The giants of Jotunheim in Marvel Comics are a fictional race of people based on the giants of actual Norse legends.
Publication history[]
Storm giants first appeared in Journey into Mystery #100 (January 1964), and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; ice giants and rime giants first appeared in Journey into Mystery #101 (February 1964); frost giants first appeared in Balder the Brave #1 (November 1985).
Ymir first appeared in Journey into Mystery #97 (October 1963); the first Executioner first appeared in Journey into Mystery #103 (April 1964); Laufey first appeared in Journey into Mystery #112 (January 1965); these characters were all created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Utgard-Loki first appeared in Thor #272 (June 1978), and was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema. Fasolt and the second Fafnir first appeared in Thor #294 (April 1980), and were created by Roy Thomas, Keith Pollard, and Chic Stone. The second Hagen first appeared in Balder the Brave #2 (January 1986), and was created by Walt Simonson and Sal Buscema. Grundroth first appeared in Thor #378 (April 1987), and was created by Walt Simonson and Sal Buscema. Siggorth first appeared in Thor #381 (July 1987), and was created by Walt Simonson and Sal Buscema.
Brimer, King of Storm Giants, and Skagg the storm giant first appeared in Journey into Mystery #104 (May 1964). Nedra, Queen of the mountain giants, first appeared in Journey into Mystery #105 (June 1964). Arkin the Weak, and Knorda the storm giant first appeared in Journey into Mystery #109 (October 1964). Ghan the storm giant first appeared in Journey into Mystery #113 (February 1965). Kaggor the storm giant first appeared in Thor #193 (November 1971).
The Giants of Jotunheim received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #3.
Fictional biography[]
These giants, also known as Etins are enormous beings who reside in the other-dimensional realm of Jotunheim, one of the Nine Worlds in Asgardian cosmology. They are the traditional enemies of the gods of Asgard, with whom they have warred off and on for millennia.
The first of the Giants was the Ice Giant, Ymir. Many different races of Giants arose in Jotunheim, including the Ice, Mountain, Rime, Storm, and Frost Giants. The Frost Giants are the direct descendants of Ymir, and their monarch is Utgard-Loki. The Giant Laufey was another monarch who died in battle against the Asgardians; In tribute to Laufey's courage, Odin adopted the giant's infant son Loki. Two other giants of note were Fafnir II and Fasolt (both deceased), who built Odin's palace in Valhalla. Skurge the Executioner is another famous giant who went from being a villain to hero.