Gabriel "Gabe" Jones is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

appearing in American comic 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 ...

. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...

, he made his

first appearance In American comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader interes ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

war comics War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II. History American war comics Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began incl ...

series ''

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I.E. ...

'' #1 (May 1963).

Derek Luke Derek Nathanial Luke (born April 24, 1974) is an American actor. He won the Independent Spirit Award for his big-screen debut performance as the titular character in the 2002 film '' Antwone Fisher'', directed and produced by Denzel Washington. ...

portrayed the character in 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 ...

film '' Captain America: The First Avenger''.

Publication history

Gabe Jones appeared as a regular cast-member in virtually every issue and annual of ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos.'' In present-day stories, initially in the feature " Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." in ''

Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their debuts in ''Strange Tales''. It was a showcase for the science ...

'', he appears as an agent of that fictional espionage organization — inexplicably aged very little, like fellow World War II vet and agent

Dum Dum Dugan Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader "Dum Dum" Dugan is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is an officer of S.H.I.E.L.D. and is one of the most experienced members of Nick Fury's team, known for his mark ...

, despite a

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subs ...

explanation for agency head Nick Fury's youthfulness. As a

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 dea ...

agent, Jones has appeared in issues of '' The Avengers'', '' Iron Man'', '' Captain America'', ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'', ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

'', the first two volumes of ''Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', and the 1988 miniseries ''Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D.'' Although colorist Stan Goldberg knew that Jones was African American, the company that made the engraving plates for ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' #1 thought a mistake had been made and colored him the same color as the rest of the Howling Commandos.

Fictional character biography

Gabe Jones was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He is an original member of the (fictional) elite Howling Commandos combat squad of World War II. The squad's senior officer Samuel "Happy Sam" Sawyer was given virtual carte blanche in choosing its members, including 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 ensl ...

Jones, despite the fact that (at the time) integrated units were unheard of; The

U.S. Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

in real life were not integrated until 1948 by executive order of President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

. He is one of Nick Fury's close confidantes, serving under his sergeant during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

in reunion missions and also joined the international espionage organization

at some unspecified point after the World War II. During the war, the Howling Commandos travel to

Wakanda Wakanda () is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and is home to the superhero Black Panther (comics), Black Pa ...

to combat a Nazi invasion of that land. Jones helps out the ruling family by directly killing a Nazi agent who had taken one of the babies hostage. In 1959, he is shown working with

and Fury, hunting down and executing Nazis. Later in the same year, Gabe assisted Fury and Dugan in creating the first team of Avengers. They successfully stopped a Nazi splinter group from gaining a version of the Super-Soldier formula.''The New Avengers'' vol. 2 #10 (May 2011) Jones retired from S.H.I.E.L.D. sometime after, but returned to help train a new corps of recruits. This new class is slain by the terrorist organization HYDRA, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s primary nemesis. Gabe spends time trying to bring down the evil Secret Empire from within. Following the events of

Secret Invasion "Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term in ...

both he and Dugan quit S.H.I.E.L.D. and recreate the Howling Commandos with ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Jones is seen commanding the murder scene investigation of his old friend

Clay Quartermain Clay Quartermain is a fictional character, a secret agent appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by writer-artist Jim Steranko, he first appeared in '' Strange Tales'' #163 (December 1967). Cla ...

. Jones and fellow Commando

Eric Koenig Eric Koenig is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' #27 (February 1966) and he was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Dick Ayers. He is ...

are later killed by the

Gorgon A Gorgon ( /ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ ''Gorgṓn/Gorgṓ'') is a creature in Greek mythology. Gorgons occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature. While descriptions of Gorgons vary, the te ...

during a battle with HYDRA, while both were fighting a holding action against enemy forces in order to give time for allies to retreat.

Other versions

In the alternate future of "

Earth X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian version of the Marvel Uni ...

", Gabe Jones has a cameo as one of the dozens of deceased heroes attempting to stop the plans of

Mephisto Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition. Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Méphisto'', a 1931 French film * Mephisto (1981 film), ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German- ...

and

Thanos Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...

In other media

Television

* Gabe Jones appeared in the 1996 ''

'' series, voiced by Thom Barry. This version is a ruthless

agent working with General

Thunderbolt Ross General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross (also known as the Red Hulk) is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics featuring the Hulk. Ross is a United States military officer, the father of Betty Ross, ex-father- ...

's "

Hulkbusters Hulkbusters is the name of three fictional organizations appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. All three groups exist within Marvel's shared universe known as the Marvel Universe and are so-named for their attempts to batt ...

" team in order to hunt the Hulk. * Gabe Jones appeared in the 1998 live-action

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

'' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', portrayed by

Ron Canada Ronald Ellis Canada (born May 3, 1949) is an American actor with a specialty in portraying judges and detectives. He is best known for '' One on One'' (2001–2004), ''The Shield'' (2003–2004), and '' Lone Star'' (1996). Career Following ...

. This version is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top scientist and a designer of LMDs. * Gabe Jones makes a non-speaking appearance in a flashback in ''

The Super Hero Squad Show ''The Super Hero Squad Show'' is an American superhero animated series produced by Marvel Animation. It is based on the Marvel Super Hero Squad action figure line from Hasbro, which portray the Avengers, the X-Men, and various other characters ...

'' episode "Wrath of the Red Skull". * Gabe Jones makes a non-speaking appearance in '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'' episode "Meet Captain America".

Film

portrays Gabe Jones in the 2011 live-action film '' Captain America: The First Avenger''. This version is an alumnus of

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

and member of the

Howling Commandos The Howling Commandos is the name of several fictional groups appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Fictional team history World War II The first group of Howling Commandos (introduced in their own 1963 comic book seri ...

Video games

* Gabe Jones makes a cameo appearance in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance''. * Gabriel Jones will be a main playable protagonist in the upcoming

-set Marvel game starring Captain America and Black Panther, being developed and published by Skydance New Media.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Gabe Characters created by Jack Kirby Characters created by Stan Lee Comics characters introduced in 1963 Fictional African-American people Fictional characters from New York City Fictional Korean War veterans Fictional secret agents and spies Fictional special forces personnel Fictional United States Army personnel Fictional Vietnam War veterans Fictional World War II veterans Howling Commandos Marvel Comics martial artists S.H.I.E.L.D. agents