Thoughts on Nick Fury Jr?

[marvelprince]

He feels like an absolutely unnecessary addition thanks to synergy.

Like, the character doesn't seem to have much of a reason to exist other than to have someone who looks like MCU Fury exist in the comics, but he has none of the history, gravitas, position, or relationship with the heroes to warrant calling him Nick Fury. At best he's just another SHIELD Agent and that can only take you so far.

And for all the amount of work they put to introduce him in the comics he's been pretty irrelevant since his debut. Marvel's done more with Coulson than they have with Jr.

So we just want the same stories with the same relationship told over and over again?

[Frontier]

So we just want the same stories with the same relationship told over and over again?

I think that's what Marvel was expecting people would think when trying to inject someone into the comics who looked like movie Fury even if in execution he was nothing like movie Fury.

Jr. came in so late and, again, has been so irrelevant that he hasn't really had much of a chance to build up any relationships to the extent his dad or even Ultimate Fury did.

[marvelprince]

But I think thats the point. Everyone is looking at it as a reskin. It's not. This is new Nick, a younger Nick. It's a chance to explore a Fury before he ascends to the director of SHIELD, when he's still an agent and hasn't yet formed a close partnership with every hero on the planet. Where he's still green, but you can get a glimpse into the type of character he'll become in the future. If they just ported over the version of him from Ultimate's we wouldn't be able to get any of that. You couldn't pair him up with Hawkeye in the field like we got in the excellent Secret Avengers, you couldn't explore his relationship with Wolverine like in Wolverine's series, you couldn't do the excellent Fury series.

[Frontier]

But I think thats the point. Everyone is looking at it as a reskin. It's not. This is new Nick, a younger Nick. It's a chance to explore a Fury before he ascends to the director of SHIELD, when he's still an agent and hasn't yet formed a close partnership with every hero on the planet. Where he's still green, but you can get a glimpse into the type of character he'll become in the future. If they just ported over the version of him from Ultimate's we wouldn't be able to get any of that. You couldn't pair him up with Hawkeye in the field like we got in the excellent Secret Avengers, you couldn't explore his relationship with Wolverine like in Wolverine's series, you couldn't do the excellent Fury series.

I think the problem is Marvel doesn't seem sure what they want to do with the character.

If he was supposed to be this new, fresh, take on Nick Fury I don't think they would have made him look so visibly similar to another Nick Fury just to get people to think that version exists in the comics (when, really, he doesn't) or write out the original so soon after, and in terms of execution I don't think they quite have in mind your expectations for the character or they would've probably used him more or fast-tracked his character development to keep him relevant.

Of course even the Fury's that were the Director of SHIELD still got their hands dirty so I don't think him being a field agent makes that big a difference.

[marvelprince]

I think the problem is Marvel doesn't seem sure what they want to do with the character.

If he was supposed to be this new, fresh, take on Nick Fury I don't think they would have made him look so visibly similar to another Nick Fury just to get people to think that version exists in the comics (when, really, he doesn't) or write out the original so soon after, and in terms of execution I don't think they quite have in mind your expectations for the character or they would've probably used him more or fast-tracked his character development to keep him relevant.

Of course even the Fury's that were the Director of SHIELD still got their hands dirty so I don't think him being a field agent makes that big a difference.

Everything I've said was in line with the writers were saying about the character at the time. I have no grand expectations, I just listened to what they said their plans for the character were, so I wasn't disappointed that it wasn't the same as MCU Fury. They wanted to tell stories with a younger Fury, and they did that. I think everyone else had this expectation that because they introduced this new Fury who looks more like the one in the movies that that's exactly what they wanted to do with that character so when he wasn't made Director of SHIELD or had his personal connections with the heroes people didn't like it.

[Ying Ko]

I miss the real Nick Fury, SHIELD and also The Watcher. Those should all be brought back as soon as possible. Keep Jr as a sidekick or whatever, he's not the actual Nick Fury.

[Anthony W]

Everything I've said was in line with the writers were saying about the character at the time. I have no grand expectations, I just listened to what they said their plans for the character were, so I wasn't disappointed that it wasn't the same as MCU Fury. They wanted to tell stories with a younger Fury, and they did that. I think everyone else had this expectation that because they introduced this new Fury who looks more like the one in the movies that that's exactly what they wanted to do with that character so when he wasn't made Director of SHIELD or had his personal connections with the heroes people didn't like it.

I think this is the direction that would suit you.
Fury is a top S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and Maria Hill is a agent who fell from grace and is reduced to being his sidekick and hating every minute of it.

[Frontier]

Everything I've said was in line with the writers were saying about the character at the time. I have no grand expectations, I just listened to what they said their plans for the character were, so I wasn't disappointed that it wasn't the same as MCU Fury. They wanted to tell stories with a younger Fury, and they did that. I think everyone else had this expectation that because they introduced this new Fury who looks more like the one in the movies that that's exactly what they wanted to do with that character so when he wasn't made Director of SHIELD or had his personal connections with the heroes people didn't like it.

Again, it just seems like Marvel has been sending some mixed messaging regarding what the character's purpose actually is.

The writers my very well have had their own intentions with the character so he would see more original and purposeful than a character who is just there for movie synergy, but his lack of use and being introduced in a mini that included his best buddy who turned out to be Phil Coulson didn't really help matters.

[The Cool Thatguy]

The intro could have been better, but I like him.

Old Nick Fury was like Sam Axe. Capable, but with lines you know he won't cross.

New Nick is like Michael Weston. Don't get on his bad side...

[tliscord]

None, no thoughts whatsoever except how grateful when he’s not featured.

[Vordan]

Indifferent. I don’t mind him existing but I’ve been disappointed with how little they’ve done with him to justify his existence.

But I think thats the point. Everyone is looking at it as a reskin. It's not. This is new Nick, a younger Nick. It's a chance to explore a Fury before he ascends to the director of SHIELD, when he's still an agent and hasn't yet formed a close partnership with every hero on the planet. Where he's still green, but you can get a glimpse into the type of character he'll become in the future. If they just ported over the version of him from Ultimate's we wouldn't be able to get any of that. You couldn't pair him up with Hawkeye in the field like we got in the excellent Secret Avengers, you couldn't explore his relationship with Wolverine like in Wolverine's series, you couldn't do the excellent Fury series.

What I want then, is to see them take this guy and turn him into the cynical, preptime-using, son of a bitch that classic and Ultimate Fury were. I want a maxi series or ongoing in the same vein as Ennis’ Punisher or Fury MAX series. Something super dark and ******* up, that basically takes the young and idealistic young Fury we have now and sets him on the road to being the spymaster. Maybe get Walker to write it, he wrote that Nighthawk series right? Something like that is exactly the type of tone I want.

Also they need to let him smoke cigars and drink booze.

[Chris0013]

Seriously...I am not against him....but I think they need to do something with him to make me for him.

Every character is one writer's attention away from being amazing.

[Gaius]

Felt like there could have been better ways of introducing him without taking the original off the table in such a convoluted way (and the Watcher I guess). Someone could probably do something with him but at the moment he's near the top of the most unnecessary things comics have done to sync up with their movie counterparts.

[scribbleMind]

He's unnecessary, even today, but I don't hate him. They just dropped the ball on him. For starters, James Robinson's Nick Fury run was fantastic and although all the stories were single issues, he was doing some great world building for Nick Fury Jr.

They sold the situation like Nick Fury Sr. would be a leader and the brains and Nick Fury Jr. would be the field agent, but what they regularly fail to do is show Nick Fury Jr. as a field agent. Usually when you see Nick Fury Jr. he's attempting to boss someone around, or he's just hanging around whoever is giving the orders. He's NOT out there on the field the way other shield agents and marvel spies are. He's rarely depicted as someone who's actively doing things himself. So, despite how they sold it, he mostly comes off as a more bland less competent Nick Fury.

If they succeed at doing something interesting with him I'll read it. I do think he's still a mostly blank slate despite James Robinson's best efforts, and there's a lot you can do with a mostly blank slate. He's the type of character that's perfect for reinvention.

[Frontier]

The intro could have been better, but I like him.

Old Nick Fury was like Sam Axe. Capable, but with lines you know he won't cross.

New Nick is like Michael Weston. Don't get on his bad side...

...Does that make Ultimate Fury Jesse ?