The Valkyrie is a plane that is briefly featured in the 2012 film The Avengers. The Plane is shown in flashbacks from Captain America's memory.
History[]
Red Skull's plan for domination began with a super bomber, the Valkyrie. This plane was a hybrid of prop planes and stealth bombers. It could launch HYDRA 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. When Red Skull finally flew the plane, it would be the only time he would ever do so. After Red Skull's defeat, the plane was still targeting New York City, so Captain America had no choice but to crash it in the Arctic. The plane was discovered almost 70 years later by S.H.I.E.L.D., in pieces. Captain America was perfectly preserved inside, frozen in ice.
Trivia[]
- The Valkyrie was a key plot element to the climax of Captain America: The First Avenger, which was released prior to Disney acquiring Marvel Comics.
- The Valkyrie's design was inspired by two German aircraft concepts from World War II. Its shape resembles the Horten Ho 229 flying wing night-fighter, while its intended function is closer to that of the Daimler-Benz Project C, which was also intended to launch suicide missiles.
- "Valkyrie" was a key element of Norse Mythology, female figures who decide whether a warrior lives or dies, similar to the plane's intended purpose of bombing most of the planet.
- Ironically, "Valkyrie" was also the name of a planned national emergency in Nazi Germany that would have been engineered by a coup by the German Military hierarchy against Adolf Hitler, which was ultimately similar to Red Skull and HYDRA's intentions to bomb, among other locations, Berlin.
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