Posted in: Avengers, Comics, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man | Tagged: Armageddon, chip zdarsky, Immortal Soldiers, nick fury
Chip Zdarsky On Nick Fury At Marvel, Both Of Them, After Armageddon
Chip Zdarsky on the future of Nick Fury at Marvel Comics, both of them, after Armageddon, through Avengers and heading to Immortal Soldiers
Article Summary
- Chip Zdarsky says Avengers: Armageddon #5 was built as a quiet aftermath issue that still launches major Marvel stories.
- Chip Zdarsky confirms Nick Fury Sr. and Bucky Barnes return sets up Immortal Soldiers and bigger Captain America plans.
- Chip Zdarsky teases two Nick Furys at Marvel, with Fury Jr. and Fury Sr. potentially working as opposing forces.
- Chip Zdarsky says most Avengers: Armageddon #5 twists, from Iron Man to Captain Marvel, feed into his future payoffs.
Ahead of this week’s Avengers #1, Chip Zdarskyhas broken down the recently released Avengers: Armageddon #5 on the latest edition of Chip Chat with David Harper, describing the issue as the deliberate denouement of the event, the aftermath chapter that also has to tee up a bunch of future stories without losing the quiet tone he wanted. Chip Zdarsky explained that he always planned for this to be the “what happened next” book after the big Russian nuclear explosion caused by the Avengers taking on the Red Hulk, but he also recognised that it needed to feel like an event finale.
“I always knew I wanted this to be kind of the denouement issue. Like I wanted to be dealing with the aftermath of what happened in Russia. And there were definitely there were beats in there that I’m like, ‘Okay, this has to be in there.’ But also I was recognizing too like, ‘Okay, this is an event. So, I’ve got to make sure we’re teeing up not just one thing. We got to tee up a bunch of stuff. Like we got to really make it feel… make a small issue feel big.'”
Among the setups that landed: Tony Stark left as something closer to Dr Manhattan than the new leader of the Avengers; Captain Marvel operating with reduced powers; Wolverine trying to pull David Colton/Coulson out of his funk with a “you need to fix things” speech; the lingering question of where the 616 Miracleman is and why he’s hiding, the suggestion thatr Mephisto’s Spider-Marriage contract is now null and void; and the return of both Bucky Barnes and the original Nick Fury.
“Most of it was planned. Some of it kind of I just kind of realized, ‘Oh, okay. Well, if I’m doing this down the road, then maybe makes sense to mention this here or bring this character back here.’ … Between the first draft and this final draft, I probably did like five or six versions of it. Just to like just to amp it up as much as I could without spoiling the quietness of it.”
David Harper compared the ending to the final pages of Civil War, where the big action gives way to Tony Stark talking on a helicarrier bridge, and the reader feels the universe has actually shifted. “Say what you will about Mark Millar, but at the same time, that felt like you were moving into a new future for Marvel.” Chip Zdarsky said that was exactly the goal here.
“That’s that was the hope, right? … We want it to be self-contained as much as possible, but also like I think if you don’t know about anything else happening in Marvel, you could read that issue and you’ll get the wrap-up you needed, but also these teasers of things that maybe you don’t know about. You’re like, ‘Oh, okay. Who is this guy? What’s that?’ … My hope is that it works well for both types of readers. It probably works a bit more so for like the more kind of chronic Marvel reader. I’ll admit that.”
On the final page specifically, with the healing corpse of Bucky Barnes and the original Nick Fury, Zdarsky noted that even readers who mainly know Samuel L. Jackson‘s version still understand that something important just happened.
“That final page when Fury shows up and he’s like, ‘We got work to do, Bucky.’ Or whatever he says. … He says, ‘God damn.’ And that was a discussion. But so you have him show up one way or another, even if you don’t know who the character is, because like for the most people they see Samuel L. Jackson when they think of Nick Fury at this point. You know that this is a moment, and you want to know more.”
Chip Zdarsky said almost everything he teed up in the issue is something he intends to pay off himself, while also leaving usable status quos for other creators. He mentioned coordinating with Josh Williamson on Iron Man so the two books don’t step on each other, and noted that Carol Danvers’s reduced-powers status was already locked in before the new Captain Marvel series with G. Willow Wilson and Rachel Stott was announced.
“I’m essentially teeing people up without knowing I’m teeing them up in a way… Almost everything that I kind of tee up is something that I’m paying off. But also that other people are going to be using. So, I think that that kind of works out best. Like, I’ve got a story idea for what happens beyond this with these characters and these setups, but also if someone wants to use Bucky for a thing, this is the new status quo.”
As for the Immortal Soldiers one-shot, which takes on Nick and Bucky’s new status, Zdarsky likes the setup of the two Furys potentially operating against each other, father and son.
“I just I love the direction of Nick Fury Jr. and Nick Fury Sr. being kind of like maybe opposing forces. Like Nick Fury Jr. being this like pro like working behind the scenes, working with the governments, doing all this kind of nonsense, and Nick Fury Sr. being back to not being a life model decoy or like a god or whatever the hell he was doing over… Or is he? But just like kind of doing his like behind the scenes, I’m mucking stuff up thing. I like him as just like this chaos agent/literal agent. So, anyways, very pumped about that.”
But Chip Zdarsky said Immortal Soldiers is primarily a Nick Fury Sr. story, and it’s the first real chance he’s had to write the character at length and also feed into larger plans in his Captain America series.
“Fury Sr. and Fury Jr. are going to play a bigger part in Captain America going forward, too. Like I’m tying things in, moving things around, but yeah, it’s uh It’s fun. Comics is fun. I love making comics.”
Avengers Armageddon #5 by Chip Zdarsky, Delio Diazand Frank Alpizar was published last month by Marvel Comics. Avengers #1 by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto is out this week. Immortal Soldiers is out on the 13th of January 2027.
- Immortal Soldiers by Chip Zdarsky, Christian Rosado
ARMAGEDDON DIDN’T END THE WAR – IT STARTED ONE! Bucky Barnes tragically died during AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON…and was mysteriously reborn by the end. How did he come back to life? What’s Nick Fury Sr. got to do with it? Answers (and possibly more questions…) await in this dark, action-packed story from Chip Zdarsky and Christian Rosado!
- Avengers #1 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto
IN THE WAKE OF ARMAGEDDON, A NEW TEAM ASSEMBLES… Superstar team Chip Zdarsky & Marco Checchetto reunite for a trailblazing new era of AVENGERS! With the world order completely rewritten after AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON, there comes a day, a day unlike any other, when a new group of Earth’s mightiest heroes find themselves united to avenge the Marvel Universe: Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Luke Cage and Miracleman! The Avengers take center stage once again in the Marvel Universe, and it all starts here. Don’t miss it! $5.99 Nov 04, 2026
- Avengers #2 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto
THE BIGGEST LAUNCH OF THE YEAR CONTINUES! Spider-Man must act quickly when his past once again puts Aunt May in jeopardy! Demons flood New York City, and the Avengers have to defeat them! What are Mephisto‘s ultimate goals? And who is this mysterious young woman with the prophetic book? Only the Adjudicator knows! Chip Zdarsky & Marco Checchetto bring you an exciting new direction for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, with twists galore! $4.99 Dec 16, 2026
- Avengers #3 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto
“CHASE THE DEVIL” PART ONE! Mephisto literally unleashed Hell on Earth, and Spider-Man’s new team of Avengers is determined to make him pay! But that’ll be easier said than done, as Mephisto has some shocking new allies… $4.99 Jan 27, 2027
Avengers Armageddon #5
Avengers Armageddon #5
Avengers Armageddon #5
- Avengers: Armageddon #5 by Chip Zdarsky and Delio Diaz, Frank Alpizar
DARKNESS BEFORE THE DAWN: THE FALL OF THE AVENGERS… The point of no return! After the cataclysmic events of AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON #4, the world is torn asunder. Humanity turns against super heroes. And for David Colton, what is the price of all that great power? See where the pieces fall in preparation for Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto’s AVENGERS #1! $4.99 Oct 21, 2026
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