Early life[]

Ulik is a member of the race of Rock Trolls and lives within caverns in the extradimensional realm of Asgard. Over a millennium old, Ulik is the strongest and fiercest of all the Trolls. Virtually nothing is known of his ancestry, his early life, or why he is so much more powerful than the other members of his race. After Ulik's parents were slain by drunken Frost Giants, Ulik watched over his brother Horth.^[3]

Thor[]

Ulik first met Thor, the mightiest warrior of Asgard, several years ago when he attempted to steal Thor's hammer for the Rock Trolls. Ulik was the leading warrior in the Rock Troll's war with the gods of Asgard, during which he fought a monumental battle against Thor, in which Ulik was armed with a duplicate of Thor's own uru hammer. Although Ulik proved to be a formidable opponent, Thor ultimately triumphed over him. The Trolls' attempted invasion of Asgard, under the leadership of the Troll king Geirrodur, failed.^[3]

Ulik clashed with Thor repeatedly in the following years, but always unsuccessfully. On one occasion, Ulik led the Rock Trolls through an interdimensional tunnel to Earth in an invasion attempt that was repelled by Thor. Ulik's failure, coupled with his brief usurpation of the rule of Geirrodur's kingdom of Trolls in the Asgard Mountains, led Geirrodur to consign him to stoking the subterranean furnaces that heat the kingdom.^[4]

Dissatisfied, Ulik eventually escaped and wandered deeper beneath Asgard's surface, finally discovering a lost tribe of Trolls unknown to Geirrodur. Ulik disposed of their leader and led this tribe through the interdimensional portal to Earth to again attempt to invade it. This attempt was defeated, and the portal sealed with molten rock.^[5]

Mangog[]

Ulik returned and fought Thor but was thrown down a deep hole before accidentally waking Odin's former foe Mangog, hoping he could be used as an ally against Asgard after reading Odin's inscription on the prison door.^[6]

Pluto[]

Jane was taken captive by Pluto. Pluto then revealed his ally in vengeance Loki. Loki then summoned Ulik to battle Thor. Thor and Ulik battled back and forth until Ulik discovered that he was but the pawn of Pluto and Loki. Enraged, Ulik began to attack Pluto. After saving Pluto from Ulik, Thor sent Ulik back to Asgard.^[7]

Mephisto[]

The demon Mephisto captured Ulik's brother Horth in order to force Ulik to defeat Thor in battle. But Ulik himself was defeated, and Mephisto later told Thor that he had killed Horth even before Ulik challenged him in battle.^[8]

Allies of Asgard[]

Ulik fought on the side of several Asgardians, Warriors Three, Balder, and Sif who were lost in their own Earthly identities. He battled a version of Thor called Red Norvell and worked with his temporary allies to escape an earth-based technological conspiracy against lost Asgardians.^[9]

Marvel Knight[]

Ulik the Troll was stomping around Earth and it came down to Punisher, Daredevil, and the other Marvel Knights to stop his plan to destroy Asgard.^[10] Punisher went one-on-one with Ulik.^[11]

Ragnarok[]

After Ragnarok and the return of the Gods, Ulik was believed to have escaped from Oklahoma's Asgard. The Troll had been on a multi-state drinking binge ending outside Telluride Colorado where he was knocked unconscious by A-Bomb.^[12]

Tanarus[]

Following the death of Thor battling the Serpent, his body was put upon a funeral pyre, a common practice among Asgardians. As his body burned, a shape was suddenly seen within the fire, and from the flames was born Tanarus, the loud-mouthed, boisterous God of Thunder, both new hero and longtime Avenger. Welcomed by his teammates, only Loki seemed to notice that Tanarus had not always been around.^[13] As Loki sought the answer to this problem, Tanarus found himself transported to the throne of Geirrodur, who removed the charm that altered his appearance and revealed the face of Ulik. Ulik begged to have the charm returned, an act carried out by Geirrodur's ally, Karnilla.^[14]

Ulik was revealed to have been sent to infiltrate Asgard in the guise of its greatest warrior. Karnilla's spell altered everyone's memories so Ulik as Tanarus was always the champion of Asgard. Ulik's task was at the appointed time to assassinated the All-Mothers of Asgard right before a troll attack to throw Asgardian into chaos. Despite the spell, Ulik's manners earned him only disgust from the Asgardians. The spell also prevented Heimdall from seeing him earning suspicion. When Heimdall confronted Tanarus he was severely beaten. Undeterred, Heimdall eventually saw through the spell. He attacked Ulik again before he could assassinate the All-Mothers and destroyed the charm revealing Ulik to everyone just as the Trolls attacked.^[15]

Ulik tried to attack the All-Mothers, but was struck down by a returning Thor. Enraged over all that had happened, Thor attacked Ulik with both hammer and lightning. After a short, but brutal fight Ulik realized he was outmatched and made one last desperate attempt on the lives of the All-Mothers only to be killed by Thor and reduced to a skeleton. His skull was used by Freya to serve as a prison for Geirrodur and Karnilla.^[16]

War of the Realms[]

Under unknown circumstances, Ulik returned to life,^[17] joining a sinister cabal known as the Dark Council to help Malekith the Accursed wage a quest of conquest throughout the Ten Realms christened the War of the Realms.^[18] Together with Amora the Enchantress, Ulik oversaw an invasion of Muspelheim's forces into Nidavellir. Their effort was thwarted by the Asgardian Volstagg, who had been turned into the bloodthirsty War Thor.^[19]

When the Dark Council's army invaded Midgard and divided its continents between its different factions, Ulik became the would-be ruler of Oceania, dubbing it the Kingdom of the Trolls.^[20] When Earth's heroes mounted a counter-offensive, a group of heroes spearheaded by She-Hulk fought against the Trolls in Australia. Ulik was ultimately defeated in battle against her.^[21] Following Malekith's defeat and the end of the War of the Realms, Ulik was imprisoned in the Root Dungeons of the Watchtower Tree beneath Asgard.^[22]

• Rock Troll Physiology: Ulik possesses various superhuman physical attributes common to the Asgardian Rock Trolls, only some of them are far more developed than the vast majority of his race.^[23]
  • Superhuman Strength: Ulik possesses great physical strength, superior to that of any other known member of his race. Whereas the average male Rock Troll is listed as class 25, Ulik is listed as class 95. However, more recently Captain Marvel referenced Ulik as class 100 strength as he has made Thor bleed on numerous occasions.^[21] He is so strong that a near miss from a blow is enough to numb the leg of Thor.^[23]
  • Superhuman Speed: In spite of his great muscular bulk, Ulik can run and move at speeds beyond that attainable by the finest human athlete.^[24]
  • Superhuman Stamina: Ulik's advanced musculature generates considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of human beings, or most other Rock Trolls. Ulik can physically exert himself at peak capacity for about 24 hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in his bloodstream begins to impair him.^[24]
  • Superhuman Agility: Just like all members of his race, Ulik's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete.^[24]
  • Superhuman Reflexes: Ulik's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are superior to those of the finest human athlete.
  • Superhuman Durability: Ulik's tough, leathery hide helps to render his body considerably more resistant to physical injury than a human being. His muscle and skeletal tissues are also considerably harder and more durable than those of a human. Ulik can withstand powerful impact forces such as being hit repeatedly by Thor, high caliber bullets, exposure to temperature and pressure extremes, falls from great heights, and powerful energy blasts without being injured.^[24]
  • Extended Longevity: Ulik, like all Rock Trolls, ages at a pace much slower than human beings. While the average lifespan of Asgardian Rock Trolls is said to be 1,500 years, there are many, including Ulik, that are considerably older. Ulik is also immune to the effects of all known Earthly diseases and infections.^[23]
  • Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite his body's resistance to injury, Ulik can be injured. However, his metabolism enables him to rapidly heal damaged bodily tissues much faster and more extensively than normal human beings are capable of. However, he isn't able to regenerate missing limbs or organs.^[23]
  • Superhuman Sight: Due to living underground, Ulik and all other Rock Trolls have developed superhumanly keen sight that allows them to see much farther than humans and with greater clarity. The eyes of Rock Trolls are specially developed, however, to see into the infrared spectrum, allowing them to see perfectly in near-total darkness.^[23]

• Ulik is a formidable hand to hand combatant. He is also experienced in using a sword and a mace in battle.^[23]

His brutish temper and strength are impressive, but a lot of Rock Trolls, including him, are brutish, thuggish, boisterous, and have surprisingly low intelligence levels. When the battle comes to brains, he can be easily fooled and taken down.^[25][16]

• Pounders: These unique weapons resemble Asgardian brass knuckles. While not skilled in their use, they allow Ulik to punch harder than his strength would normally allow and with them he has the power to level a Mountain and even an entire planet.^[25] Ulik can also use the Pounders on the ground to set off earthquakes affecting everyone around him, reaching 6.5 to 8 on the Richter scale.^[26]
• Codgel: Ulik's weapon as "Tanarus", which allows him to fly much like Mjolnir does for Thor.^[27]
• Ulik possessed a copy of Mjolnir given to him by Orikal.^[28]

• Ulik's Ultra-Drill: In the past, Ulik has used this customized personal transport that could dig through solid rock.^[8]

• In several issues throughout Thor (Vol. 2), Ulik's stench is invoked as an expletive by Asgardians.^{[29][30][31][32]} In contrast, Rock Trolls swear by Ulik's greatness.^[33] Ulik himself swears by Hela's kiss.^[34]