Battle Scars Spoilers: Who Is Marcus Johnson?

Spoilers

The biggest mystery out of Marvel over the last few months has been the true identity of Marcus Johnson, an Army Ranger that was in Afghanistan during Fear Itself, and who came home for his mothers funeral. Marvel has been pushing him to be someone major going forward, and all hints have fallen into the same basic belief. A belief that was confirmed this week when he uncovered the identity of a man named Orion who beat the crap out of him earlier in the issue. Orion who looks suspiciously like Scorpio. Marcus manages to unmask him, however, and Orion confirms what many fans have thought for months.

That Marcus Johnson is the son of Nick Fury.

Now, for those who might be asking themselves why…well, Marvel loves movie synergy. They like having the characters, concepts, and teams similar to those they use in movies and other mediums so that fans seeking to check out comics after being exposed elsewhere won’t be confused. So why Marcus Johnson? Well, the non-comic book reading public knows that Nick Fury is Samuel L. Jackson, like he is in The Ultimates, so given other changes Marvel has made over the years to keep things similar across the various mediums, setting up a new African-American Fury to potentially head up SHIELD and replace Nick doesn’t seem all that far fetched.

A lifelong reader and self proclaimed continuity guru, Grey is the Editor in Chief of Comics Nexus. Known for his love of Booster Gold, Spider-Girl (the real one), Stephanie Brown, and The Boys. Don't miss The Gold Standard.