# When Did Nick Fury Go Black? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 9, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520 "2013-06-09T02:45:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/1 "2013-06-09T02:45:46Z")
When I regularly read comics, back in the Dark Ages, Nick Fury was either a white guy in his 20s serving in the US Army in WWII, or a middle-aged guy with an eye-patch and brown hair going white at the temples, serving in SHEILD. In both versions, he was a cigar-chompin’ mean dude. Now that PiperCub is interested in super-heroes, I’ve been re-introduced to Nick. He’s now black, serving solely with SHEILD, an eye-patch, and of course, no cigar whatsoever. So when did he get ret-conned? Anything else I should be brought up to speed on in the Marvel universe? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/2 "2013-06-09T02:52:33Z")
Looks like he got a whole lot darker in 2001: [Nick Fury (Ultimate Marvel character) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Nick_Fury) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/3 "2013-06-09T03:02:33Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > So when did he get ret-conned? When he became Samuel L. Jackson. (Few people know that Samuel L. Jackson is in fact played by Nick Fury, not the other way around.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/4 "2013-06-09T03:11:14Z")
In 2000, Marvel decided to start a new line of comic books called their Ultimate series. Basically, they took established characters and rebooted them as if they were new characters. Some of the characters got some changes. One of these was Nick Fury who became a clone of Samuel L. Jackson (with Jackson’s permission) when Marvel started its new Avengers series. The new series were successful and led to a jump over into the movies. Jackson had essentially already been cast in the part. ---
**Author:** ![irritant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@irritant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irritant)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/5 "2013-06-09T03:23:09Z")
Furthermore, recently the “normal” Marvel Universe introduced a character called Nick Fury Jr. who is the son of the original… and looks and acts exactly like the Sam Jackson Fury of the Ultimate line and the movies. This character serves actively with SHIELD and seems to have largely taken over his father’s role. Nick Classic still exists and occasionally shows up, but hasn’t starred in a series since Secret Warriors ended in 2011. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/6 "2013-06-09T03:36:36Z")
Yeah, last few posts basically have it. 1. Marvel launches “Ultimate” universe, with Nick Fury made to look like Samuel L. Jackson 2. Marvel starts making movies, and decide to actually get SLJ to play Nick Fury. 3. Some idiot decided that having a black Nick Fury in the movies but a white Nick Fury in the comics would be too confusing for moviegoers looking to buy comic books, and come up with a fairly torturous storyline that ends up with “Nick Fury” replaced by his black son, who just happens to look like SLJ. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/7 "2013-06-09T03:48:15Z")
He became black the same way James West did. Amazing, innit? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/8 "2013-06-09T04:15:36Z")
Now explain Power Girl’s origin… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/9 "2013-06-09T04:57:09Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Now explain Power Girl’s origin… 😃 Even Power Girl can’t do that. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/10 "2013-06-09T05:19:18Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Now explain Power Girl’s origin… 😃 I can’t even explain Power Girl’s _costume_. Okay, I can…boob window = teenboy fanservice. It just makes no sense in-universe. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/11 "2013-06-09T05:35:32Z")
As I see it, she’s an attractive, well endowed woman who likes showing it off. And women who can casually bend steel in their hands or reduce you to ash with a glance probably have _rather fewer_ problems with sexual harassment than the average good looking woman does, so there’s less of a downside for her than there might otherwise be. And it’s not like there aren’t scads of scantily clad superheroines flying around. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/12 "2013-06-09T06:12:18Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Now explain Power Girl’s origin… 😃 She’s Supergirl from an alternate universe. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/13 "2013-06-09T06:17:40Z")
[I’m still trying to figure out when he went kitten.](http://thefilmchick.tumblr.com/post/24160276337/darlingmagpie-i-cant-decide-of-god-of-thunpurr) ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/14 "2013-06-09T06:18:02Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Now explain Power Girl’s origin… 😃 Well, as long as you don’t ask anybody to explain _Hawkman’s_ origin… I hear there’s several DC editors who have gone insane trying to make sense of that one. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/15 "2013-06-09T06:29:02Z")
In any case, I trust we can agree he’s never going back. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/16 "2013-06-09T07:35:08Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > He became black the same way James West did. Amazing, innit? 😃 When James West went black he became inexplicably less cool. Somehow when Nick Fury did it he became cooler. Scientist still don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/17 "2013-06-09T09:14:09Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > When James West went black he became inexplicably less cool. Somehow when Nick Fury did it he became cooler. Scientist still don’t know why. It has less to do with going black than with going Samuel L. Jackson. \*Everybody \*should go Samuel L. Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/18 "2013-06-09T11:36:40Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#): > > 1. Some idiot decided that having a black Nick Fury in the movies but a white Nick Fury in the comics would be too confusing for moviegoers looking to buy comic books, and come up with a fairly torturous storyline that ends up with “Nick Fury” replaced by his black son, who just happens to look like SLJ. Robert Redford is rumored to be playing Nick Fury the Elder in **Captain America 2**. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/19 "2013-06-09T12:06:44Z")
OK, I can go along with Nick the Elder having a kid that looks like Samuel L. Jackson, but what I want to know is, how did they \*both \*manage to poke their left eye out? Genetic genetic predisposition for running with scissors? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520/20 "2013-06-09T12:49:03Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > OK, I can go along with Nick the Elder having a kid that looks like Samuel L. Jackson, but what I want to know is, how did they \*both \*manage to poke their left eye out? Genetic genetic predisposition for running with scissors? Its a Universal side-effect for trying to kill Hitler ahead of his scheduled death. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-nick-fury-go-black/660520.md?page=2)