Name: Tyr. Also Týr, Ziu, Tiw and Tig.
Symbols: The main symbol of Tyr was his one hand.
Area Of Control: war, courage, victory, army, military tactics and berserker rage.
Usual Image: Tyr was thought of as a mature man, brave and wise.
Holy Books: The Edda, as well as poems and sagas.
Holy Days: Tuesday (Tyr’s Day).
Place Of Worship: Temples, forests and household altar.
Relatives: Odin (father), and Thor, Balder, Heimdall, Hod, Bragi, Vidar and Vali (half brothers).
Synodeities: Teutates and Nuada (Celtic), Anhur and Montu (Egyptian), Skanda (Indian), Ares / Mars (Greek-Roman.)
Origin
Tyr is the Asgardian god of War. Prior to Thor’s rise to prominence as Asgard’s greatest hero, Tyr once fulfilled a similar role, being one of Asgard’s greatest defenders, and occasionally a bitterness or resentment towards Thor can arise within him in modern times because of this. He actually was involved in a rebellion against Thor and Odin at one point even, but sided with them against Surtur and has otherwise remained loyal. Tyr is distinguishable from his fellow Asgardians and notable physically for his lack of a left hand and wrist, the incident that surrounds this incident and injury is fairly well known to all Asgardians. In ages past, the terrible Fenris Wolf had been on a rampage and Asgardian gods were having difficulty in subduing and restraining the vicious creature. Any material or device used to bind the beast would subsequently and inevitably be broken by its savage power. Where chains of iron and steel had failed, the Asgardian gods had turned to the skills and workmanship of the dwarves to fashion a device that might actually be successful in bonding Fenris.
The dwarves of Nidavellir, ever the experts in forging, created the Gleipnir, a deceptively thin, ribbon like chain. It was said to be made of materials that existence is considered to defy logic and plausibility, the sound of a cat’s landing, the beard of a women, the roots of a mountain, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish and the spittle of a bird. However Fenris was suspicious of this Gleipnir, and hence the only way for the Asgardians to get the opportunity to bind the Fenris wolf, now depended on its willingness to allow itself to be bound. So as a sign of good faith, Fenris agreed to allowed to be bound if only any of the gods would place there hand within its mouth, as way to address concern for deceit. Tyr, as famed and well known for being heroic, courageous and brave as much as his title as the god or War, his hand was the one to pacify Fenris concerns. Yet the superior Gleipnir was successful in its task, and Fenris now suddenly found itself in a position where he could not escape his binds, and Tyr on that day, also losing his hand in a violent manner, Fenris taking it within its jaws. Tyr now wears a gold ornamental prosthetic of sorts as a replacement. He is much older, and battle weary in modern times, and is somewhat regarded in high esteem given his status and demeanor.
Creation
Tyr is a character from Norse mythology.
Marvel:
The Judgement of Tyr
Tyr makes untowardly advances towards Lady Sif. He grows resentful and bitter towards Thor who he has always maintained and uneasy relationship with. Now even more so, his longing for Sif, her denial of his advances due to her love for Thor, finally takes its toll on the war god, and he seeks to take out his anger on Thor. Invoking a long forgotten Asgardian law, he is granted passage to travel to Asgard, to retrieve Thor as per the law. He however uses this as an excuse to gather weapons to confront Thor and physically attack him. He even acquires the legendary Mace of the Myth Wars weapon, a weapon of Odin’s no less to use in his confrontation with Thor. He is able to use it as an equalizer against his superior foe the mighty Thunder god, yet Thor eventually breaks the mace with his own furious strikes. He defeats Tyr, and delivers him back to Asgard beaten, and it is there that he starts to understand the reason he was attacked. Initially risking punishment for his actions, Sif is able to shine light on Tyr’s behavior and motivations and Thor is pardoned and the Norse war god is chided by the All Father Odin.
This Battle-Ground Earth!
In a daring plan, Loki talks Tyr into revolting against Odin with a league of Frost Giants, Storm Giants, Demons, Wolf gods, and Surtur. Loki and Tyr both set into a plan to also unleash the Midgard Serpent upon the Earth. Yet Loki’s trickery and deceit that knows no bounds, is focused at Tyr as Loki quickly separates from the would be over takers and Tyr is left to take the bulk of the punishment. He battles with Hogan the Grimm, and even enters into battle with Odin himself, who quickly defeats him. He is later accepted back among on his peers at a later date.
For Asgard
Some time in the distant past of Asgard, the Nine Worlds were in a state of despair. A perpetual winter has followed the death of Balder, the trees that bare the golden apples of Idunn are withered and fruitless. The giants of Jotunheim would rather use their children and woman as shields than fight the Asgardians fairly. The bitter environment has Tyr calling for harsher methods, but the war god finds opposition in Lady Sif’s calls for gentler more sympathetic solutions. In trying to counsel the thunder god Thor who rules in stead of Odin who has mysteriously vanished Tyr and Sif bicker frequently and viciously. Tyr continues to argue the merits of pursuing ore aggressive options when dealing with potential revolts and protests. Eventually Tyr is shot in the head by an arrow.
Latverian Prometheus
Dr Doom and Loki have collaborated and many Asgardian lives have been sacrificed. With Thor exiled and Asgard about to lay siege to Doom’s castle in his own land with many advantages, Balder sends the call to all Asgardians to prepare for battle. Tyr arrives, and after not having been seen for many years, he is openly welcome. He is after all the god of war and many spirits are lifted among the Asgardians. Tyr is fairly effective during the actual battle and he fights for good along his sometimes rival Thor. Seemingly their past experiences forgotten in light of a more agreeable relationship.
Siege
In the night previous to Osborn’s attack on Asgard Tyr dismissed an Asgardian seer’s warnings about the coming battle. He believed nothing on Midgard could pose a threat to the Norse gods. He also dismissed a prophecy that the god of war would die during the battle. The next day Tyr went to the seer’s room to tell him he was wrong only to discover him dead and hear the call to arms. Realizing the prophecy of the god of war dying was true as well Tyr vowed to defy fate.
During the battle Tyr served as one of the commanders of Asgard’s army and personally fought in the battle. The arrival of the Hood‘s Norn stone powered gang turned the tide of the battle against Asgard. Balder and Heimdall left Tyr in charge while they sought out Loki to prevent further mischief. Tyr was left in charge, but fearing the prophecy abandoned the front lines under the excuse he was seeking more soldiers for the battle. In the hospital camp Tyr learned of the death of Ares, the Greek god of war in battle with the Sentry. Realizing the prophecy applied to Ares Tyr cursed his own cowardice and returned to the front lines. He attempted to take the Norn Stones from the Hood, but was struck down.
As a spirit Tyr learns of the existence of the Disir, cursed Valkyries who served under the previous king of Asgard Bor. Tyr attempts to protect the spirits of dead Asgardians, but fails. Danielle Moonstar, empowered as a Valkyrie drives them away. Since Tyr is not truly dead he is returned to his body. He saves several Asgardians from Thunderball of the Wrecking Crew and then joins Balder for the final part of the battle.
The Fine Print
Following Siege, Tyr blamed himself for not being prepared for such a battle. He attended the funeral of Loki where his status as a son of Odin was revealed. When discussing Asgard’s future several Asgardians nominated Tyr to serve as king in light of Thor’s unwillingness/exile and Balder’s own failures. Ashamed of his actions during the battle Tyr refused fearing the outcome. During the meeting Hela appears, reveals the existence of the Disir and pleads for aid. Due to Balder unable to go as that would jepordize the king Tyr is selected to accompany Thor to Hel which is currently located in Mephisto’s hell.
When in Hel, Tyr reveals to Thor his cowardice during the battle and his fear of the Disir. Tyr explains his superstitious nature int that he will not hesitate to fight against something he can put a sword into, but when faced with abstract notions or intangibles like fate and the Disir he falters. Thor reassures him by explaning while Thor can lead men into battle Tyr is the best general Asgard has and that is why he is needed here.
Whilst Thor seeks a weapon that might actually be able to harm the former warped and twisted Valkyrie’s of his grandfather Bor, Tyr valiantly defends Hela’s physical body, alone and outnumbered. Unable to hurt the Disir, he devises for Hela to spread her soul out in as many animated corpses as possible so the Disir will momentarily delay to devour each one. Once all other defenses fail Tyr attempts to engage the Disir himself, but is is ignored. The Disir insult him for his past cowardice and would rather see him live in shame than devour him. Enraged by this and driven to protect Hela he also for the first time demonstrates the ability to remove the protective casing of his hand lost many years ago to Fenrir, and in lieu of his missing eaten hand, display a glowing energy form, which he could use to cause some pain to the Disir. Tyr is determined enough to hold the Disir until Thor finds a way to defeat them. Tyr’s explanation implies this may be his own godly soul given physical form. Hela personally expresses thanks to the god of war upon the defeat of the Disir.
World-Eaters
Tyr joins Balder on a suicide mission against the World-Eaters. He fell in battle due to overwhelming numbers, but took down many of the enemy.
Fear Itself
Still counted as one of the dead, Tyr finds himself in service of death goddess Hela. The relationship between the two, the war god and death goddess is rather close and amiable. Tyr appearing rather loyal and Hela seeming quite trustful of her armies general. Tyr is still however willing to aid Loki, as Tyr’s loyalty ultimately will always put Asgard first. In order to help Loki bring to light the prophecy that would bring the downfall of the Serpent Cul, brother to Odin, Tyr teams up with Leah, the Disir and the Destroyer. Together they are able to execute Loki’s plan of actions, help play an integral role in the downfall of the Serpent. Hela seems to grow fonder of Tyr with time, occasionally suggesting great power and authority to come his way with due time.
Powers and Abilities
Like most conventional Asgardians, Tyr possesses superhuman physical statistics and attributes, including superhuman strength, superhuman durability, and superhuman endurance and a strong resistance to common and conventional diseases and afflictions. Tyr is near immortal, and extremely long lived. His long years naturally contribute to his skill and experience in battle and combat and he is very skilled in a variety of combat techniques. At a minimum Tyr can lift on average about 30 tons, but he is often referred to be as being one of the strongest Asgardians. Notable exceptions of characters being strong than him, being limited to Thor and Odin, so his actual limit may be much higher. Having lost a large part of one of his arms however may mean his strength is less than it would naturally be, and would disadvantage the war god in other ways. However also recently it was revealed that he maintains some undefined ambiguous mystical power, when having unsheathed his patterned gold metal hand prosthetic his severed hand stump glowed with energy and he was able to use this offensively against enemies. He refers to this power as the ‘Soul of the God of War’ The nature of this ability or power is still undefined. Tyr has been skilled enough to clash with the Thunder God Thor on one or more occasion, and has also outfitted various weapons as replacements for his missing hands. Most significant being one of Odin’s specialty weapons, the Mace of the Myth Wars.
Physical Characteristics
Height: 6’7′
Weight: 510 lbs.
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue
Other Media
Video games
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (2006)
Tyr appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. He was seen defeated and was being guarded by the Scorpion and the Lizard with him hanging over lava. The player must battle through Tyr’s personal workshops in order to free him and has to cool the lava before lowering him.Tyr is voiced by Trev Broudy.
Film
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Tyr appears in Marvel Studios sequel of the Thor(2011), played by Clive Russell.