Jörmungandr
Jörmungandr welters
In giant rage
And smites the waves.
Jormungandr, the Midgard-Serpent, was the middle child of Loki’s three monstrous offspring with the Jotunn Angrboda, nestled between the ferocious wolf Fenris and the deathly goddess Hela. The Asgardians, wary of the danger these children posed, especially as they were nurtured in the icy realms of Jotunnheim and born of Loki’s chaotic seed, decided to act. Odin, in his wisdom, banished them from Asgard. Jormungandr was hurled into the ocean, where it was believed the serpent would perish in the abyssal depths. But the great wyrm defied fate, growing to monstrous proportions until it encircled the Earth, earning the dread title of Midgard-Serpent. Jormungandr became the sworn enemy of Thor, challenging the god of thunder’s might on multiple occasions. When Ragnarok arrives, Thor and the Midgard-Serpent are destined to clash in a cataclysmic battle, with Thor slaying the beast only to fall victim to its lethal venom.
History
The exact birth of Fenrir, Jormungandr, and Hela remains shrouded in mystery, likely occurring in the ancient times between the Hyborean cataclysm and the dawn of the current era, given Odin and Loki’s blood oath brotherhood. The reason Loki and Angrboda had only one humanoid child is unclear, though Asgardian gossip suggests their offspring’s forms reflected the shapes their parents took during conception, as both were notorious shapechangers. Raised in Jotunheim among the Frost Giants, the children of Loki and Angrboda grew up in the lands of their mother and Asgard’s ancient foes. This upbringing, coupled with their father’s infamous reputation, sowed deep distrust when Loki introduced them to the Asgardian court.
Antiquity
Following Asgard’s initial conflict with the dark elves and Odin’s ascension as king, the All-Father heeded his allies’ warnings about Loki’s progeny. Fenrir was imprisoned, kept under constant watch as Odin doubted the wolf would ever pose a threat. Jormungandr was cast into the sea, where it was assumed the serpent would drown or fade into obscurity. Hela was confined to the throne of Niflheim, or Helheim, the lowest of the nine realms. Angered by Odin’s actions and mourning her children’s fates, Angrboda cursed the nine realms to endure Ragnarok eternally. Whether Jormungandr’s survival was due to Odin’s miscalculation or his mother’s curse, the serpent thrived in the dark ocean depths. Jormungandr grew until his colossal body encircled the entire world, squeezing it with such force that the seas roiled and upheaved. He bit his own tail, ensuring the world remained trapped within his coils, thus becoming the dreaded Midgard-Serpent.
The Classical Age
After reaching adulthood and being entrusted with Mjolnir, Loki took Thor into the Outlands of Jotunheim as part of a tour of the nine realms that Odin had conquered and promised Thor would one day inherit. Along the way, they encountered a giant named Skymir who offered to lead Thor, Loki, and their companions to the great hall of Utgard-Loki. The giant humiliated Thor repeatedly, to the point where Thor tried to kill the giant in its sleep three times with Mjolnir. Each time, Skymir awoke and asked if he had been hit with an acorn or a pebble, infuriating Thor further. Upon reaching Utgard-Loki’s enormous keep, the frost giant king told the group they would not be allowed to stay unless they could perform a feat. After Loki and the other Asgardians failed, Thor was first challenged to a drinking contest. Thor found that after three mighty gulps, he hardly made a dent in his horn while Utgard-Loki emptied his. Thor then challenged anyone in the hall to a wrestling match, but Utgard-Loki feared that only his aging nursemaid would be a fair fight. The harder Thor grappled with the nursemaid, the more she brought him low. Lastly, Utgard-Loki challenged Thor to simply lift his cat. Thor attempted to do so but only brought one of the cat’s paws off the ground. Even though none of the Asgardians were able to complete a feat, Utgard-Loki allowed them to stay the night and feast in the morning in thanks for the entertainment.
Before he left, Thor expressed fear that Utgard-Loki would tell the realms of his failure, and the frost giant king revealed the truth. He was not a king, but an elder god, and he also disguised himself as Skymir to avoid Thor’s hammer blows, each of which created a new valley. All of the challenges the Asgardians faced were tricks. Thor’s drinking horn was connected to the oceans, causing them to become uneven. The old woman he wrestled with was old age, which no one can defeat. And the cat was Jormungandr, the World-Serpent, and had Thor lifted it any higher, he would have destroyed Midgard. Each of Thor’s efforts was impossible, yet the thunder god almost succeeded in them. Utgard-Loki warned that the two of them should never meet again because the consequences would be dire.
Whether unrelated or because the god of thunder couldn’t stand the humiliation of being tricked, Thor convinced the giant Hymir to take him fishing on the open seas. Hymir kept stopping at the best fishing spots he knew, but Thor urged the giant to go further out despite Hymir’s warnings about hooking Jormungandr. Or perhaps Thor kept pushing to go out because of those warnings. When Hymir finally refused to go any further, they discovered that Thor hadn’t brought any bait with him. The thunder god would not be deterred and cut the head off Hymir’s largest ox and attached it to his line. Thor cast into the deepest oceans and did indeed hook Jormungandr. The Midgard-Serpent spat and blew venom at Thor and Hymir’s boat. Thor drew up his hammer for battle. Hymir, pale with fear, rushed in and cut Thor’s fishing line, and Jormungandr sank below the waves once more to encircle the Earth.
Medieval Times
Loki seduced Tyr, the Asgardian god of war, into joining him in a coup against Asgard when Loki believed Odin was having an affair with Queen Jolena of Sharnheim. Together, they stole the golden apples of Idunn, which granted Asgardians their seemingly immortal longevity. They hid these apples beneath the ocean in the gullet of the Midgard-Serpent. In coordination with Loki and Tyr, Jormungandr coiled tighter around the Earth, unleashing devastating storms, earthquakes, floods, and landslides. The Midgard-Serpent harnessed this chaotic energy to bridge space and time between Midgard and Asgard, allowing Tyr to cross with the human soldiers he had rallied. Thor fought Jormungandr back to Midgard, but the Midgard-Serpent refused to surrender, eventually agreeing to call the battle a stalemate. As Tyr and his soldiers confronted Odin, Loki discovered he was mistaken about his father’s affair with Jolena. In the end, Thor returned the golden apples to the Asgardians, and Loki betrayed Tyr, restoring Odin’s unopposed rule and the extended vitality of the Asgardians.
Thor handed Jormungandr’s sister a humiliating defeat when she attempted to bring a peaceful death to all poor and vagrant people in Midgard, aiming to claim their souls. Hela cursed Thor so he would be unable to heal any injuries he sustained but also unable to die for thwarting her scheme. A band of Frost Giants discovered Hela’s curse on Thor and traveled to the ocean’s depths to charge Jormungandr with battling Thor. Severely weakened from previous injuries, Thor still managed to slay Jormungandr, though the Midgard-Serpent’s venom dissolved Thor’s body inside his armor. However, the Fimbul Winter that was prophesied to blanket Asgard in frost, fear, and paranoia had not come. Loki had not yet tricked Hoder into piercing Baldur’s heart with a twig of mistletoe. There were no armies of trolls and giants charging across the rainbow bridge, and Thor could not die. Instead, Thor’s soul inhabited the Destroyer. In this new form, Thor ventured into Niflheim, where he fought Hela and defeated her again, demanding his body be restored and her curse removed. She agreed, but neither knew they had broken the Ragnarok cycle.
References
- Jörmungandr on Wikipedia
- The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology by Snorri Sturluson, Jesse L. Byock (Amazon Affiliate Link)
- Jormungand (Earth-616) on Marvel Database
- Cul Borson (Earth-616) on Marvel Database
- Ragnarok (Event) on Marvel Database
- Fear Itself on Marvel Database
- The Midgard Serpent on Marvel Appendix
- The Worthy on Marvel Appendix
Aliases:
- The Great Serpent
- Jormungand
- The Midgard-Serpent
- Ouroboros
- The World Serpent
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