Nick Fury Agent Of SHIELD - File One!

Thanks to the massive hit James Bond, spies were very much among us in the 60's with espionage-flavored entertainments all around. Movies gave us Harry Palmer, Matt Helm and Derek Flint. TV gave us The Man from U.N.C.L.E, Get Smart, and The Wild Wild West. And Comics gave us plenty with material like the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents from Tower, The Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E. from Archie, and assorted stuff like that. 

Marvel though delivered the most long-lasting variation when they dusted off World War II veteran Nick Fury and had him take charge of the Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-Enforcement Division or S.H.I.E.L.D.

Nick's first foray into the 60's was in the Fantastic Four #21 when he shows up to help the Fab 4 put down the vile Hate Monger. With it firmly established that Fury had now survived the war and was part of the then-current Marvel Universe it only remained to figure out how to best utilize him. 

The story in Strange Tales #135 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby kicks off with a bang with Nick Fury, currently a C.I.A. agent having been recruited into a super-secret super-scientific force to battle a nefarious secret army called Hydra. Hydra is a sprawling cadre of evil-minded types who want to take over the world and are led by a masked individual called the Supreme Hydra.

The organization takes elements of Hitler's old S.S. and blends it with vintage America Ku Klux Klan regalia, and we have a dangerous mix of criminal zealots in a secret army who are willing and apparently able to undermine the United States itself using the cold efficiency of modern business applied to crime and terrorism. John Severin is brought back into the Bullpen to take over finishes over Kirby's layouts.

Against this threat steps in Nick Fury who is quickly joined by his old comrades Dum Dum Dugan and Gabe Jones of the Howling Commandos. All of these hard-nosed veterans are more than willing to fight the good fight using wild and crazy technology dreamed up by Tony Stark and other bigwigs who work in the mysterious hallways of SHIELD.

Quickly on in the series the EC Comics great Severin gives the artwork a realistic polish that Kirby's potent energetic poses cannot deliver on their own. Severin seems slated to be the guy but sadly after a few issues gives way to a committee of talents who slide in and out, doing their best over Kirby layouts.

One of the things about these early issues is that there is real death as SHIELD agents lay down their lives throughout the series, though of course Fury himself always seems to escape unscathed.

Hydra proves to be a relentless menace with a vast organization which allows the criminal army to bring the efficiency of modern industry to the world-conquering game.

There is an end to the Supreme Hydra eventually, but it has much in common with the kind of enemy and demise that a Steve Ditko might have developed. Of course, we know that Hydra will return, as they must because as they say all the time -- "Cut off a limb and two more shall take its place".

The Fixer and Mentallo are two of my favorite Marvel baddies. This dastardly duo first get together following the downfall of Hydra and when we meet Mentallo, a former SHIELD technician who went astray and was removed from his position with the organization in the E.S.P. Division.

Mentallo wants to take revenge and to that end recruits the Fixer, breaking him out of jail. Mentallo's mind-reading abilities give him advantage, but Fixer's uncanny skill at making deadly equipment makes the pair something to reckon with.

The infiltrate SHIELD but are rebuffed and later kidnap Fury attacking him to a deadly atomic weapon. But eventually as it must they are defeated and sent off to jail once again. SHIELD's encounter with this deadly duo was a nice little triad of stories which served well to transition away from the heavy emphasis on Hydra.

Loved Kirby's designs in these issues especially the overall look of Fixer and Mentallo, two of Kirby's better designs. After casting about for an artistic direction Howard Purcell was brought in, to tighten up Kirby's layouts for these few issues, though there's little doubt that Kirby's imagery is what makes these issues vivid.

One curiosity for me was the familiar look of the E.S.P. Division trio who are mostly seen in these stories hooked into the SHIELD equipment. They remind me mightily of New Gods characters Dave Lincoln, Claudia Shane and Victor Lanza who along with a fourth youngster named Harvey Lockman were saved from Darkseid by Orion in the debut issue of that series. 

When we first encounter that quartet, they are likewise hooked up to machines to explore their minds. 

The Druid is one of those missed opportunities. When the mysterious Satan Eggs show up and blow up a plane they seem to be a real threat and we quickly learn that they are the emissaries of a deadly cult which functions as a high-tech variation on the ancient druid cults of ancient times. They are lead by a distinctive looking character called the Druid.

But the threat is quickly tracked and quelled and the Druid proves to be far less impressive when he attempts to go one-on-one with Nick Fury. The Druid cult and their weird Satan Eggs are merely diversion in SHIELD's long war against villainous types.

These issues are probably most interesting in the long run for the debut of Jasper Sitwell, the top graduate of SHIELD's academy and a rather funny counter to Fury's shoot-from-the-hip style. Jasper has always been a fave of mine, a nerd who was capable of some true mayhem but easily discounted because of his precious appearance.

Don Heck does some pretty fine work over Kirby's layouts in these issues (with the help of inker "Mickey Demeo" - that's Mike Esposito actually), the two of them almost always delivering to my eye a handsome end product. Wished they'd worked more together. 

The saga of SHIELD and Nick Fury takes a detour when Nick shows up at Avengers Mansion in Tales of Suspense #78 to have a chat with his old WWII comrade Captain America. The two of them come under attack by a deadly android from the DNA-rich vats of the super-science organization dubbed "THEM'. (I was reminded of "The Evil Factory" from the earliest issues of Kirby's Jimmy Olsen.) This android can combine chemicals in his body to create all sorts of deadly effects but together Cap and Nick bring him down eventually. At the end Nick gives Cap a SHIELD security badge and we realize we haven't seen the last of him.

Over in Strange Tales #147 the battle continues as Nick and SHIELD track down where the android came from and discover an underwater laboratory lair occupied by two of THEM's agents. Previously he had learned that the attack of Mentallo and the Fixer had been at least partially financed by THEM. Dressed in the now familiar yellow radiation-suit inspired togs of A.I.M. these two scientists appear to be a criminal branch of A.I.M. which at that moment is represented by Count Bornag Royale as a legit think tank which is offering high-tech weapons to the world if they will remove Nick Fury as commander of SHIELD. So, it seems that THEM and A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) are two arms of the same outfit, but it gets more complicated yet.

During a hearing to possibly remove Fury, he abruptly takes a header out of the window of the awesome helicarrier. Thought dead he then leads a counterattack against the forces of A.I.M. who have shown up in force at SHIELD headquarters to try and take control of LMD technology. The attack is foiled and eventually Count Royale is revealed. Followed by Jasper Sitwell, Royale appears to be killed when A.I.M.'s main secret base is exploded by forces unknown.

The long missing Gabe Jones reappears in the garb of the Secret Empire, as it was shown in the pages of Tales to Astonish where that secret criminal outfit had been giving both Hulk and Sub-Mariner problems. Infiltrating their ranks Jones was able to remove the threat for the moment. But now Fury and his agents begin to suspect that THEM, A.I.M. and The Secret Empire might all be merely "arms" of a larger and more deadly enemy - Hydra!

These are some fun issues and the shifting back and forth of the enemy does really have an espionage feel, though it does seem that the writers lost track of what they were all called. The artwork though suffers a bit as Odgen Whitney steps in to handle the pencils on the last chapter of the story, his work is developed but lacks that Marvel energy and punch. One notable event was that one chapter of his run was written by Jack Kirby (and credited as same) before Denny O'Neil stepped into take over from Stan.

The attempt to blend all of these secret organizations in sundry comics really amps up a feeling of paranoia and a larger world threat worthy of the heroes.

More next time when that special someone is added to the SHIELD mix. 

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