America’s top spy is under review in our ongoing “Countdown to ‘Ultron.’”

Marvel

I’VE GOT MY EYE ON YOU.

Portrayed by: Samuel L. Jackson

First Appearance: Iron Man (Post-Credits)

What makes Nick Fury awesome: He brought the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes together on one screen.

Best MCU Moment: The chase scene from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Nick Fury’s role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been nothing short of significant, and with his iconic all black attire, eye patch and overall badassery, he’s been one of the most prolific characters to come from the series. He’s brought together the team that we have grown to love and played a major role in ruining the plans that HYDRA tried enact during the events of The Winter Soldier. His role only continues to grow with the franchise.

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the former Director of Shield, though. After his military stint, he moved onto the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, or what we know as S.H.I.E.L.D. Here, he served as a Deputy Chief. Following some high-risk, but equally high-rewarding moves with the CNLA (Colombian National Liberation Army), Fury was promoted to the position of Director.

Perhaps what Fury is best known for at this point, though, is being project leader on the Avengers Initiative, and we all know based on the existing movies and post-credit clips how the team came to be what it is today. But let’s take a look at some earlier pieces to the puzzle. Even before the Avengers Initiative made its first recruit of Tony Stark, Fury made himself the one responsible for bringing in Hawkeye and Black Widow. Hawkeye was recruited directly to S.H.I.E.L.D. and was eventually sent on a mission assassinate Black Widow, only to recruit her into the program instead. This lead to the creation of STRIKE Team: Delta, thus laying the foundation for two key members of the Avengers.

Marvel

Shortly after his aforementioned recruitment, Fury spent a significant amount of time hunting down Bruce Banner. He was able to meet him at a bar and trick him into turning green through a mixture of confusion, anger and frustration. After the transformation, the Hulk yelled in Fury’s face, and instead of cowering in fear, Fury stood his ground, leading to the Hulk running off. This was just one of the acts that has earned Fury the image he carries today. Fighting the Winter Soldier in the streets of New York, getting gunned down in Captain America’s apartment and having to inject himself with a heart depressant to fake his own death are no easy tasks to overcome. Whether his intentions are moral or amoral, the man has one mission that he holds above everything else, and that is to protect the Earth, and for that we have to respect the man behind the eye patch.

Where do you rank Nick Fury in list of characters in the MCU? Are you hoping that he continues to have a large role going forward? Tweet us @YouNerded.