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S.H.I.E.L.D. (originally an acronym for Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division, subsequently changed to Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Directorate) is a fictional counterterrorism and intelligence agency in the Marvel Universe that often deals with superhuman threats.

Overview and History

Usually led by Nick Fury as Executive Director, this organization often operates as much as a covert agency as a quasi-military one, initially depicted as affiliated with the United States government, and in later years under the jurisdiction of the United Nations, with vast technological resources at their disposal and U.N. General Assembly Resolutions backed by legislation passed in signatory nations aiding many of their operations, as cited in Amazing Fantasy v.2 #7.

Most famously, their headquarters for a long period was the Helicarrier, a massive flying aircraft carrier that was kept airborne at all times and, among other things, contained a squadron of jet fighters and housed an ICBM. In addition, S.H.I.E.L.D. maintains strong ties to the superhero community and often calls upon their aid for particular missions, especially Captain America and the Avengers, as well as the Fantastic Four.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was introduced in Strange Tales #135 (August 1965), in which Colonel Fury (formerly the lead character of Marvel Comics' World War II series Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos) was appointed head of the organization. Several characters from the Sgt. Fury series reappeared as agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., most notably Thaddeus "Dum-Dum" Dugan, Fury's bowler hat-wearing aide-de-camp. Their most persistent enemy is HYDRA, a criminal organization founded (after some retconning) by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. Its name is taken from the mythical monster to symbolize its ability to grow stronger the more it is wounded.

Strange Tales #135 came out during a trend for action series about secret international intelligence agencies with catchy acronyms, such as television's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and James Bond's S.P.E.C.T.R.E.

Most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents are normal humans. Years ago they attempted to set up a team of superhuman agents, composed of: Marvel Man (the future Quasar), Texas Twister, Blue Streak and The Vamp but the last two were secretly agents of the criminal organization called The Corporation, and the team broke apart before they had their first official mission. A second team organized years later also lasted only a short while.

Still, S.H.I.E.L.D. does employ superhumans. They have a special Psi-Division composed of telepathic agents whom they use to deal with telepathic menaces. They also tend to ask for help from independent heroes when they need their special abilities. They have also accepted some superheroes and villains as members, but no longer in a separate unit (see membership). In general, the organization tended to let superhumans police themselves, but their policy seems to have recently changed.

During the time that Godzilla roamed the United States, S.H.I.E.L.D. formed a subunit, the "Godzilla Squad" to hunt the creature down, until it disappeared into the Atlantic sea. This unit, led by Dum Dum Dugan, employed such weapons as a giant robot called Red Ronin and a smaller version of the Helicarrier, known as The Behemoth.

Another of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s unique technological features are the LMDs (Life Model Decoys) extremely lifelike androids used to replace people who are in danger of being killed. This technology was stolen from S.H.I.E.L.D. by Scorpio and used to create the second team of villains called the Zodiac. Later, some LMDs (known as the Deltites) achieved sentience and infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., replacing key members, until Fury defeated them. This led to the disbanding of the original organization and its replacement by a new taskforce with the same acronym.

Recent Developments

In the wake of a recent unauthorized mission in Latveria that had disastrous consequences for New York's superhero community, Fury has effectively resigned as Executive Director with international warrants out for his arrest. His successor is therefore not one of his closer associates as might otherwise have been the case, but a relatively unknown newcomer to the S.H.I.E.L.D. hierarchy, Maria Hill. Little is known of Hill's history within and prior to joining S.H.I.E.L.D..

A transcript of a conversation between Hill and the President of the United States printed in Secret War #5 revealed that she was chosen for the post by consensus of the U.N. heads of state specifically to achieve two main goals: to keep other, more qualified senior staff perceived as loyal to Fury first out of the job, and to keep relations with the world's super-hero community to an absolute minimum from that point onward. The President also expected Hill - an American - to be loyal first to America, despite S.H.I.E.L.D being an autonomous, U.N run organisation.

In New Avengers, it appears that an element of corruption has crept into S.H.I.E.L.D. Madame Hydra even noted that Nick Fury had been "keeping it clean by sheer willpower" and without him, the organization was starting to fall apart. The Avengers suspect elements of S.H.I.E.L.D. are behind such things as "stockpiling" supervillians in prison and using slave labor to mine the Savage Land. So far, the Avengers have been unable to find evidence behind this conspiracy.

An additional political and ethical irritant affecting the relationship between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the superhuman community is the passage of the United States' Super-Human Registration Act as depicted in Civil War. S.H.I.E.L.D. will be asked by the United States to lead in the enforcement of its provisions, and to take on registered super-heroes under the Act as operatives in its own ranks. It is not yet known if other nations will pass similar legislation covering their own superhumans, or if S.H.I.E.L.D. will undertake similar duties for such nations as do decide upon similar legislative action. The organization's charter obliges it to provide assistance to U.N. member nations upon request(per the second Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. series).

Conception

S.H.I.E.L.D. was created by Nicholas Joseph Fury after the end of World War II, but Fury abandoned the idea and left the draft he created for the agency locked up in a safe for years. He felt the U.S. government wouldn't approve the formation of such an agency, when there was no need.

It would be years later, when Fury was in a secret meeting with members of the former superhero team, the First Line, that Fury saw the need for an agency like S.H.I.E.L.D., after they suffered an attack by Kro and a band of Deviants.

Apparently, however, the idea was finally dusted off by the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D. without Fury's knowledge some years later, as his recruitment to the post of their second Executive Director -- as well as the agency's existence itself -- was a surprise to him when he learned of both.

Organizational Structure and Procedure

S.H.I.E.L.D. has been depicted by various writers as varying its organizational structure considerably in several ways over the decades. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (First Edition) describes an eight-level ranking structure, although providing almost no detail on other aspects of the Directorate's internal makeup.

Recent depictions of S.H.I.E.L.D., particularly those written by Brian Michael Bendis, imply a hierarchy of security clearance levels used either in place of, or alongside, the previously-described rank structure. The security clearance hierarchy operates on a ten-level scale, ranging from "Level One", the lowest, to "Level Ten", described by then-Executive Director Maria Hill as the highest security clearance any human being can have, Hill herself being cited in New Avengers as having a "Level Nine" clearance.

Prominent members

Prominent members of S.H.I.E.L.D. include (alphabetized by last name except for Fury):

  • Nick Fury, creator and second known executive director
  • Yelena Belova (the third known Black Widow)
  • Yuri Brevlov, Russian Helicarrier commander.
  • G. W. Bridge, fourth known executive director
  • Laura Brown, daughter to Arnold Brown, the Imperial HYDRA
  • Sharon Carter (Agent 13), fifth known executive director; currently detailed as liaison officer to Captain America
  • Contessa Valentina Allegra di Fontaine
  • Jessica Drew (the original Spider-Woman)
  • Thaddeus "Dum-Dum" Dugan, third known executive director
  • Maria Hill, sixth known/current executive director
  • Jerry Hunt, UK-based field agent and past romantic partner of Jessica Drew
  • Daisy Johnson, seismic-powered "super-agent" and sole known S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with "Level Ten" security clearance
  • Gabriel "Gabe" Jones, like Dugan, a former member of Fury's Howling Commandos in WWII
  • Derek Khanata, an ex-Hatut Zeraze operative from Wakanda, and handler for the current Scorpion
  • Sidney Levine
  • Al MacKenzie, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s senior liaison officer to the CIA
  • Ali Morales
  • Noriko Nagayoshi
  • "Network Nina"(real name unknown), cyber-enhanced ESP Agent
  • Kate Neville (deceased)
  • N'Gami, technological advisor and Wakandan governmental liaison officer.
  • Richard Parker and his wife Mary Fitzpatrick Parker, the parents of Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man
  • Alexander Goodwin Pierce, sometime personal aide/bodyguard to Fury
  • Clay Quartermain, one-time liaison officer attached to Hulk-hunting operations of the United States Armed Forces, later supervisor for the second incarnation of the Howling Commandos
  • Natasha Romanova (the second known Black Widow)
  • Michael Rossi, former lover of Carol Danvers
  • Gail Runciter
  • Ayna Sareva
  • Jasper Sitwell
  • Jack Truman (Manhunter Agent 18), who later became the third known Deathlok cyborg.
  • Alexei Vashin, formerly affiliated with the KGB as one of their specialists in superhuman-related operations
  • Jimmy Woo, former FBI agent who fought the Yellow Claw and later Godzilla.
  • Lawrence "Larry" Young - former S.H.I.E.L.D. Air Cavalry officer, later the fourth known Deathlok cyborg
  • Abigail Brand - S.W.O.R.D. officer with dirty secrets, from Astonishing X-Men
  • Agent Jamie Madrox - a duplicate of Jamie Madrox created years ago that joined S.H.I.E.L.D.

Bases of Operations

Although the various Helicarriers built over the years have long been considered S.H.I.E.L.D.'s primary "home base", the Directorate as presently constituted maintains a number of land bases throughout the world, most notably "SHIELD Central" in New York City. While some of these bases are publicly accessible on a limited basis, most are not publicly disclosed for reasons of planetary security.

S.W.O.R.D.

Astonishing X-Men v3 #6 (December 2004) by Joss Whedon introduced an organization called S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department). S.W.O.R.D. is a governmental organization that works with S.H.I.E.L.D. In contrast to S.H.I.E.L.D., which deals with terrestrial threats, S.W.O.R.D. now deals with extraterrestrial threats. It is as yet unclear whether S.W.O.R.D. is a branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. or a true sister agency, as dialogue in the stories depicting both organizations has been ambiguous on the subject.

It is also unclear if S.W.O.R.D. will maintain ties with the space exploration service Starcore. Also depicted by Marvel as affiliated with the U.N., Starcore has worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. on several projects of joint interest, including establishing and maintaining a crewed facility on Earth's Moon.

Interestingly, Agent Abigail Brand, the S.W.O.R.D. agent the X-Men encountered, has green hair, a trait typical of agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s archenemy, HYDRA. This unusual characteristic did not go unremarked; Wolverine referred to her as "Hydra-Hair" in Astonishing X-Men v3 #6.

S.T.R.I.K.E.

S.T.R.I.K.E. (Special Tactical Response for International Key Emergencies) is a subdivision of, or perhaps a sister agency to, S.H.I.E.L.D. based in the United Kingdom. Disbanded after being infiltrated and taken over by a criminal organisation, two of its members were the X-Man and Psylocke.

Another European subdivision of SHIELD, called Euromind, was introduced in the unfortunate Marvel Italia series Europa.

S.A.F.E.

Introduced in Marvel's line of novels in the mid 1990s, S.A.F.E. (Strategic Action For Emergencies) is the United State's answer to S.H.I.E.L.D. They first appeared in Spider-Man & the Incredible Hulk: Rampage (Doom's Day Book 1), and may not be part of comics canon. Whereas S.H.I.E.L.D. is a UN funded and run organization dealing with international incidents, S.A.F.E. is tasked with similar duties inside of America's borders. It is run by Colonel Sean Morgan and a prominently featured agent is Joshua Ballard, who, among other things, survived an encounter with Doctor Doom and later Baron Zemo.

Depictions in Translation

S.H.I.E.L.D. stories have been translated into several other languages, including French, Finnish and Italian. Occasionally, these translations will show S.H.I.E.L.D. with an altered name.

In the case of selected French editions, the name of the agency was depicted as S.E.R.V.O., which sounds just like BRAIN (cerveau) in French.

In Finnish the original translation that still applies to Earth-616 is Y.P.K.V.V. (Ylimmäisen Päämajan Kansainvälisen Vakoilun Vastustamisjaos), a direct translation of the original English name. In the translations of the Ultimate Marvel comics the name is translated to K.I.L.P.I., with "kilpi" being the translation for "shield."

In Greek, the organisation name is Α.Σ.Π.Ι.Δ.Α. (ASPIDA, as a word means "Shield"). The initials stands for Highest Military and Political Foundation of International Espionage (Ανώτατο Στρατιωτικό Πολιτικό Ίδρυμα Διεθνούς Αντικατασκοπέιας)

In Portuguese, the name S.H.I.E.L.D. remains, but it is translated as "Superintendência Humana de Intervenção, Espionagem, Logística e Dissuasão", i. e., Human Superintendence for Intervention, Espionage, Logistics and Dissuasion.

In Dutch the name S.C.H.I.L.D. (Schild=Shield) has been used by Williams, but was dropped by Junior Press in favour of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In Spanish, initial publisher Vértice translated S.H.I.E.L.D. as "Escudo" (always without a determinant), but never showed the meaning. Later publishers Planeta DeAgostini and Panini used the name S.H.I.E.L.D., but translating the acronym as "Organización Internacional para la Ejecución y el Cumplimiento de la Ley". It has been suggested, as a joke, that the acronym does not correspond to the meaning because the acronym itself is undercover.

Ultimate S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Ultimate Universe was first led by "Thunderbolt" Ross. During the Gulf War, the Weapon X Project was sanctioned by S.H.I.E.L.D. and resulted in the creation of Wolverine. The project was headed by Colonel John Wraith. After Ross' apparent death, Nick Fury was then selected as the organization's Executive Director. His first plan was to resurrect the Super Soldier program. At first, he commissioned Dr. Bruce Banner to try to recreate the super soldier formula that made Captain America, but this failed and resulted in the creation of the Hulk when Banner injected the mediocre serum into himself. It was later revealed that the Oz chemical (that turned Norman Osborn in the Green Goblin) was also created in hopes of recreating the super soldier formula. The creation of the Sandman and Electro are due to Hammer Industries (Justin Hammer) attempting to recreate the super soldier formula for S.H.I.E.L.D. as well. Later on, the organization created its own super hero team called the Ultimates. Later, they also took in the X-Men under S.H.I.E.L.D. jurisdiction until recently when they had a falling out.

Prominent Members:

Former Members:

Movies and television

Other intelligence agencies

External links

Fictional intelligence agencies | Marvel Comics teams | Marvel Comics organizations

S.H.I.E.L.D. | S.H.I.E.L.D.

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "S.H.I.E.L.D.".

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