Helicarrier

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

The Helicarrier - from Captain America # 2(2005) - art by Steve Epting and Frank d'Amato

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.

[edit] History of the Helicarriers

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 v.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 six Helicarriers have been named over the years:

Luxor (not yet seen - a class prototype)
Hermes (allegedly scuttled after being hi-jacked by the Red Skull)
Argus (a Luxor-class Helicarrier)
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)
Alpha (first mentioned by name in New Avengers # 4; shown in the most recent trailer for the upcoming game Marvel Ultimate Alliance)
Pericles V (infiltrated by the vampiric Order of Tyrana and scuttled by Blade in Blade v.3 # 1)

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

[edit] Other depictions of the Helicarrier

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, suggesting ease in its manufacturing, or retrofitting of existing sea vessels.

The first live-action incarnation of the Helicarrier appeared in the TV movie Nick Fury: Agent of Shield featuring David Hasselhoff as the title character. This version appeared to be a sea-going battleship or aircraft carrier retrofitted with four giant helicopter rotors.

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 antigravity mechanism.