Samantha ParringtonValkyrie

A powerful Asgardian warrior, Valkyrie is a goddess who can sense death, and was selected by Odin to escort the honored slain to Valhalla.

On Earth, she was known simply as Samantha Parrington. But after being mystically endowed with the responsibilities, strength, and super human power of the Asgardian Brunnhilde, Parrington became the leader of the team of female cosmic warriors known as the Valkyrior.

Vengeful Valkyrie

Samantha Parrington was born into a wealthy family of eccentric philanthropists. Despite Samantha’s idealism and feminism, her parents Reginald and Malicia disregard women’s liberation activism, refusing to fund causes associated with it since they considered feminism passé.

When her publicity-seeking parents adopted the unstable man-monster Hulk (Bruce Banner) as their latest pet cause, Parrington talked him down from a rage on the Statue of Liberty, though Reginald took credit for this feat in the ensuing media coverage. Miffed, Sam led her women’s liberation group in an anti-patriarchal protest outside the Parrington home while her parents hosted a fundraising party for the confused Hulk.

This event attracted the attention of Hulk’s enemy, Amora the Enchantress—a rogue sorceress from the other-dimensional realm Asgard, whose people were worshipped as gods by the ancient Norsemen and others. After arriving, Amora magically transformed Parrington into a man-hating replica of the legendary Asgardian goddess Brunnhilde, whose powers Amora could duplicate at will, having trapped the Asgardian’s soul in a mystical artifact centuries before.

As an unwitting instrument of Amora, Parrington then battled the Hulk until the spell wore off, returning her to normal just as the Hulk reverted to his human form as Bruce Banner. The confused pair parted awkwardly, with Parrington half-believing that her adventure was a dream. Only the Valkyrie’s spear remained as evidence, left behind and forgotten in a Manhattan back alley.

Swordswoman

Samantha Parrington can mystically assume the form of the Valkyrie Brunnhilde, duplicating her super human powers, physical prowess, abilities, stamina, and skills in the process. As the Valkyrie, Parrington is far stronger than the average Asgardian goddess. With flesh and bones at least three times as dense as those of normal humans, she is immune to Earthly diseases and is also extremely resistant to conventional injury.

Whether Parrington’s Valkyrie form has the centuries-long lifespan typical of Brunnhilde or other Asgardians is unclear, as is whether Parrington continues to age at a normal rate while she is in her normal human form. Like all Valkyries, Parrington can see or otherwise sense the coming of imminent death, or the approach of the cosmic entity Death. She sees a “deathglow” (invisible to most other humans or Asgardians) surrounding people who are in serious danger of dying, though people marked by this glow might escape their demise if their circumstances change. In her Valkyrie form, Parrington can also transport herself and a dying or dead person from Earth’s dimension to other-dimensional realms of the dead, simply by willing herself to do so (a service she and other Valkyries traditionally reserve for worthy warriors who have died bravely). She can also return from the realm of the dead at will.

As the Valkyrie, she has fighting skills roughly equivalent to Brunnhilde’s centuries of experience in the areas of unarmed combat, swordplay, and horseback riding. Parrington also carries two seemingly unbreakable mystic weapons: a spear and the golden sword known as Dragonfang. The centuries-old enchanted blade Dragonfang was reportedly carved from a dragon’s tusk by the wizard Kahji-Da after he slew the creature. The sword seems unbreakable, can slice through virtually anything, and is said to draw additional strength from exposure to blood, presumably further enhancing its durability and cutting ability. The sorcerer Doctor Stephen Strange once acquired it for his collection before giving it to Brunnhilde, who later gave it to Parrington.

Parrington’s spear can fire magical energy blasts (a tactic also used by Amora when she posed as the Valkyrie), but whether this feat required mystical support from her then-master Pluto is uncertain. It is apparently created by (or at least used in) the spell that first transformed Parrington into the Valkyrie. The spear continued to exist on its own during the years between Parrington’s initial brief Valkyrie transformation and her more recent ongoing activities as the Valkyrie. However, it vanishes when Parrington assumes human form and returns when she becomes the Valkyrie—this change may be related to Doctor Strange's enchantment on Dragonfang. When unsheathed, she transforms into the Valkyrie, complete with the Valkyrie’s armor, sword, and spear; when sheathed, she reverts to her human form, clad in ordinary civilian clothing.

Her steed Aragorn flies via his large feathered wings, can carry significant weights aloft (including multiple riders), and has enduring physical youth and vitality despite his advanced age. His youth and longevity stem from eating the mystical hay of Asgard as Brunnhilde’s steed, while his winged physiology is an artificial mutation induced by his original owner, the Black Knight. The Knight gave Aragorn to Brunnhilde, who in turn gave the horse to Parrington.

Enemies of the Valkyrior

The Olympian underworld god Pluto (also known as Hades) has enslaved Parrington in a conquest to raise an army of undead warriors on more than one occasion. He employed his assistants Amora the Enchantress and Lorelei the Ice Queen to bestow Valkyrie's powers upon Parrington before enthralling her with a spell. The spell wore off eventually, leaving Parrington confused.

Later, Pluto enslaved her again with Lorelei's help. Her spell was successful, but Pluto caused it to backfire on Lorelei so he didn’t have to share power. As such, Lorelei became an amnesiac version of Brunnhilde, but stripped of her mystical abilities. After the Defenders found her and then later encountered Pluto and Valkyrie (Parrington), a battle began between Pluto and Lorelei/Brunnhilde who regained her memories. It ended with the arrival of the Olympian ruler Zeus, who sought to punish Pluto and Lorelei for their crimes, but the two villains managed to flee.

Cosmic Colleagues

Brunnhilde, the original Valkyrie, saw Parrington as a worthy successor, and invited her to take her place as a member of the Defenders. As a gesture of support, she gifted her the enchanted sword Dragonfang and her winged steed Aragorn before returning to Asgard.

Samantha joined the Defenders as their new Valkyrie and befriended her teammates Nighthawk and Hellcat (Patsy Walker), who later became Valkyrie’s roommate. Though the Defenders eventually disbanded, Samantha joined the Lady Liberators, a loose-knit group of heroines organized by She-Hulk (Jen Walters).

Valkyrie finds no greater allies, however, than her compatriot warrior goddesses in the Valkyrior—a group of female Asgardian warriors who act as both an elite fighting force and the shepherds of souls to Valhalla.