| “ | Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. | „ |
| ~ Nick Fury introducing himself. |
| “ | I've killed... More times than I can count. I've burned worlds. Destabilised galaxies. Dethroned gods. And I did it without any of them even knowing my name. That's what it means to be the man on the wall. To be the invisible monster who keeps the other monsters at bay. | „ |
| ~ Nick Fury. |
| “ | You don't have to try and forgive me, Steve. I'm not asking you to. Years ago, I watched a man die, a man who'd given his life for a greater cause. And with his last words, he asked me if it had been worth it. I didn't have time to answer. I wish now I'd said yes. I wish I'd told him how sometimes to worst of us have to walk point, and do whatever it takes to clear the way, for the best of us to follow. I wish that man met you, Steve. I'm glad I did. Goodbye, Cap. | „ |
| ~ Nick Fury to Captain America. |
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional character and superhero in Marvel comics and its universe, being well known for being the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a military hero. After his service in World War II, Fury became the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and ally of the Avengers, who were tasked with protecting the world from galactic, supernatural, and mystical threats, and the Fantastic Four.
He was created by the late Stan Lee and the late Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos # 1 in May of 1963.
History[]
Background[]
Nick Fury is the head of the meta-human regulation organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. in Marvel and often a go between for the Avengers. He also has a brother who is his exact opposite named Jake who is a villain named Scorpio. While Fury has his superiors, S.H.I.E.L.D. exists as an off the books group with no official links to any government or leader and so Fury often acts as the de-facto leader of the group granting his sponsors' anonymity and him the relative authority to act without immediate oversight.
While Fury, and most agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are not themselves meta-humans all members are trained to deal with superhuman threats and Fury himself is considered a threat on-par with the Hulk despite his his low-level superpowers. Nick Fury's combat training, know-how, determination, and tactical genius are what make him the hero he is. While having a less than righteous personality and being second guessed by many politicians and super heroes Fury has a very firm since of ethics that have kept S.H.I.E.L.D. running smoothly and altruistically for decades.
Biography[]
Career[]
Nick Fury fought in World War II and became a decorated soldier and commanding officer. Fury was hailed for his ability to get the most men out of an operation alive, whether it was a rescue mission or assault. Fury's men came to be known as the Howling Commandos. Fury's abilities saw him tour all around Europe and western Asia. During his tour of service, Nick Fury came upon an experimental formula in Nazi project called the Infinity Formula which slowed the aging process to a crawl. With the formula confirmed to be safe and effective, Fury and the other Howling Commandos all received annual injections to keep themselves relatively young and fighting fit as the years passed.
Once the war ended, Fury was given a spot on the C.I.A., partly for his service and partially because of the meta-human contacts he had made during his service that made him an invaluable liaison for the government to oversee various extra-normal incidents. Fury worked closely with Richard and Mary Parker, parents of Peter Parker and became a go between for the US government and The Fantastic Four. One of Fury's most famous war buddies would be Captain America.
As it turned out Fury's most valuable contact would become Tony Stark. Stark had been working on cutting edge technology that he neither trusted to put on the market nor in the hands of the military, and so Stark wished to create an organization with a strict ethical oversight to "watch the watchmen" as it were. Stark had seen Fury's record, knew most of the same super-heroes who served with him and worked with Fury on a couple of occasions, all of which lead him to believe he was exactly the sort of person Stark could trust to head the new organization and made him the offer to run it.
Fury accepted and Stark turned over his technological stock-pile and a generous financial backing as well. Fury wished to recruit his own staff, Stark concurred and S.H.I.E.L.D. was formed. The original members of S.H.I.E.L.D were all people Nick Fury knew first hand to be trustworthy and competent, most of which were people he had served with during the War. Fury was able to make contacts in the United Nations and got the backing he needed to oversight certain governments if the need arose. Though Stark had laid the foundation for a small national oversight committee, it would be Fury's directive that turned S.H.I.E.L.D into a world class counter-espionage power.
Other Versions[]
- Based on the amount of time Marvel has actively had S.H.I.E.L.D and Nick Fury, some continuities have hadColonel Fury's back ground be retconned to serving in the Vietnam conflict instead of World War II.
- The retconned version of events has made Howard Stark, Tony Stark's father the original benefactor of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Nick Fury's Ultimate design was specifically based on the appearance of actor Samuel L. Jackson, who agreed to allow his likeness as a character model on condition that when Fury was used in a movie he was allowed to play him. Thus has the Marvel Cinematic version of Nick Fury cast Samuel L. Jackson for the role.
- If you want to look at Nick Fury's son, see this article.
- If you want to look at Marvel Cinematic Universe version of this character, see this article.
Portrayals[]
Films[]
- In the FOX television-movie, Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., he was portrayed by David Hasselhoff, who played himself in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
Television[]
- In Iron Man, he was voiced by the late Philip Abbott.
- Abbott reprised his voice for Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
- In Spider-Man: The Animated Series, he was voiced by the late Jack Angel, replacing Phillip Abbott.
- In Spider-Man Unlimited, he was voiced by Mark Gibbon.
- In X-Men: Evolution, he was voiced by Jim Byrnes.
Video Games[]
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, he was voiced by Scott MacDonald.
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, he was voiced by David Kaye, who also voiced Clank in Ratchet & Clank, James Gordon in Batman: Arkham City, Heatblast in Ben 10: Omniverse, Optimus Prime in Transformers: Animated, Hugo in Barbie as Rapunzel, Clay Bailey in the Xiaolin series, Shocksquatch in Ben 10: Heroes United and Noddy in Noddy's Toyland Adventures.
Gallery[]
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.jpg "Nick Fury (by Greg Horn).jpg (69 KB)")
_from_Secret_War_Vol_1_1_001.jpg "Nicholas Fury (Earth-616) from Secret War Vol 1 1 001.jpg (177 KB)")
Trivia[]
- Ranked 32nd in IGN's list of "The Top 50 Avengers".
- Ranked 33rd in IGN's "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes" in 2011.
- Is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent level ten, the only thirty-third degree S.H.I.E.L.D. officer, and has a code clearance white.
- While as the Unseen, the only person to recognize Fury was Moon Knight.
