Hela was born in the Afterlife to Loki (father) and Death (mother). She is Loki's fourth child, and only daughter. A few hours after her birth, Loki and a reaper, Vincent, took Hela back to Asgard. A battle against Death and Loki occurred, ending with Death taking Vincent and Hela, and Odin cursing Loki and his other kids to forget who they were. Hela grew up in the Afterlife, where Death raised her with the help of Lucy (nanny), Vincent (mentor/advisor), and another reaper named Jiwoo (friend). There, Hela learned how to be a princess of the Afterlife and later took over the Nordic realms as queen.

Unbeknownst to both Hela and her mother, Odin's curse had also impacted infant Hela. Once the All-Father died and the curse wore away, the spell warped Hela’s memories, making her believe she was Odin's daughter. Spurred into anger fueled by the broken curse, Hela attacked Asgard. She later escaped back to the Afterlife once her older brothers arrived on Asgard moments before Surtur destroyed it. Feeling guilty about her actions, Hela put her position as queen up to a vote, much to her mother’s disapproval. However, the people of the Nordic realms voted to keep her on the throne, and so now Hela rules as princess of the Afterlife and queen of the Nordic realms.

Always excited about making mischief and having fun, Hela tended to get a little wild at times. She followed in her mother’s footsteps to become a fierce ruler, but still generated loyalty more from respect than out of fear. She can be grim and detached at times, especially when the natural order of life and death comes into play. Hela also tends to hold grudges, but has learned to let some of the anger go because she prefers to look at the grand scheme of things instead of day-to-day trivialities. Some might consider her heartless, but she’s usually friendly and does not engage in violence unless provoked.

Hela is trained to defend herself in battle if the situation arises. She is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, and magic. She can travel via shadows as a form of teleportation, can pull souls from bodies, and kill enemies with a simple touch. She does not age past her prime and is immortal since her existence partly embodies the cosmic entity force of Death. Her primary goal is to maintain order in the Afterlife, even if it occasionally requires unconventional and chaotic means. Just don’t mess with her, her family, or her realms, and she might just leave you alone.