Article requested by: MrAnonymous
What [/Who among the] gods of Asgard are [/will be] appearing in the movie?
First what or who are these Asgardians? Nope, as much as you may want it, they are not the ones who Guards your @ss. Marvel's Asgardians are a race of extra-dimensional beings who were worshipped by the Norsemen as gods. Their origins are shrouded in myth.
Comprende'? To know more about their origins just read up in your gods and godesses of Norse mythology and that is basically their origin, the comics just sprinkled it with their colorful twists.
To kick-off the movie list we'll start of course with the name headlining it:
1. THOR Thor is known to many as the god of Thunder who was forced by Odin to learn a lesson in humility by living life as a human. He wields the mighty hammer, Mjolnir.
First appearance: Journey into Mystery #83 (August, 1962)
2. Odin Odin was a ruler of the Asgardians. His origin is shrouded in mystery, often only delivered in short stories by Odin himself. Odin is presumed to be the son of Bor (father, one of the first Asgardians) and Bestla (mother, a frost giantess).
First appearance: Journey Into Mystery #85
3. Loki Loki himself is not a member of the Asgardians, but was actually the son of Laufey, the monarch of the Frost Giants, the ancient enemies of the Asgardians. He is known to many as the god of Mischief.
First appearance: Venus #6 (August, 1949)
4. Heimdall Heimdall is the guardian of Bifrost, thw Rainbow Bridge that connects Asgard to Midgard (Earth).
First appearance: Journey into Mystery #85 (October, 1962)
5. Frigga Frigga is the Queen of Asgard, goddess of marriage. Deity and magician. She is the daughter of ancient Vanir gods who joined with the Aesir to become the Asgardians.
First appearance: Journey Into Mystery #92
6. Sif Sif was a beautiful warrior-goddess of the Asgardian pantheon. She is the sister of the bifrost sentinel Heimdall. (Say what?! Her brother is Heimdall but he is… b... bl… bloody tall. My theory about this glaringly difference between this brother and sister relationship is that somewhere along the way their mother met Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury and as they say the rest is history).
First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery #102
7. Fandral Fandral the dashing is a stalwart member of the Warriors Three, along with Volstagg and Hogun. He is a good friend and ally of Thor. Fandral once claimed to have lived on Earth and married a woman named Marian. This seems to indicate that he was Robin Hood.
First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery #119
8. Volstagg Volstagg's origin beyond being a member of the Asgardian race and a friend of Thor has not been revealed. Volstagg is fairly advanced in age for an Asgardian, and it has been alluded to that he was a highly respected and feared warrior in his prime. He has been known as Volsyagg the Enormous, Vostagg the Voluminous & the Lion of Asgard. He completely fills one of the spot on the famed Warriors Three.
First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery #119
9. Hogun Hogun was an Asgardian warrior and member of the Warriors Three and an ally to Thor ever since the thunder god's youth. Unlike most Asgardians, he is not an Aesir, but stems from a land conquered long ago by Mogul of the Mystic Mountain. He was a very quiet man, combined however with a flaring temper. His favorite weapon is the mace. (I know what you're thinking movie Hogun, you miss the Fu Manchu beard).
First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery #119
10. Destroyer The destroyer is not a god but an enchanted armor created by Odin. It is a mystical armor that contains Odin's powers. He used an unknown metal apparently superior to Uru (the metal composition of Thor's hammer) and enchanted it with his magic.
First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery #118 11. Laufey
sources : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gods_(Marvel_Comics)#Norse_Gods: http://marvel.wikia.com/Asgardians: http://www.immortalthor.net
What I am missing from this list is Balder, I am not sure if he is in the movie but he is an important character in the asgardian pantheon. If he's not in this movie, well there's always a sequel. I just hope he gets a nod somewhere.
This is the 3rd article in my Ask a Geek series. Any requests and suggestions for an article for this series write it down in the comment section BELOW.