Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #32 (February 1992)

By now, everyone should know who Nicholas "Nick" Fury is. Director of SHIELD, the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate (Before 1991, SHIELD stood for Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage and Law-Enforcement Division. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division), he is regarded as the Marvel Universe's premiere spymaster.

Fury was not always a superspy, though. Created by the late great Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he actually first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes #1 (May 1963), where he was portrayed as the commander of an elite unit of soldiers. These stories were set during WWII. In Fantastic Four #21 (December 1963), also by Lee and Kirby, the character would be reintroduced as an agent of the CIA. It would be in Strange Tales #135 (August 1965), again by Lee and Kirby, that Fury would become the SHIELD agent we all know and love. That comic was also the first appearance of SHIELD.

This revamp made quite a bit of sense. It was the 1960s, and there was a bit of a spy craze at the time, thanks to the James Bond movies, and television series like The Avengers, the Man from U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart, and I Spy. In fact, Stan Lee was inspired by The Man from U.N.C.L.E. to revamp Fury as a superspy. Fury would be the lead in the Strange Tales anthology title alongside Doctor Strange, taking over from the Human Torch and the Thing's solo adventures.

With Strange Tales #151 (December 1966), Jim Steranko would do both writing, art, and coloring for the book. Lee and Kirby would make Fury a spy, but Steranko would make him the coolest cat in town. Steranko built on Kirby's usage of photomontage and multiple-page spreads (Steranko was the first artist to create a four-page spread), and would also draw on 1960s op art and psychedelia to make the book one of the most unique on the stands. His plots had plenty of intrigue and sensuality, pushing the boundaries of the Comics Code. Eventually, Nick Fury and his S.H.I.E.L.D. comrades would get their own ongoing in 1968.

Over the years, Nick Fury and SHIELD would appear in various comics, and get miniseries and one-shots over the years. The comic we're going to look at here comes from the 1988 on-going. This ongoing was spawned from the miniseries Nick Fury Vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. that came out the same year.

Fury would not just be in the comics, though. The character got to appear in various media, including cartoons, he got a novel, and even in his own TV film, starring David Hasselhoff as the spymaster. I remember seeing this and enjoying Hasselhoff as Nick. However, the character would become truly famous thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, being portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson.

Jackson's portrayal of the character came from the Ultimate Marvel line, which used his likeness for its version of Fury (With Jackson's permission, of course). Since the 2000s, portrayals of Fury in other media were based on this version. Even the comics introduced a version based on Jackson, revealed to be Nick Fury Jr., the son of the original Nick Fury. So, with all that out of the way, let's take a look at Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #32!

The cover is okay. It's a Dave Hoover piece. You got Fury and Weapon Omega (more on him later) brawling their way through some bad guys to rescue a damsel in distress. It's a well-drawn cover. Nothing special. I am amused by Weapon Omega trying to do a Power Rangers-style flying kick. I expect him to put out a Bruce Lee-style scream with it. I also noticed that the masthead logo is of the 1960s Fury series, instead of the masthead logo the 1980s series used when it came out. I wonder why they changed it.

"Formal Wear"
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Penciler: Dave Hoover
Inker: Don Hudson
Colorist: Tom Vincent
Letterer: Tom Felix

The story begins with Nick Fury accepting a martini from a bartender.

"Rrrrgh, this tie is too tight..."

For some reason, the bartender thought the super-spy would have wanted it "shaken, not stirred". Evidently, he got the one-eyed spy confused with somebody else. So, why's Fury wetting his whistle? Well, it turns out he's on a boat. An Italian cruise boat. A boat full of dignitaries, celebrities, dilettantes, and the like. And Nick Fury is, well...BORED. The United Nations Security Council (mistakenly called the World Unity Council in the comic), Fury's bosses, want him to do some mingling because reasons. They don't even trust SHIELD to be security for the boat. Considering what happened in recent issues of this book (mainly HYDRA managing to infiltrate the SHIELD Academy and destroy it)...yeah.

Fury is a man of action. He'd rather be on the field cracking codes, toppling a dictatorship or two. You know, spy stuff. But it turns out Fury may get to at the very least make a new friend on the ship.

"Hello, dahling...."

Meet Lynette Cole, world famous actress, and owner of a pair of nice lungs. The joke she wanted a light from Fury because of his cigar. Fury starts to chat her up. After all, it's not every day he gets to talk to a famous person. But then, an explosion erupts. The security boats have been blown to smithereens. A submarine surfaces nearby, and the occupants reveal themselves.

Meet ULTIMATUM, the Underground Liberated Totally Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind. They are an anti-nationalistic terrorist organization established by Karl Morgenthau, aka the first Flag-Smasher, a Captain America villain. Fury reaches for his gun, but his holster is empty. Yeah, it was confiscated before he went on board, so he's going to have to improvise. Worked for John McClane.

Cole spots more ULTIMATUM men rappelling down from a helicopter. As they take hostages, Fury and Cole hide behind a table. Fury tells he he's got to take care of these men. He emerges from his hiding place. The ULTIMATUM goons notice Fury, recognize him, and try to give him lead poisoning. Fury leaps over the railing, going overboard. The guards are satisfied. The ocean will kill him. However, Fury is as dry as a bone in the Nevada desert.

"Those exchange guys from Q Branch are geniuses."

Fury's cufflinks are also powerful magnets, allowing him to stick to the side of the boat. I love this scene, because it feels like something from a classic Bond movie. Nearby, off the coast of Rome, the harbor has a guest. Who is it?

"For the last time, I am NOT Spider-Man's Canadian cousin!"

Meet Kyle Gibney, aka Weapon Omega. He is more known as Wild Child by comic fans. I can't help but think of Spider-Man when I see his mask. I wonder why. He and the rest of the Canadian superhero team known as Alpha Flight have been doing a "world tour" in their own book at the time. Omega is on a fact-finding mission to see how other countries handle the issues of superpowered beings like mutants and the like. Italy has no government-appointed superheroes like Alpha Flight of their own, though. I can imagine it has its fair share of vigilantes, though. Like the Italian Spiderman.

Gibney notices a room with some activity in it, but his guide quickly tries to move him on. Yeah, nothing suspicious or anything. Back at the boat, Nick Fury is just hanging around. This gives him an opportunity to do some thinking. There's something about this that makes no sense to him. ULTIMATUM are anti-nationalist. They believe in uniting the world in one government. That's basically the ultimate goal of the World Security Council, but the WSC want to do it legit. But then, ULTIMATUM are fanatics. Good luck reasoning with them.

Fury finds his way to the ship's radio room. Two ULTIMATUM goons burst in, but Fury is able to burst in and call for help. The ULTIMATUM goons shoot at the radio, but Fury escapes through the ship's dumbwaiter. One of the men shoots out the rope, leaving Fury to fall to his death. Well, no. Fury's got another trick that would make the Sean Connery Bond smile in pride. Fury's cummerbund has a grappling hook in it, complete with a winch. Fury makes his way up to one floor, where he spots something interesting.

"We're in the money...we're in the money..."

Yup, the hostage situation is just a distraction. ULTIMATUM needs some money, so they're helping themselves to the gold bullion onboard the ship. He then asks if the explosives have been set yet. Don't know why, maybe it's just something he figures they'd do? One of the men explains they're on Deck 12...until he realizes he's telling Nick Fury this. The men shoot at him, but they are such bad shots, the Star Wars stormtroopers would facepalm.

Oh my God, I love Google. Fury is able to escape. He's not worried about the gold, his priority is the passengers. He's gotta get his butt down to deck twelve and get some bomb-diffusing done. However, he has another obstacle. ULTIMATUM has Lynette Cole hostage.

"This reminds me of my role in 'Death Boat'!"

Cole tells Fury the rest of the passengers are locked in the Dining Hall. If Fury doesn't surrender, they'll die. Fury knows that if he does surrender, they're dead anyway, thanks to the explosives. However, Weapon Omega arrives on the scene.

"Here I come to save the dayyyyyy!"

Omega is able to rescue Cole, and he and Fury kick some ULTIMATUM terrorist butt. This causes some of the men to flee for their lives. Kyle Gibney explains that he picked up Fury's SOS, despite ULTIMATUM had people on shore to make sure no one got it. Fury informs Gibney about the bomb on Deck 12. Finding it shouldn't be a problem for Weapon Omega, considering his enhanced senses and all. But then they got another problem: Lynette Cole somehow got herself caught again and tied the ULTIMATUM submarine. Wait...how?!

Well, Fury has to save her butt again. So, he takes his bowtie and turns it into a pair of wings.

"Huh. I thought Red Bull gave you wings."

He goes to save Cole while Gibney finds the bomb. A helicopter tries to intercept the SHIELD head. The ULTIMATUM men on board try to shoot at him, but Fury is prepared. He tosses a cigar at the helicopter, which happens to also be a grenade. The blast sends Fury flying to the sub. He manages to land on it, but the impact dislodges his wristwatch. This annoys Fury. It wasn't a special SHIELD spy watch, it was an Apple Watch. Darn things are expensive.

Fury goes to retrieve it, but gets a gun to his head. And who's finger is on the trigger?

"Remember the time I played a villain in 'Blood Ocean'? Fun times, Fury."

Lynette Cole. Turns out the actress is an ULTIMATUM agent. I wonder how she got recruited. She starts doing the whole classic villain spiel about how the gold bullion is going to keep ULTIMATUM in the black for decades, and about how the boat is going to send the passengers to a watery grave. You know, the regular gloating about how they're going to win just before something goes wrong for them. And true to the trope, it does.

You see, while Lynette was running her mouth, our friend Mr. Kyle Gibney had been able to find the bomb and defuse it. She discovers this, and tries to shoot Fury. However, the spymaster's watch has one little trick. His watch has tech in it that allows it to fuse the circuitry in her getaway sub...and give her a nasty shock. So, why didn't Fury get to do the electrocution mamba? His suit is made of a protective weave.

Gibney arrives on the sub, and cracks that a watch should tell the time. Fury shows him the clock on it and remarks that it wouldn't be much use if it couldn't. He then asks Kyle where his ski-sled is (Gibney had arrived to the ship in one). Kyle tells Fury he thought that Fury's shows had tiny yachts in them or something. The story ends with Fury telling him his left shoe is, but it only holds one. Heh.

I admit, I enjoyed this little done-in-one tale. It basically is "James Bond doing Die Hard on a Boat", but it's entertaining. I do wish there was more foreshadowing of Lynette Cole's true allegiance, and a bit more banter between Fury and Weapon Omega. I loved the usage of Bond-style gadgets in the story, a nice nod to James Bond, and I did chuckle at the gag that started the story. The art is also pretty good. Considering this was the 90s, compared to what was popular at the time, this is actually rather nice. It was the late great Dave Hoover, after all. He was a pretty good artist.

If you want to read this comic yourself, I recommend hunting down the 2015 trade paperback Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Classic Vol. 3. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you enjoyed it, spread it around! And if you want to give my blog some additional support, please drop a tip in my Digital Tip Jar! It would be greatly appreciated! Next time, the Secret Wars rage on...