One of Marvel’s oldest and most iconic heroes is walking into the twilight of retirement.
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the legendary Nick Fury has been a mainstay of the Marvel Universe since his debut in Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos (May 1963). But this year marks the 60th anniversary and officially passes the torch to his son, who has the physical presence of Samuel L. Jackson’s character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Warning SPOILERS for Fury #1 by Al Ewing, Scot Eaton, Cam Smith, Tom Reilly, Adam Kubert, Ramon Rosanas, Jordie Bellaire and Joe Caramagna. The story jumps from the present where Nick Fury Jr. searches for SCORPIO, to the past which shows us Nick Fury Sr.’s first encounter with a person who goes by the nickname SCORPIO. Everything is related to the appearance of the zodiac keys.
Of course, Nick Fury Sr. orchestrated the entire mission to establish the new status quo for Nick Fury Jr., which is essentially replacing him as he’s worn out from over 60 years of being a SHIELD agent. On his moon base, Nick Fury Sr. takes the zodiac key and unlocks the gate to all worlds, also called the binding to everywhere, to take a much-needed vacation in the multiverse. This leaves Nick Fury Jr. as the only Fury left in the main Marvel universe.
The future of Nick Fury and SHIELD in the events they are preparing.
In Marvel’s Secret Invasion #5 comic, Nick Fury calls out to Tony Stark regarding his team of heroic Skrulls. Tony interrupts him to tell him that the Skrulls are not going to work for SHIELD or whatever organization is cooking. While that’s not what Nick had in mind, he wonders if the Skrulls would like a job as official heroes saving the world, hinting at a secret invasion on the horizon.
The final page of Fantastic Four #7 shows Maria Hill recruiting on her own, asking Nick Fury if he’s willing to work “freelance.” We then see a folder with the words “Top Secret”, along with a new SHIELD abbreviation – Super Human Intelligence: Extra-Legal Division.
It seems that even Marvel heroes need to retire and after 60 years, it was time for a well-deserved vacation across the multiverse for Nick Fury.
While Nick Fury will star in the Secret Invasion series that will premiere on June 21, 2023 on Disney Plus.
