After 60 years, a major part of Marvel lore is receiving a vital reboot, reimagined for the modern day. It’s a twist that’s been building for almost a decade, with Marvel taking advantage of a major anniversary to relaunch a group who were desperately in need of reinvention.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Returns “Smaller, Leaner, and More Underground”
Nick Fury Jr. Introduces a New Squad of Human Heroes
Marvel recently announced that Chip Zdarsky, Delio Diaz and Frank Alpizar’s Captain America #6 will reintroduce Nick Fury‘s S.H.I.E.L.D. to Marvel lore. The global peacekeeping organization (also known as the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) was officially dissolved in 2017’s Marvel Legacy #1, after the organization was ransacked by Hydra. Now, it will be reborn, with a new squad of heroes serving under Nick Fury Jr.
In a new press release, Marvel shares Valerio Schiti’s designs for Nick Fury’s team of specialist agents (above), including Brooklyn-born soldier Joe Ramos, knife-wielding marine Charles Castlemore, masked mercenary Trevor Tambling and the Russian superhero Red Widow. Marvel states that “Nick Fury must keep these soldiers in line as they carry out their secret task to retrieve Doom’s weapons – even if it means clashing with Cap!”
S.H.I.E.L.D.’s return will spin out of the One World Under Doom event, as Fury attempts to stake a claim to the tyrant’s former nation of Latveria:
Doom’s fall – and a violent incursion by Thunderbolt Ross – have brought Latveria to the brink of civil war! Captain America deploys to protect civilians and investigate rumors of a weapons stockpile, but when Nick Fury Jr.’s unpredictable new version of S.H.I.E.L.D. joins the mission, it becomes clear that everyone wants a piece of Latveria – no matter the cost.
With warring factions tearing the country apart and a squad of unconventional S.H.I.E.L.D. agents pursuing unknown agendas, can Captain America hope to bring peace to Latveria? And is that even what his own handlers want?
After Becoming the Bad Guys, S.H.I.E.L.D. Are Heroes Again
Debuting in 1965, S.H.I.E.L.D. is a creation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Led by WWII veteran Nick Fury Sr., S.H.I.E.L.D. protected the world from terroristic threats and rogue governments. However, in the modern day, S.H.I.E.L.D. was often depicted as a deeply flawed organization, with Fury’s secret schemes doing as much harm as good.
Fury lost control of S.H.I.E.L.D. after an unsanctioned attack on Latveria, and it has fallen into villainous ownership multiple times since, with new leader Maria Hill engaging in questionable projects like Pleasant Hill – a plan to brainwash supervillains into harmless civilian lives.
However, Zdarsky says that S.H.I.E.L.D. will once again take on a heroic role in the Marvel Universe, stating, “S.H.I.E.L.D. is Marvel. It’s human ingenuity and fortitude, keeping the world safe. Bringing them back with a new mandate and scope has been incredibly fun. They’re starting small, but they, and Fury, have big plans.”
S.H.I.E.L.D.’s New Era Has All the Ingredients for Success
Marvel has teased S.H.I.E.L.D.’s return multiple times, with Zdarsky admitting that it’s a frequent subject at Marvel’s creative retreats. However, the occasion of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s sixtieth anniversary was apparently too good to pass up. However, respect for the past doesn’t mean repeating it.
While S.H.I.E.L.D. eventually became a faceless organization essentially designed to fail so that the superheroes could step in, Marvel is seemingly reimagining it as more of an expert team of superhero-esque operatives. It’s a structure that offers far more narrative potential for S.H.I.E.L.D. to thrive as a property in its own right.
Of course, only time will tell if the “All-New S.H.I.E.L.D.” has what it takes to last, but after almost a decade in the wilderness (and longer as an antagonistic force), Marvel fans are hungry for Nick Fury‘s superspy adventures to enter a new era.
Captain America #6 is coming January 21 from Marvel Comics.
