Angela
Angel or Asgardian
by Phil Perich for the Nuff Said Universe and podcast
On a recent episode of the All New Marvel Roundup, my cohost Charlie Esser (@CharlieEsser) said he wasn't very familiar with the history of the character called Angela, probably because she didn't originate in the Marvel Universe. Angela was originally a character from Image Comics. Her first appearance was in Spawn #9 (March 1993).
In that universe, Angela was an angel and bounty hunter working for Heaven. She originally opposed Al Simmons since every other Spawn she had ever encountered had been an agent of Hell. She was created by writer Neil Gaiman. She appeared off and on (issues #9, 62, 89, 96-100) until her death at the hands of the demon Malebolgia in Spawn #100.
The character was killed off due to a court battle over her rights between Neil Gaiman and Spawn creator/writer Todd McFarlane. After the courts decided Angela was owned by Gaiman, the writer came to work for Marvel comics and brought Angela with him. Angela was introduced into the Marvel Universe in Age of Ultron #10 (June 2013) after she is pulled from Heaven due to Wolverine damaging the Omniverse with multiple time travel trips.
During the Original Sin storyline it is revealed that Angela is an Asgardian named Aldrif, the daughter of Odin and Frigga. After Angela is supposedly “killed” by angels from the tenth realm, known as Heven, Odin separates it from the other nine realms. Angela is raised believing she is one of the angels until a brutal reunion with her brothers Thor and Loki.
Angela eventually learns of her true origins and is pardoned by the queen of the angels but is banished from Heven because of her bloodline. Angela later steals Odin’s baby to cleanse it of the influence of Surtur it is infected with. After she does this, which causes the engines of Heven to reignite, she returns the baby to her parents. She then discovers her lover Sera is trapped in the realm of Hel. Angela goes to Hel and asks Hela the queen to release Sera. When Hela refuses, Angela takes the throne and rules Hel alongside Sera.
You can pick up Angela: Queen of Hel #1 right now. Well that’s it for this week. What did you think of the character that spans TWO comic universes? Let me know:
nightwingpdp@gmail.com or marvelroundup@gmail.com
@nightwingpdp or @marvel_roundup on Twitter.
I write for two other blogs, the BatFan Cave blog and the Flash/Arrow blog. You can also hear me and Charlie Esser discuss all things Marvel on our podcasts, All New Marvel Roundup and Superconnectivity. You can find all my podcasts, blogs, and those of others at www.southgatemediagroup.com.
That’s it for now. Until next week…NUFF SAID!