Fandral was a highly respected Asgardian warrior, an ally as well as friend of Thor, and a member of the Warriors Three, known for his charm. Alongside all his fellow warriors, Fandral took part in a poorly considered strike against all the Frost Giants of Jotunheim, which soon resulted in King Odin deciding to directly punish Thor by banishing him to the Earth without his powers. When Loki then took the throne of Asgard during Thor's banishment, Fandral and his allies played a key role in saving Thor from the Destroyer before bringing him back to Asgard where he successfully stopped Loki from stealing the throne of Asgard and restoring the peace.
Once they had quelled the Marauders rebellion, Fandral and his allies believed they had brought peace to the Nine Realms before they were forced to join the War against the Dark Elf Malekith. As Thor and Odin's views had clashed, Fandral assisted his friend in finding his own way to defeat all the Dark Elves, allowing them to escape from Asgard and destroy Malekith in a final battle on Earth. However, Fandral's long and highly dedicated service to Asgard had come to its end upon Hela's arrival through the Bifrost Bridge, where she then slaughtered both Volstagg and Fandral before then attempting to rule over all of Asgard and the Nine Realms.
Fandral was an adventuring Asgardian and a good friend of the Asgardian princes, Thor and Loki. Thor eventually got Fandral to meet his other two friends, Hogun and Volstagg. The three became good friends and formed the Warriors Three. Fandral also became good friends with fellow warrior Lady Sif. Known as one of the most charming Asgardians in the Nine Realms, Fandral developed a strong reputation as fierce and brave warrior.[1] Fandral joined Thor, Sif and Loki during their visits to Earth in the 11th century, where he witnessed the Norse people worship Thor as a god due to his abilities.[4]
Virtue Challenge[]
Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun heard about an ongoing Virtue Challenge and decided to join. They first went and found the Bone of the Wolves' Treasureyard. They then went to the second challenge, the Hawk's Egg. Hogun distracted the Habrok Hawk while Fandral reached for the egg. However, Hogun lost balance and fell onto Fandral, which sent the egg towards Volstagg, cracking on his head.
Thor, Loki, and Sif soon arrived for the same challenge. Fandral saluted them and quickly dropped out of the challenge to help them. The two brothers and Sif made their way up to the tree while the warriors commentated the expedition. Suddenly, Asgardian Wolves arrived because Volstagg took two bones. The Voluminous then threw the bone back into the woods. Sif then gave Fandral a second egg out of gratitude. He asked why the hawks wouldn't attack. Sif said it showed mercy rather than pride.[5]
They arrived at the mine, the location of the Nugget of Gold. Suddenly, Brunok, Siegrold, and Hilda arrive and exchange what they have found. Fandral brought out his egg, but saw that it is cracked. Loki then found the Cup of Glory which caused everyone to want the pride for themselves. Fandral tries to take it because he cracked both eggs. Thor then takes it and summons lightning down on the group in retaliation. The mine then topples on top of them, but Volstagg holds it up. They finally escape and vow to put their differences behind them.[6]
On the way back to main Asgard, they came in contact with Brunok's father, Haldier. The blacksmith became enthralled by the cup and tried to take it for himself. Thor was able to stop him and Fandral put the cup into his satchel. After Haldier left, Fandral and his friends watched the stars, which made the shape of the cup after Odin sent it into the sky.[7]
"We're going to Jotunheim." "What?" "This isn't like a journey to Earth where you summon a little lightning and thunder, and the mortals worship you as a god. This is Jotunheim."
Fandral attended the ceremony of Thor's coronation to support his friend, along with most of Asgard's citizens and the other members Warriors Three and Sif. Before the ceremony, Fandral spent time with several attractive women while admiring himself in the mirror. Fandral then drew Fimbuldraugr and offered the ladies a chance to clean his sword before laughing with the ladies while he walked away to find his place for the upcoming ceremony.
Fandral then joined the other Warriors Three alongside Sif as they all awaited Thor's arrival. Volstagg complained about still being hungry, which Fandral teased him about, with Volstagg then jokingly threatening to hit Fandral as a result of his mockery. Fandral had then begun teasing Hogun by insisting that he consider smiling at least once for the event while Lady Sif then challenged Fandral to at least try and keep his mouth shut during the entire ceremony.[4]
During the ceremony, three Frost Giants broke inside Odin's Vault to steal the Casket of Ancient Winters. Luckily, they are stopped and killed by the Destroyer before they could escape; however, by this time, they had already killed several Asgardian Guards, as a result of the attack, Odin decided not to retaliate against Laufey or make Thor King yet. Thor became so enraged by the interruption to become king that he stormed into the dining hall and overthrew a table.
Before long, the Warriors Three and Sif came in to discover all of the destruction and had found Loki trying to comfort his enraged brother. Thor recommended that they attack the Frost Giants in revenge for their invasion and discover how they had gotten into Asgard without even the knowledge of Heimdall. Although Fandral questioned the chances of their survival, Thor, however, reminded each of his friends of their adventures together, leading them all to agree to go.[1]
"At least heâs been banished, not dead. Which is what weâd all be if that guard hadnât told them where weâd gone." "How did the guard even know?"
The Warriors Three, together with Thor, Sif, and Loki, then journeyed together to the Bifrost Bridge, where Loki attempted to convince the guardian Heimdall to allow them to go past. As Heimdall wished to know how the Frost Giants had managed to enter Asgard without him knowing, he allowed them all to go past to investigate, with Fandral and Volstagg teasing Loki as they walked past him. Heimdall then warned that they all stood a risk of being trapped there.
Upon arriving in Jotunheim, Fandral then looked around the barren landscape before following Thor as they all continued their mission. Fandral watched while Thor found and challenged Laufey, the Frost Giants' ruler, over the incident in Asgard in which his people had tried to steal the Casket of Ancient Winters. Laufey revealed that Asgard was full of traitors while he showed he also had strength in numbers and mindful of an ancient truce between the two people.
As more Frost Giants came out of the shadows and surrounded the group, Laufey insulted Thor by calling him nothing more than a boy before he dismissed the Asgardians from his realm, with Loki warning Thor to see that they were vastly outnumbered by Laufey's forces. As they turned to leave, however, Thor was then baited by the mocking heckling of Hailstrum, which Fandral sighed as he knew what was coming next from the highly-arrogant and war-hungry Thor.
Thor struck Hailstrum with MjĂžlnir, which plunged them all into mortal combat against all the enraged Frost Giants. Fandral, alongside the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, drew their own weapons and joined the battle, with Fandral taking personal delight in the fight as he drew his sword Fimbuldraugr and laughed while blocking all the enemy blows and killing the Frost Giants. Fandral was disarmed but soon outwitted and killed the Frost Giant attacking him.
However, as the battle raged on, Fandral was grievously injured when a Frost Giant impaled him and had to be carried clearly. As Volstagg carried Fandral away, they were then chased down by a Frost Beast, which was killed by Thor. Before Laufey's forces could finish them off once they had them cornered, the Asgardians were saved by the timely arrival of Odin on Sleipnir, who intervened and quickly drew them from Jotunheim back to Asgard in time.[1]
"Our dearest friend banished! Loki on the throne! Asgard on the brink of war! Yet you managed to consume four wild boars, six pheasants, a side of beef and two caskets of ale! Shame on you! Don't you care?"
They used the Bifrost Bridge to return home and Volstagg carried the wounded Fandral to the healing room. As punishment for causing this second war between Asgard's forces and Jotunheim, Odin chose to banish Thor onto Earth without his powers or MjĂžlnir. While Volstagg and Fandral had their injuries from the battle treated, they discussed how Odin could have discovered their plans.
To their great surprise, Loki then revealed it was, in fact, he who had informed the Einherjar guard of all their schemes, resulting in Thor's banishment. Although Loki insisted that he loved Thor more dearly than any of them, he still claimed that he was reckless and a danger to all of Asgard. Once Loki had left, Sif and the Warriors Three then discussed whether or not he could be a spy for Laufey, unnerving the group as Fandral warned that this talk could be treason.
Seeking to return Thor to Asgard, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif went to speak to Odin to try and convince him to change his mind; however, when they arrived, they discovered that Loki had taken the throne as his father had fallen into the Odinsleep, of which he noted that Frigga feared he may never recover. Accepting their new king with suspicion of his true motives, they all then requested that he consider ending Thor's banishment to the Earth.
Loki refused as he claimed to be unable to contradict his father's final order as King. Loki argued that as they were now on the brink of war against Jotunheim, the people of Asgard now needed a sense of consistency during such difficult times. When Lady Sif attempted to confront Loki, Fandral grabbed her arm and advised them all to leave before they angered their new King. Despite this, Volstagg still tried to speak out but Loki then demanded that they all leave him.[1]
Concerned over Loki claiming the throne of Asgard and what all his plans with the power would be, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif had then discussed what they should do next. With tensions rising, Fandral accused Volstagg of not caring enough and having more of a focus on food, leading to a standoff between the two friends. Hogun suggested that their next step had to be to disobey their own King and find Thor on the Earth to finally bring him back home.
As they discussed this, Fandral warned that Heimdall might still be listening in to their conversation, at which point an Einherjar guard informed them that Heimdall was demanding to see them. Arriving at Himinbjorg, Fandral and the other Warriors Three discussed their plan with Heimdall who, also untrusting of Loki on the throne, allowed them to use the Bifrost Bridge to go to Earth, although he noted that he could not actively do it himself to leave them.
They arrived at Thor's last known location in Puente Antiguo and searched for their friend. As they all walked through the town, they attracted many strange looks from the locals due to their armor and weapons, with a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. referring to Fandral as Robin Hood. Eventually, the Warriors Three had managed to find Thor with his new friends Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis and Erik Selvig, delighted to see each other, the friends hugged and laughed together.
Although he had expressed his delight and seeing his dearest friends once again, Thor told them that they should not have come for him. When Fandral informed Thor that they were there to take him home, Thor told him that Loki had claimed that Odin was dead, meaning that he could not return to Asgard as they had desired. However, Sif revealed to Thor that his father was still alive and they realized that Loki had lied to them all before Thor agreed to come home.[1]
While the group was still in Puente Antiguo, they then faced another unexpected threat when Loki dispatched the Destroyer to kill Thor and his friends in order to keep all of his secrets from being exposed. While Fandral delighted at the thought of going into battle, Thor revealed that he was powerless and could only help to get the innocent civilians of the town to safety while Sif and the Warriors Three battled the attacker.
With Sif asking for a distraction, Fandral and Hogun then proceeded to throw Volstagg at the Destroyer, to which he responded by hitting Volstagg across the street. While the Destroyer was distracted, Sif stabbed the machine through its neck. While Fandral celebrated, this had barely slowed it down, however, and the battle continued. They proved to be no match for the construct, as it battered them without much effort, forcing Fandral to rescue the injured Volstagg.
However, Thor's self-sacrifice proved that he had become worthy of his power as MjĂžlnir launched out of the Crater Site and resurrected the God of Thunder with all his powers, allowing him to defeat the Destroyer while Fandral and the others watched on in delight. The team then finally returned to Asgard and discovered Loki had nearly killed Heimdall, so while the Warriors took Heimdall to the Healing Room, Thor went to personally confront his brother.
Thor and Loki battled across Asgard, leading to the destruction of the Rainbow Bridge and Loki's apparent death when he fell into a black hole while trying to destroy all of Jotunheim. With Odin having awoken from his Odinsleep and reclaimed the throne of Asgard, the Warriors Three, and Sif gathered them together at the banquet to celebrate the return of Thor. Volstagg entertained the guests with the tales of his battles with the Frost Giants and the Destroyer.[1]
Fandral, along with Sif and the rest of the Warriors Three, was a member of Odin's retinue when Thor brought Loki back to Asgard to face justice after Loki attempted to conquer the Earth.[8] Sif, Thor, and the Warriors Three embarked on a journey where they found a castle. Fandral was enthralled by a Frost Giant, using the Crown of Fools, to see an illusion where he saved a woman and had a family with her. The enthralled Fandral then attacked Thor until the prince stopped the Frost Giant, ending the illusion.[9] In the wake of the destruction of the Rainbow Bridge, Fandral had witnessed the Marauders attacking the Nine Realms due to the Asgardians now being unable to travel.[10] When the Rainbow Bridge was repaired by the Tesseract, restoring Asgard's ability to use the Bifrost, Fandral charged into battle in Vanaheim alongside Hogun against the Marauders.
As the battle went underway, Fandral rode his horse and questioned Hogun about what the plan was, with Hogun insisting their plan was to stand and fight. However, upon seeing that the Marauders were vastly outnumbering them, Fandral suggested that they instead turn and run.[11] Making their way out of the forests, Fandral and Hogun rejoined forces with Volstagg and Lady Sif as Fandral got off his own horse and then rejoined the furious fight with all his allies.
Having rejoined the fight armed with Fimbuldraugr, Fandral battled the Marauders, using his superior Asgardian fighting skills to easily outmanoeuvre and outwit his enemies. Eventually, Thor arrived and joined the battle and assisted them. After briefly battling the entire Marauder army, Thor was confronted by the Kronan Stone Man and with a single blow with MjĂžlnir, destroyed him and ended the battle, as the Marauders all laid down their weapons in surrender.
Fandral joked that next time they should start by killing the biggest monster to end their fight sooner before turning his attention back to the surrendered enemy. With the battle over and peace restored to the Nine Realms once again, the surviving Marauders were captured and taken back to the Asgardian Dungeons by the Warriors Three to await judgement, with Fandral still remaining on horseback while he supervised the Einherjar taking the Marauders under arrest.[10]
Victory Celebration[]
Fandral celebrates all of their recent victories
"The most vile criminals the Nine Realms have ever produced. To our left, savage beasts, with fangs like knives! To our right, soldiers of fortune, their blades dripping with blood and who was there to face the horde, but Fandral the Dashing." "I was."
Fandral then finally returned to Asgard to celebrate their victory following the climax of the War of the Nine Realms with all of his friends and lovers. Alongside Volstagg, Thor and Lady Sif, Fandral went to a local inn to drink and listened as Volstagg told the locals the tales of their victory.[10] Volstagg described the story in great detail, describing how during the clash with the Marauders on Vanaheim he had feared for Thor's life as their enemies, who he described as monstrous with large fangs, had overwhelmed them, leading to Fandral and Thor rolling their eyes at his exaggerations.
Volstagg continued by describing how Fandral the Dashing alongside the rest of the Warriors Three had been there to fight the Marauders, eventually leading to victory in the Battle of Vanaheim. Once Volstagg finished his story, Fandral teased him that he'd be telling the story for hundreds of years.[11] Seemingly distracted, Thor left the celebrations and said goodnight to his friends, leaving Fandral and all the women wrapped around him to still continue enjoying themselves.
With some small bands of Marauders still remaining at large across the Nine Realms, Fandral and Volstagg were tasked with collecting them and locking them up in the Asgardian Dungeons. Once they had collected the small unit of Marauders who had been on the run, which also included Algrim who had disguised himself, the pair then returned to Himinbjorg through the Bifrost Bridge and took the rebels into the Dungeons with the other prisoners.[10]
Return of the Dark Elves[]
Fandral battles all the escaped prisoners
"It's as if they resent being imprisoned." "There's no pleasing some creatures."
As it turned out, Algrim one of the Marauder prisoners who had been brought into the Asgardian Dungeons to begin his sentence, was, in reality, the lieutenant of Malekith. Algrim used his position within the Dungeons to lead a Prison Break, breaking free and releasing all the other prisoners while the Dark Elves began attacking Asgard. In response, Fandral and Volstagg came to quell the riot before it could get out of hand.
Fandral and Volstagg fought the escapees alongside the Einherjar, with Fandral jokingly questioning if the rebels were resenting being imprisoned by them. The pair eventually gained help with the battle upon Thor's arrival who helped overpower the Marauders, still not realizing the escape was a distraction. While the warriors fought the rioters, Malekith had broken inside the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf in order to kidnap Jane Foster, the Aether's host, who was kept there.
Although Fandral and Volstagg were able to quell the riot within the Dungeons before Malekith and his soldiers were forced to retreat back to the safety of the Ark, during the chaos of the ensuing battle, Odin's beloved wife Frigga was killed by the Dark Elves. Fandral and the Asgardians then attended Frigga's funeral to show respect to their late queen, with Fandral standing by Volstagg as Frigga's body became one with the Nine Realms in her final sendoff.[10]
"We are still unable to restore the palace shields. Our artillery cannot detect them. Even Heimdall cannot see them. My king, we are all but defenseless."
In the wake of the Sacking of Asgard and all of the fallout from that battle, both Fandral and Volstagg assessed all of the damage that had been done to the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf before they then had a strategy meeting with the Einherjar generals as well as the Asgardian Royal Family. There, Fandral had informed Odin that all the Shields of Asgard were still not repaired and as a result, and Asgard was seemingly completely defenseless if Malekith were to attack again.
During their meeting, Thor had then arrived to discuss his own battle plans with Odin in private, intending to take the battle to Malekith by bringing the Aether to him and killing him there when Malekith had removed it from Jane Foster's body. However, Odin refused to accept this plan and vowed to kill every Dark Elf no matter the cost, having been blinded by feelings of grief and rage following Frigga's death at the hands of Kurse and Malekith during their last attack.
Fandral met with Thor in secret and soon learned of his plan to sneak away from Asgard with Jane Foster to reach Svartalfheim. Alongside Volstagg, Lady Sif and Heimdall discussed how they could get Foster out of Asgard, as Thor revealed he planned to use Loki's knowledge of the hidden passages to transport them off Asgard, Fandral was horrified, assuring Thor that his adopted brother would undoubtedly betray him, but Thor assured him that Loki would only fail.[10]
Despite his concerns, Fandral agreed to assist in the escape plan, waiting until the Thor and Loki joined him on the outskirts of Asgard. While Lady Sif and Volstagg kept the Einherjar from stopping them, Thor allowed their pursuers to believe that he was going to escape flying inside of a Dark Elf Harrow left behind during the last attack, while Fandral waited for Thor, Loki and Jane Foster in an Asgardian Skiff, distracting the soldiers while laughing at Loki's ungraceful fall into the Skiff.
Fandral teased Loki by noting that clearly all of his time locked inside of the Asgardian Dungeons had not made him any more graceful before handing the controls to their Skiff over to him, so Loki could guide it towards Svartalfheim. While Thor attended to Foster, who had collapsed due to the effects of the Aether, Fandral realized that one of the Einherjar's ships had stopped them are were now giving chase, so Fandral volunteered to deal with them all quickly.
Jokingly claiming that what he was enacting was for Asgard, Fandral had then swung over all the way onto the Einherjar's Skiff and then quickly subdued them, apologizing and insisting that the attack was nothing personal before watching as Thor's ship vanished through a secret portal. Although Fandral, Volstagg and Sif were all arrested for their treason, they were released as Thor's plan had been successful, leading to the death of Malekith and the capture of the Aether.[10]
When Thor had returned to expose Loki and find Odin, Fandral and Volstagg were left in charge of the Bifrost Bridge. Unknown to them, Hela had thrown Loki and Thor out of the Bifrost. When she appeared, she stabbed Volstagg in the chest. Fandral ran towards her to stab her, but she threw a dagger in his chest as well. As both of them lay defeated and dying, she used a single dagger to pierce them both, ending their lives.[2]
Personality[]
"Do we have a plan here?" "Stand and fight!" "Have you considered turn and run?"
Fandral was one of the most skilled warriors in Asgard. He was loyal to his friends and fearful to his enemies, but he was extremely polite, even on the battlefield. Although he was often irritated by Volstagg's endless appetite, he would give his life for his teammates and Asgard itself, as seen with his rather careless attitude in committing treason to free Loki. Fandral was also exceptionally handsome and charming, giving him a reputation for being a womanizer. He could be seen as a balance between Hogun's perpetual grimness and Volstagg's perpetual jovial attitude, although he mostly characterized himself with his witty retorts. He was an incredibly skilled swordsman with centuries of experience in hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship, his weapon of choice being a rapier.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
Asgardian Physiology: As an Asgardian, Fandral possessed all of the various superhuman attributes common among his people, including superhuman strength, durability, speed, agility, stamina, reflexes, healing, and was extremely long-lived.
Superhuman Strength: Like all Asgardians, Fandral possessed great superhuman strength, being was able to hold his own against Frost Giants and Marauders and single-handedly throw the heavy Volstagg at the Destroyer.
Superhuman Durability: Fandral was resistant to physical damage, however, he was still stabbed in the chest by an ice shard created by a Frost Giant.
Superhuman Speed: Fandral could run and move at great superhuman speed. This helped in battle when fighting enemies.
Superhuman Agility: Fandral was one of the most agile warriors in Asgard, able to evade multiple attacks from an army of Frost Giants in the midst of battle, and skillfully handling his sword Fimbuldraugr.
Superhuman Stamina: Fandral's endurance allowed him to exercise his maximum capacity for an extremely long period of time without tiring at all. This ability helped him through countless battles without getting tired.
Superhuman Reflexes: Fandral could react and dodge objects traveling at high speeds, however, he was not able to dodge Hela's Necrosword at close range.
Regenerative Healing Factor:
Fandral fully heals after his injuries
Despite his body's resistance, Fandral could still be injured like any other Asgardian. However, his metabolism enabled him to regenerate damaged bodily tissue at rapid speeds. During the attack on Jotunheim, Fandral was pierced by ice shards created by a Frost Giant. However, he survived his injuries and was brought back to Asgard, where he was fully healed within hours.
Longevity: Like all Asgardians, Fandral aged at incredibly slow speeds, being able to live for thousands of years. Even though he was more than a thousand years old, Fandral retained the appearance of a young man by Earth standards.
Fandral was a highly skilled and formidable hand-to-hand combatant, having received extensive training in unarmed combat as well as having centuries of combat experience, making him one of the most powerful and best warriors in Asgard. His fighting style was swift and agile, making him a dangerous opponent. He was able to fight against several Frost Giants and Marauders at once without much effort.
Sword Mastery: Fandral was highly skilled at using a sword in combat, with centuries of training and experience in wielding it, ranking him amongst Asgard's foremost warriors. His sword is his primary weapon against his enemies as he trains the most with it.
Bilingualism: Fandral was fluent in his native Asgardian, as well as English.
Equipment[]
Asgardian Armor[]
First Set: Fandral wore dark green cape attached at the shoulders by large spiked silver plating. The shoulder pads continued over his upper chest and ended in a green shirt that split in the middle making an upside-down V shape on his chest. This revealed horizontally, overlapping, gold plates. He wore green pants and had dark black boots.
Second Set: Fandral's second armor was similar to his first. His shirt was no longer connected at the top and open all the way down. He had golden plates with etched designs over his stomach. His upper chest was a dark green plate. Fandral had two ornate metal shoulder pads that connect to his cape. He has a small green loincloth that is worn over green pants. Fandral also wears green, and gold-accented, knee-high boots.
Hall of Asgard: Fandral attended his good friend Thor's ill-fated coronation at the Hall of Asgard.
Himinbjorg: Fandral used the Himinbjorg's Bifrost to travel to Jotunheim with Thor, Sif and the rest of the Warriors Three. When Thor was banished to Midgard, his companions used the Bifrost to travel there to bring him back.[1]
Zachary Levi was initially cast as Fandral for the 2011 movie Thor, but he was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts with the TV series Chuck.[12] The role then went to Stuart Townsend, who dropped out over creative differences and was replaced by Josh Dallas.[13] Ironically, Dallas was unavailable for the 2013 sequel Thor: The Dark World, due to a scheduling conflict with the TV series Once Upon a Time,[14] and the role was recast with Levi, Marvel Studios's original choice.[12]
Zachary Levi's interpretation of Fandral was partly inspired by his previous portrayal of Flynn Rider.
