Warriors Three

Warriors Three

Variant cover to Thor vol. 3 #4 (November 2007), art by Oliver Coipel, featuring the Warriors Three (clockwise from top: Volstagg, Hogun, and Fandral).
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Journey into Mystery #119 (Aug 1965)
Created by Stan Lee (writer)
Jack Kirby (artist)
In-story information
Base(s) Asgard
Member(s) Fandral
Hogun
Volstagg

The Warriors Three are a group of fictional characters who served as supporting cast members in Thor, published by Marvel Comics. The Warriors Three is made up of the Asgardians Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg. Though the characters are gods of Asgard, they are original creations of Marvel Comics and not based on characters from Norse mythology.

Publication history

The Warriors Three first appear in Journey into Mystery #119 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Fictional biography

The Warriors Three have played a supporting role in Marvel's Thor title since the late 1960s.

For some time, Volstagg was the coward of the group, succeeding more with luck than skill. He gained courage over time and is now more than ever, likely to be found on the front lines of battle. They first appeared when going on a quest with Thor and other Asgardians to prevent Ragnarok.

The trio have multiple adventures with their friend Thor, such as when they battled the Thermal Man.[1] For a time, they quest with him in outer space; one of their adventures involved saving an alien world from a naive tentacled beast.[2]

In the limited series Thor: Blood Oath (published in 2005, but chronologically set much earlier), Thor and the Warriors Three are sent on a quest as penance for accidentally killing an enemy giant during a time of peace. Although they fail in their quest, through the use of each warrior's unique capabilities, the adventure eventually comes to a good end.

The group is allied with the earth-bound group the New Mutants. During the mutants' first trip to Asgard, they drank and celebrated with Roberto da Costa (Sunspot). During the group's second visit, the Three encounter new members of the group and do not find their story of Hela's plan to kill to Odin believable. Volstagg's children do and free the group, helping them on their way. Boom Boom, Warlock and the New Mutant ally, the wolf-prince Hrimhari, rescue the Three from the fatal attentions of Queen Ula and her hive. Hrimhari's honor is enough to convince the Three and Queen Ula to join in on the attempt to defeat Hela. Other Asgardians join in on the fight and soon, Odin is saved.[3]

When Bragi, the god of poetry, had become lost in the wilds of Asgard, just a little bit before he was due to entertain at All-Father Odin's Mid-Summer celebration, the Warriors Three braved multiple problems in order to rescue the poet and bring him home.[4]

Another Fanfare issue focused on the wife of Ulik The Troll. Despite the many attacks by Ulik against Asgardians, his wife feels she has nowhere else to go when she thinks her husband is in trouble. Hogun wants nothing to do with her, but Volstagg convinces him to at least consult with Fandral. The conclusion of the story has Ulik yet again attacking.

Ragnarok

When Thor's misunderstood brother Loki brought Ragnarök down upon Asgard, two of the warriors (Fandral and Hogun) were killed off-panel by an arrow storm launched from the deck of the flying ship Naglfar. The third, Volstagg, survived and was discovered by Thor hiding inside a statue, only now being emaciated and frail. Nevertheless, he would fight on with the army Thor has raised, which included Sif and Beta Ray Bill[5]

Ragnarok seemingly destroyed all of Asgard and all the people residing there, which would leave all three members of The Warriors Three deceased.[6]

Rebirth

Thor has resurfaced in the Midwest of the United States of America and has vowed to find Odin and all other Asgardians, who are hidden in human form across Earth. After finding Heimdall, Thor discovers the Warriors Three inhabiting the bodies of three volunteer guards for the Umeme Mungu Refugee Camp in Africa. The trio are restored to their true forms.[7]

In Secret Invasion, the Warriors Three are vital to the Asgardian victory over the Skrulls.[8] They are part of the defense effort when Norman Osborn leads a villain army against Asgard.[9][10]

After Loki's machinations to banish Thor come to fruition, the Warriors Three voluntarily leave Asgard to live in the mortal world, heading back to Broxton, Oklahoma to take over the local diner abandoned by Bill.[11] Along with many other heroes and gods, they attend the wake of Hercules, who had fallen in battle. This meeting takes place in Athena's temple in Greece.[12]

The trio are featured in their own limited series. In issue three, they encounter the Fenris Wolf.[13]

In other media

Television

Film

Tadanobu Asano, Joshua Dallas and Ray Stevenson as the Warriors Three; Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg in the Marvel Studios film, Thor.

Video games

Film-based comics

Collected edition

References

  1. Thor #170 (November 1969)
  2. Thor #256 (February 1977)
  3. New Mutants vol. 1 #83–87 (1989–90)
  4. Marvel Fanfare #13
  5. Thor vol. 2 #82
  6. Thor vol. 2 #85 (December 2004)
  7. Thor vol. 3 #4
  8. Secret Invasion: Thor #1–3 (2008)
  9. Marvel Legends #63 (October 2011)
  10. The New Avengers #63 (May 2010)
  11. Thor #603
  12. Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1–2 (2010)
  13. Warriors Three #3 (February 2011)
  14. Valentin, Mel (28 January 2009). "Movie Review - Hulk Vs.". efilmcritic.com. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  15. "Thor: Tales of Asgard (2011) (V)". IMDb.com. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  16. "Thor Update: Warriors Three Cast". Marvel. 2009-11-16. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
  17. "Townsend replaced in Marvel Comics tale 'Thor'". NewsOK.com. Associated Press. 2010-01-10. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  18. Hibberd, James (2012-04-24). "'Dexter' scoop: Ray Stevenson joins season 7". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  19. Clark, Noelene (2012-08-02). "'Thor: The Dark World': Christopher Eccleston is villain Malekith". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  20. Kit, Borys (2012-06-08). "'Thor 2' Eyes 'Chuck' Star Zachary Levi (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2012-06-11. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  21. Arrant, Chris (12 October 2013). "NYCC 2013: Marvel Adds More Characters To LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES Game". Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  22. Thor: Crown of Fools #1 (October 2013)
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