Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Who Is Scorpio? #[nn]

(September 2001)

Introduction (Table of Contents)

foreword, introduction, preface, afterword / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

Larry Hama

Letters:

typeset

Who Is Scorpio? (Table of Contents)

Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. / comic story / 20 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jim Steranko

Pencils:

Jim Steranko

Inks:

Joe Sinnott

Colors:

Jim Steranko

Letters:

Sam Rosen

Editing:

Stan Lee

Content Information

Genre:

Spy

Characters:

Nick Fury L.M.D.; Nick Fury; Dum Dum Dugan; Pinky (lounge owner); Flip Mason (stand-up comic); Mitch Hackett (racketeer); Val [Contessa Valentina Allegro de Fontaine]; Scorpio [Count Julio Scarlotti]

Synopsis:

Fury sneaks into an island fortress, only to get shot in the back. Surprise! It's an L.M.D., and the shooter is the real Fury! But on examination, Dugan informs Fury the L.M.D.'s been shot 4 times, not 3-- which means, someone tried to assassinate him! The only clue is a tiny badge with a "Scorpio" symbol on it. In San Francisco, comic Flip Mason's on the run from gambling debts. In Kansas City, racketter Mitch Hackett looks forward to joining the mob. In NYC, Fury & Val walk in the rain. At the Monza Autodrome, Count Julio Scarlotti wins a race-- and we see he has a Scorpio tatoo on his wrist. Days later in Nevada, Fury helps test an "EPB G-System" (Entrope Phase Barrier Guard System), a force field which is hoped may one day protect entire armies. As SHIELD prepares one final test (with an H-Bomb!) we see the tech firing the missile has a Scorpio tattoo on his wrist. Fury suddenly realizes the EPB's down, and nobody answers his comm. He races across the desert to a rocket sled used by NASA to escape as the missile descends on the spot he was relaxing. At the U.S. Government Research Center in Las Vegas, everyone's been put to sleep with gas by Scorpio-- when Fury arrives via motorcycle! As the hooded villain speaks of vengeance and "The Parable Of Doom", Fury wonders who the HELL this guy is? Nearby, a mobster mistakes Mason for Hackett and gives him a suitcase of money. Mason takes it, thinking all his problems are gone! Hackett arrives wondering where his suitcase is (not realizing it actually contains a time-bomb), and a gunfight erupts. The two fights intersect paths, and Hackett winds up shooting Scorpio's escape craft, causing it to go up in an explosive fireball, of which Val says, "No one could live through that!" As Mason is about to call his wife, the bomb goes off.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• from Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD (Marvel, 1968 series) #1 (June 1968)

Indexer Notes

Mystery continues in NICK FURY, AGENT OF SHIELD #5 (October 1968). Scorpio's mention of "The Parable Of Doom" seems to suggest a connection with Baron Strucker (see STRANGE TALES #156 / May 1967). However, neither Jim Steranko or Roy Thomas followed up on this obvious clue. "Special effects" on pages 13-14 of this story almost obliterated in the reprint process.

So Shall Ye Reap... Death! (Table of Contents)

Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. / comic story / 20 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jim Steranko

Pencils:

Jim Steranko

Inks:

Frank Giacoia; Jack Abel (assists)

Colors:

Jim Steranko

Letters:

Sam Rosen

Editing:

Stan Lee

Content Information

Genre:

Spy

Characters:

Jimmy Woo; Dum Dum Dugan; Nick Fury; Clay Quartermain; Val [Contessa Valentina Allegro de Fontaine]; Centurius [Dr. Noah Black] (Nobel Prize winner, Marvel's 1st black villain); P.D.Q. Werner (movie director); Tiffany (actor); Brad Carter (actor); Kong (robotic prop)

Synopsis:

Jimmy Woo goes thru a death-trap laden "fun house" as his initiation as a SHIELD agent. Later, in his apartment, Fury & Val get romantic. The next day, off the Pacific Coast, en route to the Heli-Carrier in a bizarre twin-bodied jet, Fury & Jimmy are knocked out of the sky and wind up on a volcanic island transformed into a "Garden of Eden" and biological laboratory by "Centurius"-- formerly Dr. Noah Black, a scientist who disappeared in the 1930s when his theories were scoffed at. After creating both new & extinct forms of life and sending them into space, he plans to rain down fire on the entire Earth, for forty days and forty nights, cleansing it so his creations can start anew on a world "without the threat of mass murder, intimidation, fear". With the help of a visiting movie company and their robot gorilla prop, Fury & Woo put the kibosh on his plans. Centurius dives into his own evolution ray, devolving into protoplasmic slime, while his "A.R.C." (Automated Rebirth Colonizer) inexplicably crashes straight into the dormant volcano that served as his lab, wiping out the entire island. Fury muses, "Let's just say some greater force in the universe handled it his own way!" Actors Brad & Tiffany, who've been fighting on every movie they've ever made, suddenly find love.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• from Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD (Marvel, 1968 series) #2 (July 1968)

Indexer Notes

Centurius becomes the 3rd Steranko villain to use the phrase "Parable Of Doom" (see page 10, panel 9), though to date there appears no connection whatsoever between him, Baron Strucker & Scorpio. Last panel on page 5 altered due to the Comics Code Authority; inadvertently, the new panel is far more "suggestive" than the one it replaced! Original panel restored in 2000 reprint. Jack Abel (longtime friend of Frank Giacoia) assists; Fury's face in page 10, panel 7 is clearly his work.

Dark Moon Rise, Hell Hound Kill! (Table of Contents)

Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. / comic story / 20 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jim Steranko

Pencils:

Jim Steranko

Inks:

Dan Adkins

Colors:

Jim Steranko

Letters:

Sam Rosen

Editing:

Stan Lee

Content Information

Genre:

Spy

Characters:

Ken Astor; Alistair Rampson (butler); Mycroft (psychic detective, alias) [Miles Von Croft] (ex-Nazi U-Boat commander); Countess Caution (psychic detective); Rachel (psychic detective, Mycroft's ward); Angus MacGregor (groundskeeper); Black Hugh [Lord Hugh Ravenlock] (flashback cameo); Lord Gavin Ravenlock (deceased)

Synopsis:

Murder on the moors brings Nick to investigate the death of an old army friend. He finds mystery, a trio of psychic detectives, a huge dog, and more than meets the eyes...

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• from Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD (Marvel, 1968 series) #3 (August 1968)

Indexer Notes

Tribute to Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound Of The Baskervilles", mixed with a bit of the John Lucarotti AVENGERS episode, "Castle De'ath". Parodied in NOT BRAND ECCH #11 (December 1968). Also pays tribute to Simon & Kirby's "The Phantom Hound Of Cardiff Moor" from CAPTAIN AMERICA #10 (January 1942), including the 2-page title spread. Mycroft based on Peter Cushing; Rampson based on Robert Urquhart; Angus based on Boris Karloff.

Whatever Happened To Scorpio? (Table of Contents)

Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. / comic story / 20 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jim Steranko

Pencils:

Jim Steranko

Inks:

John Tartaglione

Colors:

Jim Steranko

Letters:

Sam Rosen

Editing:

Stan Lee

Content Information

Genre:

Spy

Characters:

Val [Contessa Valentina Allegro de Fontaine]; Nick Fury; Pickman (locksmith); Scorpio [Jake Fury] (unrevealed); Dum Dum Dugan; Senator Irksome

Synopsis:

Val reads Nick's horoscope in the morning paper, which says "Someone in your past will return today." Nick pays a visit on Pickman, who's helping him locate someone, and he doesn't want SHIELD involved. The ESP Division picks up "possible danger", sending Nick to a seemingly-deserted warehouse-- and straight into a trap set by Scorpio! Nick's Farrari is destroyed, and Nick is captured. While unconscious, Scorpio creates a face-mask to allow him to impersonate Nick, then goes in disguise to view the test of the latest model of LMD. But as it begins, no one else realizes the robot has been replaced with Nick, drugged so he can't speak! Miraculously, Fury manages to dodge one death trap after another, then faces his would-be killer. Val, trying to save Nick's life, shoots at the "LMD"-- but hits Pickman instead, who found his way in via a secret passage. Nick pursues the escaping imposter, who tears off his mask, revealing his true identity to Nick-- just before being caught in a hail of gunfire from a group of SHIELD agents! After, Nick stands alone on a dock, looking out over the water, wondering if the man who tried so very hard to murder him is still alive...

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• from Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD (Marvel, 1968 series) #5 (October 1968)

Indexer Notes

Identity of Scorpio revealed by Roy Thomas in THE AVENGERS #72 (January 1970), reprinted in ESSENTIAL AVENGERS Vol.4 (2004). Pickman based on Robert Morley. More details revealed when Scorpio returns in THE DEFENDERS #46, 48-50 (April, June-August 1977). Full background of character not revealed until flashback in FURY #1 (May 1994). Steranko repeated the gimmick of ending the story by having a character diving into water thru a hail of gunfire in CAPTAIN AMERICA #111 (March 1969). Nick's Ferrari, which he's had since STRANGE TALES #162 (November 1967) is destroyed; he gets a replacement in NICK FURY, AGENT OF SHIELD #8 (January 1969).

Who Is Scorpio? (Table of Contents)

Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. / cover reprint (on interior page) / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jim Steranko

Pencils:

Jim Steranko

Inks:

Jim Steranko

Colors:

Jim Steranko

Letters:

Sam Rosen

Editing:

Stan Lee

Content Information

Genre:

Spy

Characters:

Nick Fury (in disguise); Val [Contessa Valentina Allegro de Fontaine]; Nick Fury L.M.D.; Scorpio; Dum Dum Dugan

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• from Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD (Marvel, 1968 series) #1 (June 1968)

[So Shall Ye Reap... Death!] (Table of Contents)

Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. / cover reprint (on interior page) / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jim Steranko

Pencils:

Jim Steranko

Inks:

Jim Steranko

Colors:

Jim Steranko

Letters:

Sam Rosen

Editing:

Stan Lee

Content Information

Genre:

Spy

Characters:

Nick Fury; Centurius

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• from Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD (Marvel, 1968 series) #2 (July 1968)

[Dark Moon Rise, Hell Hound Kill!] (Table of Contents)

Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. / cover reprint (on interior page) / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jim Steranko

Pencils:

Jim Steranko

Inks:

Jim Steranko

Colors:

Jim Steranko

Letters:

Sam Rosen

Editing:

Stan Lee

Content Information

Genre:

Spy

Characters:

Nick Fury; Rachel

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• from Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD (Marvel, 1968 series) #3 (August 1968)

Shield Origin Issue! (Table of Contents)

Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. / cover reprint (on interior page) / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jim Steranko

Pencils:

Jim Steranko

Inks:

Jim Steranko

Colors:

Jim Steranko

Letters:

Sam Rosen

Editing:

Stan Lee

Content Information

Genre:

Spy

Characters:

Nick Fury; HYDRA

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• from Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD (Marvel, 1968 series) #4 (September 1968)

[Whatever Happened To Scorpio?] (Table of Contents)

Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. / cover reprint (on interior page) / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jim Steranko

Pencils:

Jim Steranko

Inks:

Jim Steranko

Colors:

Jim Steranko

Letters:

Sam Rosen

Editing:

Stan Lee

Content Information

Genre:

Spy

Characters:

Scorpio; Nick Fury; Val [Contessa Valentina Allegro de Fontaine]

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• from Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD (Marvel, 1968 series) #5 (October 1968)

[Doom Must Fall!] (Table of Contents)

Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. / cover reprint (on interior page) / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jim Steranko

Pencils:

Jim Steranko

Inks:

Jim Steranko

Colors:

Jim Steranko

Letters:

Sam Rosen

Editing:

Stan Lee

Content Information

Genre:

Spy

Characters:

Nick Fury

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• from Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD (Marvel, 1968 series) #6 (November 1968)

Indexer Notes

Wally Wood tribute.

He's Mike Hammer and James Bond rolled into one... (Table of Contents)

Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. / (backcovers) *do not use* / *please fix* / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jim Steranko

Pencils:

Jim Steranko

Inks:

Joe Sinnott

Colors:

Estudio Fenix

Letters:

typeset

Content Information

Genre:

Spy

Characters:

Nick Fury

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• from Strange Tales (Marvel, 1951 series) #166 (March 1968) [splash page]

Indexer Notes

Fitting & ironic intro title, as Jack Kirby's Nick Fury appears to have been based on Ralph Meeker, who played Mike Hammer in KISS ME DEADLY (1955), while Jim Steranko changed his appearance to that of Burt Lancaster, Steranko's favorite actor.