| For other uses, see Valkyrie (disambiguation) |
- "Tomorrow, HYDRA will stand master of the world. Borne to victory on the wings of the Valkyrie."
- ―Johann Schmidt[src]
The Valkyrie was an advanced bomber plane used by HYDRA during World War II.
History[]
- "As you can see, production of the Valkyrie is progressing on schedule, even with components of this size."
- ―Arnim Zola to Johann Schmidt[src]
Johann Schmidt's plan for world domination culminated with the construction of the first of many super bombers, the Valkyrie, a plane that adapted characteristics of both prop planes and stealth bombers, equipped to launch suicide drone bombs which doubled as auxiliary propellers. Its main propulsion was a pair of jet engines, located on the sides of the main console and hangar area.
Johann Schmidt had to board the Valkyrie sooner than expected when Captain America and the United States Army attacked his Headquarters, setting its course to the United States. Steve Rogers pursued the accelerating bomber on takeoff, and managed to board it via one of the landing gear wells just before it cleared the runway.
Rogers immediately found the HYDRA Parasits destined to detonate over heavily populated American cities such as New York City and Chicago, and he successfully ambushed the group of HYDRA pilots for these bombers. However, one of them managed to board a Parasit, and Rogers willingly fell out of the Valkyrie on the Parasit while fighting a HYDRA soldier.
Red Skull piloting the Valkyrie
Rogers evaded the soldier attacking him long enough for the soldier to fall into the Parasit's propeller, and expelled the pilot of the plane to take his place and return to the Valkyrie. Schmidt attacked him with the plane's weapons, but Rogers successfully entered the plane again through an open area in the plane's hangar section.
Schmidt tried to ambush Rogers inside the bridge of the plane, and they exchanged blows, damaging the controls of the Valkyrie during the fight. Schmidt managed to engage the auto-pilot, and began to shoot Rogers with his sidearm.
Rogers' eventually punched Schmidt into the machine containing the Tesseract that was harnessing its energy to power the plane's systems, damaging the machine and apparently dimming the Tesseract in the process. Schmidt grabbed the now-exposed Tesseract with his own hands, prompting the object to open a portal and seemingly launch Schmidt to his death.[1] However, Schmidt was actually teleported to the planet Vormir to guard the Soul Stone as punishment for his actions.[2] The Tesseract, superheated from this action, fell to the floor of the plane and melted through it entirely, landing in the ocean below.
Captain America piloting the Valkyrie
Rogers, now piloting the Valkyrie, sent a transmission received in the captured HYDRA Headquarters. He informed Peggy Carter of Schmidt's apparent death and the status of the plane, headed to New York City in order to destroy it. Rogers immediately became aware of the fact that he would be unable to operate the plane or understand its systems in time to redirect it away from the United States. Rogers decided to sink the plane in the ocean, exchanging tragic last words with Carter before losing contact upon impact. Rather than crashing into the ocean, however, the Valkyrie impacted an ice field, where the heat of the engines melted the surrounding ice, causing the plane to sink into the ice before it refroze.
The Valkyrie being found by S.H.I.E.L.D.
The plane was discovered almost seventy years later, by a Russian oil team on the frozen shores of Greenland, when changing landscape exposed part of it. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents dispatched to investigate found Captain America perfectly preserved inside, frozen in ice.[1] After the HYDRA Uprising, a high ranking HYDRA member Daniel Whitehall had a model of the Valkyrie on the table in his laboratory.[3]
Alternate Universe Versions[]
Infiltrated[]
In an alternate universe, Steve Rogers infiltrated the Valkyrie as it took off, only to find himself surrounded by fighter jets aimed at several major cities. The pilots tried to kill Rogers as he left the plane, though Rogers managed to gain control and reenter the Valkyrie. As Red Skull piloted the Valkyrie, Rogers moved toward him and attacked Red Skull in the Valkyrie.[4]
Finding Steve Rogers[]
Following the assassinations of the Avengers Initiative candidates, the arrest of Hank Pym, and the invasion of the Asgardians, Nick Fury resorted into assembling a new team by discovering the crashed Valkyrie, where he discovered the frozen Steve Rogers before he was greeted by Carol Danvers.[5]
Alternate Versions[]
| Origin | Status | Builder | Owners | Users | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avengers Assassinated | Destroyed | - | - | Steve Rogers | - |
| Captain America: The First Avenger | Destroyed | - | HYDRA | Johann Schmidt Steve Rogers |
- |
| The Avengers: The Return of the First Avenger | Destroyed | - | HYDRA | Johann Schmidt Steve Rogers |
- |
| Captain America: The Winter Soldier: The Secret Files: The Junior Novel | Destroyed | - | HYDRA | Johann Schmidt Steve Rogers |
- |
| Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One Book Boxed Set | Destroyed | - | HYDRA | Johann Schmidt Steve Rogers |
- |
Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- The Valkyrie is partially based on the Horten H.XVIII design.
- The Valkyrie is named after the Valkyrie, which are a group of strong Asgardian warriors.
- Red Skull eventually intended to use the Valkyrie to attack Berlin and overthrow Adolf Hitler and his Nazi followers in order to rule Germany, although his plans were foiled. The Valkyrie shares its name with Operation Valkyrie, an unsuccessful coup by German military officials to take over Germany by killing Hitler and arresting members of the Schutzstaffel.
