VANNA race VANNA race
Classification: Humanoid extradimensional (associated with Asgardian cosmology) race
Location/Base of Operations: Unidentified location associated with the 9-10 realms of Asgard
Known Members: None identified
Affiliations: Brimer, Morgan Le Fay, Nedra
Enemies: Asgardians (especially Heimdall and Odin), Avengers (especially Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter)
First Appearance: Journey into Mystery I#105/2 (June, 1964)
Powers/Abilities: Small, pixie-like creatures of air, the Vanna have unspecified air/wind control powers.
They can make themselves a part of the silent breeze so that none can see or hear them.
In sufficient numbers, they can generate powerful winds able to entrap/enshare even superhumanly powerful individuals; they may or may not be able to generate vortices that can pull the air from those within their whirlwind.
The Vanna possess a pair of wings on their back, as well as another pair on the back of their proximal antabrachii (upper forearms), and a third pair on the back of their mid-crura (their calves).
They have long antennae arising from their forehead, although it is not clear what, if any, features these antennae grant.
Their fingers and toes are very long and slender.
Traits: The Vanna are masters of stealth, although they were also fierce fighters under some circumstances.
At least one of them was beholden to Nedra, queen of the Storm Giants.
Type: Bilaterally symmetric semi-humanoid bipeds
Eyes: Two (on head; color not clearly seen)
Fingers: Four (plus opposing thumb), all of which seemed to be somewhat elongated.
Toes: Five
Skin color: Pink ("Caucasian"), at least
Average height: Approximately 6"
History:
(Journey into Mystery I#105/2) - Brimer, king of the Storm Giants, voiced his frustration to his wife and queen, Nedra, that he could not attack Asgard as long as the ever-vigilant Heimdall guarded the Rainbow Bridge.
Nedra then reminded
Brimer, after which she summoned one of the Vanna: "Hear me, Vanna -- wherever you may be! Queen Nedra commands
you to appear! You may not disboey mu command!! You must heed the
orders of Queen Nedra!!"
When one of the Vanna appeared and noted that it
heard and obeyed her, she sent him to spy on Asgard for her.
Acknowledging her wish as his command, the Vanna vowed to steal past
Heimdall like a wraith, and to learn all of Asgard's secrets; he added
that there was nothing he would not do for Queen Nedra.
She then advised the Vanna to go, reminding him that he would be richly rewarded for success, but that he should never forget her penalty for failure. The Vanna assured her he would not fail and that Heimdall would never suspect his presence.
As the Vanna approached Heimdall
standing guard on Bifrost (the Rainbow Bridge), Heimdall was troubled:
Though he could not see or hear anything, his sense were nonetheless
troubled as he felt the presence of grave danger.
As Heimdall swung his sword futilely at the air, the Vannna flew past him undetected, leaving Heimdall to questiion himself. Troubled by this uncertainty, he feared he was no longer worthy of his post on Bifrost.
Within Asgard, as he flew past
some weaponry, the Vanna mused how it would be richly rewarded when he
reported to Queen Nedra about Asgard's defenses. Undetected by all
others, the Vanna was pleased with himself as he counted the
warriors under Odin's command and learned their strengths and
weaknesses. 
As the Vanna entered Odin's royal
chambers undetected, one of Odin's aides notified Odin of Heimdall's
concerns that he must be alert about some undetected great danger.
Trusting Heimdall and taking the
threat seriously, Odin ordered everyone to remain silent and motionless
as he exerted his powers of detection. Odin then detected a presence
and used his powers to force it to show itself.
Unable to flee, the Vanna became visible and was caught in Odin's grip. Claiming to have done no wrong, the Vanna asked to be set free, but Odin silenced the creature.
Later, when Heimdall learned of
the Vanna's presence, he hung his head as he acknowledged his failure;
and the Vanna suggested that he had done Odin a favor by proving
Heimdall was unworthy of guarding Bifrost.
However, Odin assured the deceitful Vanna would be punished, and he praised Heimdall's ability to sense something he could not see or hear and his judgment in reporting his feelings despite his uncertainty.
(Journey into Mystery I#513) - Following the Asgardians' exhausting struggle against the forces of Seth, the Dark Gods struck at Asgard, shattering Bifrost and leveling Asgard. In addition, the Rainbow Bridge fell in pieces across the other eight worlds of the Asgardian cosmology, casting creatures from those worlds, including the Vanna, to Earth.
(Avengers III#1 (fb) - BTS) - Morgan Le Fay capitalized on the assault on Asgard; Due to her connections to the Asgardians (being half-faerie, which are apparently the same race as the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim), Morgan found herself able to tap into the power of five Asgardian Norn Stones. Still, she found herself unable to access the vast power of the Twilight Sword (the sword forged by Surtur). In order to do so, she sought to access the reality-warping power of the Scarlet Witch.
Via the Norn Stones, Morgan Le Fay manipulated the Vanna and other Asgardian creatures on Earth to rampage.
(Avengers III#1) - In Denver, Colorado, the Vanna assaulted Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter), catching her in a whirlwind and taunting her that she could do nothing against them, except to die.
(Avengers III#1 - BTS) - Eventually the Avengers split up in an effort to retrieve the Norn Stones, playing directly into Morgan's hands. Morgan captured the Scarlet Witch and used her power to take control of the Twilight Sword, using it to re-structure reality.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and George Bell.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Vanna should be distinguished from:
images: (without ads)
Journey into Mystery I#105/2, pg. 2, panel 2 (whirlwind, back view);
panel 3 (full, semi-kneeling);
panel 4 (side view; bowing);
pg. 4, panel 3 (flying in front of Odin's face);
panel 4 (caught by Odin);
Avengers III#1, story pg. 4, panel 2 (multiple Vanna vs. Spider-Woman)
Appearances:
Journey into Mystery I#105/2 (June, 1964) - Stan Lee (writer, editor), Jack Kirby (penciler), George Bell (inker)
Journey into Mystery I#513 (October, 1997) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Sal
Buscema (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Joe Andreani (editor)
Avengers III#1 (February, 1998) - Kurt Busiek (writer), George Perez (penciler), Al Veys (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
First posted: 08/19/2018
Last updated: 08/19/2018
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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