One of the Norse Gods of Asgard, Balder is the half-brother of the Thunder God Thor, companion to the Warriors Three and a loyal follower and son of Odin, ruler of the gods.īalder warned Thor about Skagg the Storm Giant and the fire demon Surtur being released by Loki who planned for them to kill Odin after being told by Heimdall. Whatever the case, Wen's art does him justice, and perhaps if Chris Hemsworth gets his way and makes more Thor films, we might yet see Balder roaming among the stars.Created by editor-plotter Stan Lee and penciller Jack Kirby, Balder first appears in Journey into Mystery #85 (October 1962).

He might have just been a stray idea that was being thrown around conceptually. Sadly, we have no idea exactly why he never made it to the screen, or even how long he was a part of the production process. He hangs around with Thor a lot, though, so he ultimately has to give up that oath and fight alongside his half-brother again.īalder is one of the most fascinating supporting characters in Thor comics, and having him around in the films could have been a very useful storytelling addition, particularly in the build-up to Ragnarok.

This is, as with most things, complicated by one of Loki's schemes, and along the way Balder briefly spends time in Hel, where he sees the souls of the thousands he's killed as a warrior and swears to never fight again. Like his counterpart in Norse mythology, Baldr, it is prophesied that he's the one who will bring about Ragnarok, which leads Odin to concoct magical means of making him invulnerable.

He's Thor's half-brother, something which was only revealed fairly recently, and a loyal fighting companion to the Warriors Three and the God of Thunder. A post shared by Charlie Wen has a Marvel Comics history dating back to 1962.

Balder the brave 3 scan