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S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

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For the Amalgam Comics version of S.H.I.E.L.D., see S.H.I.E.L.D. (Amalgam Comics).
S.H.I.E.L.D.
MarvelShield.jpg
Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. logo (back cover of Secret War Trade Paperback)
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Strange Tales #135 (Aug. 1965)
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
In-story information
Type of organization Intelligence agency
Base(s) The Helicarrier
Roster
See:List of S.H.I.E.L.D. members

S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 (Aug. 1965), it often deals with superhuman threats.

The acronym originally stood for Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division. It was changed in 1991 to Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate.

Within the various films set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the acronym stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.[1]

Contents

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[edit] Publication history

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s introduction in the originally launched Strange Tales feature "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." occurred during a trend for action series about secret international intelligence agencies with catchy acronyms, such as television's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and James Bond's SPECTRE.[citation needed] Colonel Fury (initially the lead character of Marvel Comics' World War II series Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos) was reimagined as a slightly older character with an eyepatch (which he lacked in his wartime adventures) and appointed head of the organization. Some characters from the Sgt. Fury series reappeared as agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., most notably Timothy "Dum-Dum" Dugan, Fury's bowler hat-wearing aide-de-camp.[2]

Its most persistent enemy is HYDRA, a criminal organization founded (after some retcon) by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. Despite that name's capitalization per Marvel's official spelling, HYDRA is not an acronym but a reference to the mythical monster, symbolizing the organization's claim of growing stronger the more it is wounded.

Strange Tales #135 (Aug. 1965), the debut of S.H.I.E.L.D. Cover art by Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was presented as an extant, full-blown entity in its first appearance and much was revealed over the years to fill in its labyrinthine organizational history. Stan Lee wrote each story, abetted by artist Kirby's co-plotting or full plotting, through Strange Tales #152 (Jan. 1967), except for two issues, one scripted by Kirby himself (#148) and one by Dennis O'Neil (#149). Following an issue scripted by Roy Thomas (#153), and one co-written by Thomas and new series artist Jim Steranko, came the sole-writer debut of soon-to-become industry legend Steranko—who had begun on the feature as a penciller-inker of Kirby layouts in #151 (Dec. 1966), taken over the every-other-issue "Nick Fury" cover art with #153 two months later, and full writing with #155 (April 1967).

Steranko quickly established the feature as one of comics history's most groundbreaking, innovative and acclaimed.[3] The 12-page feature ran through Strange Tales #168 (sharing that "split book" with the occult feature "Doctor Strange" each issue), after which it was spun off onto its own series of the same title, running 15 issues (June 1968–Nov. 1969), followed by three all-reprint issues beginning a year later (Nov. 1970–March 1971). Steranko wrote and drew issues #1–3 and #5, and drew the covers of #1–7.

New S.H.I.E.L.D. stories would not appear for nearly two decades after the first solo title. A six-issue miniseries, Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. (June–Nov. 1988) was followed by Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (vol. 2). This second series lasted 47 issues (Sept. 1989–May 1993); its pivotal story arc was "the Deltite Affair", in which many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were replaced with Life Model Decoy androids in a takeover attempt.

A year after that series ended, the one-shot Fury (May 1994) retconned the events of those previous two series, recasting them as a series of staged events designed to distract Fury from the resurrection plans of HYDRA head von Strucker. The following year, writer Howard Chaykin and penciler Corky Lehmkuhl produced the four-issue miniseries Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. (April–July 1995). Various publications have additionally focused on Nick Fury's solo adventures, such as the graphic novels and one-shots Wolverine—Nick Fury: The Scorpio Connection (1989), Wolverine/Nick Fury: Scorpio Rising (Oct. 1994), Fury/Black Widow: Death Duty and Captain America/Nick Fury: Blood Truce (both Feb. 1995), and Captain America/Nick Fury: The Otherworld War (Oct. 2001).

[edit] Fictional history

S.H.I.E.L.D. was created by Nicholas Joseph Fury after the end of World War II, but Fury abandoned the idea and left the draft that he created for the agency locked away, feeling the U.S. government wouldn't approve the formation of such an agency. At some unspecified point around this time, however, a United Nations-based international group dusted off the idea without Fury's knowledge.[citation needed] His recruitment to the post of executive director (the agency's second) marked his first knowledge of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s existence.

A rare quiet moment for Nick Fury: Strange Tales #168 (May 1968). Art by Jim Steranko and Joe Sinnott.

Usually led by Nick Fury as executive director (although he reports to a twelve-member council, whose identities even he does not know), this organization often operates as much as a covert agency as a quasi-military one, initially depicted as affiliated with the United States government. Later, S.H.I.E.L.D. was depicted as under the jurisdiction of the United Nations, with vast technological resources at its disposal, with U.N. General Assembly Resolutions and legislation passed in signatory nations aiding many of their operations.[4][5] However, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been inconsistently portrayed as under U.S., rather than U.N., control, possibly by writers unaware of the agency's fictional history. For instance, in Astonishing X-Men #3, Nick Fury explains S.H.I.E.L.D.'s inaction during an incident of genocide by stating that it did not occur on American soil.[6]

During the time that Godzilla roamed the United States, S.H.I.E.L.D. formed a subunit, the "Godzilla Squad" to hunt the creature down, until it disappeared into the Atlantic sea. This unit, led by Dum Dum Dugan, employed such weapons as a giant robot called Red Ronin and a smaller version of the Helicarrier, known as The Behemoth.

One of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s unique technological innovations, the LMD (Life Model Decoy) — an extremely lifelike android used to replace people in imminent danger of being killed — was the basis for two major upheavals. First, the supervillain Scorpio stole the technology and used it to create the second team of villains called the Zodiac. Later, some LMDs known as the Deltites achieved sentience and infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., replacing key members, until Fury defeated them. This led to the disbanding of the original organization and its replacement by a new taskforce with the same acronym.

In the wake of a disastrous unauthorized mission in Latveria, in the Secret War mini-series, Fury effectively resigned as executive director, with international warrants out for his arrest. His first successor was not one of his closer associates but a relatively unknown newcomer to the S.H.I.E.L.D. hierarchy, Maria Hill. A transcript of a conversation between Hill and the President of the United States[7] revealed she was chosen for the post by United Nations consensus to keep Fury loyalists out of the job and to keep relations with the superhero community to a minimum. The President also expected Hill — an American — to be loyal first to U.S., despite S.H.I.E.L.D. being a U.N.-chartered organization.

Agents Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and Dum Dum Dugan, Strange Tales #168 (May 1968). Art by Steranko and Sinnott.

The passage of the United States' Superhuman Registration Act and the subsequent superhero "Civil War" created an additional political and ethical irritant between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the superhuman community, with S.H.I.E.L.D. tasked to lead enforcement and to take on registered superheroes as operatives.[8]

Toward the end of the conflict, Hill concluded she had been made director with the intent that she fail at the job, and she proposes to Tony Stark that he assume the post himself, with her as deputy. Stark accepts the appointment as director upon the conclusion of the superhuman Civil War, and undertakes a series of initiatives, including the construction of a new gold-and-red Helicarrier in the motif of his Iron Man armor designs, the introduction of a daycare center in the Helicarrier, and an employee suggestion-box. While accused of treating S.H.I.E.L.D. as a Stark Industries subsidiary, he succeeded in streamlining the organization and raising morale.[9] S.H.I.E.L.D. fought a wave of global superhuman terrorism and was manipulated into two international incidents that almost saw Director Stark arrested, until they revealed the Mandarin to be behind it and stopped him from committing genocide with an Extremis pathogen.

At the start of the Secret Invasion by the extraterrestrial shape-shifting race the Skrulls, the Helicarrier is disabled by a Skrull virus and left floating and disabled in the Bermuda Triangle.[10] The Skrulls by this point have already replaced a large number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, including the high-ranking Timothy "Dum-Dum" Dugan.[11] After the invasion is repelled, the President of the United States decides to dissolve S.H.I.E.L.D.,[12] and has it, the Fifty State Initiative, and the Avengers replaced by the Thunderbolts Initiative, which is placed under the supervision of Norman Osborn.[13]

Osborn uses the opportunity to transform S.H.I.E.L.D. into a new organization called "H.A.M.M.E.R.", formed by loyal agents of the Thunderbolts Initiative as well as former agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as HYDRA.[14] The Thunderbolts are officially disbanded in the process as well. He then turns the Thunderbolts into a black-ops force that answers only to him. Meanwhile, H.A.M.M.E.R. also operates alongside the newest, and only, government-sponsored Avengers team, the Dark Avengers.[15]

After the Invasion, Nick Fury discovers that S.H.I.E.L.D. itself had been under the control of the terrorist organization HYDRA ostensibly from its very beginning.[12]

[edit] Organizational structure and procedure

Over the decades, various writers have depicted S.H.I.E.L.D.'s organizational structure in several different ways. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (first edition) describes an eight-level ranking structure (technician, administrator, field agent, regional officer, special officer, regional director, special director, executive director), although providing almost no detail on other aspects of the Directorate's internal makeup. Years later, the miniseries Agents of Atlas mentioned a position of "sub director," and seemed to indicate that the administrative department of S.H.I.E.L.D. it itself referred to simply as "Directorate."

Most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents are normal humans. Years ago the organization attempted to set up a team of superhuman agents, composed of Marvel Man (the future Quasar), Texas Twister, Blue Streak and the Vamp but the latter two were secretly agents of the criminal organization called The Corporation, and the team broke apart before it had its first official mission. A second team organized years later also lasted only a short while.

S.H.I.E.L.D. does employ some superhumans, including in its Psi-Division, composed of telepathic agents who deal with like menaces. S.H.I.E.L.D. also obtains help from independent heroes when their special abilities are needed. It has also accepted some superheroes and supervillains as members, but no longer in a separate unit. (See "Membership")

Its headquarters is the Helicarrier, a massive flying aircraft carrier kept airborne at all times and, among other things, containing a squadron of jet fighters and housing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). In addition, S.H.I.E.L.D. maintains strong ties to the superhero community, especially Captain America, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four, and often calls upon that community for aid on particular missions.

In the 2000s, depictions of S.H.I.E.L.D. imply a hierarchy of security clearance levels used either in place of, or alongside, the previously described rank structure. The security-clearance hierarchy operates on a scale ranging from "Level One", the lowest, to "Level Ten", described by Maria Hill, executive director at the time, as the highest security clearance anyone of any government can have. Hill's own clearance, cited in the New Avengers ongoing series, was Level Nine.

The first story arc in the series New Avengers (2005-  ), "Breakout", revealed an additional ranking, "Champion Status", that effectively removes them from the traditional S.H.I.E.L.D. hierarchy and, as Captain America comments, gives status-holders such as himself the right to assemble any team to carry out any mission he believes necessary. In addition Nick Fury is the only "33rd-degree" S.H.I.E.L.D officer, meaning he is the only member of S.H.I.E.L.D, present or past, to know the full existence of 28 emergency, covert, back-up bases scattered across the globe.

[edit] Equipment

S.H.I.E.L.D. has used a wide variety of advanced vehicles, weapons and other equipment.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier is the agency's signature capital ship and headquarters.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. Flying Car is the standard issue S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. regulation issue sidearm was originally a .30-caliber rapid-fire machine pistol, later replaced by an advanced plasma-beam pistol. Nick Fury often carried his personal sidearm, the NF3000, a .15 caliber handgun, a weapon that fired explosive flechettes.

[edit] Prominent members

2001 trade-paperback collection, with repurposed cover art from Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #4 (March 1968) by Jim Steranko.
Main article: List of S.H.I.E.L.D. members

Throughout its existence, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been most prominently led by Nick Fury, with Maria Hill succeeding him in mid-2000s stories. She voluntarily stepped down in a 2007 story, becoming deputy director to Tony Stark. Other historically prominent members, who have appeared from the earliest stories to the modern day, include Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan and Gabriel "Gabe" Jones, both veterans of Fury's World War II Howling Commandos, though their youthful longevity has not, unlike Fury's, been explained in Marvel continuity; Contessa Valentina Allegra di Fontaine;[16] Clay Quartermain (Agent 9); Jacob Strzeszewski (Agent 10); Jasper Sitwell (Agent 12); and Sharon Carter (Agent 13), all introduced in the 1960s; and Jimmy Woo, introduced in the 1950s comic Yellow Claw and reintroduced in the ' 60s.

Prior to the events of the Civil War, Captain America estimated there to be 3,000 agents on active duty.[17]

[edit] Bases of operation

Although the various Helicarriers built over the years have long been considered S.H.I.E.L.D.'s primary mobile home base, the Directorate also maintains a number of land bases throughout the world, most notably "S.H.I.E.L.D. Central" in New York City. While some of these bases are publicly accessible on a limited basis, most are not publicly disclosed for reasons of planetary security. There are several fully equipped S.H.I.E.L.D. fall-out shelters scattered around the world, with twenty-eight of these being known only to Nick Fury. During the events of Civil War, Nick Fury was hiding in an American based shelter. He also divulged the location of one to Captain America, so the Resistance to the Superhuman Registration Act could use it as a safe house.

[edit] Related organizations

[edit] A.R.M.O.R.

A.R.M.O.R. (Altered-Reality Monitoring and Operational Response) is a sister agency to S.H.I.E.L.D. that monitors alternate reality incursions into Earth-616. It was introduced in the Marvel Zombies 3 limited series, written by Fred Van Lente. Van Lente stated that A.R.M.O.R. "has existed with them this whole time, but it's been so incredibly secret that no one at Marvel knew about it".[18] In the comics it is stated that A.R.M.O.R. is so secret that it 'makes S.W.O.R.D. look like S.H.I.E.L.D., and S.H.I.E.L.D. look like the Post Office'.[volume & issue needed] During Dark Reign, A.R.M.O.R. operates under the oversight of H.A.M.M.E.R. but Osborn wanted to fully absorb A.R.M.O.R. into H.A.M.M.E.R. They were able to keep out of Osborn's clutches when their newest agent, Lyra downloaded incriminating evidence against him.[19]

[edit] H.A.M.M.E.R.

Main article: H.A.M.M.E.R.

H.A.M.M.E.R. replaces S.H.I.E.L.D. after it is dissolved when Norman Osborn is appointed the new head following the conclusion of the Skrull attack.[15] It was not established what H.A.M.M.E.R. stands for; in Dark Avengers #1, Osborn told Victoria Hand, the new Deputy Director, that it does stand for something, and when she asked what it stands for, he told her to "get on that for him".[15] Former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and members of HYDRA are hired as agents. H.A.M.M.E.R. promotes Osborn's personal team of Avengers, a group composed mostly of former Thunderbolts members and former members of the Mighty Avengers. Osborn also eliminates all of Tony Stark's influence on S.H.I.E.L.D., including the Cape-Killer Armor and the Red and Gold Helicarrier. He also replaces all agents loyal to Nick Fury, Captain America, or Iron Man with agents loyal to himself. Also, in the Captain America: Reborn Prelude, when Sin, who is captured by H.A.M.M.E.R, asks what it stands for, the agent present says that it's classified and she does not have a security clearance.[20]

[edit] S.T.R.I.K.E.

Main article: S.T.R.I.K.E.

S.T.R.I.K.E. (Special Tactical Response for International Key Emergencies) was a British agency, unrelated to but run along similar lines to S.H.I.E.L.D.. Disbanded after being infiltrated and taken over by a criminal organization, one of its members was the future X-Man Psylocke. It was introduced in Marvel UK's Captain Britain #17 (Feb. 2, 1977).

A European subdivision of S.H.I.E.L.D., called Euromind, was introduced in the Marvel Italia series Europa.

[edit] S.W.O.R.D.

Main article: S.W.O.R.D. (comics)

S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department), works with S.H.I.E.L.D. but specializes in extraterrestrial threats. It is first introduced in Astonishing X-Men (vol. 3) #6 (Dec. 2004), written by Joss Whedon. Dialogue in the stories depicting both organizations has been ambiguous on whether S.W.O.R.D. is a branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. or a sister agency.

Agent Abigail Brand, the S.W.O.R.D. agent the X-Men encountered, has green hair, a trait typical of agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s archenemy, HYDRA. This unusual characteristic did not go unremarked; Wolverine referred to her as "Hydra-Hair" in Astonishing X-Men (vol. 3) #6.

A similar group as S.W.O.R.D., likewise affiliated with the U.N., is Starcore, which has worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. on several projects of joint interest, including establishing and maintaining a crewed facility on Earth's Moon.

[edit] Titles

S.H.I.E.L.D.
SHIELD 1.jpg
S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 (June 2010)
Cover art by Gerald Parel.
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
Schedule Monthly
Format Ongoing series
Genre Spy, superhero
Publication date April 2010 – present
Main character(s) S.H.I.E.L.D.
Leonardo Da Vinci
Creative team
Writer(s) Jonathan Hickman
Artist(s) Dustin Weaver
Letterer(s) Todd Klein
Colorist(s) Christina Strain
Editor(s) Daniel Ketchum
Irene Lee
Nick Lowe

[edit] S.H.I.E.L.D. (2010)

S.H.I.E.L.D. is 2010 comic book ongoing series published by Marvel Comics, premiering with a first issue cover dated June 2010. It details the secret history of the occult organization the Shield. The series is written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by Dustin Weaver.[21][22][23]

[edit] Plot

The series details the secret history of an occult organization called the Brotherhood of the Shield, with a history extending back to ancient Egypt.

The main story of the first issue is set in 1953, when Shield agents Nathaniel Richards and Howard Stark enlist a young man named Leonid with unspecified superpowers into the organization, taking him to Shield's High Council in the Immortal City under Rome. The High Council reveal that they know "the final fate of Man", and their mission is to ensure nothing threatens the world before this occurs. They have chosen Leonid because he has a destiny.

Flashbacks reveal that the Shield was founded by Imhotep following a battle (alongside Apocalypse and the original Moon Knight) against the Brood, and that previous agents include Zhang Heng (who encountered a Celestial), Galileo Galilei (who fought against Galactus) and Leonardo Da Vinci (who is shown with a mysterious device, flying off in an ornithopter).

Leonid spends three years working with the Shield before being visited by his father, a superhuman named the Night Machine who has encountered the Shield before, and apparently been killed by them. The Night Machine gives Leonid the key to a secret area of the headquarters, saying his destiny cannot be dictated by others. The issue ends with Leonid meeting Da Vinci, who has apparently travelled through time to use his device to save the world.

[edit] Other versions

[edit] Mutant X

S.H.I.E.L.D. was mentioned briefly in the Mutant X alternate universe series as an anti-mutant group. S.H.I.E.L.D. stood for Saviours of Humanity by Intervention in the Evolution of Life-form Deviants.[24]

[edit] S.A.F.E.

Introduced in Marvel's line of novels in the mid 1990s, S.A.F.E. (Strategic Action For Emergencies) is the United States' answer to S.H.I.E.L.D. It first appeared in Spider-Man & the Incredible Hulk: Rampage (Doom's Day Book 1), and may not be part of comics canon, although the novels it appears in have been referred to several times in Marvel's Handbooks. Whereas S.H.I.E.L.D. is a U.N.-chartered organization dealing with international incidents, S.A.F.E. is tasked with similar duties inside America's borders. It is run by Colonel Sean Morgan. A prominently featured agent is Joshua Ballard, who, among other things, survived an encounter with Doctor Doom and later Baron Zemo.

In the novel Secret of the Sinister Six, S.A.F.E. agent Clyde Fury (no relation to Nick Fury) distinguishes between espionage agencies (such as S.H.I.E.L.D.) and strategic action specialists such as S.A.F.E.

[edit] H.A.T.E.

Main article: H.A.T.E.

H.A.T.E. stands for the Highest Anti Terrorism Effort. It is a parody of S.H.I.E.L.D. created for Marvel Comics' 12-issue series Nextwave by comics author Warren Ellis. The leader of H.A.T.E., General Dirk Anger is a parody of Nick Fury. This series depicts H.A.T.E. and Dirk Anger in the trademark Warren Ellis style[citation needed] as being a secretive organization with suspect motives led by the madman, Anger, who has self control and sexual issues.

[edit] House of M

In an alternate reality where mutants rule over the regular humans, S.H.I.E.L.D. was filled with mutants, all serving the House of Magnus on Genosha. Sebastian Shaw is the Executive Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Wolverine is in charge of the House of Magnus Red Guard (Agents Rogue, Jessica Drew, Kurt Wagner, Mortimer Toynbee, and Raven Darkholme) and the Marauders are S.H.I.E.L.D.'s black ops unit.[volume & issue needed]

[edit] Ultimate S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Ultimate Marvel parallel universe was first led by General "Thunderbolt" Ross. During the Gulf War, the Weapon X Project, headed by Colonel John Wraith, was sanctioned by S.H.I.E.L.D. and resulted in the creation of Wolverine.

After Ross' apparent death, Nick Fury was then selected as the organization's executive director. His first actions were to shut down Weapon X and resurrect the Super Soldier program, commissioning Dr. Bruce Banner to try to recreate the formula that made Captain America. This failed and resulted in the creation of the Hulk when Banner injected his serum into himself. It was later revealed that the chemical called Oz, which turned Norman Osborn into the Green Goblin, was also created in hopes of recreating the Super Soldier formula. Spider-Man was also a product of the Oz formula. As well, the creation of the Sandman and Electro are due to Hammer Industries attempting to recreate the Super Soldier formula for S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. created its own superhero team, the Ultimates. Later still, it brought the X-Men and Spider-Man under S.H.I.E.L.D. jurisdiction. In Ultimate X-Men #65 (Jan. 2006), S.H.I.E.L.D. severed ties with the X-Men. After the events of Ultimate Power, S.H.I.E.L.D. is under the directorship of Carol Danvers, as Nick Fury was temporarily stranded in the Supreme Power Universe. After Ultimatum, Nick Fury becomes head of the Black-Ops division in Ultimate Comics: Avengers. It is also revealed he is plotting to take back his position as director.[volume & issue needed]

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, S.H.I.E.L.D. is controlled entirely by the United States. It maintains ties to a sister organization in Europe, the European Defense Initiative as well as the British operated S.T.R.I.K.E.

[edit] Members

Main article: List of S.H.I.E.L.D. members#Ultimate S.H.I.E.L.D.

[edit] Divisions

  • S.T.R.I.K.E., the British extension of S.H.I.E.L.D.
  • Psi
  • Black-Ops
  • Eye

[edit] In other media

[edit] Television

[edit] Films

  • In 1998 there was a Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV movie starring David Hasselhoff.
  • S.H.I.E.L.D. appeared in the animated movies Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther, which are based on the comic book The Ultimates in the Ultimate Marvel Universe.
  • In the 2008 Iron Man film, the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division is introduced as a U.S. government agency. Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) repeatedly attempts to debrief Tony Stark about Stark's escape from Afghanistan. Later on, Pepper Potts informs Agent Coulson of Obadiah Stane's armor. As a running gag, when Coulson attempts to speak with either Potts or Stark, he always says the agency's full name, only for them to comment on how the organization needed a shorter name. At the end, when Pepper goes to say the full name, Coulson interrupts her, saying they should be just called "S.H.I.E.L.D." After the credits, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) appears, informing Stark of the Avenger Initiative.
  • In the 2008 The Incredible Hulk film, S.H.I.E.L.D. again appears. During the opening credits, Nick Fury's name appears briefly on a government document, and General Thunderbolt Ross uses S.H.I.E.L.D. to help him track Bruce Banner's e-mails to Dr. Samuel Sterns aka "Mr. Blue".
  • Iron Man 2 (2010) featured S.H.I.E.L.D agents Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Director General Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Stark pans the agency as running a 'superhero boy band'.
  • In the 2011 film, Thor, S.H.I.E.L.D. appears to investigate the discovery of the titular character's hammer on Earth. The trailer for Thor shows Coulson interrogating Thor when the depowered Asgardian attacks a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility that has been erected around Thor's recently-discovered hammer, commenting that Thor has effortlessly defeated some of his best men and asking where Thor received his training.[25] Agents who appear in this film include Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), Jasper Sitwell (Maximiliano Hernández), Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Agent Cale (Patrick O'Brien Demsey) and Agent Garrett (Dale Godboldo).

[edit] Video games

  • S.H.I.E.L.D. is featured in the cross-platform video game X-Men: Next Dimension. On the barbed wire outside the facility from which the Prime Sentinels recover the head of Bastion there is a sign which reads "NO TRESPASSING BY ORDER OF S.H.I.E.L.D."
  • S.H.I.E.L.D. appeared in the 2005 video game The Punisher.[citation needed]
  • S.H.I.E.L.D. is featured in the cross-platform release Ultimate Spider-Man. Nick Fury and other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were using Spider-Man as bait to apprehend Venom and track down the Green Goblin.[citation needed]
  • S.H.I.E.L.D. has a prominent role in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, the game beginning with an attack on the Helicarrier and the characters investigating the possible defection of the Black Widow as the story progresses, along with discovering such controversial S.H.I.E.L.D. schemes as an attempt to create a new Super Soldier Serum and plans to reprogram and upgrade Ultron to work for them. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a team bonus if you have Captain America, Nick Fury, Spider-Woman, and Wolverine on your team.[citation needed] One of the agents has special dialogue with Deadpool.
  • S.H.I.E.L.D. is featured in the video game Spider-Man: Friend or Foe. In the opening cutscene Nick Fury uses the hover carrier to rescue Spider-Man from the P.H.A.N.T.O.M.'s (Perpetual Holographic Avatar Nanotech Offensive Monsters). Spider-Man humorously pointed out that their secret base of operations is a giant flying hover carrier. The hovercarrier serves as the hub where the player can swap out side kicks, upgrade them, and go to the five crash sites. An original character for the game is a computer which briefed Spider-Man, often insulted Nick Fury, and made bad jokes about the super villains. At the end of the game in which Fury sent Spider-Man home and revealed he knows of his secret identity (apparently they followed him on spy satellites) after which Fury decided to study the Shards for military purposes and dubbed the project Project Carnage.
  • S.H.I.E.L.D. is featured in the video game Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. S.H.I.E.L.D. forces under the command of the Black Widow quarantine Manhattan to keep the Symbiote invasion from expanding. In the PS2 and PSP versions, S.H.I.E.L.D. had attempted to find a way to use Venom as a weapon.[citation needed]
  • S.H.I.E.L.D. has a prominent role in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2. Like in the comics Maria Hill is put in charge after Nick Fury is forced to go into hiding, and are put in charge of registrating superheores and aiding the pro-registration side. Some agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. quit after Captain America declares his opposition to the Act to work with him, the group calling themselves the 'White Star' in Captain America's honor When the nanite invasion starts S.H.I.E.L.D. is left powereless to do anything since most of its agents are infected. S.H.I.E.L.D. reorganizes once the nanites are defeated.
  • S.H.I.E.L.D. has a prominent role in Iron Man 2. During the entire game they aid Iron Man and War Machine in their mission to stop Roxxon, A.I.M., Kearson DeWitt and finally Ultimo. However they also have a mission of their own assigned to them by Russia government this one being to stop General Shatalov.
  • S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier is a stage in the fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.
  • Ultimate S.H.I.E.L.D. is featured as enemies in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Here they have retrieved both a fragment of the Tablet of Chaos and Order and Carnage and brought them to the Triskelion. Chaos erupts when S.H.I.E.L.D. foolishly puts both Carnage and the fragment together to study the resulting combination. Carnage quickly kills off all the facilities guards and infuses them with symbiote material transforming them first into zombies and later into Carnage like creatures. It appears that Ultimate Nick Fury was mentioned before the attacks. During Spider-Man's fight with Carnage, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Wellings sends some special Slayer Robots that would recognize Spider-Man as an ally in the fight against Carnage.

[edit] Parodies/Homages

  • The Simpsons parodied S.H.I.E.L.D. with Krusty, Agent of K.L.O.W.N. in Simpsons Comics #3 (March 1994).
  • The Tick animated series featured a character named "Jim Rage, Agent of S.H.A.V.E." in an episode about a homicidal mustache. Similarly, the Tick comic series, Karma Tornado features a gruff government official named Nick Fitt who wears a nicotine patch over his eye and several more all over his body while smoking two to five cigarettes at once.[citation needed]
  • The Darkwing Duck animated series parodied S.H.I.E.L.D. with S.H.U.S.H.[citation needed]
  • The Kim Possible animated series features a S.H.I.E.L.D.-like organization, Global Justice (GJ), whose agents wear clothing similar to that of S.H.I.E.L.D., fly around in aircraft similar to S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjets and are headed by Dr. Betty Director, who has an eye patch similar to that of Nick Fury's. In the OVA Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time, a diagram of a future Kim Possible shows her as being head of Global Justice, with the same type of eye patch as that of Dr. Director.[citation needed]
  • In the Adult Swim animated series, The Venture Bros., Brock Samson works for a government organization known as "Office of Secret Intelligence" or "O.S.I.", with Colonel Hunter Gathers and General Timothy Treister as his superiors. One of his colleagues was Johnny Quest character Race Bannon. While Brock's work as the Venture family bodyguard is generally plainclothes, he and other operatives can be seen in flashbacks in an O.S.I. uniform that is based directly on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s black bodysuit with white boots, gloves, and shoulder-holsters. Brock and Hunter have commented that O.S.I. has had discipline problems since the organization loosened the dress code, referring to other operatives, who themselves were parodies of G.I. Joe characters.[citation needed]
  • In Jim Valentino's series, normalman, a Nick Fury parody known as Sergeant Fluffy belongs to an agency known as S.C.H.M.U.C.K. (stands for nothing in particular).[citation needed]
  • In Wildstorm Comics' Planetary Warren Ellis introduced S.T.O.R.M., an homage to S.H.I.E.L.D. that also served as a 1960s predecessor to Stormwatch.[citation needed]
  • In Marvel's own Star Comics title Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, the character Nick Furry, Agent of S.H.E.E.P. can be seen.

[edit] Depictions in translation

 This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009)

S.H.I.E.L.D. stories have been translated into several other languages, including French, Finnish and Italian. Occasionally, these translations will show S.H.I.E.L.D. with an altered name.

In the case of selected French editions, the name of the agency was depicted as S.E.R.V.O., which sounds like "brain" (cerveau) in French.

In Finnish the name that applies to S.H.I.E.L.D. in mainstream Marvel continuity is Y.P.K.V.V. (Ylimmäisen Päämajan Kansainvälisen Vakoilun Vastustamisjaos), a direct translation of the original English. In translations of the Ultimate Marvel comics, the name is K.I.L.P.I., with "kilpi" being the translation for the word (as opposed to the acronym) "shield".

In Greek, the organization name is Α.Σ.Π.Ι.Δ.Α. (pronounced ASPIDA, meaning "shield" in Greek). The initials stand for Supreme Military and Political Foundation of International Counter-espionage (Ανώτατο Στρατιωτικό Πολιτικό Ίδρυμα Διεθνούς Αντικατασκοπέιας)

In Portuguese, the name S.H.I.E.L.D. remains, but it is translated as "Superintendência Humana de Intervenção, Espionagem, Logística e Dissuasão", i. e., Human Superintendence for Intervention, Espionage, Logistics and Dissuasion.

In Dutch the name S.C.H.I.L.D. (schild = shield) has been used by the publisher Williams, but was dropped by Junior Press in favor of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In Mexico, it was translated by La Prensa and later Novedades, as C.I.D.E.L., Centro Internacional De Espionaje Legal (International Center Of Legal Espionage), but later Novedades changed the acronym to C.S.E.I., Cuartel Supremo de Espionaje e Inteligencia (Supreme Headquarters of Espionage and Inteligence)

In Spain, initial publisher Vértice translated S.H.I.E.L.D. as "Escudo" (always without a determinant), but never showed the meaning. Later publisher Planeta DeAgostini used the name S.H.I.E.L.D., but translating the acronym as "Organización Internacional para la Ejecución y el Cumplimiento de la Ley" (international organisation for implementation and fulfillment of law). It has been suggested[citation needed], as a joke, that the acronym does not correspond to the meaning because the acronym itself is undercover. Now, Panini translates the acronym as "Servicio Homologado de Inteligencia, Espionaje, Logística y Defensa" (Accredited Service of Intelligence, Espionage, Logistics, and Defense) to keep the original acronym.

In Danish, S.H.I.E.L.D. was originally known as S.K.J.O.L.D., "Skjold" being the Danish word for a shield, though the meaning of the abbreviation would differ.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Iron Man movie end credits.
  2. ^ Cronin, Brian (April 15, 2010). "A Year of Cool Comics – Day 105". Comic Book Resources CSBG Archive. http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/04/15/a-year-of-cool-comics-day-105/. Retrieved September 29, 2010. 
  3. ^ Ron Goulart, in Comix: A History of Comic Books in America (Bonanza Books, New York, 1971; Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 75-169-104), wrote, "[E]ven the dullest of readers could sense that something new was happening. … Which each passing issue Steranko's efforts became more and more innovative. Entire pages would be devoted to photocollages of drawings [that] ignored panel boundaries and instead worked together on planes of depth. The first pages … became incredible production numbers similar in design to the San Francisco rock concert poster of the period". Larry Hama in his introduction to the trade paperback collection Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Who Is Scorpio? (Marvel Enterprises, 2001; ISBN 0-7851-0766-5), said Steranko "combined the figurative dynamism of Jack Kirby with modern design concepts. The graphic influences of Peter Max, Op Art and Andy Warhol were embedded into the design of the pages—and the pages were designed as a whole, not just as a series of panels. All this, executed in a crisp, hard-edged style, seething with drama and anatomical tension". The series won 1967 and 1968 Alley Awards, and was inducted in the latter year to the awards' Hall of Fame. Steranko himself was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2006.
  4. ^ Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #7 (June 2005)
  5. ^ Sanderson, Peter (2007). The Marvel Comics Guide to New York City. New York City: Pocket Books. pp. 62–63. ISBN 1-14653-141-6. 
  6. ^ Astonishing X-Men (vol. 3) #3 (September 2004)
  7. ^ Secret War #5 (Dec. 2005)
  8. ^ Civil War #1-7 (July 2006 - Jan. 2007), and related series
  9. ^ Iron Man (vol. 4) #15 (April 2007)
  10. ^ Secret Invasion #1 (June 2008)
  11. ^ Secret Invasion Prologue
  12. ^ a b Secret Warriors #1
  13. ^ Secret Invasion #8 (December 2008)
  14. ^ Dark Avengers #2
  15. ^ a b c Dark Avengers #1
  16. ^ As spelled officially by Marvel Comics on its S.H.I.E.L.D. page, although misspelled with a male name and spelled with different Italian article as "Valentina Allegro de Fontaine" in her name's first two mentions, in Strange Tales #159, "Spy School", 10, panel 6, and Strange Tales #162, "So Evil, the Night p.3, panel 6.
  17. ^ New Avengers #21
  18. ^ WW PHILLY: FRED VAN LENTE ON MARVEL ZOMBIES 3 by Vaneta Rogers. Newsarama.com.
  19. ^ All New Savage She-Hulk #1-4
  20. ^ "Captain America: Reborn Prelude Online Preview". Marvel.com. 2009-06-30. http://www.marvel.com/digitalcomics/view.htm?iid=12669&title=. Retrieved 2011-01-12. 
  21. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (February 23, 2010). "The Secret Masters of the Marvel Universe". IGN. http://comics.ign.com/articles/107/1071528p1.html. Retrieved April 8, 2010. 
  22. ^ Mahadeo, Kevin (April 6, 2010). "Tuesday Q&A: Jonathan Hickman". Marvel.com. http://marvel.com/news/comicstories.11912.tuesday_q%26a~colon~_jonathan_hickman. Retrieved April 8, 2010. 
  23. ^ Arrant, Chris (April 7, 2010). "Writer Hickman Reveals the History of Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D.". Newsarama. http://www.newsarama.com/comics/SHIELD-Hickman-interview-100406.html. Retrieved April 8, 2010. 
  24. ^ Mutant X (vol. 1) #1
  25. ^ "Thor - Trailer (OFFICIAL)". YouTube. 2010-12-09. . Retrieved 2011-01-12. 

[edit] External links

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