Tales of Asgard back-up
"Balder the Brave!"
This flashback tale of the early days of Asgard focuses on Balder the Brave. In this story, he is brought to the court of Odin
to answer for the fact that during a recent battle against the Storm Giants, Balder deserted his comrades.
Balder explains that during combat, he saw a bird fall from its nest, so he had left the battle to return the bird to its mother.
Furious that Balder would abandon a battle for such a deed, Odin orders Balder to face the test of mortal death,
which Balder agrees to take in spite of the other warriors of Asgard's protests.
The test requires that Balder stand in front of a line of soldiers who would attempt to kill him without his resistance.
First Odin orders Tyr, master archer of Asgard, to fire an arrow at Balder.
The unflinching Balder is saved at the last minute when a hawk swoops out of the sky and stops the arrow from hitting Balder.
Odin orders Honir to throw a spear at Balder,
which is stopped by a sudden sprouting of vines from the ground, and again Balder does not flinch.
Then Odin orders Thor to strike down Balder with his hammer.
As Thor approaches to strike Balder down, the warrior still does not move, prompting Odin to stop Thor.
Odin reveals that he summoned the hawk and the plant to save Balder at the last minute of each attack to test his bravery.
Having passed Odin's test, Odin rewards Balder with the gift of invincibility, and has him hailed as Balder the Brave.
Script by Stan Lee,
pencils by Jack Kirby,
inks by Vince Colletta