The Casket of Ancient Winters was a relic and weapon that once belonged to the Frost Giants of Jotunheim who used it to vanquish enemy armies and conquer enemy realms.
It is capable of producing and projecting an infinite icy wind that can freeze whole landscapes and plunge an entire world into a new ice age. It was captured by the Einherjar of Asgard and sealed in Odin's Vault before being stolen by Loki.
It would later be destroyed along with the rest of Odin's Vault during the Destruction of Asgard.
History
In 965 A.D., Laufey of Jotunheim used the power of the Casket in an attempt to enslave Earth by causing a new Ice Age, but he was defeated in battle by Odin, and the relic was taken by the Asgardians and brought to Asgard, where it was kept in Odin's Vault along with many other powerful relics.
During Thor's coronation, Frost Giants, with the aid of Loki, tried to steal the Casket, but they were vaporized by the Destroyer. When Loki began suspecting his origins as a Frost Giant, he picked up the Casket, which dispelled the magic that gave him his Asgardian appearance and revealed his true appearance.
Loki using the Casket to freeze the Bifrost Bridge to destroy Jotunheim
Loki soon took the Casket for himself; once he gained the throne of Asgard, he used the power of the Casket to freeze Heimdall, who was opposing him as a ruler. He then froze the Bifrost Bridge open with the Casket's power, so that the Bridge's energy would build until it destroyed Jotunheim, intending to please Odin and be named the rightful heir of Asgard. When Thor destroyed the Bridge with Mjølnir to prevent this from happening, Loki willingly fell into the black hole left behind, apparently taking the Casket with him.[1]
The Casket was eventually recovered and returned to Odin's Vault. Years later, Hela passed by the Casket and called it "weak". The Casket would later be destroyed, along with every item in Odin's Vault, during the Destruction of Asgard.[2]
Capabilities
When opened, it can reproduce the infinite, icy cold of Jotunheim. The casket can produce cold ranging from a concentrated beam that can freeze individual enemies, to a large vortex of icy wind that can freeze an entire landscape. It is thought to only be held by a Frost Giant, while it inflicts freezing burns on others who so much as touch it, while the Asgardians, who took the Casket, managed to touch it without harm.
When Loki used the Casket's powers, it revealed his true nature as a Frost Giant. He also demonstrated being able to cause the Casket to appear and then disappear into thin air in a warped, swirling blur of motion when he used it to freeze Heimdall, though he has not demonstrated this since.
Despite its immense power, Hela merely scoffed at the casket, deeming it a weak relic.
Trivia
- In the comics, the Casket had the power to bring about "Fimbulwinter," a great winter that preceded Ragnarök.
