| Elves | |
|---|---|
 Grendell the Dark Elf on the cover ofThe Mighty Thor #377 (March 1987). Art byWalt Simonson. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Thor #344 (June1984) |
| Created by | Various |
| In-story information | |
| Place of origin | Asgard |
There are many fictionalElves appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The most common of the Elves are theDark Elves ofSvartalfheim and theLight Elves ofAlfheim that are based on the elves ofNorse mythology. They frequently appear in stories featuring the superheroThor.
The Dark Elves appeared in the 2013Marvel Studios filmThor: The Dark World and a Light Elf appeared in the 2022 seriesShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Bright-Elves first appeared inThor #277 (November 1978) and were created byRoy Thomas,John Buscema andTom Palmer. None of the small crowd of Bright-Elves who appear in that issue are named.
Dark Elves first appeared inThor #344 (June 1984) and were originally created byWalt Simonson. The only Dark Elf to appear in that first issue wasMalekith the Accursed.Algrim the Strong / Kurse andWormwood later appeared inThor #347 (September 1984), once again created by Walt Simonson.Grendell andBitterhand appeared inThor #377 (March 1987), and were created by Walt Simonson andSal Buscema.Alflyse first appeared inIncredible Hercules #129 (October 2009), and was created byGreg Pak,Fred Van Lente, andReilly Brown.
Light Elves first appeared inAlpha Flight #50 (September 1987) and were created byBill Mantlo andJune Brigman. The Light ElfAeltri and her sonHrinmeer the Flame first appeared inThor Annual #18 (December 1993), and were created byRon Marz andTom Grindberg. A few subspecies of Light Elves have also been introduced.
Cat Elves first appeared inAlpha Flight #81 (February 1990), and were created byJames Hudnall andJohn Calimee.Ice Elves first appeared inThor #615 (November 2010), and were created byMatt Fraction andPasqual Ferry.
TheDark Elves are ruled over byMalekith the Accursed, and the most powerful amongst their ranks wasAlgrim the Strong.[1] However, Algrim was betrayed by Malekith in a bid to killThor. Algrim was dropped into lava and though he survived, he was critically wounded. TheBeyonder transformed Algrim into the monstrous Kurse,[2] who seemingly kills Malekith for the betrayal.[3] Years later, Malekith reveals that he survived, and he sets forth an ultimately unsuccessful plot forHercules to kill Alflyse, the Dark Elf Queen of the Eastern Spires.[4]
The trio of Bitterhand, Wormwood, and Grendell serve Malekith loyally and have attempted to destroy Thor on several occasions, including once whileMjolnir was being reforged.[5]
TheBright-Elves first appeared inThor when mortal cameramanRoger "Red" Norvell (who had acquired the powers of Thor) carries the goddessSif away to "a world far distant in time and sub-space" from Asgard. Once there, the duo are soon greeted by a crowd of humanoids who introduce themselves as the Ljos-Alfar (or Bright-Elves) and welcome the outsiders to their home, Alfheim. The aggressive Red responds by claiming their land as his and knocks the entire welcoming party off their feet with his hammer. These Elves are somewhat shorter thanAsgardians (like Sif) and have large pointed ears.[6]
TheLight Elves first appear inAlpha Flight whenLoki lies to an ill and delusionalNorthstar and claims Northstar is one of them. This prompts Northstar to journey to Alfheim to reside there and abandon the rest of Alpha Flight.[7]
A subspecies of the Light Elves called theCat Elves are introduced when Northstar learns he has been deceived by Loki. These Elves are smaller than their brethren and ridewinged cats as their steed.[8]
Another subspecies of the Light Elves called theIce Elves were revealed when one of their palaces was wiped out by the Ano-Athox warlord Uthana Thoth. The Ice Elves reside in the frozen portion of Alfheim.[9]
These magical Elves are descendants of the Light Elves and aidSanta Claus, a powerfulmutant,[10] in creating toys for Santa to deliver and they are resistant to aging and diseases.[11][12]
During the "'Fear Itself" storyline, theSmoke Elves debut where they are the servants of theSerpent. They created aGolem that attackedIron Man and theDwarves in Svartalfheim.[13] The Golem that the Smoke Elves created was defeated by Iron Man.[14] While Iron Man prepares to take the Asgardian weapons to his allies, Splitlip and his Dwarves are given the approval to have Iron Man dispose of the captive Smoke Elves. Iron Man then gives the Smoke Elves the choice of either being dealt with by the Dwarves or taking their leave. The Smoke Elves choose to take their leave.[15]
TheElves of Klarn are a race of Elves that reside on the floatingWeirdworld island of Klarn. There was also a group of Savage Elves descended from the Elves of Klarn that weren't on Klarn when it was flung into the sky by the sorcerer Darklens.[16]
During theSecret Wars storyline, the Elves of Klarn and the Savage Elves ended up on theBattleworld version of Weirdworld when their Weirdworld was merged with the other alternate reality magical realms. The Savage Elves helped to fight the forces ofMorgan le Fay until Battleworld fell apart and Weirdworld appeared on Earth in theBermuda Triangle.[17]
As part of the "All-New, All-Different Marvel" branding, the Elves of Klarn ended up under the mind-control ofDoctor Druid when he gained a corporal form when his spirit arrived on Weirdworld.[18]
Dark elves possess gifted intellects, as well as superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes. They also all possess a vulnerability toiron.
Light elves also possess superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes. Additionally, they have a penchant forarchery.
