In Marvel’s Infinite Destinies, there’s one person Nick Fury Jr. can’t condemn, despite the many crimes they’ve committed in the Marvel Universe.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for “Infinite Fury Part VI” from the pages of Guardians of the Galaxy Annual 2021, available now from Marvel.
The hunt for the impossible power of the Infinity Stones that has been playing out in the pages of Infinite Destinies has taken readers across the globe and to the far corners of the universe. As the living hosts of the Infinity Stones are each given their time to shine in the spotlight, dark forces are working against them from the shadows. In fact, it is Nick Fury Jr. who has been doing the most under the cover of darkness. There is nothing Fury wouldn’t do to make a better world out of the one he lives in, especially if it means bringing back the glory days of his famous father.
When Infinite Fury Part VI by Jed MacKay, Juan Ferreyra, Nick Lowe and VC’s Joe Caramagna opens, Nick Fury Jr. is leading the pack of a high speed pursuit. After breaking into a Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. facility to steal valuable equipment, Fury has the cops hot on his tail as he makes his way back to his partner. Nighthawk, the former Squadron Supreme hero, has brainwashed Fury into helping him acquire the Infinity Stones, and in return he has promised him a better world. Specifically, one where the original Nick Fury can serve his country from the seat of its highest office. Apparently, Nick Fury Jr. sees his father as an unwavering force for good in a dark and dangerous world. This wouldn’t normally be a shocking development, but the crimes that the elder Fury has committed in his long career have made him a pariah of the worst possible kind.
Nicholas Fury has been an iconic part of the Marvel Universe for decades and has fought tooth and nail for his country ever since his introduction in 1963’s Sgt. Fury #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Over the years he has been a soldier, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and director of the greatest spy programs and superhero teams in the world. Unfortunately, he has never let ethics get in the way of his duty, and rather than take any chances Nick Fury has resorted to incredible violence and astounding acts of betrayal and espionage. While there have been plenty of memorable moments such as the various Secret Wars that have made something of a villain out of Nick Fury, nothing could have prepared readers for the worst last crime he ever got to commit.
When the Watcher’s armory was robbed, Nick Fury took it upon himself to head up his own investigation into the crime. Of course, Uatu has always been quite firm in his duties to only watch and never interfere, meaning that he refused to lend any information to the superspy of his own volition. Upon realizing that the only way to catch the culprits would be to see them through the Watcher’s one remaining eye, Fury murdered Uatu in cold blood so that he could do just that. Eventually, the heroes that Fury had enlisted to help him learned the truth, as did Uatu’s fellow Watchers, leading them to sentence the former hero to an eternity of silent observation as the Unseen in 2014’s Original Sin #8 by Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato Jr. These events made up the core of one of the most devastating storylines that the Marvel Universe has ever known, and yet somehow Nick Fury Jr. hasn’t let his own image of his father be tainted by them in the slightest.
Even through Nighthawk’s brainwashing, Nick Fury Jr.’s reverence for his father’s work and legacy seems to be entirely genuine. Then again, it’s hard to imagine the elder Fury not being a point of pride and role model for his son. No matter what crimes he committed or what people he hurt, Nick Fury did so to achieve the ultimate goal of protecting his country, planet and reality. In fact, the revelation that the original Nick Fury was his father was largely what spurned the younger Fury towards embarking upon the life of a superspy. How he has managed to maintain such an optimistic view of his father might be a bit of a mystery, but there is no doubt that the answer is nothing short of a classic case of paternal hero worship. As sweet as that is, it doesn’t exactly bode well for the Fury who is currently active, who could easily follow too closely in his father’s footsteps. If that happens, at least there are heroes who have proven capable of reining him in.
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