Helicarrier

Helicarrier
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Strange Tales #135 (August 1965)
Created by	Jack Kirby
In story information
Type	Base of operations
Notable people	S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Helicarrier is a fictional flying aircraft carrier specifically designed to be capable of independent powered flight in addition to the conventional functions of aircraft carriers. It is the signature capital ship of the fictional intelligence/defense agency S.H.I.E.L.D., usually shown in Marvel Comics-published comic book magazines.

Originally designed by Jack Kirby for the Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. serial in Strange Tales #135 (August 1965), the Helicarrier concept has survived multiple redesigns whilst rarely straying from its originally depicted role as a mobile headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D. until recent years.

Fictional history

In the Marvel Universe context of the various Nick Fury/S.H.I.E.L.D. series, the original design is attributed to a co-operative effort by Tony Stark, the mutant inventor Forge, and Reed Richards. According to an account in Amazing Fantasy vol. 2, #10, the first Helicarrier was proposed by Stark Industries as a political compromise among the signatories of the treaty in response to fears that any nation hosting the Directorate's main headquarters would be subject to attack by organizations such as HYDRA, with domestic political fallout sure to follow immediately thereafter.

Additionally, at least eight Helicarriers have been built over the decades, and at least two have been in simultaneous service in the last decade on several occasions. Also, at least ten Helicarriers have been identified by name thus far.

• Luxor - Not yet seen. A class prototype.
• Hermes - Allegedly scuttled after being hi-jacked by the Red Skull.
• Argus - A Luxor-class Helicarrier.
• Behemoth - Specially designed Helicarrier commanded by Dum Dum Dugan for use against Godzilla in the 24-issue comic series Godzilla, King of the Monsters. First appearance was in issue #6 (January 1978). Destroyed by S.H.I.E.L.D. in an attempt to neutralize an attack by Amadeus Cho in Incredible Hercules #115.
• Black Hawk - Destroyed in action against a HYDRA-Hand alliance of forces in Wolverine: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Further details on these events are depicted in The Irredeemable Ant-Man #1-2. Dark Reign: Elektra #1-5 gives more details, such as it having landed on a small Arkansas town.
• Alpha - First mentioned by name in New Avengers #4. Also shown in the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.
• Pericles III - Punisher War Journal vol. 2, #1.
• Pericles V - Infiltrated by the vampiric Order of Tyrana and scuttled by Blade in Blade vol. 3, #1.
• Samuel Sawyer - First appearance in Iron Man: Hypervelocity #3. Named for Nick Fury's World War II-era commanding officer in the United States Army.
• Iliad - First shown in Secret Warriors #4. Named in Secret Warriors #17.
• Argonaut - First shown in Secret Warriors #4. Named in Secret Warriors #17.
• Prometheus - Originally intended as Norman Osborn's H.A.M.M.E.R. flagship, the Prometheus was stolen from a secret U.S. facility in the Sonoran Desert by a rogue faction of S.T.R.I.K.E. during the 2011 "Fear Itself" storyline.

After Iron Man replaced Maria Hill as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he designs a new class of Helicarrier which looks more like the Iron Man Armor; it carries a red and gold design, which Maria Hill called Helicarrier Gold, but Stark considered it The Helicarrier. This helicarrier was severely damaged and crashed by the Red Hulk, and subsequently commandeered by the Intelligencia (the covert operation of evil super-geniuses that employed the Rulk), who renamed it the "Hellcarrier".

The main S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier is subsequently disabled by a computer virus unleashed by a Skrull agent posing as Edwin Jarvis, as part of the Secret Invasion. It lands in the Bermuda Triangle. Most of the staff are revealed to be Skrulls. The craft is destroyed by Maria Hill.

It is not yet known what criteria S.H.I.E.L.D. used to name its Helicarriers.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s replacement agency, H.A.M.M.E.R., has decommissioned the surviving Helicarriers, with three of them — including the Iliad and the Argonaut — being stolen by Nick Fury. H.A.M.M.E.R. subsequently commissioned at least one new carrier to Norman Osborn's specifications, which was destroyed over Broxton, Oklahoma, during the Siege of Asgard.

According to intel gathered by Livewires, 5 Helicarriers are known to have been wrecked, though this data is out of date as several more have been lost since.

Other versions

Ultimate Marvel

The Ultimate Universe deals with Helicarriers differently. Whereas on Marvel's Earth-616, it is implied that S.H.I.E.L.D. (a United Nations Task Force) only has a handful of Helicarriers in operation, in the Ultimate Universe, S.H.I.E.L.D. is depicted as a United States-operated military organization and is shown to have dozens of carriers, some even replacing retired conventional aircraft carriers like the USS Constellation. The engines that keep the carrier aloft were designed by Tony Stark and were modular enough to be used in a space shuttle by the Ultimate Fantastic Four. These "Ultimate Universe" Helicarriers generally seem to be smaller than the Earth-616 versions, and have a more conventional aircraft carrier shape, but are far more plentiful. In Ultimate Avengers Vs New Ultimates #4 Nick Fury reveals that Hank Pym was the one who conceived and designed the Helicarriers.

In other media

Television

• The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier appears in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "Mission: Save the Guardstar".
• The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier also appears in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
• Another version of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier appears in the final episode of X-Men Evolution.
• A version of the Helicarrier appears in The Super Hero Squad Show, and serves as the base of operations for the Super Hero Squad. It is usually piloted by S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Ms. Marvel, who reluctantly allowed the Squad to move in. Since then, it has been nearly destroyed on two occasions.
• The Helicarrier was featured in the Iron Man: Armored Adventures episode "Technovore", but instead of propellers keeping it aloft, it has jet engines (designed by Howard Stark).

Film

• The first live-action incarnation of the Helicarrier appeared in the 1998 TV-movie Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• The Helicarrier will be appearing in the 2012 film The Avengers. Early concept art of it was shown on Spidermedia.com.^{[citation needed]}
• Several of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarriers appear in the animated film Ultimate Avengers. They are destroyed by a trio of Chitauri vessels.

Video games

• The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier is one of the main locations in the game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. The Helicarrier featured is referenced in the opening cinematic by Nick Fury as "S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier UNN Alpha". After the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier UNN Alpha is damaged from the Masters of Evil's attack, Fury uses Stark Tower as a base for his superhero allies that were recruited to stop Doctor Doom's Masters of Evil. This version also has jet engines replacing propellers.
• The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier appears in the game Ultimate Spider-Man. It appears after Venom is unlocked, and when the player causes enough havoc in free roam to merit flying S.H.I.E.L.D. troopers.
• The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier works as a headquarters of sorts in the game Spider-Man: Friend or Foe.
• A S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier appears multiple times in the game Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. It is destroyed at the end of the game following the Venom monster's defeat. In the PSP and PS2 version, Spider-Man ends up on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier after his fight with the Tinkerer and discovers that the Helicarrier is infested with Symbiotes. After Spider-Man defeats Jackal, the Helicarrier crashes to the ground.
• The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier makes a brief appearance in the game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.
• The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier appears in the game Iron Man 2. The preview video for the game reveals that Tony Stark was the one who built it. It is shown as the S.H.I.E.L.D. base throughout the game, but also as a weapon. At one point, it is attacked by A.I.M. forces; however, they are defeated by the combined forces of Iron Man and War Machine. At the end of the game, it is destroyed, on purpose, when it crashes into the giant Ultimo.
• The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier appears in the background of one of the stages in the game Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.

Novels

• The 1988 Iron Man graphic novel Crash, which takes place in the future, introduces a S.H.I.E.L.D. "Levicarrier", which is held aloft by some form of anti-gravity mechanism.

Imitations

• The "mobile airstrip" that appears in the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is an homage to the Marvel Helicarrier.^{[citation needed]}
• A "COBRA helicarrier" made several recurring appearances in the 1980s G.I. Joe television series.
• A fleet of helicarriers are utilized by the "Luftwaffe of the Prussian Empire" depicted in the British graphic-novel, The Adventures of Luther Arkwright.
• Cloudbase, from the television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (renamed "Skybase" for Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet), is very similar in design and operation to the Helicarrier.
• The flying UNIT aircraft carrier Valiant seen in the Doctor Who episodes "The Sound of Drums", "Last of the Time Lords", and "The Poison Sky", is also similar in design and operation to the Helicarrier.
• Fortress, an airship similar to the Helicarrier, appeared and was destroyed in one episode of the Disney animated series Gargoyles. A new version of the Fortress appeared later in the series.^{[citation needed]}
• The airships that play prominent roles in the film Laputa: Castle in the Sky, could arguably be considered as helicarriers.^{[citation needed]}

Parodies

• In the cartoon series Frisky Dingo, the character Awesome X's headquarters is a helicarrier.^{[citation needed]}
• A humorous depiction of a Helicarrier-like airship is featured in the Disney animated series TaleSpin.
• In the cartoon Codename: Kids Next Door, the Kids Next Door organization are shown in the episode Operation: T.R.E.A.T.Y. to have a base called the G.I.H.O.O.J.A.C.A.R.R.I.E.R., which is similar to the Helicarrier. It's used to host the signing of the Kid/Teen treaty (which turns out to be a trap) before being destroyed by a hot fudge explosion.

See also

• Airborne aircraft carrier
• Fictional airborne aircraft carriers

External links

• Marvel Comics' official profile on the Helicarriers
• Helicarriers' profile and story