Strange Tales #135
Strange Tales #135 is one of the most consequential single issues of the Silver Age, delivering the simultaneous debut of S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, the Life Model Decoy concept, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier — four institutions that have anchored the Marvel Universe's espionage mythology for six decades. It also permanently transformed Nick Fury from a World War II battlefield sergeant into a Cold War super-spy, a reinvention so durable it shaped every major Marvel adaptation that followed, from animated series to the MCU films. As a split-book issue, it paired that spy-fiction revolution with the ongoing Steve Ditko-plotted Doctor Strange serial, making the same stapled newsprint the birthplace of Marvel's mystical and paramilitary wings at once. The cover — homaged decades later in Mighty Avengers #18 — announced with Kirby's kinetic confidence that Strange Tales had shed its horror-anthology past entirely.
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Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the Nick Fury feature as a direct response to the early-1960s spy-fiction boom led by the James Bond films and television series like The Man from U.N.C.L.E., which had saturated popular culture by 1965. Marvel was operating under a distribution arrangement that artificially limited its title count, so rather than launch a new series, Lee slotted the feature into Strange Tales to replace the departing Human Torch and Thing stories, letting it share the book with Steve Ditko's co-plotted Doctor Strange serial. Kirby pencilled the 12-page Nick Fury lead — inked by Dick Ayers and lettered by Artie Simek — and is credited with co-plotting, which accounts for the almost overwhelming density of hardware introductions crammed into a single debut chapter. The issue went on sale May 4, 1965 with an August 1965 cover date, and the feature would remain in Strange Tales through issue #168 before spinning off into its own series.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division), created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; the acronym has been revised twice in subsequent decades.
- First appearance of HYDRA and its then-unnamed leader (listed in sources as 'The Master' / Arnold Brown / Imperial Hydra), introduced as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s primary terrorist antagonist.
- First appearance of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, the Life Model Decoy (LMD) concept, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s flying car — all Kirby hardware concepts that became permanent fixtures of Marvel lore.
- First appearance of Laura Brown (listed in this issue under the HYDRA codename Agent H); her codename was later changed to Agent G beginning in Strange Tales #137.
- Nick Fury's now-signature eyepatch makes its first appearance in this issue; he had not worn one in either the Sgt. Fury WWII series or his prior guest appearance in Fantastic Four #21 (December 1963).
- The issue is a split book: the 12-page Nick Fury lead ('The Man for the Job!') is written by Stan Lee, pencilled by Kirby, and inked by Dick Ayers; the 10-page Doctor Strange backup ('Eternity Beckons!') is plotted by Steve Ditko and scripted by Stan Lee, with Ditko pencilling and inking — featuring Doctor Strange, Baron Mordo, Dormammu, an unnamed Clea, and the debut of Sir Anthony Baskerville.
- This issue marks the first issue of Strange Tales to feature a Nick Fury story, replacing the Human Torch feature; both Nick Fury and Doctor Strange continued to share the title until Strange Tales #168, when each character graduated to their own series.
- The Nick Fury lead story has been reprinted multiple times, including in Sgt. Fury Annual #2 (1966), Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #16 (1970), the Son of Origins of Marvel Comics collection (1975), Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Vol. 1 (2007), and the Marvel: May 1965 Omnibus (2025); the Doctor Strange backup was reprinted in Strange Tales vol. 2 #185 (1976) and collected in Essential Doctor Strange Vol. 1 and Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Vol. 2.
Cast · 13 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Nick Fury reports to the Pentagon, encountering Life Model Decoys: replicas of himself. He is driven in a gadget-filled car that converts to flying mode. Fury learns about SHIELD, an international organization whose job is to stop HYDRA, fanatics bent on world domination. Fury meets Tony Stark, in charge of SHIELD's weaponry, who tells Fury he was chosen to lead SHIELD. Fury acts quickly when he finds a hidden bomb, throwing it out a window moments before it explodes. Fury learns he is aboard the Heli-Carrier, SHIELD's mobile headquarters. Realizing the impending danger Fury accepts the job.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).