Hey everybody! Welcome back to another great character spotlight from the Marvel Universe! In this edition of Marvel Snapshot, we’ll be taking a look at one of those hidden gems that some people either tend to forget, or just don’t know about. One of my favorite characters has always been Nick Fury, so it just stands to reason that I’d love his devious brother, Jake Fury, A.K.A. Scorpio! This maniacal sibling has caused more trouble for Fury than anybody in the Marvel Universe!
Back in 1967, Jim Steranko created the brother of Nick Fury, and boy did he ever bring the evil side of the Fury family with him! Let us dispense with the speculation and get right down to the facts about this crazy dude! He was created by Jim Steranko in 1967 (Strange Tales #159).
Alright, let’s first just assume that all along this character was a real, human dude. In the beginning, Jake Fury was jealous of his brother, Nick, ever since they were youths. He then created a villainous alter-ego, Scorpio. He used his cunning to first attack Nick and SHIELD, but was defeated. He later fought his brother once more, but then used his encounters to impersonate Nick, and infiltrate SHIELD. Again, he tasted the bitterness of defeat, and laid low for a while.
He gathered some villainous types together, and formed the Zodiac crime cartel. This group of baddies would plague not only Fury and SHIELD, but the Avengers, and then even the Defenders! In the latter story, Scorpio obtained the Zodiac Key, and constructed LMD versions of his former partners. He attacked the Defenders, and even tried to kidnap Nighthawk! This all led to a huge brawl with Hellcat and Moon Knight also joining in. In the end, Scorpio was defeated, and in a moment of feeling worthless, he committed suicide. Nick (or an LMD of Nick Fury), was stunned, and completely broken in the moment.
OK, now, initially, we all thought Jake Fury was dead, but later (in Secret Warriors), we find out that Nick Fury had his brother duplicated ( some wacky technology/ LMD’s), and one of the dupes was Scorpio, as Jake was going undercover to infiltrate Hydra. This series did do a good job of making this all believable (believe it or not), but the fact still remains that the Marvel method of taking something a previous writer/creator did, and poo poo it with an LMD, is kind of played out. I will give Jonathan Hickman credit, though, as he did do a solid job on Secret Warriors. Where this character might show up next is any LMD’s guess!
As usual, check out my recommended reading list, along with some great cover shots below! See you next time!
Recommended Reading
Nick Fury, Agent of Shield: Who is Scorpio? – Tpb
Avengers #72 (1970)
Essential Defenders vol. 3 – Tpb
Secret Warriors #25 & 26 (2009)
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
