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For other uses, see Dark Elf Conflict (disambiguation)
For alternate versions of Second Dark Elf Conflict, see Second Dark Elf Conflict's Event Hub

"The Asgardians will suffer as we have suffered. I will reclaim the Aether. I will restore our world... And I will put an end to this poisoned universe."
Malekith[src]

The Second Dark Elf Conflict was a conflict that marked the return of the Dark Elves from extensive hibernation after the First Battle of Svartalfheim, triggered by the incitement of the Convergence.

In 2013, during the Convergence, Jane Foster located the Aether and unintentionally attracted the attention of Malekith. A series of confrontations followed, spanning across all the Nine Realms, ending with Thor defeating Malekith at the Battle of Greenwich.

History[]

Background[]

First Dark Elf Conflict[]

"As the nine worlds converged above him, Malekith could at last unleash the Aether. But Asgard had ripped the weapon from his grasp. Without it, the Dark Elves fell. With the battle all but lost, Malekith sacrificed his own people in a desperate attempt to lay waste to Asgard's army."
Odin[src]
Bor arriving

Bor battles and defeats Malekith

In 2988 B.C., the leader of the Dark Elves, Malekith, planned to make all of the Nine Realms pitch-black using the power of the Aether. Soon the Asgardians heard of Malekith's plan, so to protect the Nine Realms, an army of Asgardians led by their king, Bor, went to stop the Dark Elves in the First Battle of Svartalfheim. Soon the Asgardians managed to take the Aether from Malekith. When the Asgardians began to get the upper hand in the battle, Malekith sacrificed everyone on the battlefield, even his own men. The remaining Dark Elves went into hiding and hibernated until the next Convergence.[1]

Return of the Dark Elves[]

Hunt for Jane Foster[]

"The Aether awakens us. The convergence returns."
Malekith[src]
Malekith white face

Malekith awakes from hibernation

Nearly five-thousand years later, the Convergence once again took place. Jane Foster, a human astrophysicist, came across a portal while studying the event, and accidentally warped herself to the Aether's hiding place. Jane unintentionally awakened the Aether, which possessed her body, using her as a host. Alerted by the Aether's activity, Malekith and his brethren immediately woke from their ancient slumber and followed the Aether's signal to Asgard, where Jane had been brought by Thor in an attempt to remove the Aether from her body.[1]

Invasion of Asgard[]

KurseFreesPrisoners

Kurse frees the prisoners from their cells

"The Dark Elves attack the palace, and you think you send them to Thor."
Mobius M. Mobius to Loki[src]

To recover the Aether, Malekith turned Algrim into a Kursed, a Dark Elf super-soldier, and had him infiltrate Asgard. There, he posed as a prisoner and released various prisoners from Asgard's dungeons, and while the Asgardians were distracted by the prisoners, Malekith led a full-scale invasion of the realm. Heimdall attempted to halt the Dark Elves' advance by placing a force field around the royal palace, but Algrim lowered the field, and the Dark Elves swarmed the palace.

Malekith tracked Jane Foster to Odin's chambers, where he was confronted by Frigga, Asgard's queen. Frigga attempted to fight Malekith, but was restrained and subsequently murdered by Algrim. Enraged, Thor fired a blast of lightning that physically scarred Malekith's face, forcing him to retreat.[1]

Return to Svartalfheim[]

MalekithAbsorbingAether-TTDW

Malekith finally reclaims the Aether

"I am Loki of Jotunheim, and I bring you a gift! I ask only one thing in return: a good seat from which to watch Asgard burn."
Loki to Malekith[src]

Determined to avenge Frigga's death, Thor disobeyed the orders of Odin and, with help from Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and Heimdall, released his war criminal brother Loki from his imprisonment so that he could help Thor and Jane Foster escape and lure Malekith away from Asgard. Hijacking a Dark Elf ship, the three fled Asgard and eventually found their way to Svartalfheim, where they were almost immediately confronted by the Dark Elves.

Despite their best efforts, Thor and Loki were unable to stop Malekith from taking the Aether from Foster's body, and were helpless to stop him from leaving the planet. Algrim stayed behind to deal with the Asgardians, and appeared to mortally wound Loki before being killed by one of his own Black Hole Grenades. After mourning Loki's apparent loss, Thor and Foster made their way back to Earth via another portal.[1]

End of Malekith[]

MalekithAether-TTDW

Malekith unleashes the Aether's power

"You think you can stop this? The Aether can not be destroyed!"
"But you can."
Malekith and Thor[src]

Jane Foster and Thor returned to her flat in London, where they met with Darcy Lewis, Erik Selvig, and Ian Boothby. The group theorized that Malekith intended to unleash the Aether once again, and used a map left by early human civilizations pinpointing the peak of the Convergence to track the Dark Elf's location in Greenwich.

The group confronted Malekith in Greenwich, where he and Thor engaged in a brutal duel while Thor's human companions dealt with Malekith's minions using teleporation devices created by Selvig. Malekith, empowered by the Aether, proved to be more than a match for Thor. Their battle led them through various portals, transporting them to different locations like Svartalfheim and Jotunheim; the latter resulted in a Frost Beast being transported to Earth.

Thor-vs-Malekith-FinalStrike

Thor prepares to finally destroy Malekith

The two combatants were eventually separated, and Malekith prepared to unleash the Aether unhindered. Fortunately, Thor arrived just in time to use Selvig's devices to transport Malekith away from the battlefield. Selvig used the devices on Malekith's damaged ship, teleporting it to Malekith's location on Svartalfheim; the leader of the Dark Elves was subsequently crushed and killed.[1]

Aftermath[]

Loki the king

Loki reclaims the throne of Asgard

"Of course. But if I may ask, why not keep it secure, in your own vault?"
"The Tesseract is already on Asgard. It is not wise to keep two Infinity Stones so close together."
Collector and Volstagg[src]

After the battle, Thor immediately returned to Asgard to confirm Malekith's death to his father. Odin commended Thor for his actions, which had saved the Nine Realms from decimation. Thor did not realize that Odin was actually a disguised Loki, who had faked his death on Svartalfheim and had now usurped Odin's throne.

The Asgardians found Malekith's body on Svartalfheim and sapped the Aether from it.[1] Deeming it too dangerous to keep, especially with the Tesseract already held in Asgard, Sif and Volstagg personally delivered it to the Collector for safekeeping.[3] Years later, however, the Mad Titan Thanos traveled to Knowhere and stole the Reality Stone from the Collector.[4]

The wreckage from the battle was later cleaned up by S.H.I.E.L.D. and Damage Control, with the leftover pieces of Dark Elf technology recovered as harmful evidence.[5] Vulture stole Black Hole Grenades from Damage Control trucks and sold them on the black market.[6]

Asgardian Lorelei

Lorelei escapes to Earth

The seductress Lorelei, who had been among the prisoners released by Algrim, managed to evade capture and made her way to Earth. She would eventually be hunted down by Sif, who allied with S.H.I.E.L.D. to capture Lorelei and return her to the Asgardian Dungeons to continue her sentence.[7]

One of the last remaining Dark Elves was imprisoned in Taneleer Tivan's Museum prior to its partial destruction.[8]

After the Snap, the Avengers time travel back to obtain the Infinity Stones so as to resurrect the victims of the Snap. Thor and Rocket Raccoon were dispatched to Asgard during the events of the Second Dark Elf Conflict to extract the Aether from Jane Foster's body.[9]

References[]

Wars and Conflicts in Earth History
Ego's Expansion (Pre-1 A.D.2014) • 500 Year War (10841520) • Asgard-Jotunheim War (965 A.D.2010) • Kree-Skrull War (995 A.D.–present) • Crusade Against Monsters (Pre-18612025) • World War II (19391945) • Johann Fennhoff's Revenge Plot (1946) • Cold War (19471991) • Bruce Banner Manhunt (20052010) • Chitauri Invasion (2012) • Second Dark Elf Conflict (2013) • Centipede Investigation (20132014) • Aldrich Killian's War (2013) • HYDRA Uprising (2014) • Operation Cerberus (20132014) • War on HYDRA (20142015) • S.H.I.E.L.D. Civil War (20142015) • Ultron Offensive (2015) • War Against the Inhumans (2015) • Frank Castle's War (20152016) • Chase of Luke Cage (2015) • Grant Ward's Campaign (20152016) • Inhuman Outbreak (20152016) • War for New York (2016) • Hive's Campaign (2016) • Avengers Civil War (2016) • Termination of the Red Room (2016) • Erik Killmonger's Campaign (2016) • Uprising in Attilan (2016) • Adrian Toomes' Weapons Trafficking Operation (20122016) • Anti-Inhuman Movement (20162017) • Rawlins Conspiracy (20152016) • Chase of Quake (20162017) • Attack on the Sanctums (2017) • Terror in New Orleans (2017) • Aida's Uprising (2017) • War for Harlem (2017) • Triad War (2017) • Kingpin's Conspiracy (2017) • Gibborim Prophecy (20172018) • Morgan le Fay's Campaign (2018) • Schultz Conspiracy (2018) • Jigsaw's Campaign (2018) • Trish Walker's Vigilante Campaign (2018) • Infinity War (2018) • Search for Leo Fitz (20182019) • Sarge's Campaign (2019) • Izel's Campaign (2019) • War Against the Chronicoms (2019) • Ronin's Campaign (20182023) • Time Heist (2023) • Westview Anomaly (2023) • Quest for Ta Lo (2024) • Flag Smashers' Political Ultimatum (2024) • Mafia Cold War (2024) • Quentin Beck's Campaign (2024) • Tiamut's Emergence (2024) • Spider-Man Multiversal Crisis (2024) • Scarlet Witch's War (2024) • Tracksuit Mafia Campaign (2024) • Arthur Harrow's Campaign (2025) • Talokanil-Wakandan War (2025) • Gorr's Vow Against Gods (2025) • Secret Invasion (2026) • Restoration of Hala (2026)
Wars and Conflicts in Asgardian History
First Dark Elf Conflict (2988 B.C.) • Subjugation of the Nine Realms (1st Millennium) • Asgard-Jotunheim War (965 A.D.-2010) • Battle of HarokinWar of the Nine Realms (20112013) • Chitauri Invasion (2012) • Second Dark Elf Conflict (2013) • Ragnarök (2017) • Infinity War (2018) • Battle of Earth (2023) • Gorr's Vow Against Gods (2024)
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