Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Jr. (Marcus Johnson) is a

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

character appearing in books published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. He is a son and successor of former U.S. Army hero/super-spy and the intelligence agency

S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often deals ...

director

Nick Fury Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ...

.''Battle Scars'' #5. Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Battle Scars'' #1 (January 2012), which was written by

Matt Fraction Matt Fritchman (born December 1, 1975), better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an Eisner Award-winning American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of '' The Invincible Iron Man'', '' The Immortal Iron Fist'', ''Uncanny ...

, Chris Yost, and Cullen Bunn, and penciled by

Scot Eaton Scot Eaton is a comic book artist, best known for his work on '' Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'', ''Thor'', '' X-Men: Endangered Species'', and '' X-Men: Messiah Complex''. Career In the early 1990s Eaton started penciling ''Doctor Fate'' an ...

Publication history

The character was introduced in the debut issue of the miniseries '' Battle Scars'' (January 2012), which was written by

, Chris Yost, and Cullen Bunn, and penciled by

. The character bears a strong resemblance to the Ultimate Marvel version of Nick Fury and the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

as portrayed by

Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...

; the Ultimate version's appearance was based on that of Jackson before the actor's portrayal in the films. Nick Fury Jr. appears in the 2013 '' Secret Avengers'' series by Nick Spencer and Luke Ross. In January 2017, Marvel announced that the character would get his first ongoing solo series named ''

''.

Fictional character biography

Marcus Johnson was raised in Atlanta, Georgia, by his mother Nia Jones. At the age of 18, Marcus passed on numerous college football scholarships in order to enlist in the US Army, serving in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. After his enlistment, he earned a degree in philosophy from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. Marcus then re-enlisted in the Army, achieving the rank of staff sergeant. While serving in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

with 2nd Battalion,

75th Ranger Regiment The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as Army Rangers, is the U.S. Army's premier light infantry unit and special operations force within the United States Army Special Operations Command. The regiment is headquartered at Fort Benning, Georgi ...

, Marcus is told that his mother was murdered back in the United States. He returns home and is attacked by the men who killed his mother, and by Taskmaster, but is saved by

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

agents arrive and take him to one of their facilities; after a while Johnson, comes to feel he is being held there against his will and escapes, but is caught by Taskmaster once again. Before he can obtain any information, a man in a mask saves him, but then flees. Johnson catches up to the man, who is revealed to be his father,

. Fury and Johnson are then captured by the organization Leviathan's former member Orion, who has Johnson's left eye cut out and confirms that Johnson has the Infinity Formula in his DNA, which has given Fury his long lifespan. Fury helps Johnson escape, but Fury himself has his blood transfused to Orion so Orion's youth can be restored, draining Fury's remaining Infinity Formula. Johnson saves Fury with the help of his Ranger friend

Phil Coulson Agent Phillip J. Coulson ( ) is a fictional character portrayed and voiced by Clark Gregg in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise. Coulson is depicted as a high-ranking member of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and longtime partn ...

, and later kills Orion. After convalescing, Johnson is given Steve Rogers's Super Soldier uniform to wear. As a new agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., he is also informed of his birth name, Nick Fury Jr.''Battle Scars'' #6. Marvel Comics. Fury and Coulson make a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

in '' Scarlet Spider'' #5, and are part of the

framing sequence Framing may refer to: * Framing (construction), common carpentry work * Framing (law), providing false evidence or testimony to prove someone guilty of a crime * Framing (social sciences) * Framing (visual arts), a technique used to bring the foc ...

in '' Marvel NOW! Point One''. In a 2013 storyline as part of the Marvel NOW! branding, Nick, Coulson, and

Maria Hill Commander Maria Hill ( ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch, the character first appeared in '' The New Avengers'' #4 (March 2005). As a form ...

form the S.H.I.E.L.D. version of the Secret Avengers with Hawkeye and Black Widow. Fury is involved in their first mission, which involved fighting a group of

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

terrorists. Fury then joins the Secret Avengers to raid Bagalia in order to recruit Taskmaster. While the Secret Avengers are fighting the Masters of Evil, Fury manages to pay off Crossfire to free Taskmaster from his imprisonment. During the 2014 " AXIS" storyline, Nick was with S.H.I.E.L.D. when the organization has gathered Captain America to discuss what was to become of the Red Skull, now that the Stark Sentinels had been dismantled and the concentration camps torn down. Fury tried to convince Sam Wilson to hand him over. But under the inversion spell's influence, Wilson was violent and punched him before leaving. During the 2016 "

Civil War II "Civil War II" is a 2016 comic book crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in June of that year, it is the sequel to 2006's "Civil War" and consists of a nine-issue eponymous core limited series, by writer Brian Michael Bendis ...

" storyline, Fury is on a mission to neutralize a Hydra cell that is posing as a S.H.I.E.L.D. squadron. One of the visions of the

Inhuman Inhuman may refer to: Comics *Inhumans, a fictional race in Marvel Comics ** ''Inhuman'' (comics), a comic book series focusing on Inhumans ** ''Inhumans'' (TV series), a television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe *Kristoff Vernard, ...

Ulysses Cain The following is a list of known fictional characters who are Inhumans, a race of superhumans appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Known Inhumans Inhuman Royal Family The Inhuman Royal Family are the ruling class of ...

, which were believed to predict the future, indicated that the Hydra cell would launch a deadly attack on S.H.I.E.L.D. When heading to a base in Arizona, Fury is attacked by actual agents, instead of Hydra infiltrators as suspected. In order to find the traitors, Fury fakes his death and goes into hiding. His investigation takes him to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base Ulu in Alaska, where he encounters the unknown mastermind behind the plot, who then escapes. Upon infiltrating the base Ogma, Fury downloads classified data, which leads him to the underground base Kratos, where he encountered a rogue Life Model Decoy of his father named Leader, who states that Cain's prediction does not involve the Hydra cell, and that it will cost him his life. Leader learns about Cain's abilities, and wants to neutralize Fury in order to take over S.H.I.E.L.D. In order to stop Leader, Nick destroys a central support beam that collapses Kratos, killing Leader. Upon surviving the collapse, Nick salvages Leader's head so that he can hack it and learn how he discovered his plan. Nick forgives Hill for sending him on a mission that would've resulted in his death, and states that he is not ready to return to S.H.I.E.L.D. yet. Upon his return to S.H.I.E.L.D. as a top-ranking agent, Fury infiltrates the French Riviera, where he ends up in a cat-and-mouse game with Hydra Agent Frankie Noble. In the aftermath of the 2017 " Secret Empire" story line, S.H.I.E.L.D. was disbanded but Fury continued to work as an independent operative. Fury observes

Frank Castle The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher ma ...

slay every Hydra agent in an abandoned warehouse as a way to atone for siding with Hydra. Fury then gives Castle access to the War Machine armor for a deniable operation against a rogue Eastern European state caught using old S.H.I.E.L.D. resources. Later he imprisons Ripley Ryan (aka Star) bearer of the Reality Gem.

Powers and abilities

Nick Fury Jr. initially appears to have no superhuman qualities but he inherited his father's Infinity Formula at birth, slowing his aging process, speeding his healing time, and granting him peak human physical fitness. Fury was trained in

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

under Maria Hill.

Reception

The reaction by comic book fans to the revelation of Marcus Johnson being Nick Fury's son and replacing his father has been mixed. Tom Brevoort, Marvel's Vice President of publishing, believed this was a prudent move by Marvel because the

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

incarnation appears in films, animated shows, and other licensed adaptations.

References

External links