| Angela | |
|---|---|
 Cover ofGuardians of the Galaxy #6 (2013), bySara Pichelli | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Image Comics (1993–2000) Marvel Comics (2013–present) |
| First appearance | Image Comics: Spawn #9 (March 1993) Marvel Comics: Age of Ultron #10 (June 2013) |
| Created by | Neil Gaiman Todd McFarlane |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Aldrif Odinsdottir |
| Species | Asgardian |
| Place of origin | Asgard |
| Team affiliations | Guardians of the Galaxy Asgardians of the Galaxy Strikeforce A-Force |
| Notable aliases | The Hunter Queen of Hel |
| Abilities |
|
Angela is asuperhero created byNeil Gaiman andTodd McFarlane who appears inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics, and formerly in comics published byImage Comics. Shefirst appeared inSpawn #9, published in 1993 by Image, and starred in a self-titledlimited series published in 1994. The character is an angel and bounty hunter working on behalf of Heaven, and is a recurring adversary and occasional ally to the antiheroSpawn.
A legal dispute between McFarlane and Gaiman over ownership of the character concluded in 2013 in Gaiman's favor. Gaiman subsequently sold the rights to the character to Marvel, where she debuted in the 2013 comic seriesAge of Ultron. The 2014 storyline "Original Sin"retroactively established a neworigin story for Angela asAldrif Odinsdottir, the sister of the superheroThor.
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In 1993,Todd McFarlane contractedNeil Gaiman, along with three other recognized authors,Alan Moore,Dave Sim, andFrank Miller, to write one issue of his creator-owned comics seriesSpawn, which was published byImage Comics. While doing so, Gaiman introduced the characters Angela,Cogliostro, andMedieval Spawn. All three characters were co-created and designed by McFarlane. Angela first appeared in issue #9, as an adversary. In 1994 and 1995, a three-issueAngelalimited series was published, written by Gaiman and illustrated byGreg Capullo, in which Angela and Spawn were forced by circumstance to temporarily work together as allies. The series was later reprinted as atrade paperback titledAngela Trade Paperback, retitled asSpawn: Angela's Hunt in later printings and given a new cover design (ISBN 1-887279-09-1).
The monthlySpawn series continued to feature all of the characters Gaiman had created long after his direct involvement had ended. Angela would appear in severalSpawn issues such as #96 through #100, and in the 1994–95limited seriesAngela. She was also featured in severalcrossovers. TheRage of Angels miniseries saw Angela meetingGlory inAngela and Glory (1996), and was continued inYoungblood #6 (1996) andTeam Youngblood #21. There was also a crossover calledAria/Angela, in which she featured in the seriesAria.
McFarlane had agreed that Gaiman retained creator rights to the characters, but later claimed that Gaiman's work had been work-for-hire and that McFarlane owned all of Gaiman's co-creations entirely, pointing to the legal indicia ofSpawn #9 and the lack of legal contract stating otherwise. McFarlane had also refused to pay Gaiman for the volumes of Gaiman's work that McFarlane republished and kept in print. In 2002, Gaiman filed suit and won a sizable judgment against McFarlane and Image Comics for the rights due any creator.[1][2] All three characters were then equally co-owned by both men. In 2012, McFarlane and Gaiman settled their dispute,[3] and Gaiman was given full ownership of Angela.[4]
Comic Book Resources confirmed on March 21, 2013, that Neil Gaiman was returning toMarvel Comics and would bring Angela with him.Joe Quesada was quoted as saying her first appearance as a proper Marvel character would happen at the finale of the "Age of Ultron" storyline.[5][6]
In 2013, it was later confirmed that Marvel Comics bought the rights to Angela from Gaiman.[7][8]
On May 9, 2013,Entertainment Weekly published the first image of Angela as redesigned by Joe Quesada for her appearances in books published by Marvel Comics.[9] The 2014 storyline "Original Sin"retroactively established a neworigin story for Angela as Aldrif Odinsdottir, the sister of the superheroThor.[10][11]
Angela is an angel and a bounty hunter, working under the auspices of Heaven to oppose Spawn. She attempts to kill Spawn upon their first meeting, but is defeated despite her significantly greater experience.[12] Later, he comes to her aid during her trial in Heaven, where he testifies that she had permission to kill him. They are temporarily trapped in a pocket dimension when Spawn's cloak acts to protect him from her weapons. Spawn's restructuring of reality allows them to return from the pocket dimension, and also erases Angela's 'permit' to use her weapons against him.[13] While returning to Earth they start a romantic relationship. However, Angela is killed during the battle withMalebolgia. Spawn returns her body to the angels, who presumably bring her back to life.[14]
During the 2013 "Age of Ultron" storyline, Angela is revealed to be alive and has been pulled from Heaven as a result ofWolverine's damage to the Omniverse.[15] In a combination of rage and confusion, she charges towards Earth from outer space, only to be intercepted by theGuardians of the Galaxy, leading to her joining the team.[16]
During theOriginal Sin storyline, it is revealed that she is Aldrif, the daughter ofOdin and Freyja, making her sister toThor andLoki. She was "killed" as an infant during Asgard's war with the Angels of the Tenth Realm called "Heven." This crime resulted in Odin severing the Tenth Realm from the other nine as punishment for their attack. Thor learns of his sister's existence when he is exposed to the secrets ofUatu, theWatcher's eye, by theOrb. He returns to Asgard to confront his mother about Angela's existence, and subsequently travels to the Tenth Realm with Loki to learn more about his sister.[17]
The Guardians of the Galaxy and Angela are attacked in warp space by a band of pirates, called Warpjackers. During the battle, Angela abandons the Guardians when the adult Loki telepathically tells her that the portal to Heven is open and that she can return home. As Thor battles Heven's guards, Angela appears having been guided to the doorway to Heven by Loki, and prepares to battle Thor.[18] Angela fights an exhausted Thor who had just fought off the army of Heven, and is then told by the Queen of Angels to bring Thor to her. The now-female Loki has aligned with the Angels, telling Thor that "being on the winning side seems just perfect."[19]
While Loki leads an Angel fleet to Asgard, under the false pretence to help them destroy it, Thor escapes captivity and engages Angela in combat once again.[20] The fight between Thor and Angela is interrupted when Odin (who Loki freed from his self-exile) arrives and recognizes Angela as his daughter, revealing Angela's true lineage as the long thought dead Aldrif. A long time ago, the Angel tasked to dispose of Aldrif's body found out the baby was alive and raised her as one of the Angels under the name of Angela. In light of this revelation, the Queen of Angels grants Angela her life, pardoning her for her service to the Angels, but exiles her from Heven due to her lineage. After leaving Heven, Odin tells Thor, Loki, and Angela that he still loves his children. Angela then decides to leave in order to explore the other realms.[21]
Later, Angela and her lover Sera abduct the newborn daughter of Odin and Freyja. Unbeknownst to Odin, the baby is possessed by the spirit ofSurtur and Odin orders Thor to hunt down the pair. Angela and Sera with help from the Guardians of the Galaxy, stay ahead of Thor and take the baby to Heven to be cleansed of Surtur's spirit. There, Angela throws the baby into the stalled engines of Heven. Surtur's fire is expelled from the baby and reignites the engines of Heven. For this action, Angela's debt to Heven is repaid and thus closes her last remaining connection to the realm.[22]
After Angela returns the baby to Odin, she discovers that Sera is actuallyMalekith the Accursed and the real Sera, who was previously killed in battle, remains inHel. Angela travels to Hel and petitionsHela to restore her love to life. When Hela refuses, Angela launches a campaign of conquest with the help of Sera and Hela's handmaiden, Leah, completing several trials to become the new Queen of Hel. When she succeeds, she frees the souls of the dead Angels enslaved by Hel, and restores Sera to life, only to abdicate and return to Earth with Sera and Leah, having no need for power.[23]
Angela later joinsStrikeforce, an Avengers-adjacent black ops team as the co-leader alongsideBlade.[24]
In her current Marvel incarnation, Angela is a born god and heir to the Asgardian throne.[17] She has enormous amounts of super strength which enables her to fight opponents like Jane Foster (Thor),[25] super speed where she moves faster than lightning and super durability where she can withstand attacks from the likes of Gamora, Drax and Thor. She also has the ability to fly. Angela can also heal faster than an average human being.[26]
Unlike the rest of Asgardian Gods, Angela is immortal and does not require Golden Apples to sustain her youth. She lived for eons without any sustenance.[19][27]
Screen Rant included Angela in their "10 Best Thor Characters In Marvel Comics But Not In The MCU" list,[28] in their "10 Most Powerful Asgardian Gods In Marvel Comics" list,[29] and in their "10 Best Asgardians Not Yet In The MCU" list,[30] and ranked her 13th in their "15 Most Powerful Asgardians In The Marvel Universe" list.[31]Autostraddle ranked Angela 2nd in their "7 LGBT Women Who Need to Appear in the MCU Immediately" list.[32] Marc Buxton ofDen of Geek ranked Angela 22nd in their "Guardians of the Galaxy 3: 50 Marvel Characters We Want to See" list.[33]CBR.com ranked Angela 4th in their "Marvel: The 10 Strongest Female Heroes" list,[34] 5th in their "10 Strongest Asgardians In The Comics" list,[35] and 7th in their "20 Strongest Female Superheroes" list.[36]
In 1995,Wizard Fan Awards nominated Angela for Favorite Villainess, Character Most Deserving of Own Ongoing Title, and Favorite One-shot or Limited Series/Miniseries.[37] In 1996,Wizard Fan Awards nominated Angela for Favorite Heroine.[38]
According toDiamond Comic Distributors,Angela: Asgard's Assassin #1 was the 15th best selling comic book in December 2014.[39][40][41]Angela: Asgard's Assassin #1 was the 217th best selling comic book in 2014.[42][43]
Doug Zawisza ofCBR.com calledAngela: Asgard's Assassin #1 "one of the most technically stunning debut issues from Marvel", writing, "Stephanie Hans' work is atmospheric and painterly, providing a distinct visual difference from Jimenez's but maintaining the same level of detail and dedication to addressing Angela as a figure flowing through the panels. Hans adds rugged torn edges to the panels, giving them the appearance of being ripped from Sera's or Angela's memories. Just as subtly as "Angela: Asgard's Assassin" #1 shifts from main story to substory, it shifts back out, bringing readers to a conclusion fraught with anticipation. Any comic with "Asgard" in the title is destined to bring in the God of Thunder, but with Thor now being a different Thor than the one Angela is familiar with, Gillen elects to leave readers awaiting the confrontation between Angela and Odinson. To sweeten the pot, the writer teases a surprising reason for the visit, leaving readers with a cliffhanger in the process. It's a solid cap to a solid comic book, as "Angela: Asgard's Assassin" #1 gives readers yet another excellent female-led series in the Marvel Universe."[44] Petra Halbur ofThe Mary Sue describedAngela: Asgard's Assassin #1 as potentially "the best new series in recent memory", asserting, "There’s plenty to appreciate about Angela: Asgard’s Assassin #1aside from the heroine’s principles, of course. Awesomely, Stephanie Hans’ illustrations provide little to no fodder for The Hawkeye Initiative. Despite her ridiculously skimpy armor, Angela remains generally un-sexualized by the artist, striking no poses that draw especial attention to her breasts, legs or butt. I also love Sera’s design, a woman, er, angel of color who rocks her celestial armor with a short, plump frame (by comic book standards, anyways). Still, it’s this code of justice that really sets Angela apart from other seemingly morally complex antiheroes and opens her up to some interesting possibilities. I can’t imagine Thor and Angela will remain adversaries for very long and I dearly look forward to a team up between the honorable God of Thunder, his “balance” obsessed sister and the newly-minted Agent of Axis, Loki: three siblings with fundamentally clashing codes of conduct."[45]
In1602: Witchhunter Angela,Faustina aka Angela appears as a hunter of WitchBreed (mutants) in the1602 universe.
InMODOK: Assassin, an Angela appears as a member of the Thors, Battleworld's peacekeeping force, wielding a hammer called "Demonslayer".
A third appears as a resident of the domain Arcadia, home of the all women superhero team, A-Force.[46]
Angela makes a cameo appearance inSpawn, portrayed by Laura Stepp.
Angela is the subject of a song byheavy metal bandIced Earth called "The Hunter", which appears on their Spawn-themed concept albumThe Dark Saga.
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spawn: Angela | Angela #1–3 andAngela Special | January 1998 | 978-1852868352 |
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angela: Asgard's Assassin - Priceless | Angela: Asgard's Assassin #1–6 | August 2015 | 978-0785193562 |
| 1602 Witch Hunter Angela | 1602 Witch Hunter Angela #1–4 and1602 #1 | March 2016 | 978-0785198604 |
| Angela: Queen of Hel - Journey to the Funderworld | Angela: Queen of Hel #1–7 | July 2016 | 978-1302900014 |
Later this year, writer Neil Gaiman makes his return to Marvel Comics...Perhaps even more intriguing is the announcement that Gaiman plans to introduce Angela to the Marvel U.
