Just as heroes can inspire one another, evil begets evil. Advanced Idea Mechanics, A.I.M. came from one evil organization that itself came from another. They spend their time creating all manner of technology, often will ill intent. Weapons, monstrosities, and more villains spawn from their labs and testing fields. So what kind of creations has A.I.M. made and where did they come from? Let’s find out!
During World War 2, when the Nazis were gathering as much strength as they could, they would take over the long-standing Hydra organization. It would be one of Hydra’s higher ups, Baron Von Strucker, who would create the Advanced Idea Mechanics division to aide in being the research and development of all manner of creations.
While they may have begun as a Hydra creation, by the war’s end, A.I.M. was able to strike out on their own, using their technological savvy to become a booming business. Turns out, in a world of heroes and villains, everyone needs weapons. A.I.M. was all too happy to supply and also strike out on their own as a villainous organization of their own.
They would create not just simple weapons of war like bombs and guns, but even beings of mass destruction. The Super Adaptoid, able to take on the form and powers of others. Then there was the mess that was the Mental Organism Designed Only for Computing, M.O.D.O.C. who was to be their magnum opus. A being capable of outpacing any supercomputer but instead he broke free of their control, he became M.O.D.O.K. the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, and would even take over A.I.M. from time to time. Real go-getter, that one.
As time went on, heroes would clash with the company and villains would collaborate or force them to work with them. Such as when Red Skull forced them to make the Cosmic Cube, a device of immense power that can control reality if wielded correctly. Not liking this arrangement some A.I.M. scientists would even work with Captain America to try and help save themselves during this tumultuous time.
Over the decades, A.I.M. would become more militaristic, less militaristic, even a legitimate business, which may be one of their more evil carnations if you think about it. They would even become tied to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers and different points, working for heroes and developing new gadgetry for them. Avengers Idea Mechanics, was their name during this period.
Though these times as allies to heroes happen from time to time, they almost always end up back as a criminal organization making their money off of villainy. More often than not, they will be lead by a Scientist Supreme, their scientist soldiers will be dressed in yellow radiation suits, they’ll be coming up with all sorts of doomsday weaponry and monsters. There’s even some offshoots of this offshoot organization, Advanced Genetic Mechanics and Advanced Ideas in Destruction, with their own focuses in the scientific and engineering fields.
There you have it! A.I.M. is one of those mainstay staples of henchmen heroes have to wade through when dealing with some sort of near-apocalyptic event. They’ve been animated, they’ve technically been in the MCU in Iron Man 3 but were in the evil tech company which is mostly a redundancy. See you next time!
Suggested Reading
Strange Tales #146
Secret Avengers Vol. 3
New Avengers Vol. 4
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
