Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. #1-6

[Col_Fury]

I've been working on this for a while and finally had a chance to finish it up. Chronology amendments below, enjoy!

NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. #1

APPEARANCES:
Nick Fury, la Contessa Valentine de Fontaine, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Jasper Sitwell, Clay Quartermain, Jack Rollins (1st, dies), Gaffer LMD (1st), Gail Runciter LMD (1st), Jimmy Woo LMD (1st), Deltite

SYNOPSIS:
Nick Fury leads a SHIELD team to retrieve the power core of a crashed Helicarrier. Fury finds the power core and Gaffer oversees the process of containing the core's energy leaks and transportation. The power core surges and emits dangerous levels of radiation, so Fury and Clay Quartermain act quickly to diffuse it, risking their lives to save the other SHIELD agents. The core is contained and Fury and Clay go through a decontamination process. Suddenly, Hydra attacks, kills several SHIELD agents, injures Clay and steals the power core. Later, Fury travels to Roxxon headquarters and meets undercover SHIELD agent Jack Rollins, who shows Fury Roxxon's Project Delta which has files on several SHIELD agents and the stolen power core. They see robed figures transporting the power core, so Fury leaves and schedules a meeting with the SHIELD ruling council. At SHIELD headquarters, Jasper Sitwell tells Dum Dum and the Contessa that Clay has died. Fury arrives at SHIELD HQ, learns of Clay's demise, meets with the ruling council and tells them Roxxon has the power core. The ruling council ignores the information and dismisses Fury. At Roxxon, Jimmy Woo kills Rollins. The ruling council declares Fury a traitor and issues an order for his arrest. Jack Rollins, apparently still alive, attacks Fury but Fury escapes.

NOTE:
The Gaffer, Gail Runciter and Jimmy Woo appearing here are Delta LMDs. The real versions are later found in Nick Fury, Agent of… S.H.I.E.L.D. #42-43. The Deltite is an LMD that gained sentience and usurped the SHIELD ruling council. As seen in issue #6.

NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. #2

APPEARANCES:
Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, la Contessa Valentine de Fontaine, Jasper Sitwell, Eric Koenig, Jimmy Woo LMD, Clay Quartermain LMD (1st), Jack Rollins LMD (1st), Jasper Sitwell LMD (1st), Gaffer LMD, Deltite, Black Knight, Thor, She-Hulk, Dr. Druid, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Moon Knight, Wonder Man, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Thing, She-Thing (Sharon Ventura), Human Torch, Crystal

SYNOPSIS:
Nick Fury descends into the sewers and grabs supplies from an underground SHIELD safe house. At SHIELD headquarters, Jack Rollins begins interrogating Gabe Jones and Dum Dum Dugan. Fury resumes his homeless person disguise, recognizes several SHIELD agents in the city streets and heads back into the sewers, not realizing he's being followed. Jimmy Woo finishes interrogating Eric Koenig and moves on to the Contessa and Jasper Sitwell. As Fury battles a SHIELD agent in the sewer, the SHIELD ruling council interrogates the Contessa, Jasper, Dum Dum and Gabe. Only Jasper admits he would kill Fury if ordered. The Contessa isn't sure and Dum Dum and Gabe both refuse outright. Fury kills the attacking SHIELD agent. Jasper is named Fury's replacement as Director of SHIELD. Jasper warns the Avengers, west Coast Avengers and Fantastic Four that if they hear from Fury and don't tell SHIELD, they'll be arrested. Jimmy Woo leads a SHIELD team into the sewers and attacks Fury, killing anyone who gets in their way. Fury escapes and contacts the Contessa. After Clay Quartermain's funeral, Clay Quartermain reports to the SHIELD ruling council. Fury meets the Contessa to explain the Roxxon situation, but he's ambushed by a SHIELD team. Fury escapes.

NOTE:
Jack Rollins died last issue, this is his Delta LMD replacement. The Clay appearing here is an LMD, and Jasper is replaced this issue.

NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. #3

APPEARANCES:
Nick Fury, Nick Fury LMD, Tony Stark, la Contessa Valentine de Fontaine, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Alexander Goodwin Pierce (1st), John Allen (1st), Kate Neville (1st), Al MacKenzie (1st), Deltite, Madame Hydra, Obadiah Stane LMD (1st), Eric Koenig LMD (destroyed), Jasper Sitwell LMD, Jimmy Woo LMD, Clay Quartermain LMD, Jack Rollins LMD, Gail Runciter LMD

SYNOPSIS:
Jack Rollins searches for Nick Fury but can't find him. Meanwhile, the SHIELD ruling council interviews Clay Quartermain. They're pleased with Clay's progress and are happy with his addition to Delta, but realize that returning him to active duty will be tricky because so many people knew him. Nick Fury recruits low-level SHIELD agent Alexander Goodwin Pierce to attack SHIELD. In the SHIELD ESP division, another ESPer agent dies. SHIELD agent John Allen wonders why the ESPers are scanning the entirety of SHIELD agents so strong that they die from exhaustion. After Obadiah Stane gives a progress report to Jasper Sitwell and Jimmy Woo, the two SHIELD agents discuss Stane's addition to Delta after his Stabe's death. Al MacKenzie, the CIA liaison to SHIELD arrives and demands to know why SHIELD is hunting Nick Fury; Sitwell refuses to answer. Pierce dresses Fury's wounds. Allen discovers that thousands of SHIELD agents have no brain waves. Allen tells Jimmy Woo and MacKenzie overhears. Clay Quartermain tells Jack Rollins that he has dreams of dying; Rollins worries if the Delta process adversely affected Clay. Fury and Pierce attack a SHIELD installation. Local agent Kate Neville calls for reinforcements and attacks Fury. Rollins responds to Kate's call and Clay joins in the attack. Fury sees that Clay is still alive and escapes with Pierce. Al MacKenzie stops some SHIELD agents from killing Allen. Rollins interrogates a Nick Fury LMD and Jimmy Woo reveals he's aged decades in a matter of days. At a diner, an undercover SHIELD agent detains MacKenzie and Allen. Nick Fury lures Tony Stark into a meeting, tells him SHIELD has been taken over and has been using LMDs of him, blackmails Stark into helping him or else he'll tell the world Stark is Iron Man and leaves. Meanwhile, Madame Hydra meets with Jimmy Woo. A Nick Fury LMD surprises Tony Stark, punches him and leaves. SHIELD, remotely scanning Stark through the LMD, is satisfied that Fury hasn't contacted Stark. Stark realizes Fury was telling the truth. Fury and Pierce attack SHIELD HQ, frees MacKenzie and Allen, sees that Jimmy Woo is aged and escapes with Koenig as a hostage. As Fury interrogates Koenig, Stark arrives with an LMD detector. Koenig is revealed as an LMD. Koenig taunts Fury and explodes. The SHIELD ruling council is satisfied with Koenig's performance. Woo meets Madame Hydra and prepares the Helicarrier power core for transport.

NOTE:
The Eric Koenig appearing here is his LMD replacement… and he explodes. Obadiah Stane has already died by this point; SHIELD created an LMD of him to manufacture weapons for the Delta project.

NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. #4

APPEARANCES:
Nick Fury, Tony Stark (bts, loaned a Quinjet to Fury), la Contessa Valentine de Fontaine, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Al MacKenzie, Kate Neville, John Allen (dies), Alexander Goodwin Pierce, Madame Hydra, Deltite, Jasper Sitwell LMD, Jack Rollins LMD, Jimmy Woo LMD, Laura Brown LMD (1st)

SYNOPSIS:
Several prominent businesspeople agree to attend a presentation on Roxxon’s new business venture. At SHIELD headquarters, Jack Rollins and Jasper Sitwell agree that the Infinity Formula is what’s needed to stabilize the Delta process. Jimmy Woo arrives, once again young, but is now emotionless. Jasper reminds Rollins that without the Infinity Formula, the Delta rejuvenation process deletes people’s personality each time through. Nick Fury, Pierce, MacKenzie and Allen arrive in Hong Kong and meet Pail, an old ally of Fury’s, and Pail’s son Weng. Two members of the SHIELD ruling council are pleased that their plan is coming together and decide to create new bodies to live in to celebrate. Dum Dum and Gabe begin investigating Roxxon and the Contessa reveals she’s being transferred to the Delta program. Fury recruits Pail, but Weng secretly warns Madamde Hydra that Fury is going to attack a nearby Hydra base. Madame Hydra knocks Weng out and has an implant inserted into Weng. Dum Dum, Gabe and the Contessa research the Delta program and discover thousands of SHIELD agents are already enrolled. The Contessa decides to accept the assignment and infiltrate Delta. Hydra prepares the SHIELD helicarrier power core for transport and Madame Hydra reports her progress to the Supreme Hydra; she doesn’t realize the Deltite, leader of the SHIELD ruling council, is actually posing as the Supreme Hydra. Fury trains his group and worries they’re not up to infiltrating Hydra. Kate Neville is put through the beginning stages of the delta process. Weng leads Fury and his team to the underground Hydra base, but when Fury isn’t watching, Weng suddenly kills Pail and Allen. Fury kills Weng as Pierce attacks the Hydra base. Fury and MacKenzie join the melee and the Deltite initiates the launch sequence to shoot the power core into space. Madame Hydra fails to lure Fury aboard the power core missile, and the missile launches, killing the Hydra agents and 3,452 bystanders are killed by the launch blast.

NOTE:
Again, the Laura Brown appearing here in an LMD.

NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. #5

APPEARANCES:
Nick Fury, la Contessa Valentine de Fontaine, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Kate Neville, Al MacKenzie, Alexander Goodwin Pierce, Clay Quartermain (in FB), Madame Hydra, Deltite, Gaffer LMD, Clay Quartermain LMD, Jimmy Woo LMD, Jack Rollins LMD, Jasper Sitwell LMD, Laura Brown LMD, Kate Neville LMD (1st)

FLASHBACK:
Clay Quartermain is brought to the Delta project.

SYNOPSIS:
Several prominent businesspeople attend a presentation on Roxxon’s new business venture, but it turns out to be delta kidnapping all of them. The businesspeople are gassed and kidnapped. Having survived the missile launch, Nick Fury, Madame Hydra, Pierce and MacKenzie make their way to an alternate launch site; Madame Hydra is determined to get Fury to the power core and Fury wants to learn who’s behind the Roxxon/SHIELD conspiracy. In space, the SHIELD ruling council is pleased that Delta will be processing the prominent businesspeople as part of their plan, but question whether they should proceed before they have Fury and the Infinity Formula. The Deltite assures them everything is going according to plan. Clay Quartermain is put through more tests and Jack Rollins has aged rapidly; he doesn’t want to go through rejuvenation and end up like Jimmy Woo. As the Contessa arrives with other SHIELD agents at Project Delta, Dum Dum and Gabe are attacked outside Roxxon headquarters. As the Contessa begins the Delta process, Madame Hydra continues to lead Fury to their destination. Rollins and Woo are alerted that Fury is within Delta’s grasp. The Contessa meets Kate Neville, who reveals the Delta process transfers someone’s consciousness into a new, more durable body. Gabe and Dum Dum survive their attack and continue into Roxxon. Fury arrives at a space craft, but is abducted by Encoders from the Delta project. Clay Quartermain freaks out when he remembers “dying.” Dum Dum and Gabe are attacked again. Fury and his compatriots are brought to the SHIELD space station. Meanwhile, orbs gather thousands of Delta SHIELD agents from various locations and bring them all to the space station.

NOTE:
Delta is in the process of replacing Kate Neville with an LMD here.

NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. #6

APPEARANCES:
Nick Fury, la Contessa Valentine de Fontaine, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Kate Neville, Alexander Goodwin Pierce, Al MacKenzie, Madame Hydra, Deltite (also in FB), Gaffer LMD, Jasper Sitwell LMD, Jimmy Woo LMD, Jack Rollins LMD, Clay Quartermain LMD, Laura Brown LMD, Gail Runciter LMD

FLASHBACK:
A SHIELD android servitor works maintenance in places too dangerous for humans. One day, the android discovers SHIELD's LMD labs and murders a technician and replaces him with an LMD. The android begins researching the personality banks for LMDs, and begins creating new bodies and personalities for himself. Naming himself the Deltite, he launches a plan to change the world to be more methodical, he replaces the SHIELD ruling council with LMDs, begins the Delta program ro replace SHIELD agents with LMDs, and expands his plan to replace prominent businesspeople to be replaced. Unfortunately, the LMDs burn out quickly, and have to be replaced. The solution is Fury's Infinity Formula, which can stabilize the LMD bodies.

SYNOPSIS:
As the Infinity Formula is isolated within Nick Fury's genetic structure, Gaffer reveals he's been with Delta since before the Helicarrier crashed, and he's the one who caused the power core to overload. Clay Quartermain yells at Jack Rollins, disgusted that he's thrown away his humanity for a chance at immortality. Pierce, MacKenzie and Madame Hydra are brought to the other new Delta recruits and meet the Contessa and Kate Neville. Clay Quartermain finds the power core. With ther Infinity Formula found, the Deltite announces he'll be the first to receive it, and reveals he was the first member of Delta. Madame Hydra heads a revolt against Delta. The Deltite reveals the history of Delta to Nick Fury. As the SHIELD agents battle the Delta agents, Clay causes the power core to overload. As the space station begins to be destroyed, Fury attacks the Deltite. Delta revolts against the Deltite; he created a religion of order for them to follow, but now he's acting irrationally human. Delta murders the Deltite. Clay, Jasper, Jimmy and Rollins tell Fury the power core can't be repaired, so the space station is evacuated of SHIELD agents. The space station explodes and kills all the Delta LMDs once Fury is gone. Later, Fury convinces the United Nations to close down SHIELD.

NOTE:
And all the replacement LMDs are destroyed here.

Adjustments to existing chronologies:

BROWN, LAURA
…
S-W 16
**NFV.S 4 (delete)
**NFV.S 5 (delete)
**NFV.S 6 (delete)
NF3 44
…

BROWN, LAURA L.M.D.
NFV.S 4
NFV.S 5
NFV.S 6

DELTITE [L.M.D.] (he's not an LMD of someone else, LMD is his species)
NFV.S 6-FB
{NFV.S 1}
NFV.S 2
NFV.S 3
NFV.S 4
NFV.S 5
NFV.S 6

GAFFER/SIDNEY E. LEVINE
…
M/GN 18
**NFV.S 1 (delete)
**NFV.S 2 (delete)
**NFV.S 3-BTS (delete)
**NFV.S 4-BTS (delete)
**NFV.S 5-BTS (delete)
**NFV.S 6 (delete)
NF3 44
…

GAFFER L.M.D.
NFV.S 1
NFV.S 2
NFV.S 5
NFV.S 6

IRON MAN/ANTHONY EDWARD "TONY" STARK
…
XF 32
NFV.S 3
*NFV.S 4-BTS
IM 235
…

KOENIG, ERIC
…
CA 274
NFV.S 2
**NFV.S 3 (delete)
H2 434

KOENIG, ERIC L.M.D.
NFV.S 3

NEVILLE, KATE
*NFV.S 3
NFV.S 4
NFV.S 5
…

NEVILLE, KATE L.M.D.
NFV.S 5

QUARTERMAIN, CLAY
…
M/HOL 1993/2
NFV.S 1
*NFV.S 5-FB
**NFV.S 2 (delete)
**NFV.S 3 (delete)
**NFV.S 5 (delete)
**NFV.S 6 (delete)
NF3 43
…

QUARTERMAIN, CLAY L.M.D.
NFV.S 2
NFV.S 3
NFV.S 5
NFV.S 6

ROLLINS, JACK
NFV.S 1

ROLLINS, JACK L.M.D.
NFV.S 2
NFV.S 3
NFV.S 4
NFV.S 5
NFV.S 6

RUNCITER, GAIL
…
CA 283
**NFV.S 1 (delete)
**NFV.S 3 (delete)
**NFV.S 6 (delete)
NF3 43
…

RUNCITER, GAIL L.M.D.
NFV.S 1
NFV.S 3
NFV.S 6

SITWELL, JASPER
…
CA 323
NFV.S 1
NFV.S 2
**NFV.S 3 (delete)
**NFV.S 4 (delete)
**NFV.S 5 (delete)
**NFV.S 6 (delete)
NF3 43
…

SITWELL, JASPER L.M.D.
NFV.S 2
NFV.S 3
NFV.S 4
NFV.S 5
NFV.S 6

STANE, OBADIAH L.M.D.
NFV.S 3

WOO, JIMMY
…
M/HOL 1993/2
**NFV.S 1 (delete)
**NFV.S 2 (delete)
**NFV.S 3 (delete)
**NFV.S 4 (delete)
**NFV.S 5 (delete)
**NFV.S 6 (delete)
NF3 44
…

WOO, JIMMY L.M.D.
NFV.S 1
NFV.S 2
NFV.S 3
NFV.S 4
NFV.S 5
NFV.S 6

[DonCampbell]

While I enjoyed your analysis and found it to be mostly accurate, I must disagree with one element of it. Throughout your analysis, you consistently refer to the Deltites as LMDs. That is a poorly-executed retcon that originated in either the second Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. ongoing series (from 1989-1993) or the 1994 Fury! one-shot. LMDs are robots designed to have the external appearance of human beings. Although an occasional special model has appeared which can pass as human even during an autopsy, all regular LMDS are mechanical/electronic devices underneath their outer layer of artificial skin. In contrast, the Deltities were born/hatched from embryonic sacs, and their bodies are subject to rapid aging, something which does not happen to the normal LMDs.

NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. #3
SYNOPSIS:
. . . As Fury interrogates Koenig, Stark arrives with an LMD detector. Koenig is revealed as an LMD. Koenig taunts Fury and explodes. . .

Your synopsis is a bit misleading here. Tony Stark uses a device that can detect LMDs by illuminating their energy fields. According to Stark, it works "no matter how sophisticated the robot might be" and "Humans register quite differently." Once activated, everyone in the room are "all glowin' the same," including Koenig, which leads Fury to conclude that it is the real Koenig after all. At that point, Koenig breaks free and destroys himself with an internal laz-blast, but not before saying that Fury "insults us by comparing us to those things!"

Later, in issue #6, the Deltite reveals his origin as an LMD to Fury and he also describes how he had worked for years to "improve the LMD stock" until he finally created a "being of flesh and blood, sweat and tears." The Deltite parasites were created using "genetic engineering, DNA alteration, neurosurgery." As the Jasper Deltite later insists to the Clay Deltite, "our bodies are flesh and blood...the culmination of years of genetic research. We are human...from head to feet and everything that comes with it."

FYI, here are a few tidbits from later Fury stories that are relevant to this miniseries.
1. The first six issues of the subsequent Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. series revealed that the LMD technology was stolen by Strucker from an alien Gnobian whom he had encountered in Germany in 1944. Bizarrely, even though the Gnobians were living, organic beings who hatched from eggs, their blood resembled the synthetics that SHIELD used to make LMDs.

2. In NFAOS #26, a conversation between the Red Skull and the just-resurrected Strucker revealed that the Deltite was a failsafe created by Strucker, that most of its revelations were nothing but lies, and that its schemes were never meant to succeed. Its true purpose was to weaken S.H.I.E.L.D. so that Strucker could eventually rebuild HYDRA more easily.

3. The Fury! one-shot goes even further in retconning away the concepts introduced by Harras, including revealing that the alien Gnobian was actually a creation of Arnim Zola. However, many of the details provided in the story are completely wrong and so many consider this retcon to be invalid. In my opinion, since it is narrated by Fury himself, the revelations within this one-shot can best be explained away as nothing more than disinformation that Fury has chosen to spread in order to keep the true events secret.

Don Campbell