The All-New Origin of Angela

[SW3D]

Spoiler Alert: Plot Details from Original Sin: Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm #1

 

Hello Boys and Girls, tis me again, your humble Angela fanatic with another exciting installment of "For the Love of Angela". I have a confession... after Guardians of the Galaxy 10, I completely lost track of Angela. I recently skimmed through copies of GOTG 11 - 13, and All-New X-Men 22 -- 24, at my local LCS, to see what my fair lady was up to, but the whole "Trial of Jean Grey" just didn't do it for me. And that's crazy since two of my favorite redheads were in the same crossover event; what's not to love? I know it's ignorant and unfair of me to say, but truth be told, I compared it to Claremont's and Byrne's classic "Dark Phoenix Saga", which I grew up with... and there's just no comparison.

 

Back in late May, I read the press release regarding Angela's all new origin due to come out in Original Sin and related titles. I don't want to pass premature judgment on Original Sin, but, vaguely, the complex plotline reads like some crazy cosmic murder mystery reminiscent of Alan Moore's classic murder mystery conspiracy fable, The Watchmen. Is anyone else getting that vibe too? "Who Killed the Comedian?" is now, "Who Killed the Watcher?" Ironic isn't it? Watchmen... The Watcher? Or, once again, am I making a superficial and unsubstantiated connection between the two? Or maybe I just miss, "The Author" who refused to be given any credit for his work on Marvelman aka Miracleman (see Marvel reprints of said works).

 

Anyway... before I cause some controversy between Moore, DC and Marvel, let me stir another by revealing the plot details of Original Sin: Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm #1.

 

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE PLOT DETAILS TO ORIGINAL SIN: THOR & LOKI: THE TENTH REALM #1

 

Original Sin: Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm #1 was released on July 8th. I've waited nearly two weeks to post this journal to avoid spoiling it for anybody intending to read it who hasn't yet read it. So If you haven't and don't want to know, look away and move on! Yes... you have been warned: I will discuss in detail, the all-new origin of Angela, which in my opinion, is both an Angela and Thor key worthy of collecting for it has major ramifications for the Odinson and possibly the Marvel Universe proper.

 

I am also going to say I'm very excited about the whole thing! Yes, you read that right! I'm giving Marvel its due by saying Angela has finally been given a legitimate back-story. And boy what a doosey it is! In my humble opinion, Marvel has effectively retconned Angela's Image origin (last seen in Curse of the Spawn #9), out of existence save for those fans (like me) who still cling on to it like an amalgam of six tragic female souls made into an angel... or an Angela. Yes, I'll continue to treasure and never forget Angela's lush history as seen in various Image titles, but I'm happy to say I am finally ready to move on.

 

It's no secret I'm building, or attempting to build, a complete collection of Angela comics from her Image days. This lofty goal has been in the works since February 2012 when I accidentally discovered I was the sole bearer of a Spawn #9 Newsstand Variant. Little by little, I've been amassing a set (both raw and graded), a set I am calling "Angela Pre-Marvel": basically Angela's entire publication history across all Image titles (save TBP's, reprints or foreign variants). Some of them are very rare and difficult to obtain. But I'm getting there, slowly but surely, however there's still plenty more to go. And I'm delighted to say, without revealing anyone's identity, there is another CGC Boardie who is also on a mission of equal import... another who is equally as passionate of Angela, and perhaps... more ambitious than I. This collector I predict will have a magnanimous collection, one which will encompass Angela appearances in both Image and Marvel. We have been in contact, and I will be at this collector's disposal in any way I can to support and assist in achieving his/her collecting goals. We have discussed splitting Angela into two distinct CGC Collections:

(1)Angela Image

(2)Angela Marvel.

 

Angela Image: From my research, Angela has made 25 distinct appearances in comic books published by Image (not including TBPs, collected editions or foreign variants). In addition, these 25 comics have 16 variant covers (not including foreign variants), which would bring the total collection to 41.

 

Angela Marvel: It goes without saying, in no time, this will be the bigger of the two collections (especially with the sickening amount of variant covers which already exist), with Angela having already made appearances in Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy, All New X-Men and now Tenth Realm. Also, I've read the latest rumors through Bleeding Cool, that on or about the upcoming San Diego Comic Con (July 24th -- 27th), Marvel will announce an Angela solo series to be helmed by Kieron Gillen and Marguerite Bennett; I'm so keeping my fingers crossed on that one.

 

If there is anyone else out there looking to build an Angela collection, and who has no clue where to start, allow me to recap a list of the Angela keys worthy of collecting:

 

Image Comics:

Spawn #9 (Angela's 1st Appearance)

Curse of the Spawn #9 (Origin of Angela)

Angela #1 (Angela's 2nd Appearance: 1st Greg Capullo art on Angela)

Spawn #100 (Death of Angela)

 

Marvel Comics:

Age of Ultron #10 (The Return of Angela: 1st Appearance of Angela in the Marvel Universe)

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, #5 (2nd Appearance of Angela in the Marvel Universe; joins in the following issue)

 

And now let's add to this growing list:

Original Sin: Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm #1 (the all-New Origin of Angela)

 

Okay... so on to the show:

 

In this exciting first issue, The Orb (a kooky Ghost Rider villain with a gigantic eyeball for a head), holding one of the murdered Watcher's eye balls, purposely reveals its secrets to Thor, Luke Cage, the Hulk and Spider-Man. Each superhero see's a unique revelation specific and significant to their lives. In Thor's case, he discovers the existence of a Tenth Realm (previously believe to be nine), and, most importantly, he discovers has a sister.

 

With do haste, Thor returns to Asgard, to confront Queen Freyja (Thor's Mother, Loki's Foster Mother, and current ruler of Asgard in place of the missing Odin). In this confrontation, Queen Freyja reveals the truth (transcribed and formatted in screenplay-comic book -script hybrid form, with dialogue in quotes since I didn't write it):

 

Page 8, Panel 1: Ext. Ancient Asgard -- Day

Extreme Wide Shot: Ancient Asgard: a full-scale war between Asgardians and winged Angels.

 

Flashback: Caption: "Long Ago."

 

Queen Freyja

(Off Panel)

"You spoke of fire. Of blood. Of a war that makes all

conflict since seem like the shadows of a child's game.

A war with Angels. You caught the smallest glimpse of that war..."

 

Flying Angel

"Death to Asgard! Death to the nothing ones! Nothing for nothing!"

 

Page 8, Panel 2: Continuous

Medium Shot: Queen Freyja and Odin, side-by-side in ferocious battle.

 

Queen Freyja

(Off Panel)

"But I lived it. And it cost me all."

 

Queen Freyja

"Hold hard husband! If we fall now... Asgard dies forever!"

 

Odin

"A few moments more... the Odin-Force must rise before I can..."

 

Unnamed Asgardian Warrior

(Off Panel)

"King Odin!"

 

Page 8, Panel 3: Continuous

Medium Shot: A distressed warrior alerts Odin and Queen Freyja.

 

Unnamed Asgardian Warrior:

"King Odin! Assassins, my liege! They broke through our defenses... before we could stop them, they... one of the children..."

 

Odin

"What? Those cowardly..."

 

Queen Freyja

"W-which one...?"

 

Page 8, Panel 4: Continuous

Wide Shot: Birds-Eye View: The silhouette of a large bird-like creature ominously engulfs an astonished Queen Freyja and Odin.

 

Queen of Angels

"Which do you think, Queen Freyja?"

 

Odin

"No..."

 

Queen Freyja

"Aldrif!"

 

Page 9, Panel 1: Ext. Ancient Asgard - Day

Full-Page: Floating above Odin and Queen Freyja, with her black wings outspread, the Queen of Angels menacingly holds a jagged-edge dagger over the defenseless infant child known as Aldrif. The Queen of Angels wears a spike-studded winged helmet and is suited in armor breast plate, armor leg plates, and affixed to her belt or hips plates are flowing ribbons decorated in yellow and purple reminiscent of Angela's.

 

Queen of Angels

"Sweet Aldrif, your heir."

 

Aldrif

"Waaaa"

 

Queen of Angels

You know how to end this war, Odin One-Eye. You can make all as it was between our peoples. You daughter can live beyond this moment... if you show wisdom."

 

Page 9, Panel 2: Continuous

Close-Up: Odin (foreground) and Queen Freyja (background).

 

Odin

"Witch! You would not dare!"

 

Queen Freyja

"Husband no..."

 

Odin

"I will never surrender to blackmail... the honor of Asgard cannot be bought..."

 

Page 9, Panel 3: Continuous

Tight-Close: Queen of Angels' face (side note: she has blue eyes where Angela has none)

 

Queen of Angels

"Honor. The Asgardian word for nothing."

 

Page 9, Panel 4: Continuous

Tight-Close: The dagger coming down.

 

Queen of Angels

(Off-Panel)

"Nothing for nothing, son of Bor."

 

Page 9, Panel 5: Continuous

Tight-Close: It is presumed the dagger had come down on the infant Aldrif. A tight close-up of Queen Freyja and Odin reveals their reaction: shock and anger colored in vermillion and crimson.

SFX: "Schlikk"

Aldrif

(Off-Panel)

"Waaa"

 

Page 10, Panel 1: Ext. Ancient Asgard - Day

Medium-Wide Shot: Overlay: (foreground) Queen of Angels grim face looking downward; (background) Odin looking skyward as swirling lightning bolts from his staff illuminate his visage.

 

Queen of Angels:

"You made your choice. King of nothing. And I will hold you to it. I swear by all I own that you will never hold your daughter again... even in Death."

 

Odin

"No! NO!"

 

Page 10, Panel 2: Continuous

Extreme Wide Shot: Odin shoots an enormous lightning bolt which destroys a futuristic battleship floating above with catastrophic results.

SFX: "Arrka-Doommm"

 

Queen Freyja

(Off Panel)

"The Odin-Force rose in my husband then... bursting forth with his rage and pain, burning the enemy with the fire of molten stars...

...And it was too late. The Queen of Angels was gone, taking my child's corpse with her. We had nothing even to bury."

 

End of Flashback

 

Page 11, Panel 1: Int. Asgard -- Present Day

Medium Shot: Queen Freyja holds her hand to her face as she struggles to end the tragic tale to Thor.

 

Queen Freyja

"After that, there could be no peace. As long as the Tenth Realm existed, the War of Realms would rage on... until it destroyed us all."

 

Page 11, Panel 2: Ext. Space -- Long Ago

Flashback: Extreme Wide Shot: Odin floats in space and unleashes the Odin-Force: a dazzling spectacle of unimaginable energy projects from Odin's body onto the Tenth Realm (a floating city in space).

 

Queen Freyja

(Off Panel)

"So Odin, in the depths of his fury, tore the Tenth Realm loose from the others... from the roots of Yggdrasil itself... and sealed it away, hidden from sight and memory. Wiped from our legends like a stain."

 

End of Flashback

 

Page 11, Panel 3: Int. Asgard -- Present Day

Close on Queen Freyja.

 

Freyja

"All that remained was the pain in my heart. The pain I tried to spare you. I wish you'd known your sister, my son. But your sister is dead."

 

Page 11, Panel 4: Continuous

Close on Thor: Eyes closed, face angled to the floor and etched in sadness: it is obvious even the God of Thunder has been visibly moved by the tragic tale. No dialogue.

 

Page 11, Panel 5: Continuous

Close on Thor: his eyes open and now displays conviction.

 

Thor

"No. She lives."

 

Page 11, Panel 6: Continuous

Long Shot: Birds-eye view: Thor heads towards the exit, leaving his mother, Queen Freyja in his wake, but not before he states some parting words...

 

Thor

"And there is one in this family who will help me find her."

 

 

Okay... still with me? Good. I'm going to summarize the rest by saying... Thor seeks out and enlists the aid of Loki. The two steal an ancient map which Loki has guessed leads to the secret location of the invisible barrier which shields and camouflages the Tenth Realm from the Marvel Universe (616). Both gods focus their powers and energies on a precise spot and breach the barrier, entering the Tenth Realm... to the City of Angels... to where Angela has been living all these many years.

 

So what can we take from all this? What can we speculate?

 

1. Angela is the kidnapped baby daughter of Odin and Queen Freyja known as Aldrif

2. If Angela is truly the kidnapped baby daughter of Odin and Queen Freyja, then technically she is older than Thor and Loki, and therefore, after Queen Freyja, Anglea/Aldrif is the rightful heir to the Asgardian throne.

3. Will this revelation cause conflict between Angela, Thor and Loki for the Asgardian throne?

4. How will Angela take all this?

5. Now that Thor and Loki have breached the Tenth Realm, will this inadvertently brew another war between the Angels and Asgardians?

6. Is yes to question 5, can Angela and Thor make peace between both factions, or will the evil Loki play is hand in all of it and cause trouble?

7. Will Angela legally change her name to Aldrif... or maybe Midriff?

8. Will I ever reach the top spot in the Angela CGC set?

 

Well, I for one am looking forward to issue #2. I can't wait to see what happens. I can already guess as to what additional impact this will have... but I am going to hold off for the moment. But if anyone out there wants to comment and throw some more speculation into the whole mix... please share and post your feedback.

 

Thanks for reading, and as always... Happy Collecting!

 

SW3D

 

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[Alawson453]

That was awesome! Thank you for sharing:)

[SW3D]

Glad you liked it!

 

SW3D

[roninduelist]

Long live Angela!!

[padr3hidalg0]

Great article!

 

We should get an official request in the registry page to add all of the books to the pre-marvel set!

 

I believe you have a full list.

 

Then the competition can truly begin!

 

I really enjoyed the tenth realm and I will be awaiting eagerly for news of an Angela series from SDCC.

 

A new series would hopefully bring a lot of Angela fans into the fold!

[SW3D]

Long live Angela!!

 

Yes, "Long live Angela!", and let's also chant... "All Hail Angela... Heir to the Asgardian Throne!"

 

SW3D

[SW3D]

Great article!

 

We should get an official request in the registry page to add all of the books to the pre-marvel set!

 

I believe you have a full list.

 

Then the competition can truly begin!

 

I really enjoyed the tenth realm and I will be awaiting eagerly for news of an Angela series from SDCC.

 

A new series would hopefully bring a lot of Angela fans into the fold!

 

I think I'll PM you regarding the Pre-Marvel list. I want to make sure we are on the same page.

 

I'm also eagerly excited about the new Angela series!

 

SW3D

[meshuggah]

I liked her new origin as well. Can't wait to see how the rest of this mini plays out.

[Doc McCoy]

Long live Angela!!

 

Yes, "Long live Angela!", and let's also chant... "All Hail Angela... Heir to the Asgardian Throne!"

 

SW3D

 

I prefer heir to the "Iron" Throne!

 

[SW3D]

Long live Angela!!

 

Yes, "Long live Angela!", and let's also chant... "All Hail Angela... Heir to the Asgardian Throne!"

 

SW3D

 

I prefer heir to the "Iron" Throne!

 

 

Gorgeous! Simply gorgeous! Where did you obtain this work of art? Have you submitted it for grading?

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

SW3D

[Real Elijah Snow]

What did you mean by "the sole bearer of a newstand Spawn #9"? I have had those....

Cool story though. You very clearly have a love for this character.

Also, do you have this?

http://www.mycomicshop.com/search?ItemID=26223425

 

As far as my research, it is the rarest Angela appearance, so I thought I would mention it in case you weren't aware of it.

[SW3D]

Hey RES,

 

Thanks for your comments.

 

In regards to your inquiry: "What did you mean by 'The sole bearer of a Newsstand Spawn #9'?": I didn't literally mean I'm the only collector to have a newsstand copy, but at one time, I was the first and only collector to have a CGC graded version of it.

 

Thanks for sharing the link. I recently became aware of the museum editions, which I understand are limited to a 100 print run, making them ultra rare with a high price tag. I would love to buy the MCS example, but I'm afraid the grade doesn't meet my standards. But I'm on the market to buy one but at high grade.

 

SW3D