Nick Fury

"And you sir? Where are you heading now?" "Well I'm trading in my bird's eye view for two solid feet on the ground. This is the last time you'll be seeing me for a stretch." "You're going to disappear. Nowhere to be found." "Nowhere? (laughs) You know me better than that Phil, I'll be everywhere."

- Melinda May, Nick Fury and Phil Coulson

Nicholas "Nick" Joseph Fury is an officer of the US Army and espionage veteran of the Cold War. He joined S.H.I.E.L.D., a covert international peacekeeping organization which operates as humanity's first line of defense against Earth's most dangerous enemies. He quickly impressed S.H.I.E.L.D. higher-ups, and was promoted to the position of Director, becoming the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D.. He led S.H.I.E.L.D. for years, spearheading the Avengers Initiative, Project T.A.H.I.T.I., Project Insight, and other operations. Preceding the S.H.I.E.L.D. Civil War, an assassination attempt was made on his life. He survived but elected to remain officially dead, telling only a select few that he was still alive. After the attack on the Triskelion, he went deep underground to begin rooting out the forces of HYDRA. As a part of this mission, he joined Phil Coulson and helped Coulson and his team defeat John Garrett. After, he made Coulson the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and left to continue his mission.

Fury's youth and first actions
Nick Fury's past is shrouded in a mystery, and most information about it has been erased from existence, but one of the few details known about his past is that he was capable enough to obtain the rank of Colonel in the United States Armed Forces.

During the Cold War, Fury was sent on a mission to Russia. He encountered a person named Vinorovsky, who was deported some months ago when he tried to sell bad information. Fury's partner Escobar asked what Verliecki has that its so valuable, and Fury says full dossiers of 12 undercover CIA operatives in Soviet territories. If the OP dies the Cold War will heat up real fast.

Fury goes to meet up with Comrade Verliecki. Inside the apartment, Fury was attacked, but Verliecki was quickly defeated. Suddenly, Escobar points his gun at Fury and orders him to hand over the case they found in the apartment. He tells Fury to not take it personally, as its nothing to do with him, but for the end of the Cold War, Fury attacks and defeats him, then Verliecki knocks Escobar. Verliecki tells Fury to take the case as he filled it with cigars for him, as it been a long time since they sparred. Verliecki asks Fury if he's okay, and Fury simply says he couldn't hurt him if he tried, but Verliecki says that he tried. Fury leaves and calls Timothy Dugan who ask how's Escobar, and Fury states he flipped. With him gone Dugan states its time to celebrate, and Fury tells him to not start without him, as he's bringing cigars.

Director Fury
"One thing I know for sure: Nobody is better suited to protect this world than me and my people."

- Nick Fury to the World Security Council

Fury's extraordinary military and espionage skills won him the invitation to join the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, an international peacekeeping organization led by Alexander Pierce. For many years, Fury served as one of the agency's best agents, eventually becoming its director when Pierce gave up his position to become a member of the World Security Council. Fury is also credited as a possible co-creator/designer of the Avengers Initiative as well as the special operations commander.

Hawkeye and Black Widow
Fury found the most talented archer in the world, Clinton "Clint" Barton, who has nearly never missed. Fury hired him into S.H.I.E.L.D. when Clint was young. When Clint was 27, Fury sent him to eliminate a young Russian protege in espionage, named Natasha Romanoff, given the alias Black Widow. Hawkeye managed to capture Natasha, but he decided to give her a choice to either join S.H.I.E.L.D. or be killed. She chose to join S.H.I.E.L.D. and train under Hawkeye.

Meeting Bruce Banner
11 years later, Fury was trying to find Bruce Banner and learn what Thaddeus Ross' "Super-Soldier Program" did to him. He tried to earn Bruce's trust by buying him a beer but he refused, saying he is "sort of a mean drunk."

Fury continues to try to earn his trust, until he eventually tries to test his abilities by making two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, named Johnson and Peterson, appear to be dating and one is cheating on the other with Bruce which makes Bruce confused about the situation. Peterson starts to fight Bruce, but Fury tries to act like he's going to help him, but Peterson unintentionally punches him in the face.

This turns Bruce into the Hulk and he goes on a rampage. Fury and everyone else in the bar is surprised by his transformation. Fury tries to calm him down, but Hulk yells at him causing nearly all the glass in the room to shatter. Fury keeps a straight face and doesn't move at all. Hulk then runs out through the wall.

Two days later, Fury calls a meeting for S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives, including Phil Coulson. He tells them that the Hulk is only a secondary matter.

The Birth of Iron Man
""I am Iron Man". You think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe. You just don't know it yet." "Who the hell are you?" "Nick Fury. Director of S.H.I.E.L.D." "Ah." "I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative."

- Nick Fury and Tony Stark

After Tony Stark publicly announced his identity as Iron Man, Fury went to Stark's home in Malibu, California to talk to him about the Avenger Initiative. Stark initially did not want anything to do with Fury, and ordered him to leave. As Fury drove away, he ordered Agent Coulson to contact Agent Romanoff, saying that they would need her help. Some time later, he personally ordered Romanoff to infiltrate Stark's company under the guise of Natalie Rushman.

The week starts
"We keep doing what we're doing and tell them that we're doing what they want us to be doing." "How?" "Hell, I dunno. Get creative. Cook the books. Whatever it takes to let us do this job right."

- Nick Fury and Phil Coulson

Soon, Fury led an expedition to Greenland in hopes of finding Steve Rogers, the American war hero from World War II. Fury didn't find Rogers, but he found one of the disabled flying bombs from HYDRA's super bomber, the Valkyrie. He wanted to continue the search but the World Security Council ordered his team to shut down the operation and return to New York's S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters. Twelve hours later, the Council ordered Fury to stop wasting time on what they called "wasteful programs" and focus on reigniting the Tesseract, naming that operation "Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.". Despite the direct order, Fury decided to continue with his usual activities.

When the Council officially approved the activation of the Avengers Initiative, they ordered Fury to recruit Emil Blonsky. Unhappy with the Council's order, Fury put Agent Coulson on the case, who in turn scuttled the plan of recruiting Blonsky by sending Stark as an intermediary instead.

Shortly after Stark's out-of-control behavior resulted in the Mark II Iron Man armor falling into the hands of the U.S. Military, Fury was informed by Coulson about the Wormhole appearing near the planet. Fury immediately sent Coulson to New Mexico to make contact with Erik Selvig and Jane Foster.

A lot of problems
"What do you want from me?" "What do we want from you? Uh-uh. What do you want from me? You have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe. I have bigger problems in the southwest region to deal with."

- Tony Stark and Nick Fury

Shortly after, Fury confronted Stark for becoming a problem that he had to deal with. As well as providing information on the background of Ivan Vanko, Fury and Romanoff provided Stark with information and materials from his father, which proved instrumental in finding a replacement power source for his personal Arc Reactor.

As things in New Mexico became more complicated with the arrival of Mjølnir, Fury sent Agent Barton to join Coulson at the site. He also assigned Agent Romanoff to keep track on Bruce Banner at Culver University.

Fury met with Stark once again after Stark had defeated Ivan Vanko's attack on the Stark Expo. Stark had proven himself unsuitable for the Avenger Initiative, but after informing him of this, Fury offered to recruit his services as a consultant. A moment later, Agent Romanoff gave him her report about Banner's transformation into the Hulk and his fight against Emil Blonsky, who was enhanced by the modified version of the Super Soldier Serum. At the same time, Agent Coulson called to inform him about the Destroyer's attack on Puente Antiguo.

After Thor's victory over the Destroyer, Fury was informed that General Thaddeus Ross hacked S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computers. Fury confronted Ross, who replied that he wasn't going to leave the safety of the world in his hands. Fury also discovered that the World Security Council gave Ross permission to extract the informations he needed from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computers. Worried, Fury wanted to prevent Ross from capturing Banner, but it was too late, because Banner was already captured by Ross' soldiers in New York City. Despite this, Fury sent Agent Romanoff to the laboratory of Dr. Samuel Sterns, Banner's colleague, to take any papers Banner might left behind. Romanoff witnessed Hulk's fight against the Abomination and Sterns' transformation into the Leader. Before Sterns could do any damage, Romanoff shot him through the leg and called her colleagues to take custody of him.

End of the week
"I not only saved Tony Stark's life, but I also provided the guidance he needed to finish his father's work. The result of that being the creation of a new element, which might be extremely useful in reigniting the Tesseract."

- Nick Fury to the World Security Council

Fury's recruitment drive turned to people who had been involved in a destructive incident in Puente Antiguo, New Mexico. He summoned Culver University astrophysics professor Erik Selvig, who had been closely associated with the incident, to an underground S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, and then drew the scientist's attention to a secure, portable storage case. Fury revealed a glowing cube within the case and suggested that it was a source of immense power, although nobody had been able to determine a means of tapping that power. Selvig accepted the challenge to investigate the object further.

A day later, Fury gave his report to the World Security Council. Finally satisfied with his work, the Council decided to increase the funding for the agency, expand jurisdictions for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents, and augment Fury's strategic authority.

Steve Rogers
"At ease, soldier! Look, I'm sorry about that little show back there, but we thought it best to break it to you slowly." "Break what?" "You've been asleep, Cap. For almost 70 years."

- Nick Fury and Steve Rogers

A year after the "big week", the Avengers Initiative was slowly losing traction by the time another potential recruit was found. Steven Rogers, the world's first "superhero", had been frozen in the Arctic since World War II, and had miraculously survived his entombment. Fury oversaw his recovery and rehabilitation, personally intercepting him when the man awoke and escaped into the heart of New York City.

Destruction of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.
"We have no quarrel with your people." "An ant has no quarrel with a boot."

- Nick Fury and Loki

With little to show for his efforts in bringing together a group of extraordinary people, Fury shelved his plan and began focusing on weaponry instead. "Phase 2", as the offshoot idea came to be called, involved re-engineering weapons technology that had emerged in the hands of HYDRA years earlier, as well as other cutting edge, or alien, technology. The Tesseract, that he'd assigned Professor Selvig to investigate, formed a significant part of this puzzle. When the Tesseract began emitting unexpected levels of gamma radiation, Fury was quick to personally take charge of the operation. The emissions proved to be a prelude to the appearance of Loki on Earth, and neither Fury, nor his personnel had the power to stop Loki escaping with the cube.

Reactivation of the Avengers Initiative
"Doctor, thank you for coming." "Thanks for asking nicely. So, uh... how long am I staying?" "Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear."

- Nick Fury and Bruce Banner

Desperate for a solution to the problem of Loki's possession of apparently limitless power, Fury reactivated the Avengers Initiative. He effortlessly brought Steven Rogers in and dispatched agents to call in the help of Tony Stark and Dr. Bruce Banner. In short order, Loki made his first public appearance, and was apprehended, heralding an unexpected further addition to the collection of extraordinary people when Loki's brother Thor arrived, making demands of his own for Loki's extradition.

Attack on the Helicarrier
"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can't hope to control, you talk about peace, and you kill 'cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

- Nick Fury to Loki

Fury could do little to quell the rising tensions in a ship now packed with egos, and problems only escalated when some of these people uncovered his deceptions surrounding the Phase 2 project. With arguments boiling over, Loki played his hand, and Fury and the others were caught completely off guard when the Helicarrier came under attack in a daring commando raid by Loki's mind-controlled soldiers led by Hawkeye. Fury returned to his post on the bridge to take command of the situation and was instrumental in warding off an assault there.

In the wake of the battle, Fury found agent Coulson severely wounded by Loki's hand. Coulson's wounds were deadly, and Coulson apparently died just as a medical team arrived at the scene. Fury used Coulson's death to motivate the Avengers, hoping that Coulson's death would be a trigger that would finally unite the team. Despite the ethically questionable nature of the plan, it proved to be effective, as the Avengers set off in pursuit of Loki shortly thereafter. Unknown to the Avengers, Coulson was brought back to life with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s advanced technology and experimental drugs. Fury chose to hide the truth about Coulson's survival from the Avengers, classifying the information to those with Level 10 clearance or above.

Battle of New York
"Director Fury, the council has made a decision." "I recognise the council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it."

- World Security Council and Nick Fury

The Avengers Initiative may have finally come to fruition, but Fury's role in their battle was not yet done. The World Security Council issued orders to send a nuclear missile into the vicinity of Manhattan, which Fury refused, but then overriding orders saw one fighter jet escape him after he knocked another out of action with a rocket launcher.

The Avengers Initiative ultimately won out. Fury's defiance of the World Security Council may not have been forgotten, but his methods and actions had saved the world. He resolved to call upon the Avengers should they be needed again, and made further assurances that they would come.

New actions
"Really? Really, Coulson? Six days? It only took you six days to take a completely renovated piece of state-of-the-art machinery and turn it into scrap?" "My team acted with my authority."

- Nick Fury and Phil Coulson

After the battle of New York, with the entire planet being aware of the existence of extraterestrials and demigods, many criminals and terrorist organizations wanted to obtain some of the new technologies and weapons left by the Chitauri. Fury knew that he has to do something about that, so he instructed Coulson to organize a team that would prevent the worst from happening. However, the true builder of Coulson's Team was Agent Melinda May: upon orders from Nick Fury, she covertly chose the members for specific reason pertaining to Coulson's resurrection.

After Coulson's mission in Peru, Fury was furious at Coulson because his plane, the Bus, was heavily damaged. He also warned him that the new girl in his team, Skye, is a risk.

Shortly after the battle of Greenwich, Coulson and his team were investigating the discovery of a lost Asgardian artifact known as the Berserker Staff. Coulson wanted to consult with Thor, but Fury informed him that Thor had taken himself "off the grid".

According to Agent Victoria Hand, when Coulson got abducted by the Centipede Project, both Director Nick Fury and Commander Maria Hill wanted constant updates on the situation of the rescue mission coordinated by Agent Hand. Agent Hand later informed Coulson that director Fury was very relieved after hearing of Coulson's successful rescue mission.

A few weeks later, Agent May used a secure phone line on the Bus to call Nick Fury and tell him that Coulson knew the truth about his resurrection.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Civil War
"We're going to neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen." "I thought the punishment usually came after the crime." "We can't afford to wait that long." "Who's we?"

- Nick Fury and Captain America

Shortly after the battle of New York, Captain America remained with S.H.I.E.L.D. and worked with the S.T.R.I.K.E. team at Fury's behest, often partnered with Black Widow. After a mission aboard the ship Lemurian Star Rogers and Fury clashed over the director's secrecy concerning mission details. Fury then revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. intended to preemptively eliminate their enemies through the new Project Insight. Afterward, the assassin Winter Soldier attacked Fury while he was driving across Washington, D.C., but failed to kill Fury when he escaped to Rogers' apartment. However, the Winter Soldier followed Fury there and shot him twice in the chest. Fury was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. It was later revealed that Fury had faked his death by using a drug developed as a heart-rate suppressant by Bruce Banner. Fury retreated with Maria Hill to a secret location so that he could heal. The two of them then accompanied Captain America, Black Widow and Falcon to infiltrate the Triskelion and destroy Project Insight, which had been revealed to be a HYDRA plot orchestrated by Arnim Zola and Alexander Pierce. During the ensuing battle, Fury confronted Pierce about his betrayal and killed him when Pierce attempted to kill Black Widow.

Following the destruction of the Helicarriers and subsequent fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury left for Europe, intending to seek out and destroy the remaining HYDRA cells. Only a select few were given knowledge of his continued survival.

Aftermath
Fury later guided Coulson to a secure S.H.I.E.L.D. base in the Canadian wilderness, using Coulson's S.H.I.E.L.D. badge to send the base's coordinates. Coulson took a leap of faith in assuming that Fury and not HYDRA had sent the coordinates. Once at Providence, Agent Eric Koenig assured Coulson that Fury was alive, but that only they, Hill, and a few of the Avengers were aware of this. Koenig instructed Coulson to keep it secret from his team for the time being, as Fury had yet to vet them to his satisfaction.

A New Foundation
Fury later listened in on distress call which led him to Simmons and Fitz. After rescueing them Fury headed to Cybertek Manufacturing Facility where he helped Coulson defeat John Garrett. On the Bus Coulson yelled at Fury infuriated that Fury proceeded to use the Project T.A.H.I.T.I. on him even after he told him that the procedure was dangerous. Fury told Coulson that he brought Coulson back because he was one of the few people that he trusted and told Coulson that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s goal was found on the purest of ideas: Protection. He then gave Coulson the Toolbox a device that contained everything Coulson needed to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D appointing him Director. Fury then left but told Coulson that he would be everywhere.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

 * Maria Hill - Trusted Friend and Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate
 * Victoria Hand † - Subordinate
 * Felix Blake - Subordinate
 * Coulson's Team
 * Phil Coulson - Trusted Friend and Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate, Now S.H.I.E.L.D. Superior
 * Melinda May - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate and Spy
 * Leo Fitz - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate
 * Jemma Simmons - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate
 * Skye - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate
 * Antoine Triplett - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate
 * Eric Koenig † - Subordinate
 * Billy Koenig - Subordinate
 * Erik Selvig - Subordinate

Friends

 * Dum Dum Dugan - Former teammate during The Cold War
 * Avengers
 * Captain America - Trusted Friend and Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate
 * Iron Man - Consultant
 * Thor
 * Hulk
 * Black Widow - Trusted Friend and Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate
 * Hawkeye - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate
 * Deathlok - Former Enemy while under HYDRA coercion, now ally

Enemies

 * Loki
 * Chitauri
 * Ivan Vanko
 * HYDRA
 * Alexander Pierce † - Former Superior and Friend
 * Winter Soldier
 * S.T.R.I.K.E. - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinates
 * Brock Rumlow - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate
 * Jasper Sitwell † - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate
 * Centipede Project
 * John Garrett † - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate and Trainee
 * Ian Quinn
 * Raina
 * Deathlok Super Soldiers
 * Grant Ward - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Subordinate

Video game only

 * A.I.M.
 * Kearson DeWitt
 * Crimson Dynamo

Abilities
Nick Fury is a master strategist and an astute judge of character. He uses these talents to great effect in his leadership of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury has done what would be called questionable tactics over his years but nonetheless, he will ultimately do what is right. Case in point, when the Council ordered him to strike the New York City with a nuclear missile, he wouldn't, going as far as disabling one of the planes with a rocket launcher and warning Stark about it. It is unknown but more than likely that he has a fairly extensive military background, but it is not revealed in full at the moment. Nonetheless, he is a seasoned unarmed- and armed-combat expert and veteran as he was able to take down two brainwashed agents with ease. He is also trained to use U.S. military firearms (standard and automatic).

Equipment

 * S.H.I.E.L.D. Uniform: made from 9-ply Kevlar (able to withstand ballistic impact up to .45 caliber bullets) and a fire-resistant material whose kindling temperature is 1,700 °F (930 °C). It includes numerous S.H.I.E.L.D. paraphernalia such a radio-link tie.


 * Smith & Wesson M&P: Fury carries a Smith & Wesson M&P pistol as his sidearm, using it to fire at Loki while he escapes after having obtained the Tesseract for the first time, and when the Helicarrier is attacked.

Also, Fury has access to an array of S.H.I.E.L.D. weapons, conventional and otherwise. In addition, due to him being the leader of a secret but covert/military organization, he has access to the most cutting-edge technology S.H.I.E.L.D. has to offer.

Trivia

 * Although most of the heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are based off of their mainstream counterparts, this Nick Fury is modeled after his Ultimate version, who is himself modeled after Samuel L. Jackson. The mainstream version of Nick Fury is an Italian American veteran of World War II.
 * Coincidentally, in the Ultimate comics, Nick Fury said that if he could choose any actor to portray him on film, he'd choose Samuel L. Jackson.
 * Unlike the Ultimate Nick Fury who is a general in the United States Armed Forces, the MCU version of the character is a colonel, just like his mainstream counterpart
 * Unlike Ultimate Nick Fury who has actually lost his left eye, MCU Fury retains his blinded eye as revealed in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, same as mainstream Col. Nick Fury Sr.
 * In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the epitaph on Nick Fury's grave says: "THE PATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS MAN... Ezekiel 25:17". That is a reference to Samuel L. Jackson's other role as Jules Winnfield from the movie Pulp Fiction