Thorfinn vs. Floki: Who Will Win in a Fight?

Vinland Saga is a historical manga written and drawn by mangaka Makoto Yukimura. Several Icelandic sagas have inspired the manga, which is still going on and is beloved by fans round the world. In this article, we are going to make a comparison taken from the pages of the manga, as we will tell you who would win in a fight between the series’ protagonist, Thorfinn, and the powerful warrior Floki. The two of them actually have a history, and with Floki being such a vile and despicable character, it is interesting to observe how the two of them would do in a direct fight.

Thorfinn will win in a fight against Floki. It is assumed that Thorfinn would be able to defeat Floki. Floki is a character whose skills and abilities are mostly unknown, but due to the nature of his work, it is assumed that his physical power is close to Thorfinn’s. Still, as the protagonist and the character with the most space for growth, Thorfinn would ultimately be able to surpass Floki. However, it would certainly be a very interesting and entertaining fight to the very end.

Now that you have the short version of the answer, we are going to provide you with a detailed category-by-category analysis of the issue, presenting the characters in questions to you and giving you a point-by-point analysis that is going to help you understand why Thorffin would be able to beat Floki in a fair one-on-one fight.

Strength and durability

Thorfinn has a lot of experience because he was practically born on the battlefield and lived it after his father’s passing. He developed swiftly into a highly competent fighter who could easily dispatch combatants twice his age. Thorfinn developed an agile approach that stresses speed since his fighting games concentrate on striking key places rather than outright slicing opponents with swords.

Fighters like Thorkell the Tall, who believes he has what it takes to succeed as the next chieftain of the Jomsvikings, acknowledge Thorfinn’s might. Even though he rarely enters into unarmed combat, Thorfinn is capable of withstanding strong blows with enough prep time (and no, he’s not Batman, don’t worry). He gains access to Canute after taking a total of 100 hits from Drott to reveal this ability. Yet unprepared for Ylfa’s enraged strike, he was struck unconscious.

Now, Floki has, so far, been seen in battle only briefly when he crossed his sword with Askeladd after the latter killed Sweyn. He did not lose, but this battle was not a proper indication. We know that he is a commander of the Jomsvikings, and that only exceptionally powerful and skilled people are named commanders of the Jomsvikings.

This is why we can assume that Floki is quite strong, and based on his physical appearance, we can also assume that he is somewhere near Thorfinn’s level. We cannot confirm it as the author hasn’t given us too much information about Floki, but this is our assumption based on what we know and have seen in the series.

Thorfinn was, in the manga, able to brutally execute Floki because of his blind rage, but we really do think that Floki is somewhere on Thorfinn’s level in this aspect, which is why we have decided to share the points in this category.

Points: Thorfinn 1, Floki 1

Speed and agility

Thorfinn’s major fighting advantage is thought to be his speed. He lost against Thorkell in battle but won Thorkell’s admiration during the invasion of London. Thanks to his quick reflexes, he has avoided and responded to unexpected strikes like Snake’s Drawing. Nonetheless, he was unable to avoid Garm’s spear. Thorfinn was hurt by Garm, who proved to be faster than him, but he could still avoid him by avoiding his movements with his gaze. Before his pursuers in Jomsburg realized he had fled from them, he could travel a few meters.

When Garm identified Thorfinn as the only fighter ever found to evade his spear so swiftly, it was a testimonial to his rapid reflexes. Thorfinn’s agility is among the fastest in the series; he can scale a fortress wall, even jump over a moat, and outrun a squad of troops in a matter of seconds on a battlefield. He may use his agility to strike from an angle during a fight to finish off his opponent and rapidly regain his balance after being hit or dodged.

As for his speed, we know absolutely nothing about it. Floki is, as we have said, a character we have not seen show too many of his abilities throughout the series. We have seen his fighting and diplomatic skills, but his speed and agility are a total mystery. He is probably swift with his sword and agile in that aspect, but since he has not been mentioned as one of the faster characters in the series, we assume that his speed is on an average level; he would have been mentioned otherwise, right? As we have stated above, this is our assumption based on what we know.

Thorfinn is known for being one of the fastest characters in the whole series; Snake, who was quite fast, was unfavorably compared to him in this aspect, and as Floki has not been compared to him at all in this category, we assume that Thorfinn is significantly faster than him and that is why he wins this point easily.

Points: Thorfinn 2, Floki 1

Weapons

Speed is emphasized in Thorfinn’s combat technique, along with the simultaneous use of two knives; one of these knives originally belonged to Thors. He usually could quickly dispatch an opponent while dodging his blows by focusing on their weak places and using his speed to his advantage. Throwing knives can also be used well by Thorfinn, albeit he does not use them as his principal weapons.

Floki is seen using a sword when he clashes with Askeladd after the latter has murdered king Sweyn. This was not representative in any way, but it showed that Floki was quick on the sword and was not afraid. On the other hand, an enraged Thorfinn almost cut Floki to pieces when the two clashed. This is why it is exceptionally difficult to objectively evaluate Floki’s skills and abilities in this aspect. We know that the guy is powerful, strong, and skilled, but beyond the fact that his skills are worthy of a Jomsvikings commander, we don’t really have anything to add.

Now, one could argue that we’ve never really seen Floki fight and that he might be better than he lets on, but Thorfinn was able to trash him and almost brutally murdered him when he was enraged, demonstrating that he is, indeed, a better swordsman than Thorfinn, which is why the latter wins this final point.

Points: Thorfinn 3, Floki 1

Thorfin’s battle with Floki would probably end with the former’s victory

And now for our article’s most important and interesting section – the analysis. Here, we will use what we have learned about these two characters and analyze how all these facts would (or would not) help them in a fight against each other. Let us continue.

Ultimately, there is not much to work with here. The points suggest that Thorfinn is, indeed, more powerful, but there’s still a lot we do not know about Floki, and he could be more powerful than we think. After all, he is a Jomsvikings commander, which should speak for something, right? Well, be that as it may, everything we’ve seen from Thorfinn so far suggests that he is more powerful than Floki and could defeat him in a fight, just as he overpowered him in the manga in a fit of rage. And with Floki being so despicable, we cannot really blame Thorfinn for that.

The only category in which Floki could potentially match Thorfinn is physical strength, as Floki is truly, a strong person. We don’t really know how well he compares to Thorfinn in this aspect, but based on everything we know, they could be roughly on the same level and Thorfinn could, perhaps, have trouble beating him in an arm-wrestling competition, but luckily for him – this is not the only thing that matters in such a fight, as the fight is always a combination of various factors.

One factor that definitely helps Thorfinn is his amazing speed. He is one of the fastest characters in the whole series, and we can officially confirm that Floki is nowhere near that level when pure speed is concerned. This gives Thorfinn a big advantage, especially in light of the facts we have stated in the previous paragraph. On top of that, we also assume that Thorfinn is much more skilled with the sword than Floki, which is why we can only confirm that he is the better fighter in that aspect. If you add all this up, you’ll see why we think that Thorfinn would defeat Floki in a fight.