Greenland was an island region within the kingdom of Denmark that was located between the Northern Atlantic and Arctic Oceans where North America nears Europe. In the Modern Age, it was the largest island on the planet Earth.
History
Pre-Cataclysmic Age[]
At some point, the ancient Atlanteans constructed an outpost on land that was later part of Greenland. The outpost was eventually abandoned, presumably after the Atlantean civilization was destroyed, but the ruins of the outpost's advanced buildings remained standing until at least the early 11th century A.D.[1]
Hyborian Age[]
Thousands of years ago, following a schism in Inhuman society over the question of Terrigenesis, a group of Inhumans who followed one of the Inhuman Royal Families, the House of Lor, departed from the city of Attilan. This group traveled the world until they came to Greenland where they built the city of Orollan in the Eternal Chasm.[2]
Viking Age[]
When the Avengers found themselves lost in time, Thor briefly became the leader of a group of Viking warriors aboard a ship off the coast of Greenland. He was subdued by his fellow Avengers, had his memories restored, and was pulled through time once again.[3]
11th Century[]
Circa 1000 A.D., the astral form of Loki traveled to Greenland in search of a place that he could use to make sure that he won a wager about the future rulership of Asgard that he had recently tricked his half-brother Thor into making, a wager that involved Thor stripping himself of his godly powers and taking part in a Viking expedition to the New World. After Loki had found the ruins of the long-deserted Atlantean outpost and set some deadly magical traps, the Viking expedition did travel to Greenland in search of treasure. Once there, Thor (as "Sigurd") was one of the leaders of a group that was sent to explore the ruins. Although a number of those Vikings were killed by Loki's traps, including Sigurd's friend Baldric, Thor eventually deduced that Loki was cheating and, released from his oath, reclaimed his godly powers. Whether or not the expedition ever found any treasure has not been revealed.[1]
20th Century[]
In 1932, a Danish expedition found a viking carrying a woman in his arms frozen in a perfect state of preservation.[4]
At some point, a large creature was discovered trapped in a block of ice in the North Atlantic. The ice had the word "Zog" carved into the top of it which everyone assumed was the creature's name. The world's leaders gathered and decided that releasing Zog from his icy tomb would be extremely dangerous. Over time, Earth's inhabitants began to feel the strain of constantly living in fear of Zog's release. Charles Burton decided to melt the ice surrounding Zog and was quickly arrested, but not before succeeding. As he faced a firing squad his execution was halted with the news that Zog immediately encased himself in ice again. Burton proposed that the creature came from a much colder planet and was somehow stuck on Earth, encasing itself in ice to stay cool. He further theorized that Zog was a distress message (like S.O.S.) and not the creature's name. The world's leaders agreed and the world returns to normal with Burton a hero.[5]
During World War II, Greenland became independent of Denmark when it was invaded by Nazi Germany. In order to prevent Greenland from being invaded, the United States of America came to its defense. During this time, a number of weather stations were constructed in Greenland to assist the Allied air-forces in defending their lands. In 1943, one such weather station was conquered by Nazi operative Von Kropp, the so-called Phantom of the Air. He provided the Allies false weather reports that left them open for attack until he was stopped by the Sub-Mariner.[6]
During one of the X-Men's early adventures, they were summoned to Greenland by a Conglomerate Entity to stop a group of researchers who were close to unknowingly drilling into the entity's body, threatening its life.[7]
In northern Greenland, Lilith broke free of her prison – the desiccated remains of the Leviathan. She attacked and killed two scientists, then reunited with one of her surviving children, the teleporter Pilgrim, and together they begin a quest to track down the remainder of her Lilin brood.[8] Lilith later decided that she wanted to stage her final battle against the Nine at the place of her resurrection – Greenland. Pilgrim opened a portal, and the brood teleported thousands of miles away. Lilith took the frozen remains of the two scientists she killed and fuses them with Meatmarket's corpse. All nine of the chosen warriors simultaneously appeared in the Arctic Circle, including Morbius, the Nightstalkers, the Spirits of Vengeance and the Darkhold Redeemers. After a difficult battler, the Nine had the upper hand and forced Lilith and her brood to retreat.[9]Points of Interest
Notes
- Although the Omniscient Narrative in Thor #401 identified the long-deserted outpost on the coast of Greenland as being Atlantean in origin, it is uncertain if the island now known as Greenland actually existed during the Pre-Cataclysmic Age. However, since the only known maps that date from that era only depict the large continent of Thuria, the smaller continents of Atlantis and Mu, and a number of islands, it's possible that "Greenland" (or whatever it may have been called) existed as part of the large percentage of Earth's surface from that era that has never been mapped.
See Also
- 39 appearance(s) of Greenland (Island)
- 2 minor appearance(s) of Greenland (Island)
- 18 mention(s) of Greenland (Island)
- 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Greenland (Island)
- 4 image(s) of Greenland (Island)
- 6 article(s) related to Greenland (Island)