- "The Nine Realms erupted into chaos, wars were raging, marauding hordes were pillaging. I had to put an end to the slaughter."
- ―Thor[src]
The Battle of Vanaheim was an open confrontation betwen the Marauders and the combined forces of the Asgardians and the Vanir and the final battle of the Marauders' War.
Background
Following the destruction of the Bifrost Bridge at the hands of Thor in the Duel at the Bifrost Bridge, the Asgardians were unable to intervene in attacks on the other Realms, including the Marauders' onslaught on Vanaheim. The peaceful Vanir stood no chance as their planet fell into a hopeless war.
Hogun, a Vanir who was residing in Asgard and was working as a member of the Warriors Three, was told by Thor that the Marauders were attacking. Fearing for his people, he wanted to help in any way possible.
In order to bring the Bifrost back into full power, Odin sent Thor to Midgard through dark energy, where the Tesseract could be found.[3]
Loki had also been searching for the cube, leading to the Chitauri Invasion. During which, Thor allied himself with S.H.I.E.L.D., who put him in the Avengers. The team fought against Loki and an army of Chitauri in the Battle of New York. After Loki was finally defeated, Thor was given the Tesseract and Loki as a prisoner.[4]
On their return to Asgard, Loki was imprisoned in the Asgardian Dungeons and the Tesseract was given to Heimdall so that he could fix the bridge.
Once it was repaired, the Asgardians were finally able to travel to the worlds that were taken by force.[3]
Battle
After fighting other forces in the Realms for about a year, the Asgardians now had to help save Vanaheim from the final threat in the realms, the Marauders. The first to arrive were the Warriors Three, Sif, and many Einherjar soldiers. When they arrived, the Marauders had already began their incursion on the Vanir.
Hogun and Fandral fought the bandits off in the forests with many soldiers, while Sif, Volstagg, and other soldiers fought the other bandits off in the Vanir's camp grounds. Soon a Kronan Marauder, one of the Marauders' strongest allies, arrived to help his comrades, causing the Hogun, Fandral, and the soldiers to flee back into the campgrounds.[5]
Soon, Thor arrived to aid in the battle. For a while the Asgardians had the advantage, but the Kronan Marauder finally arrived at the campgrounds. All of his allies chanted his name. He tried to intimidate Thor, but was quickly destroyed with one blow, forcing the Marauders to surrender and ending the Marauders' War. [1]
Aftermath
The Asgardians helped the Vanir repair their homes. Hogun chose to stay with his people for a while in order to ensure their safety. On their return to Asgard, nearly all Asgardians celebrated the end of the war. The Dark Elves would soon awaken after millennia of hibernation, starting the Second Dark Elf Conflict.[1]
When Thor met Skurge, he asked him if they had ever met, with the latter reminding him that he had fought along his side in Vanaheim.[6]
Appearances
In chronological order:
- Thor: The Dark World
- Thor: Ragnarok (mentioned)
