Marvel Has to Stop Pretending to Kill Nick Fury

Marvel pretending to kill of Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury has become bit of a trend in the MCU, but it's time for it to stop.'s Nick Fury has "died" and come back one time too many, to the point of the trope losing impact. In the future, Marvel needs to avoid any similar storylines for the fan-favorite superspy.

Like Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Nick Fury has been around since the very beginning of the MCU, having first appeared in the post-credits scene of Iron Man in 2008. In the years since, Fury has returned for multiple MCU movies, including films in the Captain America, Iron Man, and Avengers franchises. Fury's latest appearance came in the final Phase 3 movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home, where a shocking twist revealed that the whole time we thought "Fury" was helping Peter Parker (Tom Holland), he was actually secretly being impersonated by the Skrull, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn). As it turns out, Talos was acting on the orders of the real Nick Fury the whole time.

Nick Fury is one of many MCU characters whose MCU future is currently unknown. Fury had major roles in Far From Home and Captain Marvel, and a cameo at Tony Stark's funeral in Avengers: Endgame, making him the only MCU character to appear in all three of Marvel's films in 2019. Nick Fury is clearly one of the MCU's most important characters, but a big problem with how he's been handled in the MCU is Marvel's tendency to kill - or pretend to kill - the character.

Every Time Marvel Tried To Kill Nick Fury

Samuel L Jackson and Nick Fury in Avengers Infinity War

A shocking moment came in Captain America: Winter Soldier when Nick Fury is assassinated by Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). Later, Fury is pronounced dead, and a sad scene follows with Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) being deeply affected upon seeing his body. But it was all just a misdirect. Later in the movie, it was revealed that Fury never died at all. He faked his death and allowed the world to believe that the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was dead.

Nick Fury died again in the post-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War -- but this time it was for real. After assembling the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos (Josh Brolin) wiped out half of everyone in the universe with the snap of his fingers. Among the casualties were Nick Fury and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders). Fury died moments before sending out a call to Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). Of course, this death was undone along with all the other Marvel heroes killed by Thanos' snap. This time, no one was expecting Nick Fury to stay dead, as it was understood by fans that somehow the Avengers would find a way to bring back those who were slain in Infinity War.

A third instance of this occurs in Spider-Man: Far From Home when Peter finds out that he was tricked by Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) into giving him Tony Stark's E.D.I.T.H. program. Peter meets Fury in a building in Berlin and warns him about Mysterio right before Fury is seemingly shot to death by a drone. Mysterio appears, and remarks that "Fury always had to die". But Fury doesn't die, because Peter eventually realizes that what he saw is just an illusion created by Mysterio.

Nick Fury's Deaths Are Part Of A Bigger Problem In The MCU

Nick Fury dying and being brought back in the MCU isn't necessarily an isolated issue when it comes to Marvel movies. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. resurrected Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), much to the chagrin of Avengers director Joss Whedon. Coulson's death was a key moment in the movie, as it gave the Avengers the motivation they needed to take down Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Loki and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) both died in Avengers: Infinity War, but the existence of alternate timelines has allowed Marvel to continue using them. Vision (Paul Bettany), who was murdered by Thanos in Infinity War, will somehow be resurrected for the Disney+ series, WandaVision.

The larger issue here is that the Marvel movies are becoming guilty of a commonly used science fiction trope. When Marvel kills a character in a movie, it's important for audiences to believe the death will have lasting consequences. Otherwise, it carries no emotional weight. If deaths are always undone or revealed to be fake-outs, viewers will simply expect the character's death to be taken back before the movie ends or in the next installment. This is already something that happens all the time in the comics.

When a character dies, fans generally assume the character will return at some point in the future, which is why movies in the MCU must avoid going in this direction. Marvel seems to be getting back on the track when it comes to making sure their deaths have meaning, as it certainly seems unlikely that Marvel will ever bring back Iron Man or Black Widow after their Avengers: Endgame deaths. Or Loki, who's main timeline iteration seems to finally be dead, although that death is undercut by the fact that an alternate timeline version is about to have his own TV series. See also: whatever's going on with Gamora.

Should Nick Fury Die In The MCU?

Marvel's repeated attempts to trick audiences into thinking that Nick Fury's time in the MCU is up raises an important question: should Nick Fury die? First of all, there's still plenty Marvel can do with the character. He'd fit well in a show like Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and based on his association with the Skrulls, he should be on hand for any continuation of that story, whether it be in a Secret Invasion show for Disney+ or Captain Marvel 2.

As previously mentioned, Fury has been around since the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and this is part of why Fury shouldn't be killed off. Avengers: Endgame marked the end of an era by moving on from major heroes like Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, and more, who may never be seen again. In Phase 4, the MCU will look considerably different than it did in the early 2010s, considering that the heroes headlining their own movies for the foreseeable future are characters like Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Shang-Chi, and Black Panther. So while its necessary for the MCU to move forward, it wouldn't be a bad idea for Marvel to keep Nick Fury around as an important link to its past. This way, the MCU can keep things fresh while simultaneously ensuring that the MCU still looks familiar to longtime fans of the franchise.

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