Angels of Heven
The Angels of Heven are a species that feature in Marvel Comics
Contents |
History
The Angels were a race of winged humanoid beings that were native to the Tenth Realm of Heven that were among the realms attached to the World Tree of Yggdrassil. (Original Sin v1 #5.1) Long ago, All-Father Odin was noted to had secretly hired the Angels of Heven as mercenaries to defend the mortal realm of Midgard. This was because Asgardians were known to arrive on Earth where they preyed on humans and killed them for sport. Thus, the Angels were supposed to act as protectors where they mercilessly killed any such violators from Asgard with the All-Father paying the price for their service. Such was the arrangement for sometime though the mercenary traits of the Angels meant that they had no loyalty to Odin. At some point, the Frost Giants of Jotunheim paid them for forming a strategy against their ancient enemies the Asgardians. This led to the Queen of the Angels suggesting that an alliance be formed among all of Asgard's enemies that were to unite and destroy them. Upon learning of this, Odin confronted the Queen of the Angels and accused her of deceit with her admitting her actions with her suggesting the All-Father that he simply pay them more with the forces of Heven turning against their allies. An enraged All-Father refused and stated that he would bring his fury on the Angels if they turned on him. Thus, a period of war erupted between the Angels of Heven and the Asgardians of Asgard. (Original Sin v1 #5.3) In the War with Angels, the forces of Heven struck at Asgard itself as they attempted to force their rule. The Queen of the Angels was responsible for capturing the heir of Odin namely his daughter Aldrif where he threatened her life unless he acquiesced to their demands. The All-Father refused and in response the Queen seemingly had killed the daughter of Odin and Freyja. The attack from Heven was then defeated but the Asgardians came to believe that there could be no peace so long as the Tenth Realm existed. Thus, All-Father Odin used his power to rip the realm from the World Tree and seal it away thus entrapping the Angels within their home of Heven. As a result, it came to be hidden from both sight and from memory of all in the cosmos. (Original Sin v1 #5.1) In reality, the baby Aldrif was not killed by the Queen of the Angels who instead took her escape ship. Initially, she was to be disposed of but instead she was raised alongside the Angels with her heritage unknown to them and even to herself. (Original Sin v1 #5.5)
After the death of Uatu, the knowledge held by the Watcher was revealed to various individuals with Thor learning of the fact that the mysterious Angela was his sister. In an effort to find her, he and his adoptive brother Loki looked to pierce the barrier between worlds and enter into the realm of Heven. (Original Sin v1 #5.1) This saw them come under attack from the Angels with Thor's defeat at the hands of Angela whilst Loki had seemingly sided with the forces of Heven. (Original Sin v1 #5.3) As the Mistress of Strategies, Loki led their forces in an invasion of Asgard though this was a trick as he simply brought them to the remains of Old Asgard where Odin had went to in a self-imposed exile. (Original Sin v1 #5.4) Odin managed to stop the confrontation and return to Asgardia with his sons, additionally, the true lineage of Angela as an Asgardian was revealed, and she was exiled from Heven by her fellow Angels. (Original Sin v1 #5.5)
Ultimately, the War of the Realms came to reach Midgard itself where they joined the ranks of the Dark Council in conquering it. (War of the Realms v1 #1) This saw them claiming the region of Africa to be a new Land of the Angels that was renamed as New Heven. (War of the Realms v1 #3) High Polemarch Fernande was tasked with conquering Lagos but she had a change of heart after encountering Spider-Man who helped convince her to turn her army against the Dark Council. This led to her joining the ranks of the League of Realms as they opposed the Dark Elves. (War of the Realms: Spider-Man & the League of Realms v1 #2) During their attack in Africa, Angela had Skurge tear open a doorway into Heven itself allowing her entry there where she used the Naglfar Beacon to summon an army of dead gods to attack the Tenth Realm. The Angels in desperation attempted to protect their homeland but were largely massacred with the Queen of the Angels slain by Angela. Angela then destroyed the beacon but refused to take the mantle of queen where she consigned the Angels to wander the cosmos as they had done to her thus ending their role in the War of the Realms. (Asgardians of the Galaxy v1 #10)
In the aftermath, the line of succession over Heven was broken with the Angels battling among one another in order to claim whatever wealth was left behind. (Valkyrie: Jane Foster v1 #3)
Overview
In appearance, the Angels of Heven were a race of winged humanoids with the majority being female that had greater strength and speed when compared to mortals along with the power of flight. (Original Sin v1 #5.1) They were noted for being immortal and that they could not die from old age. (Thor v5 #8) It was known that they were divided into a caste-based society with one being the spy caste where the lowest rank was messenger bird. Male Angels were referred to as Anchorites with them residing underground in their home realm. (Original Sin v1 #5.2)
Angels were one of the greatest, if not, the greatest warriors in the Ten Realms. They were great warriors that even the Asgardians feared them. (Original Sin v1 #5.3) The Angels were noted to be so powerful that no army in all the realms can stand against them. (War of the Realms v1 #5)
By their nature, Angels were shown to be mercenary by trait with them believing everything had a price. Thus, they never engaged in an act without some form of payment. Within Heven, they dismissed the concept of honour with this not being a tangible payment. As a result, they had no true loyalty to allies and if paid to do so they would equally turn on their comrades. (Original Sin v1 #5.3) Angels were said to not fall in love as it was not allowed and was biologically impossible. Instead, they were to only desire war and the spoils they gained from it. (War of the Realms: Spider-Man & the League of Realms v1 #2)
The Throne of Heven did not command the Temple of the Anchorites nor the Hierophants. (Angela: Queen of Hel v1 #2)
Blood Onyx was a notable reward for an act that was valuable enough to buy a promotion in Heven or even get a Hunter's Mark. (Original Sin v1 #5.2) Indication was position was present with marks of status on their bodies. Teams of Angels were often led by a Hunt-leader. (Original Sin v1 #5.5) Another high ranking position in their military was that of the High Polemarch. (War of the Realms: Spider-Man & the League of Realms v1 #2) A punishment for disobeying the realms ruler was having an Angel’s mark of status removed and their assets seized thus leaving them as a beggar in Heven. (Original Sin v1 #5.5)
The magic wielding male Hierophants were said to be involved in the task of finding an unused afterlife that could be taken by the Angels. (Valkyrie: Jane Foster v1 #3)
Among the Ten Realms, the inhabitants of Heven were shown to be technologically advanced and made use of high-tech equipment from vessels to mecha. They were noted to make use of large space-going craft known as Dreadnaughts that transported their armies in conquest of other worlds or realms. (Original Sin v1 #5.4) Other vessels among their forces included destroyers and even planet-killers. (Original Sin v1 #5.2)
The Angels resided in the realm of Heven that was the Tenth Realm among the lands connected by the World Tree. It was described as appearing as a paradise to travellers that came upon it. (Original Sin v1 #5.2) There were no clouds present within Heven and thus the inhabitants were unfamiliar with the concept of storms or rain. (Original Sin v1 #5.4) The males thus resided in the underground region known as Under-Heven. (Valkyrie: Jane Foster v1 #3)
Members
- Queen of Angels : the female ruler of the Angels of Heven. (Original Sin v1 #5.2) She was slain by Angela during the War of the Realms where she attempted to defend Heven from the undead gods called from the Naglfar Beacon. (Asgardians of the Galaxy v1 #10)
- Loriel : a female Angel of Heven was tasked to dispose Aldrif's body while they retreated from Asgard. Moments before she could dispose of the child's body, Loriel found out the baby was alive and raised her as one of the Angels, under the name of Angela. (Original Sin v1 #5.5)
- Meresyn : a female Angel of Heven who mocked Angela for her not having wings during their childhood. Years later, after Angela became the Leader of the Hunt, Meresyn and other Angels rebelled against the Queen of Angels, but were all put down, with the exception of Meresyn, who fled. Meresyn was then pursued and killed by Angela, being the very first living being she killed. (Angela: Queen of Hel v1 #3)
- Fernande : (War of the Realms: Spider-Man & the League of Realms v1 #1)
- Anemone : a white-haired female Angel who was the lover of Fernande that was slain by Malekith the Accursed as he desired to know what it felt like to kill a member of Heven. (War of the Realms: Spider-Man & the League of Realms v1 #2)
- Sera : one of the Anchorites, the rare and wingless male Angels of Heven. (Angela: Asgard's Assassin v1 #3)
- Angela : a female member who was actually an Asgardian raised by the Angels with her being the daughter of Odin and Freyja. (Original Sin v1 #5.1)
Notes
- The Angels of Heven were created by Jason Aaron, Al Ewing, and Lee Garbett where they made their first appearance in Original Sin v1 #5.1 (September, 2014).
- In an interview on Comic Book Resources, writer Kieron Gillen commented, "There is room for different expressions of Angelic cultural values. There's probably a conflict between how they view friendship on a societal level, which I suspect might be a kind of Ayn Randian Objectivist view. That might be a hard philosophy of Angels. There might be some Angels who don't believe in friendship versus other ones who have expressions of friendship perhaps not encouraged by the system. That's kind of my reading of their system. The more complex readings there are of Angels would be the more interesting one for me."
Alternate Versions
- In Loki: Agent of Asgard v1 #12 (2015), an alternate reality version of the Angels appeared in the potential future of King Thor. On this reality, the reconnection of Heven with Midgard caused a second "Angel War" between Asgard and the Angels. The heroes of Earth got caught in the middle of the conflict while they were facing Nick Fury on the Moon for the death of Uatu the Watcher.
Appearances
- Original Sin v1: (2014)
- Angela: Asgard's Assassin v1:
- Mighty Thor:
- War of the Realms v1:
- War of the Realms: Spider-Man & the League of Realms v1:
- Asgardians of the Galaxy v1:
- Valkyrie: Jane Foster v1:
External Links
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