Volstagg is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a charter member of the Warriors Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers and supporting cast of Thor. He is known for having multiple children. These include, but are not limited to, Hilde, Rolfe, and the adopted Midgardians Kevin and Mick.
Ray Stevenson portrayed the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Thor (2011), Thor: The Dark World (2013), and Thor: Ragnarok (2017).
Publication history
Volstagg first appeared in Journey into Mystery #119 (August, 1965), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
He is not taken from Norse (or any other) mythology but is an original creation, modeled on Shakespeare's Falstaff in character and name.
Fictional character biography
Early battles
Volstagg's origin story beyond being a member of the Asgardian race, a warrior and adventurer, and a friend of Thor has not been revealed. Volstagg is fairly advanced in age for an Asgardian, and it has been suggested that he was a highly respected and feared warrior in his prime.
In a sense, Volstagg's entire career has been one long origin story. The character was first introduced in a "Tales of Asgard" filler in Journey Into Mystery #119 (August 1965), the magazine carrying Thor's Asgardian adventures. As originally envisioned by Jack Kirby, Volstagg was a huge, bumbling oaf much given to boasting and bragging: the last into battle and the first to claim victory (usually undeserved). Referring to himself as "The Lion of Asgard", he usually caused more problems than he solved and seemed totally unaware of the chaos that almost always followed in his wake. A flashback revealed in Captain Marvel #42 tells how a drunken Volstagg incurred the wrath of Odin by spilling the secrets of the first Frost Giants to a younger Thor. Strangely enough, he was considered a trusted and worthy comrade by his closest friends and allies, Fandral the Dashing, Hogun the Grim, and Thor.
Another flashback showed Volstagg as a thin but muscular man, a great confidante of Thor himself. Hogun and Fandrall, practically strangers to him at the time, join with a quest on a dare to simply "pet" the Fenris wolf. The creature deals them a humiliating defeat. Advanced Idea Mechanics, having their own personal interest in Fenris, theorize it is this defeat that led to Volstagg's unhealthy eating habits.
In his first comic book appearance, Volstagg joined with the Warriors Three in Thor's quest for the power that had cracked the Odinsword of Asgard. Though Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun had been recruited by Loki, they proved loyal to Thor when the time came. Volstagg's first battle involved him mainly falling onto his enemies. Volstagg then helped repel the attack of the Flying Trolls of Thryheim, although he cowered for much of the fight. Volstagg helped defeat the forces of Harokin. Though this man was an avowed enemy of Asgard, he fought so well and nobly that Hela herself came to fetch him when a lifetime of wounds caught up with the warlord. Volstagg and the other Asgardians assisted as much as they could in Harokin's ride to Valhalla, for they all honored a warrior, even one in opposition. Later, Odin send the Warriors Three and Thor to a long demolished land. Volstagg was lured into a trap by the dragon Fafnir who used an illusion. In another incident the four went to free Hogun's land from the murderous tyrant called Mogul of the Mystic Mountain; Volstagg's bumbling caused him to lose his companions and gain a new one. However, as soon as he gained a weapon that was capable of opposing Mogul, he rushed back to his friends to assist in the battle.
In another flashback appearance, Volstagg mistook a mystical portal for a warming fire and literally fell into it. A rescue mission causes a destructive battle which then gives the Great Sphinx of Giza its unique face.