If you’re new to the world of Marvel, that is, if you’ve come to know the House of Ideas from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you’d be forgiven for thinking the character of Nick Fury has always been a man of colour with a patch over his eye (and in fact, in the Ultimate Universe, he always was, but that’s another story.) Samuel L. Jackson’s Fury has become part of the cultural zeitgeist, as familiar as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. However, Nick Fury wasn’t always the character we’ve seen on screen since 2008.
Comic fans know that the original Nick Fury was a Howling Commando from World War II, yes, with an eye patch, but with a full head of hair and who also happened to be a white man. Fury’s been around the comic’s world for 60 years and even had a made-for-TV movie about him, starring a post-Knight Rider, around the time of Baywatch David Hasselhoff. We all agree the less said about that, the better.
Nick Fury has been around and involved in many of Marvel’s key events, but when the cinematic character hit and hit hard, changes were afoot. A younger Nick Fury, the son of the original, entered the Marvel 616 Universe (that is, the world outside our door), while the elder got old quicker than he ever had and wound up in space working with The Watcher (check out the Original Sin mini-series for the full story.)
If it all seems a bit convoluted, well, you’re right, but that shouldn’t stop you from checking out the recently released Fury one-shot, written by Al Ewing and featuring a gaggle of amazing artists, including Scot Eaton & Cam Smith, Tom Reilly, Adam Kubert, Ramon Rosanas and colourist Jordie Bellaire. The double-sized issue is positioned as a fond farewell to the original Fury, while placing his son in an even greater position going forward. The story is solid, but for me the highlight was the visuals, all of which stood out, including the Steranko-inspired first flashback.
For fans of the MCU, they’ll enjoy seeing their Fury front and centre in this book, while old school readers will appreciate a fitting sendoff to a character that’s been around for decades.
WHO IS S.C.O.R.P.I.O.? A glamorous rogue agent with a deadly secret lures NICK FURY into the action-thriller of a lifetime…HIS FATHER’S! Following the trail opens NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN FURY FILES from the Howlin’ ’40s…the Swingin’ ’60s…and today! But it takes more than ONE Nick Fury to unlock a mystery decades in the making – and to answer the question…WHO IS S.C.O.R.P.I.O.?
