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Lorelei (Asgardian)
Encyclopedia
Lorelei is a fictional character
who appears in the .
. She made subsequent appearances in the title, in issues #338-346 (December 1983-August 1984).
The character subsequently appears in Marvel Age Annual #1 (1985), Thor vol. 1 #347-350 (September–December 1984), 354-355 (April–May 1985), 357-359 (July–September 1985), 363 (January 1986), 367-368 (May–June 1986), 383 (September 1987), 398-400 (December 1988-February 1989), 402 (April 1989), 437-441 (October–December 1991), 476 (July 1994), and 485-486 (April–May 1995), Journey into Mystery vol. 1 #509-511 (May–August 1997), Defenders vol. 2 #1-4 (March–June 2001), Loki #1 (January 2004), and Thor: Son of Asgard
#5 (June 9, 2004).
Lorelei received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition
#7.
. The two sisters share an interest in using their beauty and wiles to dominate any male that either desires. However, unlike Amora, Lorelei has had no interest in mastering sorcery apart from learning certain skills to aid her in her amatory pursuits. Both sisters are natives of Asgard.
Loki
, the Asgardian god of evil, chose Lorelei to seduce his longtime enemy, his stepbrother Thor, god of thunder. Lorelei, who was strongly physically attracted to Thor, needed no persuasion to agree to Loki's scheme. Lorelei prepared a love potion which, if Thor drank it, would cause him to fall madly in love with the first woman he saw. Loki hoped that Thor's passion for Lorelei would distract him from interfering in Loki's schemes for gaining power. Thor had not seen Lorelei since she was a child, and so would not recognize the adult Lorelei.
She went to New York City on Earth, where she claimed to be a mortal human being named Melodi. There she confronted Thor's old enemy, the dragon Fafnir, who used his hypnotic abilities to overpower her. Fafnir took her captive and used her as bait to lure Thor into a trap at the construction site where he worked in his secret identity of Sigurd Jarlson. As Jarlson Thor saved Lorelei from death, and then fought the dragon in his godly identity. Hence Thor and Lorelei first met in their false identities as the humans Jarlson and Melodi. Jarlson and Melodi became friends, and Melodi was clearly attempting to deepen the relationship into a romance. Circumstances, however, prevented her from getting Jarlson to drink the golden mead she had prepared using the love potion. Lorelei was then kidnapped by Thor's foe Malekith the Accursed, leader of the Dark Elves. Malekith used sorcery to cause a stock of wood to take on the appearance of Melodi, and this magically animated false Melodi gave Jarlson the mead to drink. Under the mead's spell, Thor fell uncontrollably in love with Melodi (since the first "woman" he saw bore her appearance). Malekith then revealed to Thor that the real Melodi was his prisoner. Thor, enraged, rescued Melodi from the Dark Elves. Soon afterward the demonic Surtur began his war against Asgard. Amora was infuriated by Lorelei's refusal to join in fighting Surtur's demonic hordes, and decided to take vengeance on her. Odin, monarch of Asgard, vanished along with Surtur at the war's end.
Loki then planned to use Lorelei to influence Thor to throw his support behind Loki's bid to become Asgard's new ruler. Loki gave Lorelei the elixir of Lofn, which, when Thor inhaled its vapors, would make Thor fall so deeply in love with her that he would do whatever she asked. In effect, Thor would become Lorelei's slave. Loki instructed Lorelei to then persuade Thor to support Loki's bid for the throne. Lorelei was tiring of Thor, but agreed to Loki's scheme since she planned to have Thor become monarch himself, and to make her his queen. She subjected Thor to the vapors of the Elixir of Lofn, and he fell under her control. To take revenge on Lorelei, the Enchantress cast a spell on Odin's scepter of power, knowing that Loki would pick it up, as indeed he did. Due to the spell, when Lorelei next saw Loki, she fell madly in love with him.
The Enchantress believed that loving the heartless Loki would eventually destroy Lorelei emotionally. Loki naturally responded to Lorelei's new interest in him. Thor's friend Heimdall realized that Thor was under Lorelei's control, and devised a plan to save him. He had the Enchantress urge Thor to visit Loki when she knew that Loki and Lorelei were in each other's arms. Thor's rage at seeing them together made him realize he himself was under a spell. He forced Loki to release him from the spell on pain of death, and left the two of them together. As the Enchantress predicted, Loki has since grown tired of Lorelei.
She joined the forces of Asgard during the attack from Seth and was killed in battle. Amora bade Hela
to spare her sister, but when the price for her sister's life was her own, she was unable to bring herself to sacrifice and Hela took Lorelei's soul to her realm.
She was later resurrected as a servant of the Egyptian death god Seth, and battled against the Asgardians until his control over her was broken.
The Olympian death god Pluto later approached Lorelei for assistance in a plot, as he had heard that she was even more ruthless than her sister Amora. They together restored the Valkyrie
's powers within Samantha Parrington. Pluto then turned on Lorelei, erased her memory, drained her powers, and turned her into yet another duplicate of Valkyrie. While Samantha was used by Pluto to turn Earth into a realm of the dead, Lorelei was found by the Defender Nighthawk
, who believed she was the real Valkyrie and made her a Defender, although she never spoke. When the Defenders tried to stop Pluto, Lorelei battled Samantha and was restored to her former self. An angered Lorelei battled Pluto to a stalemate, but both disappeared after an intervention by Zeus.
After being resurrected by Seth, her magical powers were greatly enhanced, even beyond those of her sister, and she retained these heightened abilities in later years, with her power being shown as equal to that of Pluto.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
who appears in the .
Publication history
Lorelei first appeared inThor vol. 1 #337 (November 1983), and was created by Walt SimonsonWalt Simonson
Walter "Walt" Simonson is an American comic book writer and artist. After studying geology at Amherst College, he transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating in 1972. His thesis project there was The Star Slammers, which was published as a black and white promotional comic book...
. She made subsequent appearances in the title, in issues #338-346 (December 1983-August 1984).
The character subsequently appears in Marvel Age Annual #1 (1985), Thor vol. 1 #347-350 (September–December 1984), 354-355 (April–May 1985), 357-359 (July–September 1985), 363 (January 1986), 367-368 (May–June 1986), 383 (September 1987), 398-400 (December 1988-February 1989), 402 (April 1989), 437-441 (October–December 1991), 476 (July 1994), and 485-486 (April–May 1995), Journey into Mystery vol. 1 #509-511 (May–August 1997), Defenders vol. 2 #1-4 (March–June 2001), Loki #1 (January 2004), and Thor: Son of Asgard
Thor: Son of Asgard
Thor: Son of Asgard is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics from March 2004 to January 2005. Written by Akira Yoshida and illustrated by Greg Tocchini, the series follows Thor's early adventures in Asgard with Sif and Balder...
#5 (June 9, 2004).
Lorelei received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is an encyclopedic guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications...
#7.
Fictional character biography
Lorelei is the younger sister of the sorceress, Amora the EnchantressEnchantress (Marvel Comics)
The Enchantress is the name of two fictional characters in the Marvel Comics universe, the first of which is a powerful sorceress named Amora and is one of the most notable antagonists of Thor.-Publication history:...
. The two sisters share an interest in using their beauty and wiles to dominate any male that either desires. However, unlike Amora, Lorelei has had no interest in mastering sorcery apart from learning certain skills to aid her in her amatory pursuits. Both sisters are natives of Asgard.
Loki
Loki (comics)
Loki is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in publications by Marvel Comics. He is the adoptive brother and archenemy of the superhero Thor. He is based on the being of the same name from Norse mythology...
, the Asgardian god of evil, chose Lorelei to seduce his longtime enemy, his stepbrother Thor, god of thunder. Lorelei, who was strongly physically attracted to Thor, needed no persuasion to agree to Loki's scheme. Lorelei prepared a love potion which, if Thor drank it, would cause him to fall madly in love with the first woman he saw. Loki hoped that Thor's passion for Lorelei would distract him from interfering in Loki's schemes for gaining power. Thor had not seen Lorelei since she was a child, and so would not recognize the adult Lorelei.
She went to New York City on Earth, where she claimed to be a mortal human being named Melodi. There she confronted Thor's old enemy, the dragon Fafnir, who used his hypnotic abilities to overpower her. Fafnir took her captive and used her as bait to lure Thor into a trap at the construction site where he worked in his secret identity of Sigurd Jarlson. As Jarlson Thor saved Lorelei from death, and then fought the dragon in his godly identity. Hence Thor and Lorelei first met in their false identities as the humans Jarlson and Melodi. Jarlson and Melodi became friends, and Melodi was clearly attempting to deepen the relationship into a romance. Circumstances, however, prevented her from getting Jarlson to drink the golden mead she had prepared using the love potion. Lorelei was then kidnapped by Thor's foe Malekith the Accursed, leader of the Dark Elves. Malekith used sorcery to cause a stock of wood to take on the appearance of Melodi, and this magically animated false Melodi gave Jarlson the mead to drink. Under the mead's spell, Thor fell uncontrollably in love with Melodi (since the first "woman" he saw bore her appearance). Malekith then revealed to Thor that the real Melodi was his prisoner. Thor, enraged, rescued Melodi from the Dark Elves. Soon afterward the demonic Surtur began his war against Asgard. Amora was infuriated by Lorelei's refusal to join in fighting Surtur's demonic hordes, and decided to take vengeance on her. Odin, monarch of Asgard, vanished along with Surtur at the war's end.
Loki then planned to use Lorelei to influence Thor to throw his support behind Loki's bid to become Asgard's new ruler. Loki gave Lorelei the elixir of Lofn, which, when Thor inhaled its vapors, would make Thor fall so deeply in love with her that he would do whatever she asked. In effect, Thor would become Lorelei's slave. Loki instructed Lorelei to then persuade Thor to support Loki's bid for the throne. Lorelei was tiring of Thor, but agreed to Loki's scheme since she planned to have Thor become monarch himself, and to make her his queen. She subjected Thor to the vapors of the Elixir of Lofn, and he fell under her control. To take revenge on Lorelei, the Enchantress cast a spell on Odin's scepter of power, knowing that Loki would pick it up, as indeed he did. Due to the spell, when Lorelei next saw Loki, she fell madly in love with him.
The Enchantress believed that loving the heartless Loki would eventually destroy Lorelei emotionally. Loki naturally responded to Lorelei's new interest in him. Thor's friend Heimdall realized that Thor was under Lorelei's control, and devised a plan to save him. He had the Enchantress urge Thor to visit Loki when she knew that Loki and Lorelei were in each other's arms. Thor's rage at seeing them together made him realize he himself was under a spell. He forced Loki to release him from the spell on pain of death, and left the two of them together. As the Enchantress predicted, Loki has since grown tired of Lorelei.
She joined the forces of Asgard during the attack from Seth and was killed in battle. Amora bade Hela
Hela (comics)
Hela is a fictional character, the Asgardian goddess of death in the Marvel Comics universe, based on the Norse goddess, Hel. The ruler of Hel and Niffleheim, the character has been a frequent foe of Thor...
to spare her sister, but when the price for her sister's life was her own, she was unable to bring herself to sacrifice and Hela took Lorelei's soul to her realm.
She was later resurrected as a servant of the Egyptian death god Seth, and battled against the Asgardians until his control over her was broken.
The Olympian death god Pluto later approached Lorelei for assistance in a plot, as he had heard that she was even more ruthless than her sister Amora. They together restored the Valkyrie
Valkyrie (comics)
Valkyrie is a fictional character and Marvel Comics superhero. An Asgardian demi-goddess by birth, her real name is Brunnhilde. Among her other aliases are Barbara Denton-Norriss, Samantha Parrington, and Sian Bowen who all were host bodies to the spirit of Brunnhilde. For much of her history she...
's powers within Samantha Parrington. Pluto then turned on Lorelei, erased her memory, drained her powers, and turned her into yet another duplicate of Valkyrie. While Samantha was used by Pluto to turn Earth into a realm of the dead, Lorelei was found by the Defender Nighthawk
Nighthawk
A nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae. Nighthawks are medium-sized New World birds, with long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They usually nest on the ground. They feed on flying insects. The Least Nighthawk, at and ,...
, who believed she was the real Valkyrie and made her a Defender, although she never spoke. When the Defenders tried to stop Pluto, Lorelei battled Samantha and was restored to her former self. An angered Lorelei battled Pluto to a stalemate, but both disappeared after an intervention by Zeus.
Powers and abilities
Lorelei possesses some skills in Asgardian magic and in seduction, though she was formerly not nearly as skilled in either area as her sister Amora. Lorelei also had the ability to turn any mortal or Asgardian male into stone by kissing him. It is not known if this was an innate ability or a learned magical skill.After being resurrected by Seth, her magical powers were greatly enhanced, even beyond those of her sister, and she retained these heightened abilities in later years, with her power being shown as equal to that of Pluto.