When & Where Was Nick Fury Born?
The legendary actor Samuel L. Jackson has been playing the role of Nicholas Joseph “Nick” Fury since 2008 when he appeared in the post-credit scene of the original Iron Man movie to talk with Tony Stark about the Avengers Initiative. Through the years, we have witnessed how Nick Fury was responsible for the founding of the Avengers. He was also a Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. And in 2019, we discovered more about Nick Fury’s past through the Captain Marvel movie, which was set in the ’90s. So when we talk about Nick Fury’s past, let’s see when and where he was born.
Nicholas Joseph “Nick” Fury was born on July 4, 1950, in the city of Huntsville, Alabama. So, in 2018, when Avengers: Infinity War took place, Fury was 68 years old. Since he was one of the victims of Thanos’ snap, when he returned in 2023, he remained 68 years old. Since his childhood, Fury always insisted on being addressed by his last name, even by the members of his own family. Samuel L. Jackson is currently the longest-running MCU actor since he debuted in the first MCU movie and is still an active member of the cast. He’s set to return this year in the Secret Invasion series on Disney+ and in The Marvels movie in November.
Although a supporting character, Nick Fury is one of the most important and popular characters that are or were part of the MCU. One thing all Marvel fans can agree on is that Jackson is an absolute spot-on Nick Fury. To tell you the truth, we didn’t expect that after 15 years, when some of the main MCU actors like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson have already moved on, Sam L. Jackson is still there. And we’re very thankful that he is, don’t get us wrong.
Nick Fury’s MCU history
The first glimpse at Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury was in the post-credit scene of the original Iron Man movie when he informed Tony Stark about the Avengers Initiative. He was already the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. at the time, but the MCU content we were consuming over the last 15 years provided us with more information about Nick Fury’s past.
Nick Fury was born Nicholas Joseph Fury on July 4, 1950, in Huntsville, Alabama. While there isn’t much to be known about his childhood, it was revealed that he always insisted on being addressed by his last name, even by the members of his own family. After finishing high school, he joined the U.S. Army and was eventually promoted to the rank of Colonel. By the 1970s, he left the army and joined the C.I.A. to become a spy, and by the 1980s, he joined the S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Captain Marvel movie, which takes place in 1995, showed us Samuel L. Jackson playing digitally de-aged Nick Fury. He had Level 3 clearance at S.H.I.E.L.D. at the time, overseeing Phil Coulson’s training as the Supervising Officer. The movie showed us how he met Carol Danvers, then known as Vers, who would eventually become Captain Marvel. Before the movie ended, he joined forces with her and the Skrull, known as Talos, in a fight against the Kree. The movie also provided the answer to how Nick Fury got his recognizable eye patch.
Carol Danvers gave Fury a pager to call her for help if she’s ever needed on Earth, which he’ll eventually use in 2018. Following Carol’s departure from the Earth, Fury started the initiative to assemble the Earth’s mightiest heroes, and it will take 13 years for the first one to appear. Fury worked his way all the way to Level 9 clearance S.H.I.E.L.D., becoming a Director of the agency, with only Alexander Pierce, a secret HYDRA leader, above him.
By 2012, with the help of his close assistants Maria Hill and Phil Coulson, Nick Fury finally managed to recruit six heroes needed to fight against Loki and the Chitauri forces in New York. During the battle, the World Security Council ordered a nuclear strike to prevent the Chitauri from spreading all over the Earth. Fury disobeyed the order, but the Council took his command and ordered the strike. Fury warned Iron Man about the missile coming, and Iron Man succeeded in rerouting the missile into space through a portal, ultimately destroying the Chitauri army and saving the day.
Nick Fury also had a big role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While still a director at S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury was attacked by HYDRA during their secret uprising inside S.H.I.E.L.D. Although Fury was seemingly killed off, he later faked his death to successfully escape HYDRA. He later returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. to upload all of S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA’s secrets to the internet, exposing both agencies.
Nick Fury also appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron when he assisted the Avengers in saving the people of Sokovia before it was destroyed. After that, we’ve seen in the post-credit scene in Avengers: Infinity War when he used a pager to call Captain Marvel for help one second before he disintegrated because of Thanos’ snap. After his return in Avengers: Endgame, we have seen him attending Tony Stark’s funeral.
Jackson reprised the role in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but it was later revealed that Fury was actually Talos impersonating him by the orders of the real Fury. Meanwhile, the real Fury was on some galactic vacation.
What is next for Nick Fury in the MCU?
Nick Fury is still an active member of the MCU’s roster of characters. While he’s not a superhero like Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, Fury is an awesome supporting character because of the natural charisma Samuel L. Jackson generally has as an actor. Therefore we are very happy that we haven’t seen the last of him in the MCU, and this year we will watch him in two projects.
Nick Fury will return this year in the Secret Invasion series on Disney+, in which Ben Mendelsohn will return as Talos, and Cobie Smulders will reprise the role of Maria Hill. The series will also feature several known names that are new to the MCU, including Olivia Colman and Emilia Clarke.
After that, Jackson will also reprise the role of Nick Fury in The Marvels, starring Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as Captain Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel. The movie is set to be released on November 10, 2023.
