It’s rare to see Marvel Comics take a big swing with a character like Nick Fury, but they pulled it off earlier this year with Get Fury, largely thanks to legendary writer Garth Ennis. The six-issue series is now out in the collected format, pitting Frank Castle against Nick Fury during the Vietnam War. Steeped in realistic elements like corruption and brutal violence, the story works as it explores two heroes’ lives at a time when superheroes didn’t exist.
Once you finish the first issue of Get Fury, you get the feeling that this is a classic comic feel from a bygone era. The issue opens with an unfamiliar older man who reveals he’s been fighting wars since he was twelve. He faced both Nick Fury and Frank Castle during the war and happily shared a tale with us with no ire or hate. Classic Marvel fans will note that he’s a character in the canon known as Letrong Giap.
After the opening, the story firmly focuses on Frank Castle’s hard-edged and non-nonsense approach to war while Nick Fury is captured behind enemy lines. Ennis defies your expectations a bit when a giant soldier refuses to give up his puppy, and Castle backs him up even when it’s against orders. Speaking of orders, we learn early on Frank’s been set on a mission that’s off the books and directly endangers Fury. Go figure.
Punisher dodged a missile there.
Credit: Marvel
The story opens up in the second issue, as Ennis moves away from our two main characters to explore the CIA operative and general who sent Frank on his mission. You see, it appears there’s more to their little plot to kill Nick Fury, and it’s a juicy one. By delving into their plot, Ennis reveals the corruption of the U.S. government and the likelihood this isn’t a fight between heroes but an eventual team-up!
Grounding the story is an old Vietnamese man recounting this tale to an unseen interviewer. Fans of war stories and the strategy that comes with them will be pleased by some specific details of attacks in Vietnam, which led to a rather tense jet fighter interaction with ground missiles. Seeing the war through his eyes makes this less of an idealized American POV of the war and a more realistic one.
Overall, this story is quite slow but reads better in trade paperback. A long scene between Frank and a superior takes four pages to convey something rather simple early on, for instance.
What isn’t from a bygone era is the art by Jacen Burrows and Guillermo Ortego with colors by Nolan Woodard. The art is bright and modern looking and suits the slower tempo of Ennis’ script. At times, you can imagine Steve Dillon drawing this book with close-ups of characters’ faces as they speak truths. The gore in a final brutal act is well drawn and grisly. Your stomach may even turn as you read it.
Get Fury is a thoughtful and gritty addition to Marvel’s war-focused narratives, offering a nuanced look at two iconic characters in a morally complex historical context. While the pacing may test readers’ patience, the payoff is a compelling and well-drawn story that balances brutal action with introspection.
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