MCU: Where Was Nick Fury During the Civil War?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe showed us many stories so far, and there are a lot more to come. We met the original Avengers and saw them assembling, then breaking up, and then assembling again to battle for the fate of half of the universe. One of the MCU’s breaking points was the Civil War between Iron Man and Captain America, which was depicted in the third installment of the Captain America trilogy — Captain America: Civil War, which some fans would call Avengers 2.5. The movie featured a number of known characters, but there’s one certain character who surprisingly wasn’t there when everything fell down. We’re talking about Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. So, where was Nick Fury during the Civil War?

After helping the Avengers save the people of Sokovia in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Nick Fury and his close friend and co-worker Maria Hill decided to lay low and hide in an undisclosed location. They watched over the monitor what happened at the airport in Germany where Iron Man and Captain America fought. After that, Fury and Hill decide to stay off the grid, although not completely. A few months later, Fury meets with Captain America, Black Widow, and Falcon, who are now fugitives due to Sokovia Accords. Fury tries to convince Captain America to make peace with Iron Man and bring the Avengers back together, but Cap refuses, telling him that Stark has a way to contact him if needed.

Nick Fury is one of the most important supporting characters featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was the original creator of the Avengers Initiative and, therefore, the person most responsible for the assembling of Earth’s mightiest heroes. He had important roles in The Avengers movie in 2012 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014. After that, he appeared in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, and even though the Civil War occurred one year after that, it took three years of waiting to see Nick Fury again in the post-credit scene of Avengers: Infinity War.

Why Nick Fury didn’t appear in Captain America: Civil War?

Samuel L. Jackson debuted as Nick Fury in the post-credit scene of the original Iron Man movie in 2008, and he remains loyal to the franchise to this day. Still, even Jackson admitted he was surprised that his character wasn’t included in Captain America: Civil War, considering Nick Fury was responsible for assembling the Avengers and wasn’t there when they broke up.

“I fussed at them, I still fuss at them, about Civil War because I’m like, “How could the kids fight and Nick Fury does not show up?” Like, “What’s going on here? Everybody go to your room.” But they didn’t need me for that. They did, but they didn’t.”,

Jackson said in one interview for The Hollywood Reporter.

The only official source that provides information about where Nick Fury was during the events of Captain America: Civil War is the Captain Marvel Prelude comic book which depicts Nick Fury and Maria Hill after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron and after the events of Captain America: Civil War. After they saved the people of Sokovia from the floating city before it was destroyed, Fury met with Black Widow again in a new Avengers facility before he went into hiding again with Maria Hill.

On an undisclosed location, Nick Fury and Maria Hill witnessed the Civil War between two teams led by Captain America and Iron Man. Fury and Hill decide to stay off the grid, and while leaving the place, they discuss the Sokovia Accords and what will happen if a new threat arises now that the Avengers are broken. They even discussed Captain Marvel, but Nick Fury said there was still no need to call her.

A few months later, Captain America, Black Widow, and Falcon, now all the fugitives from the government because of the Sokovia Accords, arrived in Syria to stop the exchange of a rigged Chitauri bomb. They meet with Nick Fury in their Quinjet, and Fury tries to convince Captain America to make peace with Iron Man and reassemble the Avengers again.

Captain refuses, telling Fury that Stark has a way to contact him if he ever needs him. At the same time, Maria Hill meets with Tony Stark at the Avengers compound, and that conversation finishes with Stark firing Hill from his company.

The Captain Marvel Prelude comic book concludes with a comic book version of Avengers: Infinity War’s post-credit scene, in which Nick Fury starts witnessing the results of Thanos’ snap and sends a distress signal to Captain Marvel moments before he disintegrates too.

The writing duo of Captain America: Civil War, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely, explained in one interview that Nick Fury wasn’t in the movie because his appearance would bring too many options, and they didn’t really want Fury to side with either side in the Civil War.

“Primarily, it felt like one too many possible opinions. We didn’t want him to take one side or the other because that’s not his place in the universe.”,

Markus said for Los Angeles Times back in 2016.

Samuel L. Jackson is set to reprise the role of Nick Fury twice this year. On June 21, we’ll watch the premiere of the Disney+ series Secret Invasion, which is the first MCU project in which Fury has the main role. And then, on November 10, he’ll return one more time in The Marvels movie starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani.

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