WHERE THE STORY PICKS UP: Before the events of the Avengers, Astrid Valdóttir lives in Asgard as one of its most accomplished young warriors and a member of the Valkyries. Despite her royal blood and her place within Odin’s family, she spends very little time behaving like a princess. Most mornings begin with weapons training, sparring with other warriors, or practicing with the enchanted brass knuckles Odin gifted her years earlier. When she isn’t training, Astrid can usually be found wandering the palace, visiting the training grounds, bothering Thor, arguing with Loki, helping the Valkyries, or sneaking away into the city to spend time among ordinary Asgardians. She is fiercely devoted to her people and often volunteers for patrols or accompanies warriors on missions, preferring to be useful rather than spend her days attending royal ceremonies. Her relationship with Thor is built on years of rivalry and affection, while Loki remains one of the few people capable of matching her wit and provoking her into an argument within seconds. Astrid is comfortable with her life in Asgard and has little reason to believe it will change anytime soon. Then Loki steals the Tesseract and disappears to Midgard, attacking humans and declaring himself ruler of Earth. Odin orders Thor to retrieve him and bring him home to face judgment, and Astrid refuses to let Thor go alone. With her brass knuckles at her side and no idea what awaits her on Midgard, Astrid leaves Asgard with her cousin and begins the journey that will eventually change the course of her life.