Doctor Erik Selvig is an astrophysicist with Scandinavian heritage who grew up hearing tales of Asgard, the legends of Thor, and the Bifrost Bridge. As a professor of Theoretical Astrophysics, he met Bruce Banner, a renowned scientist known for his work in Gamma Radiation. He also taught students Dr. Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis. The three of them frequently work together.
While supporting Foster’s work in astronomical anomalies in New Mexico, the trio driving in their van witnessed an unusual weather event that produced a vortex. They drove towards it and struck Thor Odinson, a self-proclaimed Asgardian god. Foster tasered him and Selvig insisted they take him to a hospital. Selvig doubted Thor and his claims, while Foster believed he was the answer to the existence of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge, or a wormhole.
While he has no super human abilities, Doctor Erik Selvig is a renowned astrophysicist who studies cosmic energy. After working alongside Jane Foster and discovering the existence of wormholes, he becomes an expert on the subject. For his scientific prowess, S.H.I.E.L.D. invites him to consult on a secret project called P.E.G.A.S.U.S., studying the powerful object known as the Tesseract.
When Loki endeavored to rule Earth, he used his borrowed Chitauri Scepter containing the Mind Stone to control Selvig’s mind. While he retained his skills as a scientist, he nearly lost all ability to make choices for himself. Once his mind was recalibrated and recovered somewhat from the mind control, he seemed to understand the nature of the Convergence, a singular event where the Nine Realms in the universe aligned.
During his time aiding Thor or working with S.H.I.E.L.D., Dr. Selvig helps in facing off against some powerful enemies.
When the Destroyer, an automaton, is sent to Earth by Loki to destroy his half-brother Thor, Selvig, along with his colleagues Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis, are in the line of fire when the Destroyer lands.
Loki, the God of Mischief, arrives on Earth to rule it and help the Chitauri invade upon the Mad Titan Thanos’ direction. Loki controls Selvig’s mind for a time, tasking him with amplifying the Tesseract’s power to create a massive portal that would allow the Chitauri to invade Earth. Selvig completes this task, but when he is freed from Loki’s control he is horrified by what he has done. For all the evil Loki has done and forced him to do, he earns his place as Selvig’s primary foe.
Malekith and his Dark Elves invade Earth to recreate reality in darkness. They arrive in Greenwich, England to begin their takeover and Selvig alongside Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, Ian Boothby, and Thor Odinson, help stop their invasion and diabolical design to recreate the universe.
Selvig’s colleague, Jane Foster, and intern, Darcy Lewis, met while he taught Theoretical Astrophysics at Culver University. The pair are also his close friends, and when Lewis recruits intern Ian Boothby, he aids Selvig at a time of need.
Selvig aids Thor Odinson, the Asgardian God of Thunder, when he seeks his lost hammer Mjolnir. He becomes a friend to the mighty Thor, helping him later seek answers about the Infinity Stones in the Well of Sights, which ultimately assists the Avengers in their battle against Ultron. As a result of his work, the Avengers later recruit him for his skills as a renowned scientist.
Director Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. recruits Selvig to help stabilize the Tesseract, an unknown powerful energy source. While at a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, he meets Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye who is tasked with protecting the lab and Tesseract.
When Doctor Erik Selvig and his students Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis came upon an astronomical anomaly on Earth, they accidentally hit a man with their van, who was claiming to be the Asgardian Thor Odinson, a legend from Norse mythology that Selvig grew up hearing stories about. While Selvig did not believe him to be the God of Thunder, Foster theorized that he had the answer to the Einstein-Rosen Bridge—a wormhole.
The organization S.H.I.E.L.D. heard about Foster’s work on wormholes and seized it all. Selvig warned her to steer clear of them and shared a story about his former colleague Bruce Banner, a leader in Gamma Radiation, and how he disappeared after they contacted him.
Selvig began reading about the stories from his youth and as he engaged with Thor, he accepted that he may be telling the truth. He helped him alongside Foster and Lewis in his quest to recover his lost hammer Mjolnir. Though Thor was not worthy of it when he came upon it, until he sacrificed himself to protect his new friends on Earth from the Destroyer, a massive automaton that caused great destruction to their small town in New Mexico.
S.H.I.E.L.D. then sought Selvig out to stabilize the Tesseract, an unknown source of immense energy, but housing an Infinity Stone known as the Space Stone. When Loki came through a portal opened by the Tesseract, he used his Chitaurian Scepter to control Selvig’s mind. He needed Selvig to amplify the portal using the Tesseract so the Chitaurian army could invade Earth. Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. assembled the Avengers to halt Loki’s diabolical plans.
Selvig set up a modified Tesseract to open the portal on top of Stark Tower. Iron Man arrived and engaged Loki. In Iron Man’s attempt to shut down the portal, Selvig was knocked over. The impact to his head caused cognitive recalibration, restoring his mind back to him.
Thor arrived and battled Loki on the tower, but Loki escaped on a Chitauri aircraft leaving his Scepter behind. Black Widow joined Selvig, who informed her that he had retained some control and designed the portal with a flaw. All they had to do was use Loki’s Scepter to close the portal, which they did.
However, the event took a toll on him. Selvig had difficulty recovering his mental faculties after the incident. He began running around nude, claiming he was saving people and spouting theories about the Convergence. He was arrested at Stonehenge for indecent exposure. Lewis and her intern Ian Boothby picked him up from a mental hospital, where his theory about the Convergence proved correct when a flock of ravens appeared and disappeared in front of them.
They were contacted by Thor and Foster who informed them of the Dark Elf Malekith’s plan to use the Convergence to recreate reality with the powerful reality altering weapon, the Aether AKA the Reality Stone, one of the six fabled Infinity Stones. Selvig discerned through calculations that Greenwich, England was the spot in the Convergence where the Aether could be used, and thus where Malekith would invade. Selvig and Foster created devices to detect gravitational anomalies as Lewis and Darcy placed sensors around Greenwich enabling them to teleport Malekith’s invaders to other parts of the universe. When Malekith’s ship was about to crush Thor, Selvig saved his life by teleporting the ship away from him.
Thor later contacted Selvig to assist him in learning about a vision he had experienced. They traveled to the Water of Sights where he witnessed the potential of six Infinity Stones, one of which was stored in Loki’s former Scepter. He used the knowledge to help him defeat Ultron, a powerful android of Iron Man’s creation from destroying the world.
Due to his expertise in science and Asgard, Selvig was recruited to work for the Avengers at their new facility in upstate New York.