Nick Fury (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Nicholas Joseph Fury[1] is a fictional character portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Prior to the formation of the MCU, Marvel Comics incorporated Jackson's likeness into the reimagined design of the character for The Ultimates. In the MCU, Fury is initially depicted as a master spy who is the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Fury enacts the Avengers Initiative in response to Loki's invasion of Earth, a plan he previously developed after meeting Carol Danvers and learning of extraterrestrial threats.
Nick Fury
Iron Man (2008)
Nicholas Joseph Fury
- Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- CIA agent
- Soldier
- Central Intelligence Agency
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- S.A.B.E.R.
- Skrulls
- United States Army
Varra / Priscilla Davis
American
Following the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and his near fatal encounter with the Winter Soldier, Fury fakes his death and hunts down Hydra cells before assisting the Avengers in their battle against Ultron. Fury falls victim to the Blip, and upon his resurrection dedicates his time to developing the S.A.B.E.R. intergalactic defense space station until being called back to Earth in an effort to thwart the invasion of a rogue group of Skrulls.
As of 2023, Fury has appeared in eleven MCU films, beginning with an appearance in the post-credits scene of Iron Man (2008). He also appeared in two episodes of the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–14). He stars as the protagonist of the miniseries Secret Invasion (2023).
Alternative versions of Fury from the MCU multiverse appear in the animated series What If...? (2021), with Jackson reprising the role.
Appearances[edit]
Marvel Cinematic Universe[edit]
Fury is introduced in the post-credits scene of Iron Man (2008), meeting Tony Stark at his Malibu home to discuss the Avengers Initiative.[16]
In Iron Man 2 (2010), Fury sends in Natasha Romanoff to pose as an assistant to and assess Stark to see if he is worth recruiting for the Initiative and helps Stark deal with his palladium illness and Ivan Vanko. At the end, he hires him as a consultant for the Initiative.
In the post-credits scene for Thor (2011), Fury enlists Dr. Erik Selvig's help to study the Tesseract.
In Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Fury greets Steve Rogers: "You've been asleep, Cap, for almost seventy years."
In The Avengers (2012), Fury is present with Clint Barton when Loki arrives on Earth to take the Tesseract to lead the Chitauri invasion. After this, he, Phil Coulson, and Maria Hill decide to start the Initiative. Fury brings Romanoff, Rogers, Stark, Bruce Banner, Thor, and Barton together to form the Avengers. Noting that he does more in The Avengers than in any of the previous films, Jackson said, "You don't have to wait until the end of the movie to see me". About the role, Jackson said, "It's always good to play somebody [who] is a positive in society as opposed to somebody who is a negative. . . I tried to make him as honest to the story and as honest to what real-life would seem." Jackson compared the character to Ordell Robbie in Jackie Brown, calling him "a nice guy to hang out with. You just don't want to cross him".[17] Jackson earned $4–6 million for the film.[18]
In 2013 and 2014, Fury appeared in two episodes of the MCU TV series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., "0-8-4" (2013) and "Beginning of the End" (2014). In "0-8-4", Fury appears at the end to scold Coulson over damage caused to a S.H.I.E.L.D. plane during a fight, and expresses his doubts over the loyalty of Skye. In June 2013, Jackson expressed interest in appearing in the show as Fury,[19] which led to his cameo appearance at the end of this episode.[20] Executive producer Jeph Loeb said "There were obviously a number of places that we thought Nick Fury would have a big impact on the show, but the more we talked about it, [the more we wanted] to get him in very early, so that it would kind of christen the show, legitimize it in its own way".[21] It was a challenge for the showrunners to keep Jackson's cameo a surprise due to "this age of tweets and spoilers".[22]
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014),[23] an attempt is made on Fury's life by Hydra, which is revealed to have taken over S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury fakes his death and, once Hydra's plan to control the world is foiled with the help of Rogers, Romanoff, and Sam Wilson, heads to Eastern Europe to hunt down the remaining Hydra cells. Regarding Fury's questionable code of ethics displayed, Jackson said, "Almost everything that comes out of Nick Fury's mouth is a lie in some sense. He has to ask, is he even lying to himself, too? He has a very good idea of what's going on but his paranoia keeps him from believing some of it."[24] Jackson added, "You see Nick Fury the office guy, him going about the day-to-day work of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the politics as opposed to that other stuff. It's great to have him dealing with Captain America in terms of being able to speak to him soldier to soldier and try to explain to him how the world has changed in another way while he was frozen in time. Some of the people who used to be our enemies are now our allies—him trying to figure out, 'Well, how do we trust those guys?' or 'How do we trust the guys that you didn't trust who don't trust you?' And explaining to him that the black and white of good guys/bad guys has now turned into this gray area."[25] McFeely said, "Fury represents an obstacle for Steve in some ways. They don't always agree on how S.H.I.E.L.D. ought to be used."[26] The writers gave Fury a more prominent role in The Winter Soldier, since within a plot featuring S.H.I.E.L.D. being dismantled, Fury would "take the brunt of it". They also intended on depicting a character that had so far been depicted as a self-assured, commanding man as vulnerable, to enhance the sense of danger in the Hydra conspiracy.[27]
Fury appears in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. first-season finale, "Beginning of the End", which deals with the aftermath of the events of Winter Soldier.[28]
In Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Fury shows up on Barton's homestead to help and motivate the team to formulate a plan to stop Ultron from destroying humanity. He and other former agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. use a helicarrier provided to them by Coulson in the final battle against Ultron. Later, he helps get things running at the new Avengers Compound. Jackson described the role as a cameo, saying, "I'm just kind of passing by there ... Because, it's another one of those 'people who have powers fighting people who have powers'. That's why I didn't get to New York in The Avengers. There's not a lot I could do except shoot a gun."[29]
In the post-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Fury and Hill discuss the battle in Wakanda and Stark's current status. When Fury begins disintegrating from the Blip, he uses a modified pager to send a distress signal.
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
In a generally positive review of The Avengers, Associated Press reviewer Christy Lemire wrote that "[t]he no-nonsense Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.—which had been entrusted with the safety of [the Tesseract]—springs into action to reacquire it by assembling a dream team of superheroes and other sundry bad-asses with specialized skills."[46] Reviewing The Winter Soldier, Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said that "from a dramatic point of view, the greatest interest lies with Jackson and Redford, two great veterans whose presence lends weight to the fantastical proceedings and whose characters take some interesting twists and turns before it's all over."[47] Chris E. Hayne of GameSpot ranked Fury 19th in their "38 Marvel Cinematic Universe Superheroes" list, writing, "There is no Avengers without Nick Fury. The former director of SHIELD started the Avenger initiative and at this point we know he's out there in space somewhere, just waiting for the change to wind up back on earth."[48]
Fury was noted to have been "largely missing in Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe", with both Jackson and fans of the franchise being "bummed that Fury was left out of Civil War and Black Panther", though he later had a substantial role in Captain Marvel.[49] Writing for Variety, Owen Gleiberman said of the latter film that the "digitally de-aged Samuel L. Jackson" in Captain Marvel was "done a surprising favor by the visual trickery. He seems different than usual—lighter and perkier."[50]
Jackson himself is fond of playing the character. After receiving an
honorary Oscar in 2021, he remarked in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that he prefers the role over ones in what he described as "statue chasing movies."[51]