Over the years I've had lots of "then-favorite" characters - Wolverine (like every other comics geek), the Punisher, Captain Marvel, Green Lantern… but I've always had a soft spot for Colonel Nicholas Joseph Fury. Why? Well, for one, Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD vol. 1 #17 was my first comic book ever - and at the time that book was already 10 years old! My brother was into comics and was trading them with some neighborhood kids, and to let me feel included he gave me a few comics to trade with. I poured over the old comic books the other kids had and came across their Nick Fury #17. I was instantly drawn in. The rogueish eyepatch, the hi-tech gear and outfit, the great animated feel of a classic Steranko cover! What a way to begin a journey into a hobby that would consume a lot of my free time not to mention most of my limited financial funds. From there I began collecting lots of books, not just ol' Nick. The X-men was a personal favorite, so was the Punisher and others. But all through the years I always perked up at the site of Fury making a cover appearance somewhere, and that alone would be enough for me to buy the book. Then came Nick Fury vs SHIELD. All of a sudden my weird quirk of being a lone Fury fan had contemporary comic book relevance. The limited series drew quite a lot of attention and praise, and my No. 1 action hero was cool again in a way he had not enjoyed since the late 60's in Strange Tales (which period I had missed out on as I was like 1 at the time). The subsequent Fury regular series may not have broken any new ground, but lasting 47 issues it outlasted any other previous Fury series (excluding Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos which made it to issue #167, and unless you combine his Strange Tales run with his first series - which was, afterall, just an extension of his then current popularity).
Since then, he's been shabbily treated, whether through portraying Fury as a ruthless pawn working for shady government agendas, or through using the same old story lines over and over (how many times has Nick Fury died? The answer - not as many times as SHIELD has become corrupted!). While Marvel did a decent story in how they had planned to definitively "kill him off" (see Double Edge Omega), I was happy to see Marvel revive the character for more action. It's just that since his "revival" they don't know what to do with him that can get away from the same old same old. Here's another question, how many times has he resigned as Director of SHIELD? And to add insult to injury, Marvel comes out with this "Ultimates" version of Nick portrayed by the remarkable likeness of Samuel L. Jackson. Hey, I liked the original! And even worse, Marvel's MAX line comes out with a version of Fury where he's a raving psycho-butcher. The only good thing about MAX's Fury is that at least it kept the character in the reading public's eye for possible future uses. Truth be told, there were parts of the MAX line that were brilliant, but, sadly, as an overall story arc it just betrayed too much of what this character has represented over the years.
Nonetheless, Fury has been, and remains, one of Marvel's all time greats, albeit not in the same league as Spider-Man, the Hulk or Iron Man. But for me that's part of the character's charm. I like being a fan of one of those quieter characters that never makes it to super-star status but at the same time never goes away. Wherever the Marvel Universe resides, you'll find Fury and SHIELD. An old soldier who adds flavor to any book he appears in. Let's take a moment to consider some pertinent parts of Nick's impressive resume. His character (both the Howling Commando and the SHIELD agent versions) was created by the greats; Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. For a song, that's like being able to say you were written by Lennon and McCartney. First debuting as Sgt. Fury in Marvel's most succesful WWII magazine, Fury as Agent of SHIELD was created by the same creative team in 1965 to address fan questions about where Sgt. Fury was in the then-present 1960's. Thanks to the character's success in Strange Tales while Sgt. Fury was still running hot, Fury is (as far as I know) the first comic book character ever to have two successful and separate comic book titles set in different eras while running concurrently with eachother. In later years, Batman's "Dark Knight" limited series would re-create this phenomena to some extent, but Fury was there first. And let's not overlook one other factoid: thanks to the revolutionary artistic style and vision of Jim Steranko, Nick Fury invented the "lots of guns, lots of belts, lots of straps over form-fitting body armor" look that went on to become so popular not only in comic books but also to all kinds of action heroes and commandos in the movies and TV. That's right, Steranko created the sleek "all decked-out in gear" commando look, and he did it with Nick Fury.
Let's add to this that Nick Fury was a nice change from your average cape-wearing, super-powered comic book character. He didn't run around in tights and a mask with some made-up monicker like "Ultra-Guy." He didn't join a group of other caped crusaders who didn't have to hold down a job because they were off fighting evil menaces. No, he worked for a living paid by Uncle Sam, ran an international spy organization and brought along the best weapons and gear modern technology could provide. This stuff was much more "grown-up" (for a comic book at least) than you'd get from the pages of Super-Man. And Nick didn't have super-human abilities due to radiation, or gamma rays, or mutant genes or magical artifacts, etc.. No, he was just a normal joe; the penutlimate all-American G.I. who fought Nazis as an unequivocal good guy - his actions and deeds made him a hero even without powers. Okay, okay, so Marvel, in an attempt to explain why Fury in the 90's wasn't looking like a 70 year old WWII vet, created the hokey Infinity Formula story, but that was an ill-advised after-thought and even still it didn't give him any real offensive or defensive abilities. I say Marvel should have just left that aging question alone and… turn a blind eye to it (get it? get it?). Afterall, for some reason no one at Marvel feels the need to explain why Tony Stark doesn't look like he's in his 70's. Tony has no "gamma-ray" excuse for not aging like, presumably, Reed Richards (who's older than Ben Grimm and we know Ben was a WWII pilot - and I guess we have to assume his transformation into the Thing must be what's keeping him from keeling over dead). And what will Marvel do with the Punisher in a few years? This Viet Nam vet may be getting a more "mature" look now thanks to Tim Bradstreet, but how long will that last? What happens when, chronologically, Frank Castle MUST be in his 60's? Will he still be running around in that outfit? All in all, these age things ruin the whole magic of comic books - you don't have to come up explanations - it's a comic book! In fact, these kinds of explanations only make it more absurd. But I digress (can you tell this is a sore-spot for me?)
All of these reasons, and the unique charm and personality of the character, has made Nicholas a true staple of Marveldom, even if not a super-star. After all, despite not being as well known as Spider-Man or Daredevil, how many other Marvel characters got a live action movie? Okay, I know, the movie with David Hasselhoff wasn't all that, but the point is that a live action movie was made at all - think of how many Marvel characters you like that can't make the same claim. Nick's gotten his own paperback novel, Empyre. Bowen has made busts of him. In 1975 he graced Slurpee cups! He's popped up in just about every significant Marvel title from Captain America to X-Force - even the Mighty Thor! The character still has great nuances and, when drawn right, he still looks as cool as ever. In a suit or in battle gear, shaven or unshaven, he's simply an intimidating and imposing character.
Since my recent re-involvement in comic books as a hobby, I've decorated my home office in an almost all-Fury theme. Thanks to the fact that we've painted it an impressive dark red color, and also to the fact that I'm more in a situation to collect top-notch memorabilia then I ever was as a teen, it looks pretty good - hey, even my wife loves the way it turned out and she's never read a single comic book! From busts and statues to oversized Steranko cover reproductions to original art, the whole room is decked out in tribute. I've replaced my wallclock's face with a cover of Cable #62, I have the OverPower cards in heavy-duty plastic display cases, and I even got a clear light switch plate and inserted a great black and white image of Nick. It's now suitable to be the brooding room I've always wanted.
So support your local master-spy and help to bring him back to prominence at Marvel - or as a true fan would say… don't yield, back SHIELD! (oh, and don't forget to check out the rest of the "stuff" on this page - screensavers, icons, fonts, GIFs, checklists and more, oh my!)
Excelsior! 
Visit....
Commentary:
Over the years I've had lots of "then-favorite" characters - Wolverine (like every other comics geek), the Punisher, Captain Marvel, Green Lantern… but I've always had a soft spot for Colonel Nicholas Joseph Fury. Why? Well, for one, Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD vol. 1 #17 was my first comic book ever - and at the time that book was already 10 years old! My brother was into comics and was trading them with some neighborhood kids, and to let me feel included he gave me a few comics to trade with. I poured over the old comic books the other kids had and came across their Nick Fury #17. I was instantly drawn in. The rogueish eyepatch, the hi-tech gear and outfit, the great animated feel of a classic Steranko cover! What a way to begin a journey into a hobby that would consume a lot of my free time not to mention most of my limited financial funds. From there I began collecting lots of books, not just ol' Nick. The X-men was a personal favorite, so was the Punisher and others. But all through the years I always perked up at the site of Fury making a cover appearance somewhere, and that alone would be enough for me to buy the book. Then came Nick Fury vs SHIELD. All of a sudden my weird quirk of being a lone Fury fan had contemporary comic book relevance. The limited series drew quite a lot of attention and praise, and my No. 1 action hero was cool again in a way he had not enjoyed since the late 60's in Strange Tales (which period I had missed out on as I was like 1 at the time). The subsequent Fury regular series may not have broken any new ground, but lasting 47 issues it outlasted any other previous Fury series (excluding Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos which made it to issue #167, and unless you combine his Strange Tales run with his first series - which was, afterall, just an extension of his then current popularity).
Below are some links to other parts of my site that, while not technically "Nick Fury resources," may still prove useful to any SHIELD-ophiles out there that may create their own stories and characters. These are links to my Super-Hero Name Generator, Proper Name Generator and Acronym tool. Now you too can come up with names like "Captain Combat and his ally Subadai Baan, agent of P.A.T.R.I.O.T. (Primary Anti-Terrorist Regional & International Operations Taskforce)." Get creative!
Okay "Followers of the Fury!" My latest mission is to collect every single comic book that Nick Fury (as either a Howling Commando or an agent of SHIELD) has ever appeared in. To that end, I've compiled a working list of every comic book Nick Fury has graced the pages of - whether as a true guest star or even just a cameo appearence. This list is a "work in progress" as I know it's not complete. And it's also possible that some of the books I've listed are in error. So this is where YOU come in. I'm asking any and all who can help me flush out this list to e-mail me and let me know what I may have missed! In the end I want this list to be the definitive checklist of every Nick Fury appearence out there. Below are links to the list - one in a text file, one in an MS Word file, another in HTML format, and then a ZIP file with all three versions which you can download (note: the Word file and HTML also come complete with checkboxes - perfect for compiling your ultimate Fury collection.
Take the Nick Fury IQ Test
Click here for a collection of notable quotes, exchanges and narratives by and about Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD from numerous comic book sources. Thanks to Humberto Ferre for several of the quotes contained here, and to Stacy X who provided the image I used for the background graphic. Have a great Fury quote that's not on this page? E-mail it to me and I'll add it!
Hey, what can I say... fonts are what I do best. And taking no guffaw, here are the several fonts I've made to date inspired by ol' Nick Fury. The first, Quartermain, was inspired by the original logo for Nick's first series as Agent of SHIELD. The second, Flying Leatherneck, was inspired by the logo of Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos (and yes, these 2 fonts are what I used for the title graphic of this page). Third, a Nick Fury dingbat font called Knock Furious (with 95 Fury dings to have fun with). The fourth through sixth fonts are derivatives of the "Wolverine" logo/title font, a typeface which has also been used on occaission for Nick Fury's logo (for example, "The Scorpio Connection"). Enjoy!
Download - PC
Download - PC
Download - PC
Download - PC
Download - PC
Download - PC
Click here to visit the Nick Fury Icons Page with hundreds of Fury and Fury-related icons for your desktop.
Here are six PC cursors broken into 2 sets, one for SHIELD and one for Hydra. Each of the two sets has a pointer cursor, a wait cursor and a busy cursor. Also thrown into the ZIP file are a couple of new SHIELD related icons, such as an icon of the original SHIELD logo - Download
For the true Fury fan, here are some screen savers featuring the SHIELD and Hydra insignias. For the SHIELD logos, the different screen savers span the years from its first insignia to it's most recent, modern looking logo. Many of the zip files comes with several versions.
Here's a link to my "sub-page" of Nick Fury images that I like. You may have seen many of these before, but I tried to include only cool pics or ones that seemed a little less common to see.
Click here for the Nick Fury Thumbnail Gallery with over 450 thumbnail images of the "One-Eyed Eagle of Freedom."
Click here for the Nick Fury .GIF Gallery with over 110 slick images of Fury with transparent backgrounds.
Click here for the Nick Fury Micro Hero Gallery which not only includes Nick, but other SHIELD personnel, enemies of SHIELD, Howling Commandos and allies.
Click here for the Nick Fury Sprite Gallery with over 100 sprite edits, avatars and small GIF images of Nick and company.
And now, for your desktop enjoyment, are a number of Nick Fury wallpapers. Just click on the link to go to the seperate Wallpaper page.
Think you've got your desktop completely Fury-themed? Not without a start-up boot screen! Thanks to a program called Stardock BootSkin, you can easily change your Windows 2000 and Windows XP boot screens and use the Nick Fury screens below. Unlike other programs that can change the Windows XP boot screens, BootSkin does so in a safe and easy manner. It doesn't patch the Windows XP kernel. Nor does it require the user to download replacement Windows XP kernels to do so. And best of all, BootSkin is free for non-commercial use. By the way, the reason for the reduced quality of the graphics is beacause Bootskin, for the moment at least,ony supports 16 color graphics.
This page contains several application skins I've made for QuickNotes and Consolable. There are both Nick Fury and SHIELD themed skins here. I hope to add some skins for Beatnik Clock in the near future. Anyone out there up for trying their hand at making a Fury skin for Winamp?
For use to complete your Nick Fury desktop themes, this page contains several Fury and SHIELD related WAV files (of varying quality, but hey, I can't say there's high demand for clips of this subject-matter).
For use as background images for webpages, textures for graphics and even as wallpapers this page contains several Fury and SHIELD related background graphics. The page has a special script to let you preview the background. To preview a graphic as a background, simply place the cursor over the image. To save a background, right click on the image and choose "Save Picture As..."
SHIELD HQ
The Sgt. Fury Site (Cover Gallery)
Nick Fury Items on eBay
