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    Norns

    Team » Norns appears in 96 issues.

    The Norns, Urd, Skuld and Verdandi are the foretellers of the future in norse mythology.

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    Origin

    The Norns, Urd, Skuld and Verdandi are the foretellers of the future in norse mythology.

    Major Story Arcs

    Marvel

    In Incredible Hercules#116, The Norns were sought out by the gods Zeus, Ares and Athena due to a fight between Hercules and Kyknos. The Norns revealed to the gods that Kyknos would die at Hercules' hand unless Hercules was killed before then. Ares favored Kyknos and tried to kill Herculos, but Athena prevented Ares from doing so and Kyknos died as was fated.

    Later on in Bizarre Adventures #32, it was revealed that Odin had Thor pay The Norns a visit once each year at the root of Yggdrasil due to failing to save the life of the Viking Runolf, who The Norns had previously fated to die. In a separate arc of Journey into Mystery and Thor: Son of Asgard, Thor was told by The Norns that he must stare death in the face before he was able to wield the mighty Mjolnir. There prediction was proven correct when Thor met Hela for the very first time.

    The Norns were consulted once again in a Raven Banner graphic novel when Greyval Grimson asked them for advice that would help him retrieve the Raven Banner. The Norns revealed to Greyval that his lover Sygnet was being held captive by trolls and also told him his own magic boar, Gullinbursti. Greyval left The Norns riding on Gullinbursti's back.

    The Norns reappeared in Tales to Asonish #33 when they manifested in front of an American man who defected to Japan during WWII. The Norns tried to tell him that justice could not be escaped but he mocked them and went to Japan. The man died when the U.S. Air Force dropped the bomb on Hiroshima on Augest 6, 1945.

    In Thor #197 The Norns devise a test for Thor by using their servant Kartag. This test would determine whether or not Asgard was worthy enough to be saved from the dreaded Mangog. Thor completed the test and was allowed to use Kartag to help him in battle as well as take some water from the Twilight Well. With these gifts from The Norns Thor was able to defeat Mangog and save Asgard. The Norns appeared again while Thor was fighting Pluto for Odin's soul. As the battle was continuing The Norns turned to Heimdall, who was supposed to find a Young God for Odin. However, Pluto tried to kill Thor by using his axe and The Norns used their power to destroy the axe for Thor so that the Asgardian god would die by their own prophecy. The Norns favored Thor and during the season of Thor's birth they reminisced over his life and hailed him as a worthy god.

    The Norns came to the aid of Balder, who had begun to wish for his own death and traveled to the desert where he planned to die. The Norns took the shape of a beautiful woman being chased by a sand monster, knowing full well that Balder would come to rescue her. Once he arrived to confront the image of the sand monster The Norns revealed themselves and brought Balder with them to the Well of Wyrd, where they told him what his destiny would be. The Norns gave Balder the Thread of Life, representing his life as it had come to be. They told him that if he really wished to die, he need only snap the thread in two. As Balder was deciding what to do he was pulled into a large tapestry woven with the thread of many lives before him. He saw the lives of everybody he had saved previously as well as the lives of those he was unable to save. Seeing this, he then realized that every choice he made created a consequence and then decided that he would live on.

    Balder later became ruler of Asgard and returned back to the very desert where he saw the sand monster previously. The monster appeared o nce more and took the shape of a human. Balder spoke with the monster, who he recognized as being an image from The Norns, and asked if he could obtain water from the Well of Life in order to revive Huginn the raven. The Norns accepted his request and gave him the water, allowing Huggin to return to life.

    In New Mutants Special Edition, Karma of the New Mutants was left stranded in a desert by Enchantress. Karma hoped for death but ended up finding a young girl being chased by a gigantic sand monster. Karma rescued the girl and became reunited with her friends. However, the girl disappeared and a thread was tied around one of her fingers. These images could only have been from The Norns.

    During Ultimate Silver Surfer: Tarnished Soul, The Norns appeared in front of the Silver Surfer and told him that they were also known as Danaids. The Norns looked at Surfer's past adventures with the likes of those such as Mephisto and Doctor Doom.

    In Cable II #79 The Norns confronted Cable and let him know that presidential candidate Randall Shire was in danger of being attacked and killed at Madison Square Garden. They later appeared in front of Cable again after he defeated Aentaros the Undying who was possessing a host body. They told him of a third test that he must complete. In Cable II #81, The Norns were then shown in an alternate future called Harmony, which took place 2,000 years after the present day. They revealed to the ruler of Earth that his empire was in danger of being destroyed by the Ranshi timeline. Yet again The Norns appeared in Cable's present day in Cable II #83. It would be the last time they would manifest in front of him. They revealed their true selves and told Cable that the point of divergence in timelines was about to take place and that he could decide the futures of the Harmony and Ranshi.

    In Thor II #85, Thor seeks out The Norns who reveal that their power was granted by Those Who Sit Above in Shadow. Thor became enraged and attempted to change the destiny of Asgard, which was to continue in an endless cycle of death and rebirth at Ragnarok. Thor destroyed the tapestry belonging to The Norns, revealing Those Who Sit Above in Shadow and sucking them all into Yggdrasil. The Norns appeared to die along with Asgard as Ragnarok destroyed it.

    Powers & Abilities

    If the Norns did originate as the Fates of the Olympian gods, then they possessed the conventional powers of the Olympian Gods in addition to any powers they might have developed through the practice of Asgardian magics. They would have possessed superhuman strength (Class 25 at least), resistance to injury, and a long life enchantment. If they were indeed Asgardians from the beginning, the Norns would possesses the conventional superhuman physical attributes of Asgardian goddess. They would have been extremely long-lived (though not immortal like the Olympian gods), aging at an extra, ordinarily slow rate upon reaching adulthood, possess superhuman physical prowess (Asgardian flesh and bone is about three times denser than similar human tissue, contributing to the gods' superhuman strength and weight), an average female god can lift (press) about 25 tons, immunity to all terrestrial diseases and resistant to conventional injury, and a metabolism that gives them superhuman endurance in all physical activities.

    They also have numerous magical skills primarily in controlling and perceiving time. They can freeze time and allow themselves to be seen by anyone of their choosing. They can perceive and view alternate futures even sharper than any known mortal psychic and even endow objects such as thread, paint or a burning log with the attributes of time. They can also disguise their appearance, taking on the form of a Sand Devil, a child, or a beautiful woman.

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