Ymir is a character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. Created by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

, the character first appeared in ''

Journey into Mystery ''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stories in the late 1950s ...

'' #97 (October 1963). Ymir is based on the frost giant of the same name from

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

. Ymir is a recurring

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

Publication history

Ymir debuted in ''

'' #97 (October 1963), and was created by

and

. He appeared in the 2019 '' Giant-Man'' series.

Fictional character biography

The character Ymir first appears in ''

'', and considers all other forms of life — with the exception of his kin the Frost Giants of

Niflheim In Norse cosmology, Niflheim or Niflheimr (Old Norse: ; "World of Mist", literally "Home of Mist") is a location which sometimes overlaps with the notions of Niflhel and Hel. The name ''Niflheimr'' appears only in two extant sources: ''Gylfagin ...

— to be aberrations that must be destroyed. He was among the first Asgardian creatures to be created by the Asgardian gods. The next story depicts an early battle with and subsequent imprisonment by being lured into a trap and imprisoned in a ring of magical fire by

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 ...

, the king of the

Norse gods Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a Medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries. Norse may also refer to: Culture and religion * Nors ...

, while attempting to bring eternal winter to Asgard with the other giants. Ymir reappears in a two-part storyline in ''

Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

'' and ''

Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...

'' being summoned to Earth with the fire demon Surtur by the Sons of Satannish. The pair are defeated and banished when the heroes trick the two into fighting one another due to Strange. Ymir and Surtur reappear in ''

'', and invade

Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr''; "Garden of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in several Old Norse sagas and mythological texts, including the Eddas, however it has also been suggested to be refe ...

. Both characters, however, are defeated when Thor banishes them to the other-dimensional Sea of Eternal Night. Ymir reappears in the publication '' Marvel Super-Heroes'', where he and the Frost and Storm Giants attack Asgard before being stopped by Thor and his half-brother Vidar. Ymir appears in the

limited series In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...

'' X-Men: First Class'', which is set during the early days of the Marvel universe. The original

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

encounter a group called the "Sons of the Vanir" who summon Ymir to Earth. After a brief battle, Thor returns Ymir to Niflheim. Ymir makes another return in the pages of '' A+X''. He has created a replica of the

Casket of Ancient Winters The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

and plans to freeze the world before being defeated by Iceman.

Powers and abilities

Ymir is a large frost giant over 1,000 feet (300 m) tall with physical attributes far greater than most others. He possesses

superhuman The term superhuman refers to humans, humanoids or other beings with abilities and other qualities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. ...

strength and durability. He is able to project intense and deadly cold. Ymir can regenerate from as little as an ice particle. He is also considered to be

immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

. Additionally, he wields an enormous icicle that functions as a club.

Reception

Critical response

Marc Buxton of ''

Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a UK and US-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a biannual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ' ...

'' included Ymir in their "Thor 4: The Marvel Villains We Want to See" list, writing, "Ymir is one of Kirby’s most grandiose creations, a walking, angry glacier fueled by hatred of the Asgardians. The final battle between Frost Giants and Asgard is just an epic waiting to be told, and Ymir could be Thor’s greatest challenge if this conflict comes to fruition."

Impact

Philip Etemesi of ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...

'' asserted, "It's largely through him that the concept of regeneration is popularized in the Golden Era of comic books. The villain gets killed many times during battles with Asgardians only for his body to regenerate."

In other media

Television

* Ymir appears in the ''

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' is a 1981–1983 American animated television series produced by Marvel Productions, considered to be a crossover series connected to the 1981 ''Spider-Man'' series. The show stars already-established Marve ...

'' episode "The Vengeance of Loki", voiced by John Stephenson. * Ymir appears in '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'' episode "The Fall of Asgard". * Ymir appears in the '' Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.'' episode "Hulks on Ice". * Ymir appears in the ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Ma ...

'' episode "Contest of Champions". * Ymir appears in '' Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Frost Fight!'', voiced by

Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore ( , , born June 13, 1967) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk, Volstagg, and Beast in various Marvel media and ...

. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.

Video games

* Ymir appears as a non-playable character in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance'', voiced by

Paul Eiding Paul Eiding (born March 28, 1957) is an American actor, best known for his voice roles as Colonel Roy Campbell in the ''Metal Gear'' series, Perceptor in '' The Transformers'', and Max Tennyson in the '' Ben 10'' franchise. Early career Eiding ...

. * Ymir appears as a non-playable character in '' Thor: God of Thunder'', voiced by Mitch Lewis. * Ymir appears as a non-playable character in '' Marvel Super Hero Squad Online''. * Ymir appears in ''

Pinball FX 2 ''Pinball FX 2'' (stylized as ''Pinball FX2'') is a pinball video game for Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows (Windows XP, XP and higher) and is the sequel to ''Pinball FX''. It was developed by Zen Studios and published by Xbox Game Studi ...

'', voiced by

Travis Willingham Travis Willingham is an American voice actor known for his character portrayals in video games and English anime Dubbing, dubs. His notable roles include Roy Mustang in the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' franchise, Cleo in ''Glass Fleet'', Ginko in ''L ...

. * Ymir appears as a non-playable character in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''. * Ymir appears as a non-playable character in '' Thor: The Dark World - The Official Game'', voiced by Tyler Bunch. * Ymir appears as a non-playable character in '' Marvel: Future Fight''.

References

{{Jack Kirby Characters created by Jack Kirby Characters created by Stan Lee Comics characters introduced in 1963 Fictional characters with ice or cold abilities Fictional giants Marvel Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics giants Marvel Comics immortals Marvel Comics supervillains Thor (Marvel Comics) Ymir