Edwin Jarvis

"An ideal butler provides service without being asked."

- Edwin Jarvis

Edwin Jarvis was the butler and trusted ally of Howard Stark, and helped Peggy Carter in her mission of clearing his master's name. Over the years, he served as a support figure during the childhood of Tony Stark.

Early Life and Military Career
Edwin Jarvis joined the British Armed Forces and became an to a general. On one of the general's journeys over Europe, Jarvis met Ana, a girl of Jewish descent who was working in a hotel in Budapest, Hungary. He also met Howard Stark, a wealthy American inventor and businessman, and they became good friends.

World War II
When World War II broke out, Jarvis was still serving as the general's aide. The general had several letters of transit that could secure Ana's safety from the Nazis, but the general refused to sign them. Jarvis stole one of the letters and forged the general's signature.

The scandal that ensued when the forgery was discovered caused the accusation of treason for Jarvis. Luckily for him, Howard Stark, who had some unfinished business with the general, used his influence to not only save Jarvis from court martial, but also secure Ana's safety. Jarvis was dishonorably discharged from the British Army, but he and Stark became quick and loyal friends soon after. Eventually, Jarvis and Ana married and relocated to the United States, where Jarvis became Stark's butler.

Working with Peggy Carter
"When you're not humiliating him, that fellow up there is my butler, Edwin Jarvis. He'll help you any way he can."

- Howard Stark

Edwin Jarvis was tasked with assisting Peggy Carter in finding the document that had the formula for molecular Nitramene, an invention created by Howard Stark but was stolen. He greeted Carter outside the L&L Automat, Carter responded badly, unaware of who Jarvis was, when she attempted to flee she was stopped by Howard Stark. Stark explained his situation to Carter and she agreed to help and allowed Jarvis to assist her. He explained that she was able to call him any time before 09.00pm, when she asked why that was, he explained that was the time he and his wife went to bed, When Carter found an active bomb of the chemical in La Martinique, she called Jarvis for advice. He was busy preparing dinner for his wife Ana and disliked being disturbed, but he helped Carter nonetheless with Stark's notes to defuse the bomb.

The next morning, Edwin lied to Ana, telling her that he was evicting a woman from Howard Stark's Penthouse apartment; in reality, he was in L&L Automat helping Carter deal with the death of her roommate who had been murdered by a mysterious assassin. Afterwards they went to see scientist Anton Vanko on leads toward who could have weaponized the Nitramene. Arriving at the Roxxon Refinery, Jarvis was told to stay with the car as Carter investigated. The sat patiently until he received a call from Carter, she told him she needed him to drive her out immediately. Following directions he drove to her location and she leapt on the back of the car. He drove away from the factory and saved her from the implosion of the Nitramene that turned the factory into a wrecked mass. Later he dropped Carter off at her home and called Stark, telling him that Carter suspected nothing.

Wanting to Help More
"There is not a man or woman, no matter how fit he or she may be, who is capable of carrying the entire world on their shoulders."

- Edwin Jarvis

Because she did not have a place to stay, Jarvis gave Peggy Carter a tour of Howard Stark's Penthouse apartment and told her that she could stay; Carter refused, citing that it would be a conflict of interest with her being a Strategic Scientific Reserve Agent and him being under suspicion of being a traitor. However, Jarvis showed her the bedroom and this tempted Carter enough to stay for a rest.

Carter told Jarvis that she was going to investigate the Daisy Clover Milk Factory for the Nitramene using the Vita-Ray Detector; he wanted to assist and asked her many questions on her methods. Jarvis was eventually put out. Later, Jarvis was told to dispose of the car that he and Carter used at the Roxxon Refinery; her colleagues were researching the place. Jarvis left the car in Hoboken with its keys inside. After picking up Carter from the L&L Automat, Jarvis took her to Cedar Grove, New Jersey to see what connection the milkman Sheldon McFee had to the implosive chemical. Jarvis insisted on helping, but Carter wanted him to leave; she was surprised when Jarvis disabled the Daisy Clover milk truck to prevent Leet Brannis from escaping her.

Armed with a shotgun, Jarvis tried to shoot the man in the Green Suit when he ambushed Carter, Brannis, and him. When Carter told Brannis to drive over the edge of the road into a body of water, Jarvis leapt from the truck with the others. He landed on Brannis, fatally wounding him, in his final moments Brannis drew a strange symbol in the dirt. Hearing sirens, Jarvis insisted that he and Carter flee. Back at Stark's Penthouse, Jarvis tended to Carter's wounds, which included a bullet to the leg. As he stitched up the injury, he spoke to her about wanting to help her more in their mission, claiming that no one could handle the pressure alone. When Carter argued that Steve Rogers could, he said that he knew that Rogers relied heavily on Carter herself for strength and guidance. Carter seemingly accepted his offer and told him to continue tending to her injuries.

Fleetmaster Driver
"You're quite the guard dog." "Security is not within my purview."

- Peggy Carter and Edwin Jarvis

Back at Jarvis' home, he spotted Agent Carter arriving; Jarvis made his excuses and greeted her outside. Carter explained that she had developed a theory that if she could work out how the thieves got into Howard Stark's vault, then maybe she could figure out how they got out and where they went, thus locating Stark's missing weapons. Once inside Stark's penthouse Carter began to ask Jarvis questions about the night of the theft; Jarvis explained how he could not tell her much as there was a storm, and candlelight and rain always makes him fall asleep. They were interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by a voice telling them to open the door for the SSR. Carter hid and Jarvis opened the door and was introduced to Agents Thompson and Sousa of the SSR. Jarvis explained that Howard Stark was not at the house. They explained that they knew who he was and had found the bumper from his car; Jarvis quickly lied and claimed the car had been stolen several days earlier. Jarvis refused to let them into the house and Thompson instead asked him to come with him back to the SSR. Jarvis nervously accepted the offer and left Carter alone in the penthouse. Jarvis was brought to the New York Bell Company Office and questioned by Jack Thompson; Jarvis maintained his lie about the car being stolen. Thompson showed him pictures of Leet Brannis and Sasha Demidov and asked if he recognised either of them; Jarvis lied again and claimed to have never seen them before, and claimed to be grateful to Thompson for finding the thieves. Thompson said he believed that the men were in fact working for Stark all along. Thompson then explained that they knew that Jarvis had previously been accused of treason and then threatened to deport Jarvis and his wife if he did not cooperate. Before he could break and confess, Jarvis was assisted when Carter managed to reveal to him that the SSR had indeed found his stolen car report. Jarvis thanked the agents and left. That night Jarvis was visited by Peggy Carter; he took her to the hole in the ground where the thieves had broken in where they had installed a pulley system and travelled down to the sewers below. Carter claimed that she did not need to ask the truth of Jarvis' past life. As they began to travel down the sewer, Carter changed her mind and asked Jarvis about his past treason as his honour and Stark's word were not good enough. Jarvis agreed and told her the story of how he met his wife Ana and forged a general's signature. They discovered a boat with the same symbol that Brannis had drawn before his death. They got on board the boat and found Stark's weapons, including the Constrictor, a weapon capable of breaking bones. Carter first attempted to inform the SSR of their discovery, but Jarvis argued that informing the SSR of her investigation would land her in trouble and could even lead to a treason charge for working for known fugitive Howard Stark. Jarvis tested Carter by asking her the questions that the SSR would ask her; Carter failed the test and it became clear this could not be explained so easily. Carter reluctantly agreed to work from the shadows. Carter asked Jarvis to call the SSR, knowing that Daniel Sousa was working late and she did not mind him taking the credit for the discovery. Jarvis made an anonymous call to Sousa, putting on an American accent to disguise his identity. He informed the agent of the location of the weapons. When he returned to The Heartbreak to collect Carter, he found her engaged in a fight with Jerome Zandow. Jarvis assisted her in the fight until Carter used the Constrictor to break his arm. They made their escape before the SSR arrived.

Howard Stark's Return
Jarvis received a call from Howard Stark, explaining he planned on being smuggled back to the USA with the help of criminal Otto Mink. Jarvis met Mink's guards and arranged to pay them their money; however, Stark had warned him that Mink would try to get more money from the deal. This proved to be correct when Mink's men did indeed demand more money; Jarvis had Peggy Carter assist him and attack the guards. With the guards subdued, they welcomed back Stark, but, as a fugitive with nowhere else to go, Jarvis dropped them off at Carter's home at the Griffith Hotel. Stark gave Carter a mission to collect an item call the Blitzkrieg Button from the SSR; Jarvis knew that it really contained the last of Steve Rogers' blood. When Carter found out about the lie, she was furious and refused to help Stark again. Jarvis was sent to try to make her understand Stark's reasons for lying to her, but she would not listen. After she left Jarvis met Stark at a shoe shine stand and he expressed his own disgust that Stark's behaviour before leaving.

Jarvis attempted to speak to Carter the next day. He explained that although Howard Stark could be thoughtless and vain, he was a good man who had the highest respect for Carter. Carter was still too angry to accept and said that all Stark needed was a servant. When Jarvis compared his job to hers, she was appalled, saying she was a federal agent; Jarvis reminded her of how little her fellow agents respected her. Carter said she would make them respect her. Jarvis was later approached by the head of the SSR, Roger Dooley. Jarvis initially expressed no interest in speaking to Dooley after his previous arrest by the SSR, where he was threatened with deportation. Dooley explained his new knowledge of the Battle of Finow, in which Stark participated. Jarvis lied and claimed to have never heard of the battle or the general involved. Dooley expressed his desire not to capture Stark, but to learn the truth; he gave Jarvis his card and asked him to call if he ever wanted to explain the truth.

Working with Peggy Carter Again
Peggy Carter, after returning from a mission in Russia had developed a theory that a woman was responsible for seducing Stark with the intention of stealing his weapons. She recruited Jarvis to investigate all the women Stark had had affairs with for the last few months, Jarvis claimed that it would take awhile as the list would be excessive. They began to visit the homes of the women, each of them slapping or kicking Jarvis for his part in Stark's break up routine. Carter looked at the wrists of each of the women, believing the guilty woman would have scars on her wrists from being handcuffed to the bed every night. The last woman they investigated was Ida Emke, who could not be found but was believed to be the guilty woman. Carter and Jarvis went to L&L Automat for a meal when Carter noticed that the place was being evacuated. She noticed Strategic Scientific Reserve agents from Washington, D.C. there, trying to be unnoticeable. Knowing they had been found out, Carter engaged the Agents in a fight while Jarvis held the door to stop any other Agents from getting in. They escaped out the back only to be stopped by Agent Jack Thompson. Carter was able to knock Thompson out but refused to leave with Jarvis, claiming to have to first collect Steve Rogers' blood from her hotel room.

Surrendering to the SSR
Jarvis learned that Carter had indeed been caught by the SSR. In a moment of panic he devised a plan to arrive at the SSR with a forged confession from Howard Stark; this gained him entry but the plan did not help them escape, as Roger Dooley claimed they would have to wait until Stark arrived before they could go free. Jarvis admitted his lie to a furious Carter.

While they were there, Carter noticed that the man she had saved from Russia, Ivchenko, was communicating with someone using Morse code outside of the window. They desperately tried to convince Dooley and the other Agents of this fact, but they would not believe her. Seeing no other alternative, Carter showed them that the Blitzkrieg Button did indeed contain Captain Steve Rogers' blood. This act of good faith earned them just enough of Dooley's trust. However, as the SSR sent agents of arrest whomever Ivchenko was communicating with, the Russian was able to take over Roger Dooley's mind, who locked Jarvis and Carter in the interrogation room before letting Ivchenko go free with some of Stark's inventions. When they were released, they discovered that Dooley was now wearing one of Stark's unfinished designs, a Stark Heat Vest. Jarvis explained that the vest could not be removed and would continue to heat up until it exploded. Seeing no other alternative, Dooley leapt out of the window and exploded in mid-air.

After Dooley's death the team investigated what had been stolen from the lab, the only missing weapon was entitled Item 17, when they asked Jarvis what it was, he said he had no idea.

Stopping Leviathan
After the SSR investigated a case where 47 innocent people killed each other after being exposed to Item 47, Jarvis arrived back at the SSR along with Howard Stark. The SSR immediately arrested Stark, Jarvis automatically raised him arms in surrender when the Agents aimed their guns at them.

The SSR questioned Stark and he revealed that Item 17 was in fact a gas called Midnight Oil, a substance he designed to keep soliders awake for longer periods of time, but instead caused an uncontrollable rage. He explained that the gas had been used against his will during World War II, and was used to slaughter Russian Soldiers at the Battle of Finow. Stark volunteered to be used as bait to draw out Ivchenko, whose real name was Johann Fennhoff, it was arranged that Stark would give a speech in a public event, announcing he was being cleared of all charges by the SSR. Before the event, Stark had Jarvis hold up a mirror while he trimmed his moustache, when Stark asked Jarvis how it looked, Jarvis replied that it looked like a nest of spiders with very short legs.

At the press event Stark was shot at, in the chaos Jarvis took Stark to a police car and ordered the driver to take them to the SSR headquarters. Before he could enter the car, the driver drove off with Stark, it was only after the car was gone that Jarvis saw the two other policemen, lying murdered on the ground. Jarvis was able to work out that Stark was most likely taken to his secret warehouse, where he kept his other planes, it was believed that he would be forced to fly one of his planes over New York while carrying the Midnight Oil. His theory was confirmed when they arrived at the warehouse. Howard Stark's mind had been taken over by Johann Fennhoff and he was piloting one of his planes while carrying the Midnight Oil. Jarvis volunteered to pilot another plane to shoot down Stark if he could not be convinced to turn around the plane, as he was the only one out of the Agents to have ever piloted a plane, although he confessed he had never been forced to shoot someone down before. Peggy Carter was able to take control of the radio and communicated with Stark, while Jarvis pressured her to make a choice if he would have to shoot Stark down. Stark was convinced to turn back and returned to the warehouse. When Stark landed he berated Jarvis about nearly shooting him down, but hugged his butler none the less to show his gratitude.

Jarvis was later given permission by Howard Stark to give one of his pent-houses to Peggy Carter and her friend Angie Martinelli, who were allowed to live in the Pent-House without paying rent. Jarvis spoke to Carter when they were alone, he explained that he planned to take it easier for the next few weeks, although he looked forward to having an overhaul of the kitchen spices, he did however promise to assist her with anything she would ever need at a moments notice. Jarvis explained that Stark had decided to destroy all of his weapons, as he believed they were too dangerous for any government to use, he did however give Carter one last item, Steve Rogers' blood, Jarvis explained that Stark was unaware that the sample of Roger's blood still existed, as he believed it was lost during Fennhoff's campaign. Jarvis said that although he owed Stark a great dept, Stark did not own his integrity and Jarvis believed that only Carter knew what to do with the blood.

Stark Family
"Master Tony. Do not take his outburst to heart." "Leave me alone, Jarvis." "Fathers and sons. That particular relationship...often so difficult to maneuver. For both sides. But time heals all wounds."

- Edwin Jarvis and Tony Stark

Jarvis continued to serve the Stark family for many years. He made the food for a meeting between Howard Stark and Anton Vanko.

Jarvis also became close to Howard's son, Tony, comforting him following his father's not unusual outbursts. The young Tony had even made a stocking for Jarvis during one Christmas. On one occasion, Jarvis found Tony and attempted to comfort him, urging Tony not to take his father's outburst to heart. Tony told Jarvis to leave him alone, and Jarvis commented that the relationship between a father and son was often difficult to maneuver, but insisted that time would heal all wounds.

Jarvis raised Tony following the death of Howard and Maria Stark, becoming a father figure for Tony until his own death. In his honor, Tony named the artificial intelligence he developed J.A.R.V.I.S. (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System).

Abilities

 * Engineer:
 * Physician: Jarvis was able to stitch the wounds of Peggy Carter when she was injured.
 * Pilot: Jarvis piloted a plane to stop Howard Stark if necessary from releasing the Midnight Oil over Times Square. Though Stark was one of the best civilian pilots of his time, Jarvis was confident that he could catch him.

Weapons

 * : A shotgun owned by Sheldon McFee that Jarvis took while helping Peggy Carter to locate the Nitramene stolen by Leet Brannis. Jarvis ended up using the shotgun in a brief shootout against Sasha Demidov, who attacked the truck where they were trying to transport the Nitramane.

Family

 * Ana Jarvis - Wife

Allies

 * Howard Stark † - Master
 * Maria Stark † - Mistress
 * Tony Stark - Master and Former Ward
 * Anton Vanko †
 * Strategic Scientific Reserve
 * Peggy Carter - Friend
 * Roger Dooley †
 * Jack Thompson
 * Daniel Sousa
 * New York Bell Company
 * Rose
 * Angie Martinelli - Waitress

Enemies

 * Leviathan
 * Leet Brannis †
 * Green Suit †
 * Johann Fennhoff
 * Dottie Underwood
 * Jerome Zandow †

Trivia

 * In the comics, Edwin Jarvis continued to serve as the butler of Tony Stark, eventually becoming the butler of the Avengers.
 * The combination of candlelight and rain makes Jarvis a sound sleeper.
 * Jarvis has the very obvious tell of rubbing his ear when he lies.
 * Jarvis had the role of dismissing Howard Stark's flings the morning after; Pepper Potts had a similar role for Tony Stark.

Behind the Scenes

 * Edwin Jarvis was not present in Iron Man because of the similarities between him and Batman's butler, Alfred Pennyworth.
 * Edwin Jarvis' role in Agent Carter was first announced under the name Edward Hutchins, until it was confirmed that the character was actually Edwin Jarvis.