First Appearance of Nick Fury: Sgt. Fury #1 and S.H.I.E.L.D.

Nick Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1, cover-dated May 1963, as a World War II sergeant created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (Wikipedia). PriceCharting records the release as May 1963 and lists the issue as the first appearance of Sergeant Nick Fury.

The spy most people picture came a little later. Wikipedia says the character debuted as a modern-day CIA operative in Fantastic Four #21 (December 1963) and became the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Strange Tales #135 (August 1965). PriceCharting lists Strange Tales #135 as the first appearance of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra.

• Sgt. Nick Fury (World War II): Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1 (May 1963). Wikipedia says his aging was slowed by the Infinity Formula, a serum by Dr. Berthold Sternberg first given in the 1940s, which explains how the same man runs S.H.I.E.L.D. decades later.
• Nick Fury, spy: Fantastic Four #21 (December 1963) as a CIA operative; head of S.H.I.E.L.D. from Strange Tales #135 (August 1965).
• Ultimate Nick Fury: a version in Marvel's 2001 Ultimate imprint, drawn to look like Samuel L. Jackson and based on his screen persona (Wikipedia).
• Nick Fury Jr. (Marcus Johnson): introduced in the 2012 series Battle Scars; Wikipedia notes he is African American and loses an eye in the series. PriceCharting lists Battle Scars #1 with a January 2012 release.

Samuel L. Jackson first played Fury on screen in Iron Man (2008), and Wikipedia counts eleven films plus several Disney+ series since.

In the films, the clear case is Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). Its post-credits scene reveals that the Fury and Maria Hill seen in the film were the Skrulls Talos and Soren in disguise, acting on orders from the real Fury, who was away in space commanding a group of Skrulls (Wikipedia).

In the 2023 series Secret Invasion, Fury is not replaced; he works with Talos against renegade Skrulls, and it is Everett K. Ross and James Rhodes who turn out to be Skrull impostors (Wikipedia).

Not Nick Fury. The team debuted in The Avengers #1 (cover-dated September 1963), and its founding members were Iron Man, Ant-Man, Hulk, Thor and the Wasp; Wikipedia notes that the Wasp named the group. Captain America joined in issue #4 (March 1964) after being found frozen in ice. Fury is the one who recruits the team in the films, but he was never a founding member in the comics.

PriceCharting values retrieved September 25, 2026:

• Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1 (first Nick Fury): ungraded $427.45 (about one sale a week); 4.0 $895.61; 6.0 $2,440.00; 8.0 $8,100.00 (about one sale a year); 9.2 $8,628.54 (rare); 9.8 $59,264.47 (rare)
• Fantastic Four #21 (first modern-day Fury): ungraded $67.94; 4.0 $143.73; 6.0 $233.90; 8.0 $580.00; 9.2 $1,799.99; 9.8 $7,977.81
• Strange Tales #135 (first S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra): ungraded $63.05; 4.0 $112.82; 6.0 $222.50; 8.0 $411.92; 9.2 $2,132.79; 9.8 $16,800.00
• Battle Scars #1 (Nick Fury Jr.): ungraded $7.16; 9.2 $18.95; 9.8 $41.99

PriceCharting also keeps a separate entry for a British edition of Sgt. Fury #1, so check the cover price and indicia to be sure you have the U.S. printing before you use the U.S. figures. PriceCharting figures are estimates built from recorded sales of CGC-graded copies; when a grade trades only about once a year, one sale can push it above the next grade up.

Photograph the front cover straight on, then the indicia (the small print on the first page or inside cover with the title, issue number and date). ComicLens reads the title, issue number and cover from the photo, matches the likely issue with a confidence indicator you can correct by hand, and shows a reference price range that moves with the grade you pick. For Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1, photograph the cover price as well as the indicia, since a British edition is priced separately. There are free scans every day; the range is a reference estimate, not an appraisal or an offer.

Research and drafting were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed on this page. Prices are the figures shown by the named source on the date given; they change with the market. Pages we tried to open but could not read (Key Collector Comics, Reddit, Facebook, eBay and Fandom returned errors) are not used as sources.