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After the events of Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier has taken quite a bit of damage. Between the Hulk/Thor battle and the sabotage from Hawkeye's attack, it's taken a beating. However, I don't recall seeing it in Phase 2 (yet, there are 2 more films). Although we do see what more modern helicarriers would look like in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, we don't see the old one in the films or TV series (I don't read the tie-in comics). Is it still around, functional? Does SHIELD still use it?

What's the status of the original helicarrier, post-Avengers?

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We see the Helicarrier again in Age of Ultron, and get a hint of what it’s been up to.

When Nick Fury pulls up in the Helicarrier, he says “Nice, right? Pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She’s dusty but she’ll do.”

The implication seems to be that the Helicarrier has been in storage since it was damaged in Loki’s attack, and he’s quietly had it patched up and restaffed. (Since some of the original staff are probably HYDRA and/or dead.) The “old friends” include Maria Hill and the SHIELD technician who we last saw standing up to Rumlow in Winter Soldier (I incorrectly said this was Danny Pudi; it’s actually Aaron Himelstein).

Apparently this is something we’re going to learn more about in Agents of SHIELD. In an interview with Slashfilm, Kevin Feige confirmed that we’re going to see more of this:

Now, when Nick Fury goes away and comes back with a Helicarrier, that seems like a big chunk of off screen story. Is that something we might see referenced on SHIELD?

Feige: I think it’s fair to say you could fill in some of those blanks in the coming weeks on Tuesday at 9.

Since it didn’t happen last week, maybe it happens this week. Maybe next. But according to Feige, we’ll get a storyline on the show that’ll cover where Fury goes to get the Helicarrier that he brings in to aid the Avengers in their climactic battle with Ultron.

We see the start of this storyline in Agents of SHIELD s02e20 “Scars”:

At the start of the episode, we see Coulson arriving at a new base, staffed with another of the Koenig brothers. This is what “Theta Protocol” is about: the repairs of the Helicarrier. He is shown to a hangar bay:

enter image description here

Note the “64” on the deck: this is the original Helicarrier. I believe the cargo in the top-right hand corner is what we see in Age of Ultron, but I’m not sure.

Later, Coulson explains to the rest of new SHIELD that this was a “failsafe” and “completely off the books” (sound familiar?).

There’s no mention of the original Helicarrier in the Age of Ultron prelude comic, nor in any other tie-in materials that I’ve read.

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  • Wait, Danny Pudi was in that scene? I only saw "Captain's Orders" guy.
    – user1027
    May 4, 2015 at 20:01
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Helicarrier 64 will return for Avengers: Age of Ultron!

In this TV Spot you can see War Machine in an aerial battle. In the background is the Helicarrier, with the 64 on the side.

enter image description here

And here are shots from The Avengers movie. Same number. In contrast, the project Insight carriers where IN-01, IN-02, and IN-03.

enter image description here

enter image description here

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  • Also, isn't Helicarrier 64 the one currently occupied by the Gonzalez SHIELD team on AoS?
    – Omegacron
    Apr 20, 2015 at 19:03
  • @Omegacron That is apparently a regular carrier and not the Helicarrier. Because it has a name (Iliad) and probably doesn't fly.
    – Jack B Nimble
    Apr 20, 2015 at 19:07
  • Ah, ok. They referred to it as "THE helicarrier" early on, so I thought it was the one from The Avengers.
    – Omegacron
    Apr 20, 2015 at 19:08
  • @Omegacron Did they? When was that, because I do wonder...
    – Jack B Nimble
    Apr 20, 2015 at 19:11
  • S2E15 - "One Door Closes" - during the flashback at the beginning where it shows how the Gonzalez team got started. They call it "the carrier" but also talk about sinking it, so I dunno. Maybe you're right.
    – Omegacron
    Apr 20, 2015 at 19:14

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