Nick Fury Jr.

Publication history

Marcus Johnson was introduced in the mini-series Battle Scars. He bears a strong resemblance to the Ultimate Marvel version of Nick Fury and the Marvel Cinematic Universe incarnation as portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson; the appearance of the Ultimate Universe version was based on that of Samuel L. Jackson before the actor's portrayal in the films.

Nick Fury Jr. appears in the 2013 Secret Avengers series by Nick Spencer and Luke Ross.

In January 2017 Marvel announced that the character would get his first ongoing solo series, named Nick Fury.

Fictional character biography

While serving in the Middle East, Marcus Johnson is told that his mother Nia Jones has been murdered back in the United States. He returns home and is attacked by the men who killed her, and by Taskmaster, but is saved by Captain America. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrive and take him to a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, after a while Johnson comes to feel he is being held there against his will and escapes. He escapes and is caught by Taskmaster once again. Before he can obtain any information, a man in a mask saves him and escapes. Johnson catches up to the man, who is revealed to be Johnson's father, Nick Fury. Fury and Johnson are captured by a former member of the organization Leviathan named Orion who has Johnson's left eye cut out and confirms that Johnson has the Infinity Formula in his DNA. Fury breaks his restraints and gives Johnson enough time to escape, but is captured and his blood transfused to Orion, so that Orion's youth can be restored. The transfusion drains Fury of his remaining Infinity Formula. Johnson saves Fury with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson and later kills Orion. After convalescing, Johnson is given the Super Soldier uniform that Steve Rogers used to wear. As a new agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Johnson is also informed that his birth name is "Nicholas Fury Jr.".

Fury Jr. and Phil Coulson make a cameo appearance in Scarlet Spider #5, and are part of the framing sequence in Marvel NOW! Point One.

In a 2013 storyline as part of the Marvel NOW! branding, Nick Fury Jr., Coulson, and Maria Hill form the S.H.I.E.L.D. version of the Secret Avengers with Hawkeye and Black Widow. Fury Jr. is involved in the first mission that involved fighting a group of al-Qaeda terrorists. Fury Jr. then joins the Secret Avengers to raid Bagalia in order to recruit Taskmaster. While the Secret Avengers are fighting the Masters of Evil, Fury Jr. manages to pay off Crossfire to let Taskmaster out of his imprisonment.

During the AXIS storyline, Nick Fury Jr. was with S.H.I.E.L.D. when the organization has gathered Captain America to discuss what was going to be of the Red Skull, now that the Stark Sentinels had been dismantled and the concentration camps torn down. Nick Fury Jr. tried to convince Sam Wilson to hand him over. But under the influence of the inversion spell, Wilson was violent and punched him before leaving.

Powers and abilities

Initially, Marcus appears to have no superhuman qualities but his peak physical conditioning from his time with the US Army Rangers. Marcus inherited his father's Infinity Formula at birth, slowing his age and speeding his healing time.

Reception

The reaction by comic book fans to the revelation of Marcus Johnson being Nick Fury's son and his replacing his father has been mixed. Marvel's Vice President of publishing, Tom Brevoort, believes this is a prudent move by Marvel because the African American incarnation appears in films, animated shows, and other licensed adaptations.