Thanks to a variety of retcons and rewrites over the years, Nick Fury has had his origin story changed multiple times, making him one of the MCU's most mysterious characters. Samuel L. Jackson debuted as Nick Fury in 2008's Iron Man, and has since appeared in the entire duration of the MCU. After portraying Fury for over a decade-and-a-half, Jackson has cemented himself as one of the longest-serving superhero actors ever. Although being one of the longest-running characters in the MCU, Fury's personal life and backstory wasn't really explored until 2019's Captain Marvel and 2023's Secret Invasion, both of which significantly changing what audiences thought they knew about Fury's life.
The MCU's Nick Fury was based on General Nick Fury from the Ultimate universe in Marvel Comics. The character's own likeness in the comics was based on Jackson himself for Fury's starring role in 2002's The Ultimates, a retelling of the main continuity's Avengers. Initially depicted as a master spy and the Director of SHIELD in the MCU, Fury later dedicates his work to establishing the Avengers. Captain Marvel revealed that Fury had prior experience with aliens and heroes, and Secret Invasion started to delve deeper into his personal relationships, but Marvel Studios has changed several key points of Nick Fury's MCU backstory with a series of glaring retcons.
9 His Eye Was Taken By An Alien Cat
Nick Fury was introduced in Iron Man already sporting his signature eye-patch, but it remained a mystery as to how he got his scars. During 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Fury claimed that "the last time [he] trusted someone, [he] lost an eye," implying that his wounds had been inflicted by an ally who had betrayed him. However, this was tweaked in the 1995-set Captain Marvel, which saw Fury form a bond with a Flerken named Goose. Goose scratched Fury's eye after being provoked by the SHIELD Agent, and while the decision to explain Fury's scars as a simple scratch was divisive, it did finally answer this decade-old question.
8 The Skrulls Were Behind His Every Success
Fury met the Skrull General Talos, portrayed by Ben Mendelsohn, in Captain Marvel, inciting a thirty-year-long friendship between the pair that was explored more in Phase 5's Secret Invasion. Part of the mystery surrounding Nick Fury in the MCU was always how he was able to have access to so much information, and Secret Invasion episode 3, "Betrayed," revealed that Talos and nineteen of his operatives had been working as spies for the former SHIELD Director. Talos' Skrulls ed information to Fury that allowed the latter to rise through the ranks at SHIELD, earning him acclaim, whereas it had previously been thought that Fury worked by himself for his position.
7 The Avengers Initiative Started Way Earlier Than Thought
The MCU's early projects teased the development of the Avengers Initiative, a plan that Fury had put in place to bring a group of remarkable heroes together to fight the battles that humanity couldn't. While this idea initially seemed like a new development from Fury and SHIELD, Captain Marvel later revealed that Fury had been working on the Avengers Initiative since the 1990s. After his adventure with Carol Danvers, Fury was inspired to draft plans for the Protector Initiative, which he later renamed to the Avengers Initiative after Danvers' Air Force call-sign. This fleshed out the Avengers' backstory, but did retcon conversations about the team in the MCU's Phase 1.
6 What He Knew About Aliens
2012's The Avengers revealed that SHIELD had been developing weapons in response to the Asgardians' escapades on Earth in 2011's Thor. This implied that Thor and Loki were the first aliens to come into with SHIELD, opening the world's eyes as to what lies beyond the stars, however, this was retconned in Captain Marvel. The Phase 3 film revealed that aliens had actually come to Earth in the 1990s, and SHIELD and Fury himself had even interacted with them. Surely SHIELD would have started to develop weapons after the arguably-more-deadly Skrulls and Kree had come to Earth in the '90s, but this didn't seem to play any significant role.
5 His Promotion To SHIELD Director
Captain America: The Winter Soldier introduced Alexander Pierce, the Secretary of the World Security Council and a high-ranking member of HYDRA, portrayed by Robert Redford. After Nick Fury saved hostages by disobeying orders during a mission in Bogotá, Pierce awarded his bravery and promoted him to the position of Director of SHIELD. It seemed as though this story didn't necessarily need tampering with, but Secret Invasion episode 3 revealed that Fury's underground network of Skrull spies, including Talos, had a hand in helping him rise to this powerful position, which strips Fury of some of the glory of these actions, and casts doubt on his actual credibility as a leader.
4 He Married A Skrull
Secret Invasion episode 2, "Promises," revealed that Nick Fury has been married to a Skrull named Varra, a.k.a. Priscilla, since the MCU's start. The pair met after Captain Marvel, as Varra helped Fury find lost Skrulls and integrate them into human society. While this was a major reveal for the MCU's Phase 5, a line in Captain America: The Winter Soldier means this is also a major retcon. During The Winter Soldier, Fury uses the excuse of his wife kicking him out to inform Steve Rogers of HYDRA's infiltration of SHIELD, but this wouldn't have worked if he was actually married, as HYDRA would have become aware of his weakness.
3 He Hired Tony Stark As The First Avenger
Robert Downey Jr. debuted as the MCU's first superhero in 2008's Iron Man, and the film's post-credits scene saw Fury arrive in Tony Stark's house to proposition him regarding the Avengers Initiative. While this scene, and The Incredible Hulk's post-credits scene - which saw Stark approach General Ross to hire the Abomination - suggested that Stark had been recruited as the first Avenger, Iron Man 2 significantly changed this rhetoric. Iron Man 2 confirmed that Stark's recruitment was still up for debate, and ultimately didn't pan out, with him instead being hired as a consultant, despite Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk clearly setting him up to be an Avenger.
2 Who Knew He Was "Dead"
Nick Fury faked his death in Captain America: The Winter Soldier in order to weaken the forces of HYDRA that had been growing within SHIELD. After "dying", Fury decides to go underground, with assumedly everybody still believing the former Director of SHIELD to be deceased. However, Spider-Man: No Way Home retconned Nick Fury's death, as Agent Cleary of the Department of Damage Control reveals that "Nick Fury's been off-world for a year," implying that at least he must have known Fury was actually alive. Fury's death hasn't been mentioned in Secret Invasion, so it seems the public may have forgotten this event ever occurred.
1 He Worked With Thunderbolt Ross To Create The Avengers
2008's The Incredible Hulk introduced the late William Hurt as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in the MCU, the man hunting Bruce Banner, and the cause of Emil Blonsky's transformation into the Abomination. The Incredible Hulk's post-credits scene saw Tony Stark approach General Ross with the prospect of the Avengers Initiative, implying not only that Nick Fury wanted the Abomination to the team, but also that General Ross would have a hand in the team's development. However, this didn't come to fruition at all, as Nick Fury formed the Avengers single-handedly, and General Ross wasn't seen again until 2016's Captain America: Civil War, then operating as the Secretary of Defense.
