The first Viking attack was launched against the English monastery at Lindisfarne in 793 when raiders in dragon-prowed ships bloodied their blades and looted the monks' treasury.  In the years that followed, more Scandinavian warriors sailed their longships as far east as Baghdad and across the western seas until they reached North America. Wherever they went, these Northmen spread fear among their enemies, living by the sword until their glorious deaths carried them to Valhalla.

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Almost a millennium after the last Viking king died on the shores of southern England, their legacy is still remembered. The deeds of these brave warriors were recorded in sagas and poems. Now in the modern era, they are reinvented in movies, novels, and comics. These are the ten most badass Vikings in comics:

10 Sven the Returned (Northlanders)

The Vertigo comic Northlanders by writer Brian Woods is a love letter to the Viking Age. Its opening story, "Sven the Returned," follows the titular character as he returns home to the isle of Orkney after having worked abroad as a warrior in the Byzantine Empire's elite corps of the Varangian Guards.

Sven's home has been usurped and is threatened by enemies foreign and domestic. In this blood-soaked tale of honor avenged, he cuts through his foes with sword and axe, striking fear in their hearts and confusion in their ranks. Much later, the series returns to him as an older man, his beard striped with silver but his battle prowess sharp as ever.

9 Viking Prince (DC)

Back in the distant days of yore, historical epics used to be among the most popular tales in American comics. While superheroes and horror comics have since replaced historical narratives, the character of Jon Haraldson (also known as the Viking Prince) should not be forgotten.

The character was created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert, debuting in The Brave and the Bold #1, where he appeared on the cover along with two other historical heroes, the Golden Gladiator and Silent Knight. There was little historical accuracy in these swashbuckling tales of high sea adventure, but Jon's bravery and swordsmanship ensured he defeated his enemies time and again, his legacy being remembered centuries later by Batman and the Justice League.

8 Thorfinn (Vinland Saga)

The manga Vinland Saga maintained a loyal cult following for more than a decade before receiving its recent anime adaptation. The series is named after the historical accounts known as the Vinland Sagas, which describe the Viking westward expeditions North America (one region of which they called Vinland).

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The series protagonist, Thorfinn, is inspired by the real-life Thorfinn Karlsefi.  From the very start of the series, he proves himself a fearsome warrior, skilled with the blade and capable of amazing physical feats as he sends his foes screaming into the next world.

7 Vif (Eternal)

Eternal is a short standalone comic about the Viking shieldmaiden Vif who leads her crew into battle against a malevolent warlock named Bjarte. Created by writers Eric Zawadzki and Ryan K. Lindsay along with artist Dee Cunniffe, this story has a haunting atmospheric quality that sets in the bones like a winter chill.

Vif is a fearless warrior, taking up the sword to protect her village. She kills steel-clad warriors and magical threats with the same unflinching conviction, inspiring others to follow her. Even when the ghost of a dead foe returns, she stands against him. Just because an enemy is dead doesn't mean she won't try to kill him.

6 Elsbeth Dagsdottir (Sword Daughter)

After completing his work on Northlanders, Brian Wood proved he was not done writing Viking comics when he scripted the series Sword Daughter with Dark Horse. The opening story of the series focuses on a girl named Elsbeth who cared for her father Dag after he was put into a decade-long coma when the brutal war-band known as the Forty Swords massacred their village. After Dag awakens, the two set out to seek vengeance.

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Elsbeth is unflinchingly brave and independent, as shown by how she survived on her own as a girl while caring for her father. Years later, as a grown woman, she kills both armored men and oppressive nuns as she sets off again to leave home, living by the sword's edge.

5 The Winter King (Top Cow)

In the Top Cow Universe of The Witchblade and The Darkness, there have been two notable Viking leaders: the Black Captain (who was the wielder of the Darkness) and the Winter King (who bore magical the Artifact known as the Glacier Stone).

Of these two, the Winter King is the more daring, sallying forth into battle against hordes of enemies with no fear for his personal safety. He cuts down famed champions who'd made their name on the battlefield, then engages with another Artifact bearer who has taken the form of a fire-breathing dragon.

4 Norgal (Head Lopper)

There are a lot of over-the-top Vikings in indie fantasy comics. Most did not make the cut for this list. The comic Head Lopper, written and drawn by Andrew MacLean, is about a Viking, Norgal, as he kills monsters in fast-paced fun adventures - and establishes himself as far superior to the Viking characters in other fantasy comics.

Jumping from the back of his longship, he is swallowed by a giant dragon in the first issue, where he beheads the beast while inside its throat, then wades ashore to plunder the gold necklace adorning the neck of a greedy monk.  This Samurai Jack-esque comic is pure fun while its protagonist Norgal is able to perform stunts that put him way ahead of the competition.

3 Birna Thorsdottir (Northlanders)

The Northlanders story "Thor's Daughter" focuses on Birna Thorsdottir, a young teenage girl whose father was the leader of their village and whose mother flung herself from the cliffs of their island home.

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When Birna's father is killed under mysterious circumstances, his men turn on her, driving her from the village. Meanwhile, ships carrying invaders loom on the horizon, threatening to invade. Despite this, she avenges her father's death, unifies her village under her command, and leads a shield-wall to defend against men from the hostile ships. While not the strongest or most lethal warrior, her grit and leadership make her a force to be reckoned with.

2 Erik Thorsson (Northlanders)

Erik Thorsson is a smith and one of the two protagonists of the Northlanders story "Metal." Seeing how Christians were subjecting his homeland to forced conversions and colonization, Erik went to war with the invaders. Being a large young man with the strong arms one expects to find in a blacksmith, Erik is a natural born killer, fighting in a two-handed whirl of steel as he harries his foes with axe and sword. The Christians who tried spreading their religion through coercion are instead sent back to their god.

While his last name is Thorsson, this young dreng is favored by the goddess Holda, as is his lover, an albino woman named Ingrid. With the favor of the gods, he fights with the strength of an army in his one-man religious war.

1 Thor (Marvel)

No comics fan should be surprised to see Thor's name on this list. However, the version of Thor most often seen in the Marvel Universe is a superhero who seems to be portrayed as both an alien and a god depending on who is writing the character. A modern-day superhero is built on a modern value system completely different from what would be known to the Vikings and their gods.

The Viking Age version of the character appeared in Jason Aaron's Thor: God of Thunder. In this comic, audiences finally got to see the hero sail in a longship across the seas of the north, traveling with a band of warriors to do battle, felling trolls, dragons, and any who oppose him. He was written as a hero for that era, loving the joys of the feast hall as much as the glorious thrill of battle.

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