Valhalla (comics): Difference between revisions

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* [[Brilliant but Lazy]]: Loki. When Tjalvi tells Röskva that Odin doesn't do any work because he's a king, Röskva asks if Loki's a king, too.

* [[Canon Foreigner]]: Quark, the ill-tempered Jotunn kid, does not appear in any of the original myths but was invented for the series. He appears in [[The Movie]] and the two albums based on it, as well as some background appearances in other albums. For a while was considered the [[Breakout Character]], starring his own animated TV series and newspaper comic, but he avoids becoming [[The Scrappy]] largely because his actual appearances in ''Valhalla'' are so sparse.

** A somewhat amusing development. In the second album the author plays around with Jotunn names along the lines of "H[insert dairy product]". The reason for this is the existence in the myths of the jotunn "Hymir", in modern danish "Hymer". [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/Ymer_%28dairy_product%29~~ Ymer] is a dairy product ... alright stay with me fellows ... so Madsen inserts a series of names based on soured milk and the like. These include a single background gag involving a misbehaved jotunn brat someone calles [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/Quark_%28cheese%29~~ Hquark] ... Dang, a joke just isn't much fun when you explain it is it? ... Anyway this kid seems to have lodged himself in Madsen's brain, springing to life in the aforementioned albums etc.

** A somewhat amusing development. In the second album the author plays around with Jotunn names along the lines of "H[insert dairy product]". The reason for this is the existence in the myths of the jotunn "Hymir", in modern danish "Hymer". [[wikipedia:Ymer chr(28)dairy productchr(29)|Ymer]] is a dairy product ... alright stay with me fellows ... so Madsen inserts a series of names based on soured milk and the like. These include a single background gag involving a misbehaved jotunn brat someone calles [[wikipedia:Quark chr(28)cheesechr(29)|Hquark]] ... Dang, a joke just isn't much fun when you explain it is it? ... Anyway this kid seems to have lodged himself in Madsen's brain, springing to life in the aforementioned albums etc.

* [[Character Development]]: Heimdall undergoes this in Freya's Necklace. Previous volumes cast him as a pompous, cowardly fool, but Freya's charms cause a more sensitive, chivalric, and even thoughtful side of his character to come to the surface. Not to mention the fact that when he realizes the extent of Loki's mischief he goes on a rampage, finally proving that the titles he keeps harping on about(The All-Seeing Aesir, The All-Hearing Aesir) aren't just for show.

** Tjalfe and Roskva also go through noticable [[Character Development]] over the course of the series; Tjalfe gradually becomes less foolish and insensitive, and more inclined to think before he acts, while Roskva goes from a naive little child to a far more insightful and intelligent young lady.

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* [[Single-Minded Twins]]: It's never said whether they actually are twins or not, but Odin's brothers, Vili and Ve, play this trope completely straight.

** Same with the two dwarf brothers, Fjalar and Gjalar. Two other dwarf brothers, Eitri and Brokk, act like this in their first appearance in ''Cry Wolf,'' but not in their second appearance in ''Gifts for the Gods,'' where Brokk gets far more screen-time and attention.

* [[Shout Out]]: Several, often to myths that for reasons of characterization and continuity are not part of the comic.

* [[Shout-Out]]: Several, often to myths that for reasons of characterization and continuity are not part of the comic.

** The third album also includes a notable [[Shout Out]] to the [[Marvel Comics]], when Odin meets {{spoiler|Balder, Thor and Loki disguised as}} three mortal warriors named Fander, Hogur and Voldsdag -- [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo|Lawyer Friendly Cameos]] of [[The Mighty Thor|Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg.]]

** The third album also includes a notable [[Shout-Out]] to the [[Marvel Comics]], when Odin meets {{spoiler|Balder, Thor and Loki disguised as}} three mortal warriors named Fander, Hogur and Voldsdag -- [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo|Lawyer Friendly Cameos]] of [[The Mighty Thor|Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg.]]

*** Not sure if it was an intentional [[Shout Out]] or not, but you can definitely see some traces of [[The Mighty Thor|Marvel's Thor]] in Tjalfe's dream sequence in the ninth album, where Thor passes Mjolnir on to him and tells him that from now on he is to be the "new Thor." In this sequence, Tjalfe is wearing a winged helmet and a red cape (and of course he's already blonde and beardless), making the parallels noticable.

*** Not sure if it was an intentional [[Shout-Out]] or not, but you can definitely see some traces of [[The Mighty Thor|Marvel's Thor]] in Tjalfe's dream sequence in the ninth album, where Thor passes Mjolnir on to him and tells him that from now on he is to be the "new Thor." In this sequence, Tjalfe is wearing a winged helmet and a red cape (and of course he's already blonde and beardless), making the parallels noticable.

** Also in the third album, a mortal woman named Thora, who is said to be "the fairest of them all" looks almost exactly like Disney's [[Snow White (Disney)|Snow White]].

** In the second album, the band that plays at Thrym's wedding looks suspiciously like [[The Muppet Show|The Electric Mayhem.]]

* [[Spared By the Adaptation]]: Several characters who die in the original myths live in the comic.

** Loki deserves special mention. In the original myths, after killing Balder and taunting the gods, he is bound and imprisoned in an underground cave with a snake dripping poison in his face, and does not get free until Ragnarok, when he leads the attack on Asgard and is killed by Heimdall. In the comic, where Loki is far less malicious, these things are all alluded to and given [[Shout Out|Shout Outs]], but do not actually happen.

** Loki deserves special mention. In the original myths, after killing Balder and taunting the gods, he is bound and imprisoned in an underground cave with a snake dripping poison in his face, and does not get free until Ragnarok, when he leads the attack on Asgard and is killed by Heimdall. In the comic, where Loki is far less malicious, these things are all alluded to and given [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]], but do not actually happen.

* [[Suspect Is Hatless]]: Subverted in "Odin's Wager", when Thor tries to describe his encounter with a myserious stranger. Loki asks "How many eyes did he have?", and it occurs to Thor that the stranger was, in fact, ''one-eyed'', which means it was probably Odin (who has been missing for a while).

* [[Tagalong Kid]]: Roskva starts off as a pure example of this. Tjalfe, to a lesser degree. They both come into their own over the course of the stories.

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** Subverted at one point with Tjalfe, who ''acts'' as if he's getting a [[Traumatic Haircut]], but the only result is a slightly different hairstyle.

* [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]]: Loki. Odin in ''Odin's Wager''.

* [[Whole Episode Flashback]]: Both the tenth and eleventh album count as this, the former being Thor, Sif and Loki telling the kids about how Sif got her golden hair and Thor his hammer (this is also an example of [[Self Serving Memory]], as all three gods remember the events slightly differently), and the latter being Odin narrating a story from his younger days, in an over-the-top Film Noir detective parody.

* [[Whole-Episode Flashback]]: Both the tenth and eleventh album count as this, the former being Thor, Sif and Loki telling the kids about how Sif got her golden hair and Thor his hammer (this is also an example of [[Self-Serving Memory]], as all three gods remember the events slightly differently), and the latter being Odin narrating a story from his younger days, in an over-the-top Film Noir detective parody.

** There are many shorter [[Flash Back|flashback sequences]] in the comic as well, especially in the later albums.