Viking Prince

Legends abound about the life of the great hero of medieval Scandinavia known as Jon, the Viking Prince. According to one, in the year 964 AD, the Viking captain Olaf found a youth afflicted with amnesia. The people of Olaf’s village called the youth Jon, the Viking Prince, after Jon the Shining, a great prince of the past. The viking baron Thorvald recognised Jon as the rightful heir to his throne and sought to kill him, but failed.

Eventually, Jon regained his memory, but in order for him to claim his throne, he had to perform the “12 tasks of Thor.” It is unknown if Jon ever succeeded in completing these tasks.

Another legend makes no reference to Jon having amnesia, nor to Thorwald. In this legend, Prince Jon is the son of Rikk the Storm Cloud, a mighty Scandinavian monarch who was still alive when Jon was a young man. Jon was betrothed to Princess Asa, the daughter of another monarch. A sea dragon left a scar on Jon’s right shoulder which caused Jon to lose strength in his sword arm under the “dragon’s moon.”

In yet another legend, possibly connected to the second, Prince Jon loved the maiden Illan and had a twin sister, Ailsa the Fair. Ailsa was captured by Krogg the Red and when Krogg threatened to kill her if Jon did not surrender, bravely leapt from the tower to her death. Jon killed Krogg and began a period of wandering, pledging to battle evil wherever he found it.

Another account tells of how Jon was nearly killed in battle and was brought via Valkyrie to Valhalla, home of the Norse gods. Odin was furious that Jon was not actually dead and to discover that he loved one of the Valkyrie’s. Making Jon invulnerable to harm from metal, wood, fire or water, Odin sent Jon back to Earth, but said he could return to Valhalla and wed his Valkyrie if he could still die heroically in battle despite his invulnerability. The Valkyrie cast Jon into a suspended animation in a wall of ice. Jon revived during World War II and aided Sgt. Rock against the Nazis. Finally killed by an explosion, Jon was taken to Valhalla, but Rock suspected he would return to Earth some day.

The Viking Prince has been taken from his time period at least twice. Once being placed on Dinosaur Island with the Golden Gladiator and heroes from World War II and the American Frontier era for an experiment.

The second by Epoch, the Lord of Time to battle the JLA and the JSA.