616)
• 2 minor appearance(s) of Ymir (Earth-616)
• 3 mention(s) of Ymir (Earth-616)
• 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Ymir (Earth-616)
• 9 image(s) of Ymir (Earth-616)
• 1 quotation(s) by or about Ymir (Earth-616)
• 2 item(s) used/owned by Ymir (Earth-616)