GUDRUN THE GOLDEN

Real Name: Gudrun

Identity/Class: Minor god/possibly Vanir (See Comments)

Occupation: Taker and hoarder of things golden

Group Membership: None known (See Comments)

Affiliations: None

Enemies: Thor, Sif

Known Relatives: None known (See Comments)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Possibly Vanaheim, home of the Vanir gods (See Comments)

First Appearance: In a Hostess ad appearing in May and June editions of Marvel comic books (example: Defenders I#59, 1978)

Powers/Abilities: Being a native of the Asgardian dimension, Gudrun possessed the conventional characteristics of his race such as superhuman strength (at least Class 25, enabling him to lift/press up to 25 tons under optimum conditions).  Also, his entire body is three times as dense as a normal human's, giving him a limited amount of resistance to conventional injury.  To increase his durability further, Gudrun wore a gleaming, golden suit of armor.  Along with his armor, he brandished a sword, but his proficiency with this weapon was unknown.

History: BTS - Gudrun took the treasures of Asgard and was sought after by the Asgardian gods Thor and Sif, in turn.  

Using Hostess® Twinkies as a decoy, Thor distracted Gudrun with the golden-dyed delicacy and recovered the ripped-off riches.  Gudrun was then taken away by several unnamed Asgardians.

Comments: Creators unknown

Gudrun is typically used as a feminine name (See Clarifications), but in this instance it's applied to a male character.

With the amount of gold-related themes in Norse mythology, there is potential for many different Gudrun stories involving attempts to get golden/gold-like items. 
    Examples include:

  1. grabbing the Golden Apples of Immortality from Idunn
  2. stealing the sunken, hidden treasures of the sea god Aegir
  3. filching Freya's golden tears
  4. acquiring the cursed gold of the Dwarf Andvari
  5. gaining the golden roof of Gimli
  6. obtaining animals such as the horses Gullfaxi ("Golden Mane") and Gulltop, and the boar Gullinbursti ("Golden Bristles")
  7. securing the shields of Valhalla:
  8. hoarding creations of Dwarves such as Odin's ring Draupnir
  9. taking the Asgardian Court of Judgment with its golden walls and thrones. 
    This latter instance could position Gudrun into the role of potential would-be conqueror of Asgard, making him a threatening antagonist, in turn.  
  10. But why stop with the Asgardian pantheon?  Gudrun could attempt to horde the golden items of other godly pantheons, as well.  If you have specific examples, run them by me, and I'll add them here, giving those who participate credit, in return.  Oh, one rule though--cite the source of your info, also!  

How does Gudrun fit into Asgardian genealogy?  Perhaps he is related to the Vanir goddess Gullveig ("Gold-Thirst").  This powerful magic goddess claimed to know how to create gold, an ability coveted by her Asgardian neighbors.  If not directly related to her, Gudrun could be a Vanir god who idolized Gullveig's ability to create gold which manifested in his life by acquiring golden/gold-like articles.  Thor noted that Gudrun's spoils were to be returned where they belonged, in Asgard, for "our gods," suggesting that Gudrun was not Asgardian, consequently giving this Vanir theory some credibility.

Of all the Hostess villains, only Icemaster has shown up in an Earth-616 title.  He could have crossed over to Earth-616 from "Earth-Hostess, " but I say leave them on Earth-616 until proven otherwise. Nonetheless, until they do show up in regular continuity, they remain outside regular canon.  Surely someone will write a story teaming them all together--Snood.

This is not true anymore as some Hostess ad villains were mentioned in the Fantastic Four Encyclopedia as natives of Earth-616. And lets not forget about Printout Man in the New Avengers Most Wanted Files.

You can get the whole story, and some clever commentary from Seanbaby's The Hostess Page.  It might not meet with the Comics Code Authority's approval, so kids, ask your parents before checking that out!

If he was still somewhere around in Asgard Gudrun supposedly died during the Ragnarok in Thor II#85.

With an assist from Snood: Bob Almond, Inker Extraordinaire, provided the image for this profile.  Many thanks to both!

Gudrun is mentioned in the Asgardians Appendix in the Thor: Asgard's Avenger handbook.
--David A. Zuckerman

Profile created, updated, and edited by Kyle Sims

CLARIFICATIONS: Gudrun the Golden has no established connection to:


images: (without ads)
"A Glutton for Gold", pan1 (main image)


Last updated: 05/09/15

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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