Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Jr. (Marcus Johnson) is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. He is a son and successor of former U.S. Army hero/super-spy and the intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury. The character first appeared in Battle Scars #1 (January 2012), which was written by Matt Fraction, Chris Yost, and Cullen Bunn, and penciled by Scot Eaton. Publication history The character was introduced in the debut issue of the miniseries Battle Scars (January 2012), which was written by Matt Fraction, Chris Yost, and Cullen Bunn, and penciled by Scot Eaton. The character bears a strong resemblance to the Ultimate Marvel version of Nick Fury and the Marvel Cinematic Universe incarnation as portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson; the Ultimate version's appearance was based on that of Jackson before the actor's portrayal in the films. Nick Fury Jr. appears in the 2013 Secret Avengers series by Nick Spencer and Luke Ross. In January 2017, Marvel announced that the character would get his first ongoing solo series named Nick Fury. Fictional character biography Marcus Johnson was raised in Atlanta, Georgia, by his mother Nia Jones. At the age of 18, Marcus passed on numerous college football scholarships in order to enlist in the US Army, serving in Iraq. After his enlistment, he earned a degree in philosophy from the University of Georgia. Marcus then re-enlisted in the Army, achieving the rank of staff sergeant. While serving in Afghanistan with 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Marcus is told that his mother was murdered back in the United States. He returns home and is attacked by the men who killed his mother, and by Taskmaster, but is saved by Captain America. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrive and take him to one of their facilities; after a while Johnson, comes to feel he is being held there against his will and escapes, but is caught by Taskmaster once again. Before he can obtain any information, a man in a mask saves him, but then flees. Johnson catches up to the man, who is revealed to be his father, Nick Fury. Fury and Johnson are then captured by the organization Leviathan's former member Orion, who has Johnson's left eye cut out and confirms that Johnson has the Infinity Formula in his DNA, which has given Fury his long lifespan. Fury helps Johnson escape, but Fury himself has his blood transfused to