| “ | If anyone is ever going to find his way in this world, he has to start by admitting that he doesn't know where the hell he is. | „ |
| ~ Selvig advising Thor on the first step forward when lost in life |
| “ | There's nothing more reassuring than realizing that the world is crazier than you are. | „ |
| ~ Erik Selvig. |
Doctor Erik Selvig is a recurring character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, being a major character in both Thor and The Avengers, a supporting character in both Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron, and a minor character in Thor: Love and Thunder.
He is a renowned astrophysicist and a brilliant scientist who is also the mentor to Jane Foster, and was a professor at Culver University. He would play a pivotal role in aiding the Norse God of thunder, Thor, stop his adoptive brother, Loki from wiping out the Frost Giants. Selvig later became enthralled by Loki to aid him in conquering Earth, but was freed and aided the Avengers in stopping him. Though he suffered greatly from being brainwashed, Selvig returned to aid Thor in stopping the Dark Elves, and later help the Asgardian during Ultron's rise.
He is portrayed by Stellan Skarsgard, who also plays Luthen Rael in Andor.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Erik Selvig grew up hearing stories about the Norse Gods due to his Scandinavian origins, hearing of Thor and the Bifrost. In his youth, Selvig proved himself to be a brilliant scientist, and became a professor of Theoretical Astrophysics at Culver University. There he met Bruce Banner, a fellow scientist and pioneer in Gamma Radiation, who later mysteriously disappeared. In addition, Selvig became close friends with Dr. Hank Pym, who warned Erik to stay away from S.H.I.E.L.D. due to his past experience with them. During his time as a professor, he met Jane Foster, whose father was his colleague, and became her mentor.
Thor[]
While helping Jane and their intern, Darcy Lewis, in studying thermonuclear astrophysics in the desert, the group collided into Thor. The group were confused on who he was, and Darcy tasered Thor and they took him to a local hospital. Though Jane believed that he could shed light on the vortex, Selvig was more skeptical, believing that Thor was delusional due to him shouting about the Bifrost. When S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived to take their equipment, Selvig allowed them despite Jane's protest.
Despite his initial distrust of the stranger, Selvig befriended Thor after releasing him from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, and sharing drinks with him at a bar. Selvig later saw Thor and Sif and the Warriors Three, realizing that the Norse myths were true. Thor protected Selvig, Jane and Darcy from Loki, who had sent the Destroyer to Earth to kill him. Despite being wounded, Thor proved himself worthy to wield Mjølnir once again, and regained his powers to defeat the Destroyer. Selvig said his goodbyes to Thor, and later saw that Thor managed to stop Loki from destroying the Frost Giants.
Later on, Selvig was ordered to the presence of Nick Fury, and was presented with the Tesseract. Selvig accepted the challenge of investigating the object, and it's revealed that Loki is controlling him so he can collect the Tesseract.
The Avengers[]
While researching the Tesseract, Loki returned and enthralled Selvig and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clint Barton. The two were forced to help the Norse God in helping him conqueror Earth, but Barton was freed from mind control by Black Widow. During this, Selvig was forced to create a machine to stabilize the Tesseract, and later succeeded in opening a portal to let the Chitauri invade Earth.
When confronted by Iron Man, Selvig was able to regain his senses after being knocked by Stark's blast. Selvig informed Black Widow that a flaw in the machine's force field could be broken by the scepter. With this information, Selvig aided the Avengers in stopping the invasion, as Iron Man placed a missile sent by the World Security Council into the portal, killing the Chitauri. Selvig later helped his allies in removing the Tesseract, seeing that it was too powerful for humanity to mess with.
Thor: The Dark World[]
A year after the Battle of New York, Selvig was still affected by having been under Loki's enthrallment, and was later arrested at Stonehenge after stripping nude and harassing bystanders. He was sent to a mental institution, and tried to explain his theories about the Convergence to his inmates. He was eventually released by Darcy and Ian Boothby, and after witnessing the Convergence effect on flock of ravens, realized that the world is crazier than anyone.
Selvig later assisted Thor and Jane in stopping the Dark Elves from releasing the Aether upon Earth and the other realms. He also managed to kill the Dark Elves' leader, Malekith the Accursed before he could kill Thor. Selvig managed to due so by throwing the device at Malekith, teleporting his body and his ship to kill him. Days later, Selvig asked Jane when was Thor returning, and later witnessed his return when he rekindled with Jane.
Avengers: Age of Ultron[]
Selvig was informed by Thor that he needed his help on seeing his visions clearer after Scarlet Witch enthralled him, and he happily agreed so. Selvig and Thor went to the Water of Sights, and Thor was given a more detailed vison where he saw the six Infinity Stones, one of which was in Loki's scepter. Thor survived the experience, and used what he learned to aid the Avengers and battle Tony's creation, Ultron.
After Ultron's defeat and destruction, Selvig was recruited by the Avengers due to his work and vast knowledge of Asgard and science. He was relocated to the New Avengers Facility to work as a consultant with his own am scientist to assist the Avengers in stopping threats.
The Decimation[]
In 2018, Selvig was one of the many erased from existence due to Thanos, who succeeded in using the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of the universe. In 2023, he along with those who were affected by the snap, was revived by Hulk.
Thor: Love and Thunder[]
Following the decimation, Selvig and Darcy learned that Foster was diagnosed with cancer at stage four, and supported her attempts to find treatments. When they couldn't find a solution, Selvig apologized for their failure as Lewis told Jane that she should seek help from Thor.
Relationships[]
Allies[]
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Enemies[] |
Trivia[]
- His name was originally Andrew Ford before it was changed.
- Due to the character's popularity, he was later introduced in the mainstream Marvel comics and universe. In the comics, Selvig is a Danish scientist, unlike his movie counterpart, who is Norwegian.
- The character wasn't originally suppose to appear in Age of Ultron, but Stellan Skarsgard received a call because his character was written to be in a couple of scenes.
- In a deleted scene, Selvig got into a bar fight when out drinking with Thor. Some guy insulted Thor's hair, so Selvig head-butted him unconscious.
- Selvig's advice to Thor at the bar has been well-liked by fans for being very understandable and relatable; especially teenagers whom are trying figure out their lives.
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