Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder: Marvel’s GOATs

Most people don't think much about goats beyond the fainting kind or those ones you do yoga with. That is, unless you're familiar with old timey village horror stories or enjoy arguing about who is the Greatest of All Time is in any given subject.

However, there are a pair of brother goats who stand head and shoulders above the rest. Hailing from Asgard, they ride with Thor and roll through villains like so many tin cans: Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder!

Mostly known for working in tandem, these two magic chariot-pullers have been known to travel just about anywhere, fight just about anyone, and give a good, old fashioned horn-adorned head-butt to the villains of any realm.

Time to dive into their Marvel history with the power of Marvel Unlimited.

ORIGIN STORY

Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder might be ride-or-die with Thor now, but it wasn't always that way. In fact, their relationship began because Loki easily duped his brother in their teen years. Thor had been impressed by the horses some of the warriors rode. Seeing opportunity for embarrassment, Loki tricked his brother into thinking that everyone would be even more impressed if he managed to harness the wild fury of the Lords of the Goats. Attempting to do so by sheer force failed, so Thor worked with a dwarf to craft the Bregd-Thrall, a magical bridle able to subdue any animal. Of course, Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder are two animals, so Thor had to cram them both into the same instrument, which eventually worked. Expecting exaltations upon arriving with the legendary animals, Thor was instead faced with surprised looks and outright laughter.

TO HEL AND BACK

Upon learning that Hela had stolen a number of human souls from Midgard (AKA Earth), Thor lead a small army into Hel to get them back, riding a chariot pulled by Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder all the way. They were allowed to enter the afterlife and Thor made a deal with Hela, but of course she backed out on that. Even with all of the ensuing chaos, the goats managed to drive the warriors and the Midgard souls back home. But the craziness wasn't over! Once returned from their mission, Loki turned Thor into a frog, but the loyal goats could not only recognize the God of Thunder, but talk to their master too! 

HEVEN CAN'T WAIT

When a whole bunch of secrets were unleashed by Uatu the Watcher's stolen eye during the ORIGINAL SIN event, Thor found out that his dad Odin had sealed off an entire realm called Heven after it seemed like their queen had killed the All-Father's daughter, Aldrif. Believing his sister to still be alive, Thor got Loki and the goats to go searching. Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder proved powerful enough to break through the barrier and reach Heven, where it turned out that Thor was right and their sibling was living as “Angela.” From there, Loki pulled off one of his overly complicated schemes and appeared to betray Asgard by leading the Angels to Asgard using the goats. But it was all a ruse that actually lead to a family reunion with Odin!

MONSTER TRUCKS AND A WEDDING

During the waning days of Jane Foster's time as the Mighty Thor, Mangog attacked and tore Toothgnasher apart. Looking for a new start, Thor decided to live on a boat on Earth with Toothgrinder and Thori, a murder-Hel dog. Thanks to another of Loki's schemes, they were all transported to the land of the dead where they got into a fight which required Toothgrinder to drive a giant monster truck! Later, this crew attended the wedding of Hela and Balder. Toothgrinder and Thori were incorporated into the ceremony as flower animals. But, when the nuptials got interrupted by fire queen Sindr and Thanos, Toothgrinder continued to follow tradition by carrying a basket of swords for people to take up against the invaders! So proper.

GNASHER'S KILL KREW

After the WAR OF THE REALMS, both Loki and Thor became kings. The mischief-maker gifted his brother with a resurrected Toothgnasher to celebrate! Thor used the animal to go to Midgard where the Punisher stumbled across him and decided to conscript Toothgnasher into his new mission of killing the villains who left many New York City kids as orphans. This time, the goat did not pull a chariot, but instead a battle van outfitted with the teleportation power of the Black Bifrost to keep them all from dying in space! While Frank Castle did most of the heavy lifting, let it be known that he couldn’t get anywhere without the goat. Along the way, they built a crew that included powerhouses like Juggernaut, Black Knight, and even Attorney at Law Foggy Nelson.

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