Laufey (Earth-11584)

History
Laufey was the ancient king of the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. Nothing is known about how old he is or how he came to power, but it is well known that he was in power at the time of Odin's ascent to the throne of Asgard. Despite being a "conquered" people and a subject of the Veil of the Nine Realms, the Frost Giants caused constant trouble for the Asgardians. This trouble eventually spilled out into a 40-year war across the Nine Realms, as the Jotun's sought to conquer Midgard (Earth) and use it as a new home for their race. The Asgardians protected Earth on many occasions, putting them into contact with the humans who saw them as Gods.

The final battle of this war took place on Jotunheim, and was a vicious affair eventually won by Odin, though at the cost of his eye. An uneasy truce was struck between the Jotuns and the Asgardians at that time, allowing Laufey to keep his throne but surrender much of his army to the Asgardians. Around this time, Laufey's wife bore him one of his many sons. This son though was a small infant compared to other Frost Giants, so he was cast out to die in the elements. This infant, by chance, was found by Odin, who adopted him as his own and gave him the name of Loki.

Thousands of years passed in relative peace within the Nine Realms, and Laufey's rule as the king of the Frost Giants remained unchallenged. However he still bore resentment to the Asgardians, and held a grudge against them for the thousands of years of what he termed subjugation. When an opportunity arose for him to send some of his warriors into Asgard to disrupt the coronation of Thor as the new king, he took it. Though such an incursion threatened the fragile peace between the two worlds, Laufey used Odin's desire for peace to ensure that no conflict would emerge. War seemed imminent, though, when Thor and a company of warriors unilaterally entered Jotunheim and tried to threaten Laufey. Odin attempted to broker peace, but Laufey denied him the chance.

After Odin entered the Odinsleep, he was visited by Loki, who told his father of his origins. Laufey felt a swell of pride for his progeny, and accepted his offer to kill a sleeping Odin in his chambers. However, this was merely a ruse by Loki, who attempted to frame Laufey for attempted regicide and use that as an excuse to use the Siege Engine to destroy Jotunheim. Upon entering the chambers of Odin, Loki sprung his trap and killed Laufey and his soldiers with the spear Gunginir, just before Thor arrived to thwart the second half of his plans.

Powers & Abilities

 * Frost Powers: As a Frost Giant, Laufey has a wide array of powers related to the cold and ice. This includes but is not limited to freezing opponents in a block of ice, forming swords and daggers out of icicles, and creating frostbite upon skin to skin contact with non Frost Giants.
 * Longevity: Like Agardians, Frost Giants possess a lifespan far beyond that of normal sapient beings. Perhaps even more so, as Laufey himself was older than even Odin.

Weaknesses
For all their strength and longevity, Frost Giants are noted as a species not known for their intelligence (in fact Loki is a definitive exception to this notion.) While Laufey commanded a bit more respect and knowledge than your average frost giant due to his experience and inborn strength, he was still easily fooled into triggering a war with Asgard and eventually into his own demise by his son.

Film Details
Laufey appears within the following films in the Earth-11584 continuity. In all cases he is portrayed by actor Colm Feore.
 * Thor (2011)