The Avengers: Endgame final battle was missing one key member of the team, Nick Fury, but now one of the film's writers has explained why he wasn't there. Played by Samuel L. Jackson, Fury made his MCU debut in the first film of the series, Iron Man. He appeared in a post-credits scene to talk with Tony Stark about the Avengers Initiative. This conversation kicked off the 23-movie long Infinity Saga that concluded with Spider-Man: Far From Home. Fury has appeared in 11 Marvel films total, including Captain Marvel. That movie took place in the 1990s and used a deaging technique on Jackson.
In the comics, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the character of Fury for Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, a story set during WWII. Instead of Captain Marvel's Goose causing Fury to lose his eye, in that iteration a grenade is responsible. The modern-day version of Fury debuted in Fantastic Four #21. In that comic, he was a CIA agent and later a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. Since then, Fury has appeared in many other comics, including The Avengers and miniseries Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. Alternate reality versions of the character have shown up as well.
Related: Spider-Man: Far From Home's Nick Fury & Captain Marvel Moment Makes No Sense
According to Comic Book, Christopher Markus, who wrote Avengers: Endgame with Stephen McFeely, spoke at Comic-Con 2019 about Fury's absence in the final battle of the film. Markus explained, “I don’t think we ever put him in," alluding to the many drafts and revisions the movie went through. He then elaborated, “It was [because] we have such a traffic jam of heroes and so much power, that to have a guy who, in combat, would just be firing a gun... it doesn’t come off well for Nick Fury, frankly.” Since Fury is one of the many characters snapped away by Thanos at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, he doesn't appear in Avengers: Endgame until Tony Stark's funeral. The rest of the warriors affected by the snap show up in a triumphant moment during the battle scene.
Avengers: Endgame continues to resonate with viewers, having just passed Avatar as the highest-grossing film of all time. Marvel also announced upcoming additions to its slate at Comic-Con 2019, including Thor: Love and Thunder, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. They also shared details about the long-awaited Black Widow movie, which will be released in 2020. The villain of that movie is Taskmaster, and it will take place between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Prior to the announcement, fans assumed that Black Widow would take place in the past. This is because Natasha sacrificed herself during Avengers: Endgame.
With so many characters to service in Avengers: Endgame, it makes sense that a couple, including Fury, were left out of the final battle scene. Some have already mocked the MCU for including Black Widow and Hawkeye in some fight scenes, since their human powers wouldn't help much against aliens. Fury likely would have been lost in the shuffle and leaving him out of that scene means that his appearance at Tony's funeral packs a bigger punch. Plus, with Fury playing such a huge role in Captain Marvel, fans probably weren't too disappointed by his smaller appearance in Avengers: Endgame. It sounds like Markus and McFeely made the right call.
Source: Comic Book
