Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #17
Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #17 (January 1971) is the first place a new generation of Bronze Age readers could encounter the debuts of two of Marvel's most enduring villains — Mentallo (Marvin Flumm) and the Fixer (Norbert Ebersol) — packaged in an accessible 52-page giant format. By reprinting Strange Tales #141 alongside the climax of the original HYDRA story arc, the issue also delivers the death of Arnold Brown (the Imperial HYDRA) and the dramatic resolution of the Betatron Bomb storyline, making it a single-volume recap of a pivotal early chapter in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s history. The simultaneous introduction of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ESP Division established telepathy and psi-warfare as recurring threats in the SHIELD corner of the Marvel Universe, threads that writers have pulled on for decades. As the second of three closing reprint issues that capped the original series, it also marks the end of the Kirby-era S.H.I.E.L.D. continuity before the franchise moved on.
In "The Brave Die Hard!", Nick Fury leads SHIELD in a high-stakes assault on HYDRA’s Nerve Center, where a desperate defense unfolds across land, air, and even space. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Fury and his team fight through HYDRA’s Tiger squad and Skate Board Units, while Stark works to disarm a deadly Betatron Bomb in orbit. Written by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, with art by Jack Kirby, Don Heck, and Joe Sinnott, this pivotal 1971 issue features a cover by Marie Severin and John Verpoorten, and marks a key moment in the ongoing war against HYDRA.
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After the original Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. series concluded its 15-issue run in November 1969, Marvel briefly revived the title roughly a year later as a reprint vehicle, producing three oversized issues (#16–18) that collected the foundational Strange Tales Nick Fury stories with new covers. Issue #17, cover-dated January 1971, reprints Strange Tales #139–141 — stories originally plotted by Jack Kirby with dialogue by Stan Lee — beneath a new cover penciled by Marie Severin (with inks attributed by some researchers to a combination of Severin and John Verpoorten). The stories themselves represent a transitional moment in the series' original run, bridging the end of the debut HYDRA saga and the opening chapter of the Mentallo/Fixer arc.
Trivia · 8 facts
- 52-page giant published January 1971 by Marvel Comics; entirely composed of reprints with a newly commissioned cover.
- Reprints three Nick Fury stories from Strange Tales #139, #140, and #141 (originally published 1965–1966), along with cover reproductions of Strange Tales #137, #138, and #139.
- Contains the first appearance of Mentallo (Marvin Flumm), a mutant telepath and renegade S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, originally created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #141 (February 1966).
- Contains the first appearance of the Fixer (Norbert Ebersol), a genius-level tech criminal and Mentallo's partner, also created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #141.
- Contains the first appearance of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ESP Division (the 'Thinkers'), the agency's psi-warfare unit central to the Mentallo arc.
- Delivers the in-continuity death of Arnold Brown, revealed as the Imperial HYDRA — shot by his own agents after hesitating to trigger a self-destruct that would have killed his daughter, Agent G (Laura Brown).
- Cover penciled by Marie Severin; the cover depicts a HYDRA interrogation scene adapted from Strange Tales #139, but contains a noted continuity error: Fury is shown in a jumpsuit he did not wear until Strange Tales #156.
- The Strange Tales #141 story reprinted here was noted as the second of only three S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes on which Jack Kirby did full pencils (rather than providing layouts for another artist).
Cast · 17 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Fury defeats the Hunter robot. Surrounded by HYDRA's Tiger squad, Dum Dum, Gabe and fellow agents use a Flying Wedge formation and an Electro-Jab weapon to push thru. HYDRA retaliates with Skate Board Units. Joined by Fury SHIELD overpowers HYDRA while Supreme Hydra realizes he must use Operation Last Resort. In space, Stark disarms the Betatron Bomb. SHIELD orders the arrest of HYDRA agents worldwide. SHIELD blasts into HYDRA's Nerve Center while their leader walks up the stairs leading to Imperial Industries boardroom. As he prepares to hit the destruct button, we learn his real identity.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).