Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Jr. (Sgt. Marcus Johnson) is a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. He is a son and successor of former

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

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 government agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this agency first appeared in ''Strange Tal ...

director

Nick Fury Colonel (United States), 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 ...

.''Battle Scars'' #5. Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in ''

Battle Scars "Battle Scars" is a song performed by Australian recording artist Guy Sebastian featuring American rapper Lupe Fiasco. It was released digitally in Australia and New Zealand on 10 August 2012 by Sony Music Entertainment.Matt Fraction Matt Fritchman (born December 1, 1975), better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of '' The Invincible Iron Man'', '' FF'', '' The Immortal Iron Fist'', '' Uncanny X-Men'', an ...

Chris Yost Christopher Lee Yost (; born February 21, 1973) is an American film, television, animation, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe with '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013) and '' Thor: Ragnarok'' ...

, and

Cullen Bunn Cullen Bunn is an American comics writer, novelist, and short story writer, best known for his work on comic books such as ''Uncanny X-Men'', '' X-Men: Blue'', ''Magneto'' and various '' Deadpool'' miniseries for Marvel Comics, and his creator-own ...

, and penciled by

Scot Eaton Scot Eaton is a Comic book creator, comic book artist, best known for his work on ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'', ''Thor (Marvel Comics), Thor'', ''X-Men: Endangered Species'', and ''X-Men: Messiah Complex''. Career In the early 1990s Eato ...

Publication history

The character was introduced in the debut issue of the miniseries ''

, and

, and penciled by

. The character bears a strong resemblance to the

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the ...

version Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''V ...

of Nick Fury and the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...

as portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson; 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 ''Secret Avengers'' is an American comic book Ongoing series, series published by Marvel Comics featuring a fictional black operation, black ops superhero team of the same name. The series started with Ed Brubaker on writing duties, depicting a b ...

'' series by

Nick Spencer Nick Spencer is an American comic book writer and former politician best known for his Image series ''Morning Glories'', his collaborations with artist Steve Lieber on the comedic series '' Superior Foes of Spider-Man'' and '' The Fix'', a three- ...

and

Luke Ross Luke Ross (born Luciano Queiroz, 18 July 1972) is a comic artist known for his work on books such as ''Gen13'', ''Spider-Man'', ''Green Lantern (comic book), Green Lantern'', ''Indiana Jones comic books, Indiana Jones'' and ''Captain America (vo ...

. In January 2017, Marvel announced that the character would get his first ongoing solo series named ''

''. In 2023 the character was the co-main character of the double sized one-shot '' Fury'' published to commemorate the character Nick Fury's 60th anniversary.

Fictional character biography

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

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

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

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

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

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

with 2nd Battalion,

75th Ranger Regiment The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as the United States Army Rangers, Army Rangers, is the United States Army Special Operations Command's premier light infantry and direct-action raid force. The 75th Ranger Regiment is also part of Joint S ...

, 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.

agents arrive and take him to one of their facilities; 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 Nick Fury Sr. who is revealed to be his father. Fury and Johnson are then captured by the organization

Leviathan Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...

'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 been behind Fury's long lifespan. Fury helps Johnson escape, but Fury himself has 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. "Phil" 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 longt ...

, and later kills Orion. After convalescing, Johnson is given the 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 appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

in ''

Scarlet Spider The Scarlet Spider is an alias used by several fictional Character (arts), characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker, both of whom are genetic clones of Peter Parker, the sup ...

'' #5, and are part of the

framing sequence A frame story (also known as a frame tale, frame narrative, sandwich narrative, or intercalation) is a literary technique that serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, where an introductory or main narrative sets the stage either fo ...

in ''

Marvel NOW! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including ''Un ...

Point One''. As part of the

branding, Nick, Coulson, and

Maria Hill Commander Maria Christina Hill is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch (comics), David Finch, the character first appeared in ''The New Avengers (comics), The Ne ...

form the S.H.I.E.L.D. version of the

with Hawkeye and Black Widow. Fury is involved in their first mission, which involved fighting a group of

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

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 The Masters of Evil is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of the team appeared in '' The Avengers'' #6 (July 1964), with the lineup continually changing over the years. Publication ...

, Fury manages to pay off

Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. ...

to free Taskmaster from imprisonment. Fury and

Daisy Johnson Daisy Johnson, also known as Quake, is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Gabriele Dell'Otto, the character first appeared in '' Secret War'' #2 ...

also dealt with the

Iron Patriot Icarus Icarus (Joshua "Jay" Guthrie) is a mutant superhero. He was a member of the student body at the Xavier Institute and a member of the New Mutants training squad. Jay was the son of Thomas and Lucinda Guthrie. Thomas dies early in Jay's lif ...

armor has been programmed with a low-level A.I. and stolen by A.I.M. which are ultimately utilized by S.H.I.E.L.D.''Secret Avengers'' vol. 2 #10. Marvel Comics. During the "

AXIS An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

" storyline, Nick was with S.H.I.E.L.D. when the organization has gathered

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

to discuss what was to become of the

Red Skull The Red Skull is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by France Herron, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941), in ...

, 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 "

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 Be ...

" 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 Music *InHuman ...

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 th ...

, 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 Leader, a rogue

Life Model Decoy A Life Model Decoy (frequently known by the abbreviation LMD) is a fictional android appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. LMDs duplicate all outward aspects of a real living person with such authenticity that they can eas ...

of his father 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 "

Secret Empire Secret Empire may refer to: * Secret Empire (organization), an evil organization in Marvel Comics ** Secret Empire (1974 comic), comic book storyline ** Secret Empire (2017 comic) "Secret Empire" is a 2017 Marvel Comics crossover storyline pu ...

" 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 mad ...

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 War Machine (Col. James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie, John Byrne, and Bob Layton as a supporting character for Iron Man, he first appeared i ...

armor for a deniable operation against a rogue Eastern European state caught using old S.H.I.E.L.D. resources. He later 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, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

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 Tom Brevoort () is an American comic book editor, known for his work for Marvel Comics, where he has overseen titles such as '' New Avengers'', ''Civil War'', and ''Fantastic Four''. He became Executive Editor in 2007, and in January 2011, was pro ...

, Marvel's Vice President of publishing, believed this was a prudent move by Marvel because the

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

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

References

External links