Hey everybody, welcome back for another great character spotlight in Marvel Snapshot! This week, I’ll be focusing on one of the greatest enemies the Marvel Universe has ever seen with The Advanced Idea Mechanics, or simply, A.I.M.! Yes, this threat has been around a long time (1966), and when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created this organization, I don’t think they had any idea of how long they would survive. Let’s take a closer look!
Back in 1966, A.I.M. was introduced in Strange Tales #146, where it was affiliated with Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. His long time nemesis, Nick Fury, was always one step ahead of him, but when A.I.M. was formed, this gave Strucker an advantage in the weapons department. Basically, it was an off-shoot of Hydra, and their weapons helped many terrorists get a leg up on heroes for a while. S.H.I.E.L.D. was the outfit that mostly opposed A.I.M., but also the Avengers, Captain America, and Ms. Marvel, too.
You can’t have an A.I.M. spotlight without talking about M.O.D.O.K. (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing). MODOK has been a big part of AIM for a long time, and was one of the the people responsible for creating the Cosmic Cube. Most people also believe it’s what has driven him insane, as well. Most recently, AIM has been responsible for creating the Red Hulk. Yep, you heard it right, not only did they create the Cosmic Cube and revive the Red Skull, but they also created one of the newest and biggest threats with Red Hulk.
Throughout the years, A.I.M. has typically been the whipping boy for heroes. It seems that every time a superhero needs to show off his/her super strength, a dude in a yellow containment suit is getting beat down. I for one have always loved this organization because of its ties with Hydra, and all the cool technology that they produce in the name of anarchy! As usual, check out my recommended reading list below, and check back next week for more Marvel goodness!
Recommended Reading
Strange Tales #146-149 (vol. 1, 1951)
Essential Ms. Marvel vol. 1 – Tpb
Ms. Marvel vol. 3, 7 – Tpbs (2006)
SHIELD #1 & 2 (1973)
Essential Captain America vol. 2 – Tpb
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
A.I.M. seems to be coming back in a major way in the Avengers titles and being combined with Hydra and H.A.M.M.E.R. has made them a bit more deadly. Bendis should make this coming year pretty interesting.