Edwin Jarvis
Edwin Jarvis is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Jarvis is most often depicted as a supporting character in the titles Iron Man and The Avengers. He is the loyal household butler of the Stark family. Since the 1990s, the character has appeared heavily in media adaptations of Iron Man and Avengers stories.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the character serves as the basis for an artificial intelligence known as J.A.R.V.I.S. voiced by Paul Bettany, while Edwin Jarvis himself was portrayed by James D'Arcy in the ABC television series Agent Carter, the film Avengers: Endgame, and the Disney+ series What If...? and VisionQuest.
Publication history
Jarvis first appeared in Tales of Suspense #59, and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Jarvis received an entry in the Official Mightiest Heroes! from an Avengers backup story featuring Jarvis.Fictional character biography
Backstory
Born of the most modest origins, Edwin Jarvis served in the Royal Air Military during World War II and was its champion boxer three years running. He later moved to the United States where he became manservant to Howard Stark and Maria Stark and watched over the Starks' mansion even after their deaths.Avengers
His name and English origin bears resemblance to Jeeves, the fictional sagacious valet in the books by P. G. Wodehouse. When Iron Man called the Avengers' first meeting and donated the Stark house as the Avengers Mansion headquarters, Jarvis grew accustomed to the guests and served the Avengers for many years thereafter, acting as a father figure to some of the newcomers. Jarvis was there when the first guest Captain America became a member of the Avengers. He was the only one to stay with the Avengers for their entire existence, a distinction not even Captain America can claim. As a result, Captain America has stated that Jarvis should be regarded just as much of an Avenger as he is.Jarvis spent some time as the primary babysitter for Franklin Richards, the super-powered son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, when the two Fantastic Four members were residing at the mansion. He also served as the sponsor to Silverclaw while the latter was growing up, and the future Avengers member has come to regard him as an uncle.
Being a manservant to the Avengers meant that Jarvis has had to deal with their enemies on several occasions. Jarvis has also been personally involved in many adventures, including being Ultron's brainwashed decoy as the Crimson Cowl, and leading the evacuation of a stalled subway train during a citywide disaster and battling a demonically possessed car. Jarvis defended the floating Hydrobase against a horde of robots built by Doctor Doom during the Acts of Vengeance crisis. He was present when one of the many incarnations of the Masters of Evil attacked the mansion. Taken hostage, he was brutally beaten by Mr. Hyde while Captain America and the Black Knight were forced to watch. His physical injuries included a shattered knee and 90% loss of vision in his left eye, forcing him to wear an eyepatch for some time; however, Jarvis refused to retire, believing instead that confronting his fears gave him more in common with the Avengers. Jarvis personally confronted Loki, risking great danger, after realizing the villain had tricked his way inside the mansion. He tendered his resignation during Iron Man's battle with alcoholism, but returned not long afterwards.
In his duties as the Avengers' manservant, he was entrusted with items of great power, including the Casket of Ancient Winters.
The New Avengers
When the New Avengers were formed, Jarvis was called back after taking a holiday "for the first time in years", having been informed that his 'special' services were once again needed. Jarvis often confronts Wolverine over the man's poor kitchen etiquette, a battle only new member Spider-Man's Aunt May was able to win. Jarvis seemingly struck up a relationship with May, who had moved into Stark Tower with Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson after her house burnt down. When Spider-Man switched sides during the Civil War, however, May and Mary Jane fled Stark Tower to live in hiding. In a New Avengers ''Civil War story, Jarvis was shot by an employee who was opposed to Tony Stark using technology invented to enforce the Superhuman Registration Act. However, it appears Jarvis recovers from this wound as he is shown to be working again in Civil War: The Initiative. He also humorously mentions that if Stark allowed "that Tigra %^#$" in the new incarnation of the Avengers, Tony would need to find someone else to do the laundry; Tigra had worked for Stark's side throughout the entirety of the Civil War incident. In the 2008 storyline One More Day'', Jarvis is given over $2,000,000 by Stark to pay for May's hospital bills following an assassination attempt in the aftermath of Peter's own decision to publicly reveal Spider-Man's true identity. Jarvis visibly breaks down upon seeing May in the hospital bed, confessing his deep love to the Parkers. As a consequence of the "One More Day" storyline, however, Spider-Man's timeline has undergone a major continuity overhaul, including Jarvis's relationship with the Parkers.''Secret Invasion''
Later that year, the Secret Invasion storyline revealed that Jarvis has been replaced by a Skrull agent for some time. The Skrull used a computer virus, disabling a number of Stark Enterprises facilities and Iron Man's armor. This agent also obtained access to records on the Sentry in order to discover weaknesses, as the Skrulls were unable to duplicate the Sentry's powers because the Sentry's limits were unknown even to Iron Man. Jarvis the Skrull later approaches Maria Hill on the destroyed S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier in the middle of the ocean and tells Maria to surrender along with the S.H.I.E.L.D. crew. Maria uses a Life Model Decoy as a distraction while the real one escapes and detonates the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. During the fight between Veranke and Criti Noll's forces against the heroes and villains, Jarvis the Skrull watches from Avengers Tower as the energy washes over hero, villain and Skrull alike. While holding Jessica Jones and Luke Cage's child, the Skrull comments that it doesn't matter if the Skrulls win or lose, so long as "God's" will is done. After the final battle, the real Jarvis is discovered alive, prompting Jessica to discover that her baby had been taken by the Skrull impostor. Jarvis's Skrull impersonator is eventually found in a hideout by Luke and was shot by Bullseye after returning Luke's and Jessica's baby.''Dark Reign''
During the Dark Reign storyline, Jarvis is later shown in a support group meeting with the others that had been replaced by Skrulls. Having refused to serve under Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers, Jarvis is sought out by Hercules and Amadeus Cho to be a part of the Mighty Avengers, Amadeus having determined that Jarvis is the one constant of the Avengers.''Fear Itself''
During the Fear Itself storyline, Jarvis manages to escape Avengers Tower when it's under attack by the Thing. Red Hulk tries unsuccessfully to stop him but the Tower gets destroyed and he's knocked out of the city and into Vermont.''AXIS''
During the AXIS storyline, when key members of the Avengers and the X-Men underwent a moral inversion, Jarvis and the Hulk tried to stop the Avengers when the group planned to kill the Red Skull, but were ignored and attacked, Jarvis being knocked aside while Hulk's anger triggered his own inverted transformation into 'Kluh'. However, Jarvis had anticipated a problem based on the Avengers' actions since the group's return from the island, and had already hidden Red Skull away until he could explain the situation to Steve Rogers and was then able to retrieve Red Skull and return the heroes and villains to normal.''Secret Wars''
During the Secret Wars storyline, Demolition Man met with Jarvis and Rage at Avengers Mansion during the incursion between Earth-616 and Earth-1610.''All-New, All-Different Marvel''
As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel, Edwin Jarvis is welcomed to the new headquarters of the Avengers. When Jarvis wonders if his services are needed or not, Iron Man convinces him to help out the Avengers. Jarvis is present with the Avengers when they meet Nadia Pym, Hank Pym's daughter through Maria Trovaya who now sports a modified Wasp suit. After Nadia helps to stabilize the Vision, Jarvis takes Nadia on a road trip to meet the latter's extended family.Contest of Champions
When the Earth and Moon are dragged into the Contest of Champions schemes by the Challenger during No Surrender, Jarvis is one of the heroes on Earth involved in this scheme, almost sacrificing his life saving a child from a crumbling building as the Contest began. Jarvis barely survived and went into a coma, almost dying before he came under the care of Beast and Nadia to save him from a small parasitic alien inside his head. After Beast and Nadia saved his life, upon regaining consciousness, Jarvis revealed that he had no true memory of the existence of the "heroine" Voyager/Valerie Vector back in the 1900s, as she had been playing with the heroes' memories all along, creating the illusion that she was one of the original Avengers members, leaving her true origins unknown, until she is revealed to be the Grandmaster's daughter.After the contest is over, Nadia made Edwin Jarvis a new version of J.A.R.V.I.S. to be his helpmate. When Edwin thought it was a sign for him to retire, J.A.R.V.I.S. stated that its programming is not yet complete.
Edwin Jarvis was at the Jarvis Lounge when Spider-Boy showed up asking him for a job. Jarvis turned him away.
At the Jarvis Lounge, Edwin Jarvis is visited by Toy Soldier stating that he would like to join the Avengers. As Captain America and Thor come out with Captain America figuring out what Taskmaster wanted Super-Adaptoid's arm for, Squirrel Girl appears and vouches for Toy Soldier to Jarvis, Captain America, and Thor claiming that Toy Soldier helped her save some squirrels. Jarvis is present when Spider-Man and Miles Morales arrive with a distress letter from Christina Xu.