 Jim Steranko , an artist and writer who worked on 18 of the Nick Fury : Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. comic books between 1966 and 1968 , was critical of the pilot episode , lamenting that " the show had no menace , no tension . " For the second episode , Steranko said that it was " too unfocused to be satisfying , " but praised Jackson 's cameo as Nick Fury as " an electrifying reminder of what the series could and should be . " In contrast , Steranko 's opinion of some later episodes in the first season were more positive , congratulating the writer and director of " The End of the Beginning " for " finding an entertaining , bravura groove that finally brings the concept to life " , and saying of the next episode " I was concerned that last week 's bravura transformation was only a fluke , but it was apparent from the opening moments that the exec lineup 's new image @-@ and @-@ edit policy was in play . " Overall , however , he found season one to be " 22 episodes of ' sanctified ' plot and character crumbs being salted with terminally @-@ sluggish velocity ( into anemic ' standalone ' stories ) " . 
