Sep 30, 2010

Nick Fury Net Cartoon

I'm not really up to date on stuff like this, but apparently Marvel has been posting some online "micro-episodes" (why not calle them "microsodes?") of a cartoon called The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes that picks and chooses from Marvel's regular Avengers comics (again, this is Marvel Comics' all-star superhero squad, not the real Avengers you're usually more likely to read about here) and their Ultimate comics.  The latest micro-episode (the ninth) stars Marvel's eyepatched superspy Nick Fury, and he's quite literaly an amalgamation of the the classic Nick Fury of Steranko's comics and the Ultimate version of the character, based on Samuel L. Jackson and actually embodied by the actor in Marvel's live-action movies (most recently Iron Man 2).  The Fury in this cartoon does not look like Jackson, isn't bald, and doesn't wear a long black leather coat.  He basically looks like Steranko's Fury, complete with classic blue jumpsuit and (by the end of the episode) grey streaks in his hair.  But like the Ultimate Nick Fury, he is black, and apparently voiced by a black actor.  It's kind of weird, but personally I like it a lot better than the version of the character based on Jackson.  This version of Ultimate Nick Fury may be of a different ethnicity than the character's original incarnation, but skin color aside he's pretty much the character Steranko fans know and love. (Unlike the Ultimate version and the movie version, wherin Jackson's larger-than-life persona eclipses any familiar Fury traits.) And that's why this little cartoon is kind of cool, and worth mentioning here.  It's a rare chance to see Steranko conceits in motion, including Nick's flying sports car and stretch underarm wing glider thing.  Give it a look on YouTube, then pick up Steranko's Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. trade paperback to see Marvel's version of James Bond from the height of the Sixties spy craze.
(Thanks to Josh for sending me this link.)

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