The Viking Prince is a fictional

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

hero appearing in

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. The character first appeared in ''

The Brave and the Bold ''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by a reprint miniseries in 1988, two original miniseries in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing anthology ...

'' #1 (August 1955), and was created by writer

Robert Kanigher Robert Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for over ...

and artist

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Poland, Polish-born Americans, American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawk ...

. He is one of three

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

characters to premiere in the issue, alongside the Silent Knight and Golden Gladiator.

Fictional character biography

In ''The Brave and the Bold'' #1, the main character is found amnesiac, on a beach by 10th century

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n fishermen, who name him "Jon" after a legendary prince. His enemy Thorvald knows his true identity and wants to kill him before he regains his memory or meets someone else who recognizes him. This set-up is ignored by later writers, some of whom make no mention of his background, while others portray him as an actual prince, the son of King Rikk. In ''

Our Army at War ''Our Army at War'' is an American comic book anthology published by DC Comics that featured war-themed stories and featured the first appearances of Sgt. Rock and Enemy Ace. The series was published from August 1952 to February 1977, then wa ...

'' #162-163 (January - February 1966), Sergeant Rock finds the Viking Prince in a glacier and frees him. Jon reveals that he previously fell in love with a

valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...

, resulting in

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

banishing him from

Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...

and telling him that he could only return if he died a heroic death. However, Odin was crafty and cursed Jon with invulnerability to all known weapons. He is killed by a

plastique Plastic explosive is a soft and hand-moldable solid form of explosive material. Within the field of explosives engineering, plastic explosives are also known as putty explosives or blastics. Plastic explosives are especially suited for explo ...

explosive, an unknown weapon at the time the curse was made. Subsequently, the Viking Prince appears in ''

Justice League of America The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived t ...

'' #159-160, a backup comic in " Arak, Son of Thunder", ''

Birds of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

'' #29, ''

The War that Time Forgot ''The War that Time Forgot'' is a comic book feature published by DC Comics beginning in 1960 in the title '' Star Spangled War Stories'', created by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. It ran for eight years, ended in 1968, and return ...

'' (2008), ''The Judas Coin'' (2012), and ''The Odyssey of the Amazons''. In the ''

Endless Winter "Endless Winter" is a 2020 crossover event in DC Comics publications. Written by Andy Lanning and Ron Marz, the story follows the Frost King's efforts to cause an eternal global winter and the Justice League's efforts to stop him. Taking place in ...

'' event,

Hippolyta In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; ''Hippolytē''), was a daughter of Ares and Otrera,Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word foun ...

summons his spirit to help battle the Frost King. She offers to resurrect him, but he refuses. In '' Legends of the Dark Knight'' #35 (August 1992),

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

encounters Jon Rikkson, an environmental activist and descendant of the Prince. The Viking Prince appeared in the 2020 crossover event "

" as one of the heroes from the 10th century who fought against the Frost King, alongside

Black Adam Black Adam (Teth-Adam) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck, and first appeared in the debut issue of Fawcett Comics' '' The Marvel Family'' comic book ...

and a 10th Century version of

Swamp Thing Swamp Thing is a superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several different incarnations throughout his publication. The ch ...

. In the flashbacks of this story it is revealed that he finally found his heroic death while fighting the Frost King and was welcomed into

. His spirit was later summoned to the present day by Hippolyta, where he was temporarily made an avatar of the Green (the force that connects all plant life on Earth and which gives Swamp Thing his powers). After fighting in the climactic battle of the story, in which he inhabited a gigantic version of Swamp Thing to fight an equally gigantic avatar of the Frost King, Hippolyta offered to find him another vessel so that his spirit could remain in the world of the living. The Prince declined, returning to Valhalla to continue enjoying his long-awaited reward.

Powers and abilities

The Viking Prince was an expert at hand-to-hand combat. Due to Odin's curse, he is invulnerable to all weapons.

Other versions

The Viking Prince makes a cameo appearance in '' DC: The New Frontier''.

Collected editions

* ''The Viking Prince'' (collects ''

'' #1-5, 7-24 & ''

'' #162-163);

In other media

* Jon Haraldson appears in the ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...

'' episode "To Another Shore". This version disappeared after traveling the world in a failed attempt to seek death, with his body ending up in an iceberg in the present day. The

Secret Society A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...

attempt to retrieve Jon and reverse-engineer his invulnerability, but

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

members

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" in ''Detective Comics ...

, and

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...

defeat them and give Jon a

Viking funeral Norse funerals, or the burial customs of Viking Age North Germanic Norsemen (early medieval Scandinavians), are known both from archaeology and from historical accounts such as the Icelandic sagas and Old Norse poetry. Throughout Scandinavia, t ...

by sending him and his ship into the sun. * The Viking Prince appears as a character summon in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''. * The Viking Prince appears in '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' #6.

References

External links

Viking Prince
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on July 19, 2015. {{Authority control Characters created by Joe Kubert Characters created by Robert Kanigher Comics characters introduced in 1955 Comics set in the 20th century Comics set in the Viking Age DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability DC Comics fantasy characters DC Comics male superheroes Fictional princes Fictional Vikings