Erik Selvig
Dr. Erik Selvig is a Norwegian American astrophysicist in Earth-199999. He is a close colleague of Jane Foster, with whom he studies atmospheric anomalies, notably marking the earthly arrival of Thor in 2010. Following that event, Selvig earned a greater amount of attention from large entities such as S.H.I.E.L.D. In 2012, he was mind-controlled into a global-domination scheme by Loki, which though unsuccessful, had lasting negative effects on Selvig's mind. Still, he remained a brilliant expert on all things astronomical, and proved critical in stopping Malekith's attempted destruction of the universe in 2013.
Biography
Arrival of Thor
In May of 2010, Selvig, Jane Foster, and Foster's intern Darcy Lewis went to investigate a series of atmospheric disturbances near Puente Antiguo, New Mexico. Their study proved fruitful, as they bore witness to a dramatic storm in the night sky that left what appeared to be a man in the sand. The man was in fact Thor, the prince of Asgard who had just been banished from the realm and stripped of his power by his father Odin for arrogance and insubordination. Thor's rage and strange speech threatened Foster's team, and he was tased unconscious by Lewis. The three took him to a hospital while they pondered the night's events, but he escaped the following day. They bumped into him outside the hospital and took him into their own residence for safe keeping while they studied who he was and how he got there.
Thor was sometimes blunt and abrasive, having lived for hundreds of years as the prince of his realm, and took some time to get used to Earth customs. While eating out at a diner, Thor overheard talk from the locals of a "satellite" that had crash-landed in the desert fifty miles west and caught the attention of government agents. Thor immediately knew that this was Mjölnir, his signature hammer that granted his powers, and was determined above all to find it. Thor asked Foster to drive him there in exchange for information as to his origin, but Selvig vetoed the idea, still suspicious of him. With that, Thor and the others parted ways, though Foster remained curious about his sudden appearance. As the researchers returned to their residence, they found Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. leading a group of other agents in confiscating their equipment and other materials. Foster was furious, irrespective of Coulson assuring her that it was necessary for national security.
That night, without Selvig’s knowledge, Foster caught up to Thor and went to the site of the “satellite crash,” but the retrieval was a failure and Thor was taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. Foster convinced Selvig to help free him, to which he reluctantly agreed for her sake. He successfully did so, claiming to Agent Coulson that Thor was a disturbed colleague of his named Donald Blake. Through a combination of technology and intuition, Coulson saw through Selvig’s ploy, but let Thor go anyway. Selvig took Thor to a bar, and the two bonded over drinks. Their revelry got slightly out of hand, as Thor returned a horribly drunk Selvig to Foster’s residence.
The next day, the group were approached by Sif and the Warriors Three of Asgard, there to return Thor home. They were soon followed by forces from S.H.I.E.L.D. and a large humanoid machine from Asgard called the Destroyer, sent by Thor’s nefarious brother Loki. The Destroyer caused wanton destruction across the town, and Thor put himself in front of it to protect the innocent. As it smashed him in the face, seemingly killing him, Mjölnir came flying into Thor’s hand, having at last deemed him worthy of it. Thor's ceremonial Asgardian attire returned to his body along with his power, and he thoroughly dismantled the Destroyer in mere moments. His true nature now clear to all, Thor spoke with Agent Coulson and proposed an alliance on the condition that Foster have her work returned to her; Coulson readily agreed. With time short, Thor and the other Asgardians returned via the Bifrost; Thor vowed to return to Midgard and shared a kiss with Foster. Some time later, Selvig was enlisted by S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury to study a powerful artifact known as the Tesseract, and was mentally influenced from afar by Loki to accept.[1]
Loki's mind control
Loki was using a scepter equipped with the Mind Stone, along with his own potent magic, to influence Selvig from far away. As Selvig was working with the Tesseract in an underground S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, accompanied by Fury and Hawkeye, Loki had him use the Tesseract to open a portal into space, allowing Loki to come through and storm the facility. He used the Mind Stone to take full control of Selvig and Hawkeye, stealing the Tesseract and fleeing the facility with two fully mind-controlled minions in tow. He established a base of operations at an undisclosed location, recruiting various soldiers and scientists with a score to settle with S.H.I.E.L.D. Loki's intent was to use the Tesseract to open a large portal and allow a waiting Chitauri legion to invade through it. Selvig informed him that focusing the Tesseract's power in such a way would require a supply of iridium and a major power source. Loki and Hawkeye acquired a source of iridium in Stuttgart; Loki was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and their new superhero team, the Avengers, but Hawkeye returned safely with the iridium. For the power source, Selvig constructed a device using the Tesseract and the iridium atop Stark Tower. Loki was able to escape and meet him there, though Hawkeye was knocked out of his mind control and sided with the Avengers. As those six heroes converged upon Manhattan, Selvig opened the Tesseract's portal, allowing the Chitauri to flow through and assault the city. During the battle, Selvig was jostled out of Loki's mind control, and assisted Black Widow in disabling the portal. Before the portal closed, Iron Man threw a nuclear weapon through it at the Chitauri mothership, disabling their forces on the ground. Selvig returned home safely, while Loki and the Tesseract were taken back to Asgard.[2]
Malekith and the Convergence
Loki's mind control had lasting deleterious effects on Selvig's mind. Unfortunately, this coincided with legitimate groundbreaking research into an impending Convergence of the Nine Realms, making his revelatory discoveries seem like the ravings of a madman. In 2013, he was arrested after running through Stonehenge nude, and was transferred to a psychiatric hospital. Darcy Lewis and her intern Ian Boothby retrieved him, the latter pretending to be his son. They brought him back to their apartment, where Selvig reunited with Foster and Thor. He learned of the Dark Elf warlord Malekith, who was planning to use the powerful Aether at the moment of the Convergence to plunge the universe into darkness. The team used Selvig's "gravimetric spikes," which he had developed to "stabilize the focal point of the Convergence" to attain more control over the atmospheric anomalies and portals popping up around them. In the end, Thor fought and defeated Malekith in London, teleporting him back to his home realm of Svartalfheim and crushing him under his own spaceship.[3]
References
- ↑ Thor. Dir. Branagh, Kenneth. Perf. Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Colm Feore, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins. Paramount Pictures, 2011.
- ↑ The Avengers. Dir. Whedon, Joss. Perf. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2012.
- ↑ Thor: The Dark World. Dir. Taylor, Alan. Perf. Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, and Rene Russo. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2013.