Hela (comics)
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Hela is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe, based loosely on the Norse myths of the goddess Hela. She is the Asgardian Goddess of Death and ruler of Hel and Niffleheim. She has been a frequent foe of Thor. She first appeared in Journey into Mystery #102 and was adapted from Norse Myths by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
[edit] Character history
Hela was born in Jotunheim, the land of the giants. According to legend she was the child of the trickster Loki and the giantess Angrboda. When she came of age, Odin appointed her as the Goddess of Death, giving her rulership over the dead in the realms of Hel and Niffleheim.
Hela often tried to expand her power to the dead who dwell in Valhalla as well. These attempts often brought Hela into conflict with Odin or his son Thor. During one of these fights, Hela cursed Thor with eternal life, while making his bones brittle. Thor had to create a special armour to keep his body together, but eventually forced Hela to lift the curse by using the Destroyer as his host body to invade Hel.
[edit] Powers and abilities
When wearing her cloak, Hela has superhuman strength and stamina like all Asgardians, but she is far stronger than the vast majority of her race. Hela, also like other Asgardians, ages much slower than human beings and is immune to all terrestrial diseases and poisons. Hela has vast mystical powers which she can use for various effects like astral projection, firing deadly bolts of energy from her hands, levitation and the creation of illusions. Her most powerful ability is her hand of glory, a technique that used mystical energy to enhance the strength of her punch to kill even an Asgardian. As a Death God, Hela has a pact with Death, allowing her to claim the souls of any worshipper of the Asgardians and the Asgardians themselves and take them to Hel or Niffleheim. She didn't claim the souls of heroes though, leaving that task to the Valkyries who took the souls of heroes to Valhalla. Hela is usually willing to wait until a person has died before claiming the soul, but she can kill a healthy person with a single touch. Hela also has the ability to restore a dead Asgardian to life or deny a dying Asgardian the release of death, but she rarely used these abilities.
Hela always wears her magical cloak which enhances her strength and keeps her young and healthy. Without the cloak, Hela reverts to her true form: in this form half of her body is healthy, while the other half is decaying. Without the cloak Hela is very weak and can barely move. Hela doesn't need to wear the cloak, simply touching it is enough to restore her to her stronger form.
Hela can command all of the dead who dwell in Hel and Niffleheim, but she had no power over the dead in Valhalla.
