Karnilla the Norn Queen is a sorceress and the Queen of Nornheim (one of the
Asgardian provinces) within the
Marvel Comics Universe. She has been depicted as an enemy of Asgard, an ally of
Loki, and love interest of
Balder the Brave. In her debut appearance, Karnilla saves Balder from being assassinated by Loki, justifying this action by saying that, like everything that existed in Asgard (with the exception of mistletoe) she had promised to protect Balder. She then lends magic to Loki using the
Norn Stones. Karnilla is rejected by Balder, who had given up his career as a warrior after returning from the dead. Undaunted, she abducts Balder and his new beloved, Nanna. Karnilla forces Balder to agree to marry her, in order to save Nanna's life. With Loki, she later releases a Snow Giant to battle Thor, but she then betrays Loki and is defeated by him. She then seeks Balder's forgiveness for Nanna's death. Karnilla then schemes to keep Balder with her in Nornheim. However, she eventually comes to regret her actions after realising that she had truly fallen in love with him. She is then captured by
Utgard-Loki and the
Frost Giants, who enslave her and cut her hair. She is returned to Nornheim after being rescued by Balder and Agnar. She later saves Balder from the forces of
Seth. Some of her subjects which had been turned to stone are then returned to life, although still stone. Karnilla joins a resistance force against the death-goddess
Hela along with the
Warriors Three, the wolf prince
Hrimhari, and the
New Mutants. They accomplish their goal of saving Odin from Hela. Following the
Fear Itself storyline, Karnilla begins to prepare an attack on the now-Earthbound Asgard. Her first assault intends to replace Thor (killed by the
Serpent with a wound that created a rift in time and space) with a new thunder god Taranus (really a disguised
Ulik), with the memories of all Thor's allies being altered so that they remember Taranus rather than Thor, save for Loki.
Powers and abilities of Karnilla Karnilla is a member of the race of superhumans known as Asgardians, giving her superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes. She also possesses additional powers through her manipulation of the forces of magic, including the enchantment of physical and sensory abilities, physical malleability, temporary paralysis or sleep, inter-dimensional teleportation, energy projection and deflection, elemental conversion, and illusion-casting. She can even cast permanent spells interdimensionally with no significant preparation or effort. Karnilla possesses vast knowledge of magical spells and enchantments of Asgardian origin, granting her skills that have been described as equal to those of
Loki, or surpassed only by
Odin among Asgardians.
Other versions In the
Ultimate Marvel continuity, Karnilla is a member of the royal court of Asgard.
Karnilla in other media • Karnilla appears in ''
The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'' episode "This Hostage Earth", voiced by
Kari Wahlgren. • Karnilla appears in
Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers, voiced by Phoebe Stewart. ==Vasily Karpov==