Helicarrier

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, Forge, and Reed Richards. According to one 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.

Over twenty Helicarriers have been built over the decades, and at least two have been in simultaneous service on several occasions.

Reception

Critical response

Jamie Lovett of ComicBook.com referred to the Helicarrier as one of "Marvel's most iconic vehicles." George Marston of Newsarama included the Helicarrier in their "Best Superhero Headquarters And Hideouts Of All Time" list, calling it one of the "very coolest, most iconic, and ultimate best superhero headquarters in comic books." Sam Scott of Looper included the Helicarrier in their "Coolest Superhero Hideouts In Marvel History" list, writing, "Jack Kirby came up with more wild ideas in his career than most of us could in 12 lifetimes, and if there was one thing he loved dreaming up, it was huge, outlandish vehicles. None of them were huger, more outlandish, or more iconic than the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier." Brad Hill of Sportskeeda included the Helicarrier in their "10 Best Vehicles In Comic Books" list, saying, "Another iconic vehicle within the Marvel universe, which became even more iconic after the first Avengers movie, is the Helicarrier."

Comic Book Resources ranked the Helicarrier 3rd in their "10 Coolest Vehicles In Marvel Comics" list, 6th in their "10 Best Vehicles In The Marvel Universe" list, 7th in their "10 Most Important Vehicles In The Marvel Universe" list, and 10th in their "10 Most Iconic Superhero Hideouts In Marvel Comics" list. Casey Haney of Screen Rant ranked the Helicarrier 7th in their "16 Best Superhero Vehicles" list.

Other versions

Marvel NOW

The Helicarrier appears in issue #25 of New Avengers, circa the year 1968. Howard Stark is seen giving Nick Fury the hard sell of his newly designed Helicarrier.

Ultimate Marvel

Alternate versions of the Helicarrier appear in the Ultimate Marvel universe. 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 Fantastic Four. In Ultimate Avengers Vs New Ultimates #4, Nick Fury reveals that Hank Pym designed the Helicarriers.

In other media

Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Helicarrier appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It is based on the Ultimate Marvel incarnation of the vehicle and has stacked carrier decks and optical camouflage capabilities.

Television

• The Helicarrier appears in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "Mission: Save the Guardstar".
• The Helicarrier appears in appears in Spider-Man. Besides being the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, it also served as a prison for high-risk individuals, such as the Chameleon. It is later destroyed by Electro.
• The Helicarrier appears in the X-Men: Evolution episode "Ascension".
• The Helicarrier appears in appears in The Super Hero Squad Show, and serves as the base of operations for the Super Hero Squad. It is usually piloted by Ms. Marvel, who reluctantly allowed the Squad to use it.
• The Helicarrier appears in the Iron Man: Armored Adventures episode "Technovore".
• Helicarriers appear in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
• The Helicarrier appears in Ultimate Spider-Man (2012). In the first season, it serves as a headquarters and home for Spider-Man's team, as well as a prison, before being destroyed by the Green Goblin. In the second season, the Helicarrier is rebuilt as the more versatile Tri-Carrier, which can divide into three ships: the central Strato-Carrier, the space-based Astro-Carrier, and the water-based Aqua-Carrier. In the fourth season, Swarm converts the Tri-Carrier into Hydra Island, which is destroyed by the Scarlet Spider.
• The Tri-Carrier appears in Avengers Assemble, serving as a prison for the Red Skull and the Squadron Supreme.

Film

• The Helicarrier appears in Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Several Helicarriers appear in Ultimate Avengers.
• The Helicarrier appears in Iron Man: Rise of Technovore.
• The Helicarrier appears in Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher.
• A decommissioned Helicarrier appears in 20th Century Fox's Deadpool (2016). It is not identified onscreen due to rights issues between Marvel and Fox.

Video games

• The Helicarrier appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.
• The Helicarrier appears in Ultimate Spider-Man (2005).
• The Helicarrier appears in Spider-Man: Friend or Foe.
• The Helicarrier appears in Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.
• The Helicarrier appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.
• The Helicarrier appears in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions.
• The Helicarrier appears in Iron Man 2.
• The Helicarrier appears as a stage in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.
• The Helicarrier appears in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
• The Helicarrier appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes.
• The Helicarrier appears in Lego Marvel's Avengers.
• The Helicarrier appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2.
• The Helicarrier appears in Marvel Strike Force.
• The Helicarrier appears in Marvel's Avengers.
• The Helicarrier appears in Iron Man VR. This version was created by Stark Industries and was the last project Tony Stark sold to S.H.I.E.L.D. before he stopped manufacturing weapons.
• The Helicarrier appears in Fortnite.
• The Helicarrier appears in Marvel Snap.

Miscellaneous

A futuristic incarnation of the Helicarrier called the Levicarrier appears in the graphic novel Crash.

References

References

1. Wasserman, Ben. (2022-03-11). "Marvel Studios Concept Artist Shares a Sleek Early Helicarrier Design".
2. Bruce, Amanda. (2017-03-13). "Marvel: 15 Things You Didn't Know About S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier".
3. (September 2011). "Fear Itself: Wolverine". Marvel Comics.
4. Lovett, Jamie. (October 29, 2014). "Marvel Vehicles: Owner's Workshop Manual Exclusive Quinjet Excerpt".
5. Marston, George. (2023-01-14). "The best superhero headquarters and hideouts of all time".
6. Scott, Sam. (2021-05-20). "The Coolest Superhero Hideouts In Marvel History".
7. Hill, Brad. (May 7, 2022). "From Batmobile to Thanos Copter: Exploring 10 best vehicles in comic books".
8. Allan, Scoot. (2022-10-29). "10 Coolest Vehicles In Marvel Comics, Ranked".
9. Harth, David. (August 3, 2022). "10 Best Vehicles In The Marvel Universe".
10. Jackson, Carl. (2021-01-10). "10 Most Important Vehicles In The Marvel Universe, Ranked".
11. Avina, Anthony. (2019-09-06). "10 Most Iconic Superhero Hideouts In Marvel Comics, Ranked".
12. Haney, Casey. (December 20, 2015). "The 16 Best Superhero Vehicles".
13. New Avengers, Issue #25, Johnathan Hickman and Kev Walker
14. ''Ultimate Avengers Vs New Ultimates''#4
15. Estelhomme, Barry. (2023-02-15). "10 Devices That Changed the MCU".
16. "Marvel's The Avengers Trailers & Clips - Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com.
17. (7 May 2012). "Previs, Techvis, and Postvis on the Avengers".
18. http://nathanschroeder.net/Gallery/Avengers {{Webarchive. link. (2018-11-04 Nathan Schroeder's design gallery for ''The Avengers'')
19. Truitt, Brian. (January 18, 2013). "The kids are all right in animated 'Ultimate Spider-Man'".
20. (February 9, 2016). "Exclusive: Deadpool "couldn't get the rights" to Avengers joke".
21. Burlingame, Russ. (February 17, 2016). "Deadpool Movie Concept Artist Confirms Helicarrier". [[ComicBook.com]].
22. Olivares, Vladimir. (2022-01-17). "Marvel Ultimate Alliance Is Still the Best Avengers Game".
23. Szadkowski, Joseph. (February 17, 2011). "Zadzooks: Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Special Edition".
24. "Alliance War Rules - Marvel Strike Force".
25. Hornshaw, Phil. (August 5, 2020). "Marvel's Avengers Beta Impressions: Some Assembly Required".
26. Dornbush, Jonathon. (2020-08-05). "Marvel's Avengers: The Helicarrier Is Your Superhero HQ - IGN First".
27. Wilkins, Matthew. (March 8, 2022). "3 times Fortnite surprised its fans in a good way (& 3 times it left them shocked)".
28. Provencher, Bo. (2022-11-25). "Marvel Snap Adds 16 New Cards, Including She-Hulk, Shuri and the Helicarrier".
29. Kaptan, Doruk. (2022-12-08). "Marvel Snap: Every Pool 4 Card, Ranked".