| Edwin Jarvis | |
|---|---|
 Edwin Jarvis. Art byJim Cheung. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Tales of Suspense #59 (Nov. 1964) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Edwin Jarvis |
| Supporting character of | Iron Man |
| Notable aliases | Crimson Cowl |
| Abilities | Trained hand-to-hand combatant |
Edwin Jarvis is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Jarvis is most often depicted as asupporting character in the titlesIron Man andThe Avengers. He is the loyal householdbutler of the Stark family. Since the 1990s, the character has appeared heavily in media adaptations ofIron Man andAvengers stories.
In theMarvel Cinematic Universe, the character serves as the basis for an artificial intelligence known asJ.A.R.V.I.S. voiced byPaul Bettany, while Edwin Jarvis himself was portrayed byJames D'Arcy in theABC television seriesAgent Carter (2015-2016), the filmAvengers: Endgame (2019), and theDisney+ seriesWhat If...? (2024) andVisionQuest (2026).[1]
Jarvis first appeared inTales of Suspense #59 (Nov. 1964), and was created byStan Lee andJack Kirby.[2] Jarvis received an entry in theOfficial Mightiest Heroes! from anAvengers backup story featuring Jarvis.[3]
Born of the most modest origins, Edwin Jarvis served in the Royal Air Military duringWorld War II and was its champion boxer three years running. He later moved to the United States where he became manservant toHoward Stark andMaria Stark and watched over the Starks' mansion even after their deaths.[4]
His name and English origin bears resemblance toJeeves, the fictional sagacious valet in the books byP. G. Wodehouse. WhenIron Man (Tony Stark) called theAvengers' first meeting and donated the Stark house as theAvengers Mansion headquarters, Jarvis grew accustomed to the guests and served the Avengers for many years thereafter, acting as a father figure to some of the newcomers. Jarvis was there when the first guestCaptain America (Steve Rogers) became a member of the Avengers.[5] He was the only one to stay with the Avengers for their entire existence, a distinction not even Captain America can claim. As a result, Captain America has stated that Jarvis should beregarded just as much of an Avenger as he is.[volume & issue needed]
Jarvis spent some time as the primary babysitter forFranklin Richards, the super-powered son ofMister Fantastic and theInvisible Woman, when the twoFantastic Four members were residing at the mansion. He also served as the sponsor toSilverclaw while the latter was growing up, and the future Avengers member has come to regard him as an uncle.[6]
Being a manservant to the Avengers meant that Jarvis has had to deal with their enemies on several occasions. Jarvis has also been personally involved in many adventures, including beingUltron's brainwashed decoy as theCrimson Cowl,[7] and leading the evacuation of a stalled subway train during acitywide disaster and battling a demonically possessed car. Jarvis defended the floatingHydrobase against a horde of robots built byDoctor Doom during theActs of Vengeance crisis. He was present when one of the many incarnations of theMasters of Evil attacked the mansion. Taken hostage, he was brutally beaten by Mr. Hyde while Captain America and the Black Knight were forced to watch.[8] His physical injuries included a shattered knee and 90% loss of vision in his left eye, forcing him to wear aneyepatch for some time; however, Jarvis refused to retire, believing instead that confronting his fears gave him more in common with the Avengers. Jarvis personally confrontedLoki, risking great danger, after realizing the villain had tricked his way inside the mansion. He tendered his resignation during Iron Man's battle with alcoholism,[9] but returned not long afterwards.[10]
In his duties as the Avengers' manservant, he was entrusted with items of great power, including theCasket of Ancient Winters.[11]
When theNew Avengers were formed, Jarvis was called back after taking a holiday "for the first time in years", having been informed that his 'special' services were once again needed. Jarvis often confrontsWolverine over the man's poor kitchen etiquette, a battle only new memberSpider-Man'sAunt May was able to win. Jarvis seemingly struck up a relationship with May, who had moved intoStark Tower with Peter Parker andMary Jane Watson after her house burnt down. When Spider-Man switched sides during the Civil War, however, May and Mary Jane fled Stark Tower to live in hiding.[volume & issue needed] In aNew AvengersCivil War story, Jarvis was shot by an employee who was opposed to Tony Stark using technology invented to enforce theSuperhuman Registration Act. However, it appears Jarvis recovers from this wound as he is shown to be working again inCivil War: The Initiative. He also humorously mentions that if Stark allowed "that Tigra %^#$" in the new incarnation of the Avengers, Tony would need to find someone else to do the laundry;Tigra had worked for Stark's side throughout the entirety of theCivil War incident.[volume & issue needed] In the 2008 storylineOne More Day, Jarvis is given over $2,000,000 by Stark to pay for May's hospital bills following an assassination attempt in the aftermath of Peter's own decision to publicly reveal Spider-Man's true identity. Jarvis visibly breaks down upon seeing May in the hospital bed, confessing his deep love to the Parkers.[12] As a consequence of the "One More Day" storyline, however, Spider-Man's timeline has undergone a major continuity overhaul,[13] including Jarvis's relationship with the Parkers.[volume & issue needed]
Later that year, theSecret Invasion storyline revealed that Jarvis has been replaced by aSkrull agent for some time. The Skrull used a computer virus, disabling a number of Stark Enterprises facilities and Iron Man'sarmor.[14] This agent also obtained access to records on theSentry (Robert Reynolds) in order to discover weaknesses, as the Skrulls were unable to duplicate the Sentry's powers because the Sentry's limits were unknown even to Iron Man.[15]Jarvis the Skrull later approachesMaria Hill on the destroyed S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier in the middle of the ocean and tells Maria to surrender along with the S.H.I.E.L.D. crew. Maria uses a Life Model Decoy as a distraction while the real one escapes and detonates the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. During the fight betweenVeranke andCriti Noll's forces against the heroes and villains, Jarvis the Skrull (who somehow survived the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier explosion) watches from Avengers Tower as the energy washes over hero, villain and Skrull alike. While holdingJessica Jones andLuke Cage'schild, the Skrull comments that it doesn't matter if the Skrulls win or lose, so long as "God's" will is done.[16] After the final battle, the real Jarvis is discovered alive, prompting Jessica to discover that her baby had been taken by the Skrull impostor.[17] Jarvis's Skrull impersonator is eventually found in a hideout by Luke and was shot byBullseye after returning Luke's and Jessica's baby.[18]
During theDark Reign storyline, Jarvis is later shown in asupport group meeting with the others that had been replaced by Skrulls.[19] Having refused to serve underNorman Osborn'sDark Avengers, Jarvis is sought out by Hercules andAmadeus Cho to be a part of theMighty Avengers, Amadeus having determined that Jarvis is the one constant of the Avengers.[20]
During theFear Itself storyline, Jarvis manages to escapeAvengers Tower when it's under attack by theThing (in the form of Angrir: Breaker of Souls).Red Hulk tries unsuccessfully to stop him but the Tower gets destroyed and he's knocked out of the city and intoVermont.[21][22]
During theAXIS storyline, when key members of the Avengers and theX-Men underwent a moral inversion, Jarvis and theHulk tried to stop the Avengers when the group planned to kill theRed Skull, but were ignored and attacked, Jarvis being knocked aside while Hulk's anger triggered his own inverted transformation into 'Kluh'.[23] However, Jarvis had anticipated a problem based on the Avengers' actions since the group's return from the island, and had already hidden Red Skull away until he could explain the situation to Steve Rogers and was then able to retrieve Red Skull and return the heroes and villains to normal.[24]
During theSecret Wars storyline,Demolition Man met with Jarvis andRage at Avengers Mansion during the incursion between Earth-616 and Earth-1610.[25]
As part of theAll-New, All-Different Marvel, Edwin Jarvis is welcomed to the new headquarters of the Avengers. When Jarvis wonders if his services are needed or not, Iron Man convinces him to help out the Avengers.[26] Jarvis is present with the Avengers when they meetNadia Pym, Hank Pym's daughter through Maria Trovaya who now sports a modified Wasp suit. After Nadia helps to stabilize theVision, Jarvis takes Nadia on a road trip to meet the latter's extended family.[27]
When the Earth and Moon are dragged into the Contest of Champions schemes by theChallenger during No Surrender, Jarvis is one of the heroes on Earth involved in this scheme, almost sacrificing his life saving a child from a crumbling building as the Contest began.[28] Jarvis barely survived and went into a coma, almost dying before he came under the care of Beast and Nadia to save him from a small parasitic alien inside his head.[29] After Beast and Nadia saved his life, upon regaining consciousness, Jarvis revealed that he had no true memory of the existence of the "heroine" Voyager/Valerie Vector back in the 1900s, as she had been playing with the heroes' memories all along, creating the illusion that she was one of the original Avengers members, leaving her true origins unknown, until she is revealed to be the Grandmaster's biological daughter.[30]
After the contest is over, Nadia made Edwin Jarvis a new version ofJ.A.R.V.I.S. to be his helpmate. When Edwin thought it was a sign for him to retire, J.A.R.V.I.S. stated that its programming is not yet complete.[31]
Edwin Jarvis was at the Jarvis Lounge whenSpider-Boy showed up asking him for a job. Jarvis turned him away.[32]
At the Jarvis Lounge, Edwin Jarvis was visited by Toy Soldier (a small robot reverse-engineered byShannon Stillwell fromSuper-Adaptoid's arm) stating that he would like to join the Avengers. As Captain America and Thor come out with Captain America figuring out whatTaskmaster wanted Super-Adaptoid's arm for,Squirrel Girl appears and vouches for Toy Soldier to Jarvis, Captain America, and Thor claiming that Toy Soldier helped her save some squirrels. Jarvis was present when Spider-Man and Miles Morales arrive with a distress letter fromChristina Xu.[33]
Edwin Jarvis once started a pen pal relationship with a young girl who would grow up to be the superheroSilverclaw; it was later revealed that the orphanage, aware of Silverclaw's abilities and Jarvis's ties to the Avengers, chose to assign Jarvis as Silverclaw's sponsor in the hope that his ties to the Avengers could be useful. Silverclaw's trip to the United States to meet Jarvis would be foiled when the youth was forced into helping terrorists in a massive attack. Silverclaw's efforts helped the people in danger at the airport, including Jarvis himself.[6] Since then, Silverclaw has referred to him as 'Tio (Uncle) Edwin', with Avengers such asJanet van Dyne noting that Silverclaw's ties to Jarvis made the girl practically family.
While Jarvis was shown datingMay Parker during Spider-Man's initial career in theNew Avengers, this relationship has been negated by the revelation that the man that May had dated was aSkrull impostor.
Jarvis also has a mother to whom he is very close.[34]
Edwin Jarvis is skilled at self-defense and basic hand-to-hand combat. He was a former boxing champion of the Royal Air Force for three years and had received military combat training and personal tutelage in unarmed combat by Captain America. Although he is in good health and physical condition, past injuries inflicted by Mister Hyde may have hampered his fighting prowess.
In 2012, Edwin Jarvis was ranked 25th inIGN's list of "The Top 50 Avengers".[35]
In theHouse of M: Iron Man series, the A.I. system in Tony Stark's suit is referred to as "Jarvis", predating the AI version seen in theMarvel Cinematic Universe.[36]
In theMarvel Zombies mini-series in which all of the world's superheroes (and many of the villains) are transformed by a sentient alien virus into flesh-eating zombies, it is revealed that Edwin Jarvis was torn apart and shared-out amongst theAvengers.[37] As Colonel America speculated, he appears to have been so mortified by the spectacle of his beloved Avengers as hungry corpses that he barely put up a fight.[volume & issue needed]
In theMarvel Noir universe, Edwin Jarvis is Tony Stark's engineer and personal assistant.[38]
Edwin Jarvis, now with visibly gray hair, continues to serve as the butler to theAvengers Next in theMC2 universe. During the initial 12 issue run ofA-Next, Jarvis is shown as a mentor to the young heroes. Along withScott Lang, Jarvis attempts to aid and assist the Avengers anyway he can. He was later joined by Tony Stark and the blindHawkeye.[volume & issue needed]
TheUltimate Marvel version of Edwin Jarvis is different from his original version and was much more sarcastic and acerbic towards his employerIron Man (Tony Stark).[39] Jarvis was only Iron Man's personal butler. While Tony dated and became engaged toNatasha Romanova, Jarvis was shown to be continuously at odds with Natasha and both were quick to hurl insults at one another. Jarvis was later shot in the head by Natasha, a traitor within theUltimates. His death is a contributing factor to Iron Man's descent into full-blownalcoholism.[40] He's replaced byWilliam "Jarvis" who tolerates being called Jarvis by Iron Man.[41]
Edwin Jarvis appears in media set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed byJames D'Arcy.[42]
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