Though he might not be in the spotlight as much as the other heroes, Nick Fury is certainly one of the most significant characters in the MCU. This is that man who came up with the idea of bringing together Earth's mightiest heroes to take on the bigger threats facing the world.
However, Nick Fury is also a super spy which means he likes to keep things secretive and has his own plans happening behind the scenes. Sometimes this approach to saving the world can work, and sometimes it can make things much worse. Even someone as cunning as Nick Fury makes the occasional mistake.
Manipulating The Avengers
When Loki comes to Earth to conquer it, Fury sees this as the perfect opportunity to bring the Avengers together as a team. He had been recruiting the individual heroes over time, but now it was time to put his plan into action.
However, with all these big personalities, egos began to clash, and the team was less than perfect. Then uses the death of Agent Coulson to manipulate the heroes which feels rather morbid. The heroes would have done the right thing when the time came by Fury's manipulation feels uncomfortable.
Not Trusting Carol
Fury's first introduction to the world of superheroes came when Carol Danvers came to Earth. He is clearly impressed with the space warrior at first and even convinces her to let him help uncover the truth about her past on Earth.
However, Fury doesn't extend the same trust that she showed him. He uses the opportunity to set her up to be apprehended by his fellow agents. It is only after Carol saves his life that they start to really trust each other mutually.
Spying On Steve Rogers
Fury understands that the heroes he recruits are enhanced and incredibly powerful beings. While he respects that power, he also wants to be the one who is in control of it. He sees himself as the one who should oversee all of the heroes, whether they like it or not.
Even though he is perhaps the most famous patriot of all time, Steve Rogers discovers that Fury has been spying on him the entire time, even bugging his apartment. Doing things like this makes it hard for the heroes to ever trust Fury.
Trying To Keep S.H.I.E.L.D. Alive
Though he often seems to be a more practical thinker than a lot of the people around him, Fury's arrogance can often blind him to the right course of action. He is so obsessed with being in control that he fails to it when that control has been lost.
After discovering that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated by Hydra, Fury makes a plan to take them out while ensuring the organization's future. It takes Captain America to convince him that the whole thing must be torn down for the sake of the world.
Sending The Skrulls To Help Spider-Man
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Fury shows up on Peter Parker's school trip to recruit him to help fight powerful beings called the Elementals. Fury also gives Peter a gift from Tony Stark, a state-of-the-art tech system that allows him to spy on the entire world.
However, in the end, it is revealed that Fury was actually the Skrull leader Talos the entire time and Fury was up in space. That seems like a pretty important mission to leave to somebody else and there had to be a better way of doing it without so much deception.
Not Calling Captain Marvel
At the end of Avengers: Infinity War, Fury sees that Thanos' plan succeeded as people begin getting vaporized. As he himself begins to fade away, he uses a pager to send a message out into space for Captain Marvel.
Given how powerful Captain Marvel proves to be, it begs the question of why this is the first time Fury decided to call her. The Earth has faced many world-ending threats over the years which would constitute an emergency and she could have taken care of it a lot quicker.
Trusting Alexander Pierce
Despite being very secretive and shadowy, Fury seems to have some bad instincts when it comes to who he can trust. One of his oldest friends is Alexander Pierce, a man who came to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. at Fury's own insistence.
As it turns out, Pierce is a Hydra agent who is the mastermind behind them taking over the world. He even plots to kill Fury before he can get too close to the truth. For his best friend to turn out to be a bad guy all along, that's not a great look for a superspy.
Experimenting With The Tesseract
Fury first comes in with the powerful Tesseract during his adventures with Captain Marvel. He keeps the weapon close then he begins exploring the possibilities that could be achieved with it.
Despite seeing what the Tesseract is capable of, Fury does not respect its power which results in it bringing Loki to Earth which almost causes the destruction of the planet. Toying with such a powerful artifact could only end badly and Fury should have known.
Hiding The Phase Two Weapons
After bringing the Avengers together, the heroes begin asking questions about the Tesseract and what S.H.I.E.L.D. was doing with it. Then the truth about the experiments comes to light. Fury is using the Tesseract to make weapons.
It's bad enough that Hydra was doing the exact same thing during World War II, but it makes it even worse than he was hiding the fact from the Avengers. He expected them to clean up his mess while he built weapons of mass destruction.
Annoying Goose
Along with partnering with Captain Marvel, Fury also makes friends with a cute little cat named Goose. While Fury cuddles up to the cat, Talos insists that it is no ordinary cat.
Indeed, it turns out that Goose is actually a highly dangerous alien called a flerken. Luckily, Goose seems to be on the good guys' side, but Fury still gets a little too comfortable with it. While petting Goose, it suddenly scratches Fury in the eye which causes him to lose eye eventually. He should have known even a fake cat can be ill-tempered.
