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The Viking Prince is a fictional Viking hero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #1 (August 1955), and was created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert.[1] He is one of three historical fiction characters to premiere in the issue, alongside the Silent Knight and Golden Gladiator.
| Viking Prince | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The Brave and the Bold #1 (August/September 1955) |
| Created by | Robert Kanigher (writer) Joe Kubert (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jon Haraldson |
| Abilities | Impervious to ancient weapons Has all the skills and abilities of a fully-trained Viking |
In The Brave and the Bold #1, the main character is found amnesiac, on a beach by 10th century Scandinavian fishermen, who name him "Jon" after a legendary prince. His enemy Thorvald knows his true identity and wants to kill him before he regains his memory or meets someone else who recognizes him.[2] This set-up is ignored by later writers, some of whom make no mention of his background, while others portray him as an actual prince, the son of King Rikk.
In Our Army at War #162-163 (January - February 1966), Sergeant Rock finds the Viking Prince in a glacier and frees him. Jon reveals that he previously fell in love with a valkyrie, resulting in Odin banishing him from Valhalla and telling him that he could only return if he died a heroic death. However, Odin was crafty and cursed Jon with invulnerability to all known weapons. He is killed by a plastique explosive, an unknown weapon at the time the curse was made.
Subsequently, the Viking Prince appears in Justice League of America #159-160, a backup comic in "Arak, Son of Thunder", Birds of Prey #29, The War that Time Forgot (2008), The Judas Coin (2012), and The Odyssey of the Amazons. In the Endless Winter event, Hippolyta summons his spirit to help battle the Frost King. She offers to resurrect him, but he refuses.[3][4][5]
In Legends of the Dark Knight #35 (August 1992), Batman encounters Jon Rikkson, an environmental activist and descendant of the Prince.
The Viking Prince appeared in the 2020 crossover event "Endless Winter" as one of the heroes from the 10th century who fought against the Frost King, alongside Hippolyta, Black Adam and a 10th Century version of Swamp Thing. In the flashbacks of this story it is revealed that he finally found his heroic death while fighting the Frost King and was welcomed into Valhalla.[6] His spirit was later summoned to the present day by Hippolyta, where he was temporarily made an avatar of the Green (the force that connects all plant life on Earth and which gives Swamp Thing his powers).[7] After fighting in the climactic battle of the story, in which he inhabited a gigantic version of Swamp Thing to fight an equally gigantic avatar of the Frost King, Hippolyta offered to find him another vessel so that his spirit could remain in the world of the living. The Prince declined, returning to Valhalla to continue enjoying his long-awaited reward.[8]
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The Viking Prince was an expert at hand-to-hand combat. Due to Odin's curse, he is invulnerable to all weapons.
The Viking Prince makes a cameo appearance in DC: The New Frontier.
- The Viking Prince (collects The Brave and the Bold #1-5, 7-24 & Our Army at War #162-163); ISBN 978-1-4012-2777-7
- Jon Haraldson appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "To Another Shore". This version disappeared after traveling the world in a failed attempt to seek death, with his body ending up in an iceberg in the present day. The Secret Society attempt to retrieve Jon and reverse-engineer his invulnerability, but Justice League members Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and Green Arrow defeat them and give Jon a Viking funeral by sending him and his ship into the sun.
- The Viking Prince appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[9]
- The Viking Prince appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold #6.[10]
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