Heimdall In Comics Powers, Enemies, History | Marvel (2024)

An all-seeing Asgardian in charge of guarding the Rainbow Bridge known as the Bifrost, Heimdall's keen skills serve him well as a first line of defense.

Heimdall guards Asgard as King Odin's appointed sentry of the Rainbow Bridge known as the Bifrost. Halting all those that would cause harm to his fellow Asgardians, Heimdall stands as the first line of defense against all manner of attacks against his home realm. Duty is paramount to him, even acting at times to keep his own friends and allies from entering Asgard against Odin's orders.

Sentry of Asgard

Per Norse legends, Heimdall and his sister, Sif, were birthed from nine mothers who personified the sea. Renowned for his heightened perceptions and after besting Gotron the Agile and Agnar the Fierce in a contest, Odin appointed him as the Bifrost's guardian and Sentry of Asgard.

Superhuman Strength and Wicked Senses

Heimdall has super human strength and Asgardian durability, plus extraordinarily acute senses, bordering on the extrasensory. He can hear leaves falling and grass growing, can sense the life essences of Asgardian gods throughout Asgard's Nine Worlds. He can focus on specific sensory information or block it out from his consciousness as he chooses. He does not require sleep and ages at an extremely slow rate, though he is not truly immortal. He regularly consumes the mystical Apples of Idunn to maintain his vitality.

He is proficient with most edged weapons and unarmed combat. Heimdall uses the Gjallarhorn, AKA the yelling horn, to warn the Asgardians of potential threats. His golden-maned steed is named Gulltopper, which means Gold Top. He also wields swords, shields, and even temporarily, the Odinpower.

Direct Opposition

Surtur, a fire demon, wages war on Asgard so that he can claim the eternal flame and complete the forging of his sword, Twilight. Surtur defeats Heimdall and shatters the Bifrost.

Ennead, the Egyptian death god, also called Seth, also wages war on Asgard and during the battle, leaves Heimdall injured by arrows.

Loki, an Asgardian menace, seeks to sow chaos out of his jealousy towards his adopted brother Thor, and Heimdall gets caught in the crossfire. Whether he is trying to steal the Golden Apples of Idunn or posing as Odin, he's rarely an ally.

Other villains, like Doctor Doom, AKA Victor von Doom, vivisected Asgardians on Earth and Heimdall fought the villain alongside Thor Odinson. Norman Osborn leads H.A.M.M.E.R., the Initiative and the Dark Avengers into a siege on Asgard, and severely wounds Heimdall.

Allies and Affiliates

Odin, the All-Father and monarch of the Asgardians, is Heimdall's ruler. Heimdall reports to him, following his orders to keep enemies of Asgard at bay or to cast them out when the occasion calls for it.

Thor is typically an ally. Heimdall fights alongside Thor in many missions to protect Asgardians and sends him warnings of catastrophes when he's on Earth.

Universe, Other Aliases, Place of Origin, Identity, Powers

The Chronicles

After defeating Gotron the Agile and Agnar the Fierce in a contest, Odin appointed Heimdall as the Sentry of Asgard and guardian of the Bifrost. With his extrasensory perception and combat skills, he manages all comings and goings into Asgard.

To appease the cosmic Celestials, Odin sent Heimdall and Kamoor the Small to Earth to gather three mortals, Chi Lo, Carter Dyam and Jason Kimball, whose hidden powers were awakened by Ego-Prime, a portion of Ego the Living Planet, elevating them as Young Gods.

Heimdall also served on a mission alongside Thor, Odin, and the Warriors Three to rescue Sif and Karnilla from imprisonment within the Dark Nebula.

Later, when Surtur and his demons assaulted Earth, all of Asgard's armies were sent to oppose him, with only Heimdall and Odin staying behind to guard Asgard.

Surtur defeated Heimdall and shattered the Bifrost before being defeated by Thor, Loki, and Odin, seemingly at the cost of Odin's life.

With the bridge shattered, Heimdall continued to serve Asgard as a soldier and entered a romance with Amora the Enchantress. Shortly after that, the Ennead (Egyptian) death god Seth waged war against Asgard. During the fight, Heimdall was injured by arrows.

When Odin returned and rallied the Asgardians along with Black Knight, Dane Whitman's aid, they narrowly prevailed. Odin entered his Odinsleep and appointed Heimdall to lead Asgard in his absence also granting him a portion of the Odinpower.

For his first act as leader, Heimdall restored the Rainbow Bridge and appointed the Warriors Three its interim guardians. When Thor slew Loki in battle, Heimdall hesitantly banished Thor within the mortal Eric Masterson's mind, following the Asgardian law, which forbade Asgardians from killing one another. He also granted Masterson Thor's power to defend Earth in Thor's absence.

Unbeknownst to any, when Loki inhabited his adoptive father Odin's body through a deal with the Hell-lord Mephisto, he cast Heimdall out of Asgard, exiling him to the demon Nightmare's dimension. Although Amora soon rescued him, Heimdall was left near death. After Masterson, Sif, and Balder recovered Odin's soul and returned it to his body, Odin restored Heimdall, who resumed his duties as Bifrost's guardian.

Later, when the World Tree Yggdrasil was tricked into believing Ragnarok had occurred, Heimdall and the Asgardians were cast into mortal forms. Heimdall was transformed into the identity of Donald Velez.

Seth again sought to destroy them in their weakened states, but the gods slowly rediscovered their true identities and banded together to defeat him.

After Odin's apparent death battling Surtur, Thor became Asgard's new monarch and moved Asgard to Earth above Broxton, Oklahoma. Heimdall sensed catastrophes on Earth for Thor to remedy until Thor was shown the error of this approach and restored Asgard to its proper place. Soon after, Loki assembled Asgard's enemies and brought Ragnarok to the realm, shattering the Bifrost and killing Heimdall in their first assault.

Asgard was destroyed in the subsequent war, and the Asgardians exiled to mortal forms; Heimdall became New Orleans native Ezra. After Thor returned to life from a limbo-like dimension, he found Ezra and used his hammer to free Heimdall, who guided Thor to other dormant Asgardians.

When Thor was later exiled for inadvertently killing his grandfather Bor, Balder became Asgard's monarch and moved the Asgardians to Victor von Doom's Latveria at Loki's suggestion. It soon came to light that Doom was vivisecting Asgardians in his experiments, and Heimdall joined Asgard's forces to oppose him. The returning Thor forced Doom's retreat, and the Asgardians returned to Oklahoma.

After that, Norman Osborn led H.A.M.M.E.R., the Initiative, and his Dark Avengers in a siege on Asgard, which severely wounded Heimdall. The Avengers and Thor arrested Osborn and routed his forces, but Asgard's landmass was destroyed in the struggle. Heimdall subsequently recovered from his wounds and remains a valued warrior.