Fury, Nick

Real name: Nick Joseph Fury, Sr.

First appearance: Sergeant Fury and His Howling Commandos 1

Powers: Colonel Fury has no super-human powers apart from significantly retarded aging, brought on by annual applications of the Infinity Formula. He is, however, a munitions, martial arts and covert operations expert. A bone sliver has caused him to lose most of his sight in one eye.

History: During World War II Fury headed up a special Commando group, the Howlers, that annoyed bad guys like Baron Von Strucker and his Death's Head SS troops no end. After the war Fury took a less direct route toward preserving world freedom and became a spy. He headed up S.H.I.E.L.D., which was formed when it became evident that there were Things Out There conventional covert activity was incapable of uncovering. Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. had repeated confrontations with A.I.M., HYDRA, Baron Von Strucker, and Fury's own brother Scorpio before the Delta Incident forced the organization to be disbanded and Fury himself into retirement. However, those Things Were Still Out There. The United Nations reformed S.H.I.E.L.D. with new security guidelines, giving Fury unprecedented autonomy.

Current status: Fury was presumed killed by the Punisher, although his casket at Arlington National Cemetery was suspiciously empty. He's returned to Earth through a time portal. Where the heck he's been is going to take some explaining.