Secret Warriors #1
Secret Warriors #1 is the opening chapter of the series that served as Jonathan Hickman's first ongoing work at Marvel — a book that reframed decades of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. history by introducing the shocking premise that Hydra had secretly controlled S.H.I.E.L.D. since its very founding. The issue gave solo spotlights in an ongoing series to a squad of young, largely unknown characters — Quake, Phobos, Stonewall, Hellfire, Slingshot, and Sebastian Druid — most of whom had only briefly appeared together during the Secret Invasion event. Its narrative and conceptual DNA proved deeply influential: the Hydra-infiltrating-S.H.I.E.L.D. idea was later adapted for Captain America: The Winter Soldier and underpinned much of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television series. The issue also introduced the now-signature Hickman storytelling device of infographic supplemental pages — organizational charts and intelligence dossiers embedded in the back matter — a style that would define his later, celebrated runs on Fantastic Four, Avengers, and beyond.
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The team itself was conceived by Brian Michael Bendis and artist Alex Maleev, first appearing in Mighty Avengers #13 (2008) during the Secret Invasion crossover, then debuting as a unit in Secret Invasion #3. When the team earned its own ongoing series, Bendis co-plotted but handed scripting duties to Hickman — at that point a writer known only for creator-owned Image projects like The Nightly News and Pax Romana — making Secret Warriors #1 his mainstream-comics debut. The series was editor Tom Brevoort's choice to launch as one of the anchor titles for Marvel's Dark Reign publishing initiative, and Marvel generated pre-release buzz with a campaign of encrypted passwords and clues hidden in solicitation copy. Interior art was provided by Italian illustrator Stefano Caselli, who had previously built his American reputation on Avengers: The Initiative.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Released February 4, 2009 (cover-dated April 2009); written by Jonathan Hickman and Brian Michael Bendis, penciled and inked by Stefano Caselli, colored by Daniele Rudoni, cover by Jim Cheung.
- Served as the in-ongoing-series debut (first solo-title appearances) of the Secret Warriors roster: Quake/Daisy Johnson, Hellfire/J.T. James, Slingshot/Yo-Yo Rodriguez, Stonewall/Jerry Sledge, Sebastian Druid, and Phobos/Alexander Aaron — all appearing in the context of a Dark Reign tie-in as H.A.M.M.E.R. and the Sentry are established antagonists.
- Eden Fesi (later known as Manifold) is referenced in Fury's 'Caterpillar' files within the issue's back-matter dossiers but does not make his full first appearance until Secret Warriors #4.
- The issue is the first chapter of the arc titled 'Nick Fury: Agent of Nothing,' establishing that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been secretly under Hydra's control since its inception — the central conspiracy driving the entire 28-issue series.
- Marked Jonathan Hickman's Marvel Comics debut as a mainstream writer; he had previously worked only on creator-owned titles at Image Comics.
- The issue contains a multi-page back-matter supplement of intelligence dossiers and organizational charts — an early, prominent example of the infographic storytelling format Hickman would become famous for.
- The original Secret Warriors team was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, first introduced in Mighty Avengers #13 (2008) and debuted together in Secret Invasion #3 (2008), before this series gave them a dedicated ongoing.
- Collected in: Secret Warriors Vol. 1: Nick Fury, Agent of Nothing (TPB); Secret Warriors: The Complete Collection Vol. 1; and the Secret Warriors Omnibus (2012 and 2023 printings), which also collects Mighty Avengers #13 & 18, the full run #1–28, Dark Reign: The List – Secret Warriors, Siege: Secret Warriors, and material from Dark Reign: New Nation #1.