Top 10 ‘War of the Realms’ Moments

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Asgard. Alfheim. Heven. Jotunheim. Muspelheim. Niffleheim. Nidavellir. Svartalfheim. Vanaheim. There once came a battle when all Ten Realms fell to Dark Elf Malekith and his army, except one: Midgard. Home to Thor's beloved humans. Home to heroes and gods alike.

In WAR OF THE REALMS, Midgard burns. Watch all Hel break loose in New York City as Malekith’s invasion unfolds. And with Earth's forces overwhelmed, Black Panther, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Jane Foster, Doctor Strange and more take on a desperate gamble that will change, and claim, lives.

Not sure where to start? Kick off with the main event WAR OF THE REALMS (2019) #1-6 by Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson, and try any handful of tie-in comics and limited series in our complete Reading List!

And for those deep dive True Believers? We’ve got you covered with the ROAD TO WAR OF THE REALMS, collecting the prelude storylines that laid the groundwork for malign Malekith’s plot.

All ye who read on—here’s a handful of our favorite moments from this splashy epic. We’ve included NO spoilers—by Odin’s Beard, we vow.

1) WHEN STREET-LEVEL MET SWORD AND SORCERY

When New York’s inundated with mystical beings and enchanted objects, we’re treated to a colossal mash-up of street-level heroics played against huge, cosmic stakes. There goes the Friendly Neighborhood, Spider-Man…

2) THAT TIME DAREDEVIL BECAME A GOD WITHOUT FEAR

When Thor told “Sir Devil of the Kitchen of Hel” that he ought to start praying for sight, it was wayyy too cryptic to just be a reference to Matt Murdock’s blindness.

Turns out, the gift of “sight” Daredevil received granted him the all-seeing powers of Heimdall, watcher and protector of Asgard who can surveil all Ten Realms… simultaneously.

Keep reading our favorite tie-in series, WAR OF THE REALMS: WAR SCROLLS (2019) #1-3, for the God Without Fear’s battle against Kingpin, Malekith’s newest ally.

3) DANI MOONSTAR’S RIDE OF THE VALKYRIE

Original New Mutant Dani Moonstar got a “psychic buzz” that something was rotten in West Village.

She then tapped into her dormant powers of the Valkyrior, (see: NEW MUTANTS SPECIAL EDITION #1), to take to the streets as one of Odin’s chosen. Read WAR OF THE REALMS: UNCANNY X-MEN (2019) #1-3 to see what other mutants Moonstar led into the fray.

4) WHEN PUNISHER BECAME AN AGENT OF ASGARD

In one of the event’s twistiest turns, Asgard’s All-Mother Freyja recruited the Punisher and his strikeforce to dismantle Malekith’s corrupted Rainbow Bridge.

Without his Black Bifrost, Malekith’s invasion would be cut off at its source—meaning Punisher, Jen Walter’s Hulk, Blade and Ghost Rider: Robbie Reyes, are heading straight into the swamps of Svartalfheim!

5) WHEN 4 GIANT MEN BECAME 4 FROST GIANTS

Acting as spies in plain sight, Ant-Man: Scott Lang, Giant-Man: Raz Malhotra, Goliath and Atlas, broke out the blue body paint and their limited-to-advanced knowledge of Giant culture, to invade Florida, now the savage territory of New Jotunheim!

We have to admit. This whole plan seemed a little half-cooked, but GIANT-MAN (2019) #1-3 is still a brawlin’ good time.

6) WHEN WE GOT TO MEET THE NEW AGENTS OF ATLAS

When Sindr, Immortal Queen of Muspelheim, marches on Asia with her legion of Fire Demons, Amadeus Cho assembled a new band of international heroes to protect the Pacific Rim. Joined by Shang-Chi, Silk, Ms. Marvel and Jimmy Woo, Amadeus stumbled into a mission to save the entire world from incineration. Low-key, ya know?

This is also the series that gave us Crescent, Io, Wave, and Marvel’s newest heroes from China, Aero and Sword Master!

Plus, we’ve got some serious celeb power in Luna Snow, K-Pop superstar AND Super Hero…

7) RATATOSKR, SQUIRREL GOD OF CHAOS

In a move surprising everyone but Doreen Green, WAR OF THE REALMS got a whole lot squirrel-ier in its second half. (We definitely didn’t ask it to, but we’re so very glad it did).

The introduction of this “resting evil face” Norse God of Chaos, (who is, actually, part of the mythological Poetic Edda), drove us all nuts with their wily ways and wispy tails.

And their messy love of drama, that too.

Continue through THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL (2015) #46 for the whole arc.

8) WHEN SPIDER-MAN PROVED HE WAS THE “MOST MIDGARDIAN”

Peter Parker is handpicked by Thor to  “Frodo-Up” with Screwbeard the Dwarf, Ud the Troll, Ro Bloodroot the Wizard, Sir Ivory Honeyshot the Light Elf and Titanya the Mountain Giant as the “League of Realms”… but first, a cringe worthy icebreaker that reminded us why Spider-Man is so very human.

With a representative from each fantastical realm, the League fought under the shoddy leadership of Spidey, taking on Kurse, a former Dark Elf who was transformed by Malekith into a living monstrosity.

9) THIS “SAUSAGE FEST” RESCUE MISSION

With Thor trapped in the Frost Giant’s realm of ice and snow, Captain America assembled a “Sausage Fest”-coined rescue mission featuring Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage and Iron Fist to pluck the God of Thunder from his frosty fate.

Honestly, we’re just glad this one-shot exists so we got to see these power players astride Asgardia’s winged magical steeds.

This one’s for you, Buttercup.

10) ODIN BORSON: THE IRON ALL-FATHER

When Malekith dared lay hands on his beloved bride, Odin Borson, AKA Thor and Loki’s dad, AKA All-Father of Asgard, broke into battle with so much badass bluster to destroy the Black Bifrost once and for all.

He also came in sporting armor that looked fresh out the forge of Nidavellir.

We promised you NO spoilers, folks, so dive into the full WAR OF THE REALMS with Marvel Unlimited, our digital comics mega-library that features dozens of other curated events and story arcs, all found here!

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