Rūna (Earth-616)

Valkyrie
Name	Rūna
Current Alias	Valkyrie
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Valkyrior Formerly Dísir
Marital Status	Single
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Female
Height	6′ (1.83 m)
Weight	400 lbs (181.44 kg)
Eyes	Irises: Brown
Hair	Black
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Asgardian Goddess
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Personal Information
Identity	Public
Citizenship	Asgardian
Occupation	Chooser of the Slain, Valkyrie
Base of Operations	Asgard
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Jason Aaron, Torunn Grønbekk, Nina Vakueva
First	King in Black: Return of the Valkyries #1 (January, 2021)
First	King in Black: Return of the Valkyries #1 (January, 2021)

History

Rūna was one of the original nine Valkyries, a vassal of All-Father Bor, and the original wielder of Jarnbjorn - which was forged for her by the Dwarves of Nidavellir. At some point during her service as a Valkyrie, Rūna fell in love with her comrade Alta, who taught her how to throw axes, and the two eventually entered into a romantic relationship. One of the few survivors of a battle against a dark god, Rūna was escorting Alta's soul through the Realm Between when they were attacked and trapped inside an undead Celestial bound to Knull by All-Black.

For untold milennia, Rūna was trapped within a loop of memories to the point that she forgot even her own name. During Knull's attack on Midgard, Rūna was freed when Jane Foster, the latest Valkyrie, accidentally found her while trying to save the Sentry's soul from being absorbed by the Headless Celestial.

Taken to Valhalla, Rūna helped Brunnhilde explain the nature of the Headless Celestial to Jane and begrudgingly agreed to help her vanquish the Headless Celestial. Partnered with Mr. Horse, Jane's winged horse, Rūna set off to Vanaheim to reclaim her ax - which had come into the possession of Vanlandi, the self-proclaimed King of Thieves. Fighting her way through Vanlandi's minions, Rūna reclaimed Jarnbjorn but reneged on helping Jane in order to revel in being alive again by raiding Vanlandi's pantry and buttery. Drunk, Rūna admitted the real reason she was stalling was that she was afraid, but Mr. Horse managed to guilt-trip her into rejoining the battle and helping destroy the Headless Celestial's body - freeing the souls trapped within. After a brief reunion with Alta, who departed to Valhalla, Rūna accompanied Jane back to Midgard to take the fight to Knull.

Attributes

Power Grid

Powers

The Asgardian Gods all possess certain superhuman physical attributes:

• Superhuman Strength: All Asgardians are superhumanly strong with the average Asgardian male God able to lift (press) about 30 tons under optimal conditions and the average Asgardian Goddess able to lift (press) about 25 tons under optimal conditions. Rūna is far stronger than the average Asgardian female and can lift 45 tons under normal conditions.
• Superhuman Speed: All Asgardians have the potential of being able to run and move at speeds much greater than the finest human athlete.
• Superhuman Stamina: The musculature of the Asgardian Gods produce considerably fewer fatigue toxins during physical activity than the muscles of human beings. An average Asgardian God can exert themselves at peak capacity for about 24 hours before fatigue impairs them.
• Superhumanly Dense Tissue: The skin, muscle, and bone tissues of the Asgardian Gods are about three times as dense as the same tissue of a human body, contributing to their superhuman strength and weight.
• Superhuman Durability: The bodies of the Asgardian Gods are considerably more resistant to physical injury than the bodies of human beings. Asgardian Gods are capable of withstanding conventional injury including great impact forces, exposure to temperature and pressure extremes and falls from great heights without sustaining physical injury.
• Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite their natural durability, it is possible for any of the Asgardian Gods to sustain injury. However, if injured, their highly advanced metabolism enables them to recover with superhuman speed and efficiency. As with most of their other powers, the speed and extent of these powers varies from one Asgardian God to another and is greater for more powerful Asgardians.
• Superhuman Longevity: The Asgardian Gods are extremely long-lived, but they are not truly immortal like the Olympian Gods. They age at a much slower rate, but they are not immune to the effects of aging. Their bodies are also immune to all known Earthly diseases and infection.
• Death Sense: As a Valkyrie Rūna can sense the presence of imminent death and can guide the spirits of the worthy fallen to Valhalla.

Abilities

• Allspeak: Thanks to the Allspeak, Asgardians can communicate and be understood by or races.
• Expert Combatant: Rūna is an excellent fighter, skilled in both armed and unarmed combat. She is particularly talented in the art of ax-throwing.

Paraphernalia

Weapons

Jarnbjorn: Rūna is the original wielder of the divine battle-ax Jarnbjorn, which was forged for her by the Dwarves of Nidavellir. Learning the ax had come into the possession of King Vanlandi of Vanaheim, Rūna reclaimed it from him.

Notes

• Rūna is the second character to adapt the version of Valkyrie portrayed by Tessa Thompson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the first one being the Valkyrie who joined the Exiles.

See Also

• 27 appearance(s) of Rūna (Earth-616)
• 1 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Rūna (Earth-616)
• 2 minor appearance(s) of Rūna (Earth-616)
• 4 mention(s) of Rūna (Earth-616)
• 36 image(s) of Rūna (Earth-616)
• 2 quotation(s) by or about Rūna (Earth-616)
• 1 item(s) used/owned by Rūna (Earth-616)