With the release of "Thor" on May 6, 2011 and "Captain America: The First Avenger" on July 22, 2011, Marvel.com presents the Essentials, a series of articles showcasing each character's expansive history and mythology in the Marvel comics.
From character retrospectives to a look at memorable storylines and interviews with key creators, the Essentials will act as the perfect guide for fans both old and new! Look for new Cap Essentials every Monday and Thor Essentials every Thursday as we head toward the release of each film!
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| Agents of A.I.M. at work |
By Jim Beard
You may ask “What’s A.I.M. got their hands into?” But the question should really be, “What haven’t they got their hands into?” Advanced Idea Mechanics, or A.I.M., represents the quintessential cadre of crafty scientists with devilish designs, none of them with a bright outlook for civilization as we know it.
“They’re a bunch’a scientists, tryin’ to overthrow the government --and they think they got enuff money and manpower to do it!” said S.H.I.E.L.D agent Nick Fury about A.I.M. He should know, since he’s spent years making sure the evil organization never sees their schemes come to fruition. It’s been a long fight, and A.I.M. bounces back after every defeat, mean and ornery as ever.
Shadowy Beginnings
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| Nick Fury vs. A.I.M. |
A.I.M.’s origins stem from Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, the evil organizer of HYDRA during World War II. He conceived of Advanced Idea Mechanics as a way to develop weaponry for his terrorist group, but after HYDRA suffered its share of setbacks at the end of the war A.I.M. grew into its own beast and burst onto the scene in modern times, ready to take on the world.
Their first real foray, under the code name THEM, came as a skirmish with S.H.I.E.L.D that ranged from the Florida swamps to the urban jungle of New York City. From there, they entered into a long-standing war with Captain America, beginning with the dispatching of a “chemical android” to kill Nick Fury. Not content with challenging only one super hero, A.I.M. spread their evil intentions to other champions like Iron Man.
One may read of A.I.M.’s first mention (as THEM) in STRANGE TALES #142, collected in MARVEL MASTERWORKS: NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. VOL. 1, and their opening salvo against Captain America came in TALES OF SUSPENSE #78, which just happens to be collected in MARVEL MASTERWORKS: CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL.1 and ESSENTIAL CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 1.
M.O.D.O.K.
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| The first appearance of M.O.D.O.K. |
Some of the most outrageous “advances” by the criminal organization include the Cosmic Cube, the Super-Adaptoid and the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing – M.O.D.O.K.
Once known as George Tarleton before A.I.M. mutated and modified him into a monstrous mass of bad news, M.O.D.O.K. rose to the leadership of the evil scientists. In doing so he made a bitter enemy in Captain America and for years brought grief and misery to Cap’s career. Eventually, A.I.M. attempted to assassinate their Frankenstein Monster and also created S.O.D.A.M., M.O.D.A.M., Ms. M.O.D.O.K. and even further mutated Tarleton into M.O.D.O.C.: Mental Organism Designed Only for Computation.
M.O.D.O.K. made the scene in TALES OF SUSPENSE #94, collected in MARVEL MASTERWORKS: CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 2 and ESSENTIAL CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 1, and unveiled his origins in CAPTAIN AMERICA #133, found in MARVEL MASTERWORKS: CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 5 and ESSENTIAL CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 1.
S.O.D.A.M. first appeared in SOLO AVENGERS #14, M.O.D.A.M. in QUASAR #8 and Ms. M.O.D.O.K. in HULK #190, the last of which can be found in ESSENTIAL HULK VOL. 5. That’s a whole lot of acronyms.
Divisions and Splinters
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| Captain America busts an A.I.D. facility |
Though at the top of their game in terms of scientific discovery and manipulation, A.I.M. nonetheless comprised many different minds and opinions which inevitably led to strife within its ranks. This civil war translated into two separate factions in the organization, the Blue and Yellow groups, who battled each other for scientific supremacy.
Those scheming science wizards not able to exist within the ranks of A.I.M. broke off from the mothership to form their own evil entities. These include A.I.D. (Advanced Ideas in Destruction), R.A.I.D. (Radically Advanced Ideas in Destruction) and A.G.M. (Advanced Genocide Mechanics).
Currently, A.I.M. appears to be one, cohesive group, still causing trouble around the world and seeking to overthrow its many governments and aiding in the creation of such grotesqueries as the Red Hulk.
The A.I.M. civil war raged in MS. MARVEL #7-10 and HULK #289, the former of which may be found collected in ESSENTIAL MS. MARVEL VOL.1. A.I.D. and R.A.I.D. appeared in CAPTAIN AMERICA Vol. 5 #13 and #17, respectively, which may be found in CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER ULTIMATE COLLECTION and CAPTAIN AMERICA: RED MENACE VOL. 1.
We met A.G.M. in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1, collected in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL. 1: THE FIVE NIGHTMARES. Take a look at INREDIBLE HULK #600, found in HULK VOL. 3: HULK NO MORE, for more on the connection between A.I.M. and the Red Hulk.
Ultimate A.I.M
In 2000, Marvel launched its Ultimate line of comics, contemporary re-interpretations of their most classic characters. Over the last 10 years, the Ultimate Universe has grown to include new visions of many of Marvel's greatest heroes and villains.
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| Ultimate Cap vs. Ultimate A.I.M. |
In the Ultimate Universe, A.I.M operated much as its Marvel Universe counterpart though its true plans and designs still exist in shadow. They involved themselves in the Gah Lak Tus situation and paid the Mad Thinker to spirit away the Cerebro unit from the X-Men. They now seemingly seek to create a new Cosmic Cube using technology stolen from the Fantastic Four.
For all that’s known about the Ultimate version of A.I.M., we recommend a perusal of ULTIMATE VISION, ULTIMATE X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR and ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS: NEXT GENERATION.
