Yggdrasill

Yggdrasill

Gallery

Official Name

Yggdrasill

Aliases

Celestial Axis, Mighty Ash; Tree of Life, World Ash, World Tree, Yggdrasil, Hygga-Dygga

Physical Characteristics

Type(s)

Tree

Origin

Origin

The giant ash tree supporting the Nine Worlds.

Reality

Earth-616

Creators and Appearances

Creators

Stan Lee, Jack Kirby

First Appearance

Journey into Mystery #97
(October, 1963)

History

Yggdrasill, the world tree, is an energy field that supports and connects the Ten Realms. It is represented as a tree; the roots and branches of the tree each connect a different realm such as Asgard, Jotunheim, Muspelheim, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Nidavellir, Svartalfheim, Niffleheim and the earthly realm of Midgard through which all the connections pass. Initially, there were Ten Realms. The lost realm of Heven was cut from Yggdrasil by Odin after the war between Asgard and Heven seemingly cost the life of his newborn daughter Aldrif.

At its base are three wells: Urdarbrunnr (Well of Fate), from which the tree was watered by the Norns (the Fates); Hvergelmir (Roaring Kettle), in which dwelt Nidhogg, the monster that gnawed at the tree’s roots; and Mímisbrunnr (Mimir’s Well), source of wisdom, for the waters of which Odin sacrificed an eye. After Ragnarök, the world tree, though badly shaken, was to be the source of new life.

After the city of Asgardia crashed into the Sun, a seed of Yggdrasil that was contained in the city withstood the Sun's intensity and took root. It rapidly grew into another Yggdrasil. During the War of the Realms, Thor pinned himself to the tree using his axe Jarnbjorn to learn how to finally defeat Malekith the Accursed. A vestige of the Yggdrasill was used to grow the Watchtower Tree in Asgard.

Alternate Reality Versions

Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610)

The "World Tree" existed on this reality in Asgard as well as the Earth, until it was destroyed by the Children of Tomorrow. In this reality, a World Tree was also located on the planet Halycon.

Wolverine and the X-Men & Avengers: EMH! (Earth-8096)

Yggdrasil is seen when Loki used the Norn Stones to link all the Nine Realms which includes Earth. There is also a tree in Odin's throne room representing Yggdrasil, which allowed Loki access to the mystical energy of the universe.

Larval Earth (Earth-8311)

Larval Earth's counterpart for Yggdrasil is Hygga-Dygga. While important for the dogs of Arfgard, Hygga-Dygga has a much more mundane use.

Marvel Cinematic Universe (Earth-199999)

In Earth-199999, Yggdrasil is as a constellation linking the Nine Realms through a cosmic channel. Thor insists that humans are unaware of the cosmos despite glimpses of the tree's branches appearing through the Hubble Space Telescope's images.

See Also

• 117 appearance(s) of Yggdrasill
• 10 minor appearance(s) of Yggdrasill
• 42 mention(s) of Yggdrasill
• 46 image(s) of Yggdrasill

Links and References

Footnotes

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