Origin[]

Tiwaz was an Elder God embodying wisdom who emerged alongside other Elder Gods such as Gaea, Chthon, Set, etc. when the Demiurge seeded the Earth. When war broke out among the corrupted Elder Gods, Gaea birthed Atum to destroy them.^[3] Tiwaz bested Atum's monstrous form, the Demogorge, using his wile and wit.^[1] Possibly uncorrupted, Tiwaz was among the few to survive and wandered off. When he heard that the Utgard-Loki and Toranos were going into exile together, he sent his servant Whiteface to inform Gaea.^[7] At some point, he ventured into Andlang but was frozen solid when he stood there for too long. The Norse cow Audumbla found him and licked him free, and he became known by another name: Buri.^[1]

Buri was the first of the Aesir who were worshiped as gods by the ancient Viking and Germanic tribes of Northern Europe. In the myths and legends, Buri was the third entity to arise in creation, after the giant Ymir and the cow Audumbla.^[8] Intrigued, the Giants allowed Buri to live. Buri grew wise and strong^[8] and took a Frost Giantess as wife,^[4] and had three sons: Bor, Mimir and Njord.^[4]

Succession[]

He was succeeded by Bor after his son bested him in combat, and his other son Njord left to found Vanaheim and sire the Vanir.^[4] Bor in turn took a wife (the giantess Bestla) and fathered his sons.^[8][9]

As Bor founded Asgard, home of the Aesir, Buri went to live recluse, returning to his original name Tiwaz, in the northern reaches of Asgard,^[10][4] in Nastrond,^[11] living among ephemeral servants he created by sculpting ice and animated with life.^[10][4] After Bor's death, Odin challenged and bested Buri as well.^[10][4] During the Aesir/Vanir War, Tiwaz witnessed from afar the death of Mimir (a peace hostage given by Odin), decapitated by the Vanir, and the eventual annexation of the Vanir to Asgard.^[4] He was eventually forgotten by the Asgardians.^[4]

After Thor was born, Tiwaz visited him.^[10]

Modern Age[]

Nursing Thor[]

Tiwaz learned about Odin's death, and left footsteps for the grieving Thor to follow. He later discovered him after a brutal battle with Hela and took him and Mjolnir to his home.^[10]

He nursed Thor back to health, wrestling with him in friendly matches to test him. Thor once believed him to be Odin, but Tiwaz proved him wrong. The sorcerer also refuted the story told by Odin's Eye about Odin's origin. He returned to normal strength and was able to beat Tiwaz. He then encouraged Thor to return to Asgard, and the Odinson departed Tiwaz's company, unaware that he was in fact Buri. He was directed to Frigga and the children who had went in hiding during Surtur's attack on Asgard.^[10]

Helping the New Mutants[]

Thor told Volstagg's children about Tiwaz, and they later fred Hrimhari, Boom Boom and Warlock from an Asgardian prison, sending them to recruit the aid of the Giant-sorcerer.^[11]

They had nearly reached Tiwaz's dwelling, when they were caught in a net and captured by a Frost Giant serving Hela. They escaped from the Frost Giant's grasp, and Tiwaz appeared, imprisoning the Frost Giant in a block of ice. Tiwaz brought them into his cave, warmed them up and advised them on the true extent of Hela's threat and of her new sword, able to slay Odin and fell the World Tree.^[12]

Tiwaz revealed the location of the Warriors Three and sent Hrimhari and the two New Mutants to free them from Queen Ula and her Savage Swarm of Hive Trolls. Tiwaz stayed behind and watched them. They managed to free the Warriors Three, though it required Tiwaz's magic to shrink Volstagg so that Warlock could fly him away. Later Tiwaz monitored from his home Karnilla's attempt to revive one of her stone-petrified men. She failed, but Tiwaz concentrated the excess magic from her spell to revive all people of Nornheim, still in their stone form.^[13] With Tiwaz' secret support, Hela's army was defeated and retreated to Hel.^[4]

He later sent an ice-fairy to Asgard, transporting a vial using whose content transformed the people of Nornheim back into men of flesh and blood, and a map allowing the New Mutants to return to Midgard.^[14]

Reuniting with Thor[]

When Tyr became corrupted by a Skinner Box, Thor and his siblings went looking for him. He inadvertently found Tiwaz, who possessed the Tiwaz rune (ᛏ) that could restore Tyr's soul. Tiwaz told Thor about his history as an Elder God and his identity as Buri. After answering a "riddle," Thor was given the rune and used it to fill the missing portion of Tyr's soul, thus removing Oblivion's influence.^[1]

Tiwaz is one of the Elder Gods.^[7]

• Superhuman Strength: He is able to lift 100 tons.^[4] He is strong enough to nearly match Thor in a physical wrestling match.^[10]
• Superhuman Durability:^[4] Thor did not believe he could hurt Tiwaz and claimed the Odin-Force would be useless against him.^[1]
• Immortality: He is immortal, immune to conventional disease and to extremely cold climate.^[4]

He has vast mystical powers, enough to make Hela shudder at them even though she didn't know him,^[12] and can cast spells and manipulate mystic energies even over long distances:^[13][4]

• He can animate typically non-corporeal objects, such as he did with his ice sculptures,^[10] and decrease the size of living beings like for Volstagg.^[13]
• He can also grow or shrink to any size^[10][12] or alter his appearance as will.^[4]
• Using a scrying ball, he can watch everything in the Nine Worlds, and sometimes use his eagle Whiteface to see through his eyes.^[4]
• He was somehow able to freeze a Frost Giant into a block of ice.^[12]

Presumably, as the progenitor to the Norse gods, he possessed the same abilities as his grandson, Odin. He is a skilled ice-sculptor and was worthy of Mjolnir.^[10]

Spear.^[3]

• Tiwaz/Buri's true origin is an Elder God,^[1] but there are many alternative, mythological accounts to his origin:
  • According to the legend, he was delivered from the ice by the magic cow licking it, the hair the first day, the head the second day, and Buri itself the third.^[9]
  • Other accounts state he emerged from the ice by himself.^[8]
  • Another legend states Audumbla licked his form from an ice block.^[15]
  • He was also claimed to be Ymir's son by Doctor Strange.^[2]
  • According to the book "A guide to Norse Religion," Buri was born at Ginnungagap the same way and alongside Ymir. It also claimed Buri produced Odin, Vili, and Ve without mention of Bor.^[16]
• Like how Toranos is the "Utgard-Thor"^[17] and "The-One-Who-Cannot-Be-Named" is the "Utgard-Loki," Tiwaz is the "Utgard-Odin."^[3]

• Tiwaz (ᛏ) is a letter in the Runic alphabet, approximately equivalent to "T", and is connected with the god Tyr and therefore with victory and honor.
  • In Marvel Comics, Buri is named Tiwaz; he and Tyr Odinson share the same rune. This was relevant when Tiwaz's rune restored Tyr's soul.^[1]