Asgard (Marvel)
Asgard is the home of an advanced alien civilization in the Thor movies. Asgardians were worshipped by the Scandinavian peoples of the early middle ages due to their intervention when aliens from Jotunheim tried to invade Earth.
Attributes
Asgardians are visually indistinguishable from humans, but they are far stronger and tougher. While some Asgardians exhibit physical attributes that far exceed the norm for their race, even mundane Asgardians can lift thousands of pounds and survive the impact of modern firearms. They have life expectancies of thousands of years.
Organization
Asgard is a monarchy currently ruled by Odin.
Technology
Asgardian technology is vastly superior to modern Earth technology, to the point that it can easily be called "magic". Asgardians have created artifacts that can manipulate the weather over large areas, fire powerful beams of energy, and teleport man-sized objects over interstellar (possibly intergalactic) distances. Many Asgardian artifacts appear to be capable of responding to the thoughts of authorized users.
Threat Assessment
Asgardians prefer to engage their enemies in close combat, but this preference may be explained by their high durability, which makes range weapons less effective against them. They don't appear to have starships, but the "Bifrost" device (currently inoperative) gave them the ability to deploy troops in large numbers over vast distances in a matter of seconds, and could be abused as a weapon of mass destruction at similar ranges. How they would actually fair in open war against a space-faring race is difficult to determine.
Notable Asgardians
- Odin: The ruler of the Asgardians, Odin has vast personal power (of the Asgardian "magic" variety). He can easily alter the behavior of Asgardian artifacts, and he can generate exceptionally powerful blasts of energy. He wields a spear known as Gungnir that can channel Asgardian "magic" into intense beams.
- Thor: The heir to throne of Asgard, Thor is vastly stronger and more durable than other Asgardians. He wields a hammer called Mjolnir that responds to his (and Odin's) mental commands.
- Loki: The "God of Trickery", Loki is adept at Asgardian "magic", particularly the creation of visible and audible illusions.
- Heimdall: Heimdall guards the "Bifrost", the Asgardian device that permits rapid teleportation over vast distances. He is also clairvoyant, enabling him to perceive events occurring at interstellar (possibly intergalactic) distances.