21

Near the end of Captain Marvel,

we see Nick Fury start working on the Avengers Initiative.

From his conversation with Coulson, it seems that Carol is the first super-powered person he comes across and wants to look for others.

Next we know, 13 years later he meets Tony Stark

and says "you think you're the only super hero in the world?" and presents his idea

We know that earlier than either event Hank and Janet were active super-powered (or at least super-suit powered, just like Tony) agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. during the 80s, but knowledge about them was classified.

At the time, Fury was probably too low-rank to know about them (if he was even a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent at all). Over the years he rose to (near) the top, but by that time Janet was gone and Hank retired.

Is there any evidence, in the films or supportive material, to show whether he ever knew that there were other super-powered people, aside Captain Marvel, between Captain America and Iron Man?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
17

On Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it was shown that S.H.I.E.L.D. maintained an Index of superpowered individuals, predating Iron Man. Part of Melinda May's backstory is that in 2008 (the same year Tony Stark invented the suit), she and Coulson were on a "Welcome Wagon" mission to Bahrain when she encountered Katya Belyakov, the Inhuman girl May was forced to kill (although unaware she was an Inhuman or that they even existed yet). The flashback showed that while encountering a superhuman may not have been a regular occurrence, it was common enough that there was a procedure for it and even a nickname used by the agents.

Thus, yes, Fury knew. Perhaps not about the Pyms specifically (at least in 1995), but he certainly knew prior to meeting Stark that superpowered individuals existed. What was novel about the Avengers Initiative (as was revealed over the course of several movies and the show) was that Fury didn't want to merely keep tabs on said individuals and keep them restricted as potential threats--which S.H.I.E.L.D. had been doing to that point--but to actually use them as defenders when a significant threat arose.

Improve this answer
1
  • 4
    To throw a little more evidence on the pile, Fury heavily implies that he knows of other active super-powered people in his first appearance, at the end of Iron Man: "You think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe. You just don't know it yet." He might've been referring solely to Carol Danvers or including unpowered operatives like Black Widow and Hawkeye, but there'd be no point telling Stark about a potential superhero team if he didn't have any other superheroes in mind.
    – Withad
    Commented Apr 23, 2019 at 11:09

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.