Asgardians (Marvel Comics)

Asgard
Cover of Tales of Asgard #1 (October 1968) showing Asgard and some of the inhabitants of the Asgardian dimension Artist Jack Kirby
Race(s)	Asgardians
First appearance	Journey into Mystery #83 (October 1962)
Publisher	Marvel Comics

Asgard is the name of a fictional realm and its capital city within the Marvel Comics universe. Based on the realm of the same name from Norse mythology, Asgard is home to the Asgardians and other beings adapted from Norse mythology. Asgard first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 (October 1962) by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, and features prominently in stories that follow the Marvel Comics superhero, Thor.

According to Asgardian legend, in the beginning there was nothing, but in time two worlds came into being on opposite sides of the void. The one to the north was named Niflheim, a world of clouds and shadows in whose center surged the fountain Hvergelmir, from which flowed twelve rivers of ice. The one to the south was named Muspelheim, which teemed with rivers of fire. Eventually the warm air from the south carved out the frost giant Ymir from the ice in the north. Ymir became the father of all the giants, and his cow Auðumbla licked out of the ice the first Asgardian, Buri. Buri had a son named Borr, who married the giantess Bestla. Borr and Bestla had three sons named Odin, Vili, and Ve, who were known as the Æsir. Odin and his brothers grew to hate the giants and slew Ymir, and his blood formed a great sea. Odin and his brothers then raised Ymir's body from the sea and created Midgard between Niflheim and Muspelheim. With Ymir's bones they created mountains, and with his hair they created trees. They then raised Ymir's skull upon four pillars to create the heavens. Within the skull contained sparks from Muspelheim, which became the sun, moon, and stars. When Midgard was complete, Odin and his brothers created a home for themselves above it called Asgard. Between the two worlds they stretched a rainbow bridge and called it Bifröst.