Viking Prince
| Viking Prince | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The Brave and the Bold #1 (August/September 1955) |
| Created by | Robert Kanigher (writer) Joe Kubert (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jon Haraldson |
| Abilities | Impervious to ancient weapons Has all the skills and abilities of a fully-trained Viking |
The Viking Prince is a fictional Viking hero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #1 (August 1955), and was created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert.[1] He is one of three historical fiction characters to premiere in the issue, alongside the Silent Knight and Golden Gladiator.
Fictional character biography
[edit]In The Brave and the Bold #1, the main character is found amnesiac, on a beach by 10th century Scandinavian fishermen, who name him "Jon" after a legendary prince. His enemy Thorvald knows his true identity and wants to kill him before he regains his memory or meets someone else who recognizes him.[2] This set-up is ignored by later writers, some of whom make no mention of his background, while others portray him as an actual prince, the son of King Rikk.
In Our Army at War #162-163 (January - February 1966), Sergeant Rock finds the Viking Prince in a glacier and frees him. Jon reveals that he previously fell in love with a valkyrie, resulting in Odin banishing him from Valhalla and telling him that he could only return if he died a heroic death. However, Odin was crafty and cursed Jon with invulnerability to all known weapons. He is killed by a plastique explosive, an unknown weapon at the time the curse was made.
Subsequently, the Viking Prince appears in Justice League of America #159-160, a backup comic in "Arak, Son of Thunder", Birds of Prey #29, The War that Time Forgot (2008), The Judas Coin (2012), and The Odyssey of the Amazons. In the Endless Winter event, Hippolyta summons his spirit to help battle the Frost King. She offers to resurrect him, but he refuses.[3][4][5]
In Legends of the Dark Knight #35 (August 1992), Batman encounters Jon Rikkson, an environmental activist and descendant of the Prince.
Powers and abilities
[edit]The Viking Prince was an expert at hand-to-hand combat. Due to Odin's curse, he is invulnerable to all weapons.
Other versions
[edit]The Viking Prince makes a cameo appearance in DC: The New Frontier.
Collected editions
[edit]- The Viking Prince (collects The Brave and the Bold #1-5, 7-24 & Our Army at War #162-163); ISBN 978-1-4012-2777-7
In other media
[edit]- Jon Haraldson appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "To Another Shore". This version disappeared after traveling the world in a failed attempt to seek death, with his body ending up in an iceberg in the present day. The Secret Society attempt to retrieve Jon and reverse-engineer his invulnerability, but Justice League members Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and Green Arrow defeat them and give Jon a Viking funeral by sending him and his ship into the sun.
- The Viking Prince appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[6]
- The Viking Prince appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold #6.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 321. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^ Markstein, Don. "The Viking Prince". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
- ^ Endless Winter #1. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League: Endless Winter #2. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League Dark Vol. 2 #29. DC Comics.
- ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ "Batman: The Brave and the Bold #6 - Charge of the Army Eternal (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Viking Prince at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- Characters created by Joe Kubert
- Characters created by Robert Kanigher
- Comics characters introduced in 1955
- Comics set in the 20th century
- Comics set in the Viking Age
- DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability
- DC Comics fantasy characters
- DC Comics male superheroes
- Fictional princes
- Fictional Vikings