Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #1

History

When Marvel cancelled Strange Tales in 1968, both Doctor Strange and Nick Fury spun off into solo titles; Doctor Strange inherited Strange Tales' numbering, while Nick Fury was given a fresh start with a new #1. Jim Steranko, who had taken over plotting and writing duties on the Strange Tales co-feature starting in 1967, continued as the sole writer, penciller, and colorist here, with Joe Sinnott inking and Stan Lee editing. Steranko's tenure was hard-won — he famously fought internal editorial resistance to his wordless panel sequences — but the expanded 20-page format gave him room to construct a debut that felt unlike anything else on the newsstands in 1968. His difficulty maintaining a monthly deadline ultimately limited his run to issues #1–3 and #5, with covers through #7; the series collapsed in sales after his departure and was cancelled with issue #15 in November 1969.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Scorpio (presented here as Count Julio Scarlotti), a hooded assassin who attempts to kill Nick Fury and is ultimately revealed across later issues to be Jake Fury, Nick's own brother.
• Written, pencilled, and colored by Jim Steranko, with inks by Joe Sinnott, lettering by Sam Rosen, and Stan Lee as editor — Steranko served as the sole credited creative force on story and art.
• The issue's story, 'Who Is Scorpio?', opens with three consecutive wordless pages, a daring formal experiment that Steranko fought editorially to preserve and that influenced generations of later comics storytellers.
• On-sale date was February 29, 1968, with a cover date of June 1968; the series continues directly from Strange Tales #168, the final issue of the anthology that had hosted the Nick Fury co-feature.
• A Nick Fury Life Model Decoy (LMD) is destroyed in the opening sequence — an early prominent use of the LMD concept that has since become a defining element of S.H.I.E.L.D. lore.
• Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and Dum Dum Dugan appear as key supporting characters, continuing their roles from the Strange Tales run.
• The story was reprinted in the 1983 Marvel direct-market special Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #1 (December 1983), and has since been collected in Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. vol. 2 (2009), S.H.I.E.L.D. by Steranko: The Complete Collection (2013), and the S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Complete Collection Omnibus (2015); a further reprint was packaged with the Marvel Legends Nick Fury action figure.
• A subplot thread — Scorpio's in-story reference to 'The Parable of Doom,' seemingly connecting him to Baron Strucker — was introduced but never followed up by Steranko or Roy Thomas.

Cast · 29 characters

Full credits

Key issues in Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD

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#13 Pre-first appearance — Super-Patriot

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#2 1st appearance — Network Nina

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#7 1st appearance — Leviathan