Sorry about not posting earlier.
Me, time management, not on speaking terms and all that. I hope to make up for
that by showing you the greatest swordsperson of Asgard. The Lady Sif. She
slices, she dices, and yet still can’t get Thor’s attention. That’s number 2 on
her priority list after defending Asgard, and it’s amazing how often she can
accomplish task number 1, but not 2.
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| I'm just going to lie down and play dead. Safer that way. |
The Lady Sif was born in Asgard centuries
ago. She is the sister of Asgard’s all-seeing guardian Heimdall. She was
friends with Thor and his other brother Balder since childhood, but she and
Loki have never seen eye to eye. As a matter of fact, as a sort of really
dickish “here’s for liking my brother” prank, he shaved her bald, and when he
was forced to replace the hair he’d cut off, he did so not with the blonde hair
she originally had but black hair somehow made by dwarves. Who knew the God of
Mischief could be so petty? What's that, everyone knew that so trusting him to make amends was stupid? Huh, who'd a thunk it.Though somehow I don’t think Sif noticed, unless
Thor made a comment about it. She’s very self-conscious about what the
Thunderer thinks. She showed signs of being a master swordsperson at an early
age and has had about ten centuries of practice. So, yeah, best swordfighter
bar none. She, Thor, and their mutual friends the Warriors Three went on many
adventures over the millennia, battling Frost Giants, Elves, and all manner of
Norse monsters. Sif was pretty hopelessly in love with Thor by the time the age
of Vikings came round, and while the Norse tale depicts the two as eventually tying
the knot, it would appear the Marvel-verse’s version was kind of friendzoned.
Apparently the Vikings were more observant than their Thunder God.
She was separated from Thor for a
few years when the son of Odin was banished to Earth for being, well, a spoiled
prince. I said it before in Thor’s profile, but seriously Odin you never
thought to try this sooner? The All-father needs to work on his parenting
skills. Sif was delighted (secretly, the woman is incredibly stoic) with Thor’s
return, but less than thrilled when he brought his girlfriend Jane Foster home
to meet the folks. What does a badass, nigh immortal, swordswoman have to do to
get noticed? I bet she wondered. Things fall apart between Thor and Jane when
she failed some test Odin came up with to test her worth. Sif and Thor seem to
reignite their attraction to each other while battling an incredibly powerful
monster known as the Unknown. Viking God’s man, crazy folks.
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| Bow before the Lady Sif. Unless you don't fear her blade. |
Sif has remained Thor’s most loyal
friend and companion throughout the years, despite their romance fizzling out,
again. A woman’s work is never done. She’s appeared sporadically throughout
Thor’s run, fighting Asgardian monsters, trying to understand why Thor loves
Earth so much, and having a few flings here and there. It’s clear her type is “Guys
who lift Thor’s Hammer” having been romantically involved with two other “worthy”
wielders. Her biggest personal story line comes in the “Thor’s Reign” arc. In
it, Thor has taken the throne of Asgard after his father’s death. Torn between
the two worlds he loves, Thor decides to move Asgard to Earth and set up shop
like the good old days. Unfortunately, in his usual “I know what’s best” manner
Thor becomes something of a tyrannical dictator, marries one of his most persistent
foes the Enchantress, and has a son named Magni. Sif, disgusted by what Thor
had become, leaves. Many, many monsters probably met their end as Sif vented
her frustration about the whole situation. Years later she and Magni cross
paths and Sif convinces the young Asgardian that despite his father’s noblest
intentions, Thor has betrayed everything that he loves and needs to be stopped.
I guess it’s heavily hinted at that she
still has feelings for Thor, but it’s most likely a “love who he was, not what
he’s become” sort of thing. Magni does revolt under Sif’s advice, and after his
death, Thor learns the error of his ways and resents the timeline.
Despite having to adjust to a new
world, battling forces she could never really comprehend, despite losing the
love of the person she held most precious, and despite even Ragnarok (Norse
Doomsday) itself Sif remains an eternal guardian of Asgard. She’s always
sharpening her blade, ready to fight.
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| Duck when she throws her sword, drop to you stomach a moment later, because it comes back like a boomerang. Physics be damned! |
Sif has the standard Asgardian
abilities. An incredibly strong, durable body that is very resistant to injury.
She’s faster, stronger, and more agile that even most Asgardians. Which, I remind you, is several cuts above your average human. She is
incredibly long lived, only appearing to be in her late twenties/early thirties
despite having lived at least ten centuries. She is an expert swordfighter,
with century’s worth of experience. She is a proficient fighter without her
blade, as well. She can create bridges between dimensions, an ability she
shares with her brother, Hiemdall. At times it’s depicted as something she does
on her own, and other times it seems she needs her sword to “cleave” a path for
her and others.
Sif has appeared a handful of times
in various Marvel media, always alongside Thor.
She appeared a few times in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
She was a largely silent character until season 2. Her biggest appearance was
in the episode “The Ballad of Beta Ray
Bill,” in it, she and Thor assist an alien super warrior, and first person
other than Thor to lift Mjolnir, named Beta Ray Bill. Bill is attempting to shepherd
his people from the wreckage of their home world. It was destroyed by the
Asgardian dark God Surtur. Initially distrustful of Bill, Sif does being to
trust the alien warrior, even offering to travel with him to help defend his
people after they escape Surtur. Bill declines, the battle is his sort of
thing. Sif admits that her interaction with Bill has given her a better
understanding of Mortals, and implies she’d help Thor on Earth if he ever
needed her. Good Gal Sif.
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| She slices, she dices, and she buries the dead. The Lady Sif does it all. |
She has appeared in both Thor 1, 2, and in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D played by actress
Jaimie Alexander. She’s more or less the same as her comic book character. A
fierce Warrior, loyal friend, and secret-to-no-one-but-Thor in love with Thor.
She fights valiantly in the first movie, destroying many Frost Giants on their
home turf, and the only one besides Thor to land a blow on the nearly indestructible
Destroyer. In movie two she is still fiercely loyal to Thor, willing to go
against the Orders of Odin to ensure Thor, Jane, and Loki could get out of
Asgard to face their new enemy Malekith the Accursed. My biggest qualm with the
Thor movies is that the secondary characters aren’t given much to do, even when
a perfect situation presents itself. For example, when Sif and the Warriors
Three go to Hiemdall and ask for transport to Earth, Hiemdall pulls the “I can’t do it for you,” while leaving
his sword in the Rainbow Bridge’s control pedestal. You can’t tell me that that
entire scene wasn’t perfect for Sif and Hiemdall to have a sibling moment. It
wouldn’t have to be long, an exchange like “Please brother, for me?” followed
by, “Can’t do it,” argue for a moment, then Hiemdall pull the walk away and let
them through bit, and finish with Hiemdall saying something along the lines of,
“Mother and Father expect you for dinner tomorrow, don’t disappoint them” as a
way of wishing luck. Perfect? No, but it would have developed two interesting secondary
characters beyond what was presented in the movie. If you’re thinking “But
Michael, maybe they wanted to down play the sibling thing because Idris Elba is
black and Jaimie Alexander is white.” To which I counter, “Do you think extraterrestrial
gods necessarily follow the same rules about skin pigments as we do?” I’m just
saying that those two, and the Warriors Three could have been developed more.
Even though Sif is a rather
underused character, the stuff that I’ve seen with her is very good. She defiantly
follows the “soldier first, person second” character archetype. Her own hopes
and desires are often benched for what is best for Asgard, and what’s best for
Thor. And while even all these years later she still doesn’t quite understand
Thor’s thing for Earth, she does try to better understand it, and improve
herself accordingly. I think that’s what I really like Sif, she isn’t static. She’s
constantly trying to change and grow as a character. That’s a step above Peter
Parker, who is still hung up about his uncle’s death and chancing Mary Jane
almost fifty years later. Way to go
Sif, you’re a step above the Web-Head. She’s Asgard’s stoic, slicing, soldier,
Sif. Next time, Bobbi Morse, the persistent Mockingbird.
http://marvel-movies.wikia.com/wiki/Sif
http://marvel.wikia.com/Sif_%28Earth-616%29
http://es.losvengadoreslosheroes.wikia.com/wiki/Archivo:Sif.jpg
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles-7/machamp-vs-sif-1479764/
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