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SHIELD

S.H.I.E.L.D. is an espionage and law-enforcement agency, it often deals with paranormal and superhuman threats.The acronym originally stood for Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division. It was changed in 1991 to Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate.

History[]

The_Top_Secret_Organization_-_S.H.I.E.L.D._-_MARVEL_101

The Top Secret Organization - S.H.I.E.L.D. - MARVEL 101

Foundation and Structure[]

Founded to combat technologically advanced threats on world security (specifically the menace of Hydra), S.H.I.E.L.D. has, throughout the years, remained on the front lines fighting terrorism and extraterrestrial menaces as an international intelligence agency.

In its original incarnation, S.H.I.E.L.D. stood for 'Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-enforcement Division', and was a branch of the United States government. Veteran spy and soldier [[::Category:Nick Fury|Colonel Nick Fury]] had set out plans for the organization at some point after World War II, but decided not to act since he felt the U.S. government would deny such a request. A United Nations-based international group somehow obtained the plans, and presented them to the U.S. government as a viable countermeasure against the nascent threat of [[::Category:HYDRA|Hydra]]. S.H.I.E.L.D. was subsequently formed without Fury's knowledge.

Fury first realized that his brainchild had been made reality when he was approached by the founders of the group to act as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Public Director, as his predecessor Rick Stoner had met an untimely end. While Fury acted as the operational head of the agency, he answered to these founders, the Executive Board, whose identities were hidden even from him. Otherwise, Fury was the highest ranking agent in an eight-rank tier. Some suspect that Tony Stark, billionaire playboy and the superheroic Iron Man, may have been one of the Board.

The Helicarrier[]

As director, [[::Category:Nick Fury|Colonel Fury]] took a very active hand in S.H.I.E.L.D. operations, often going into the field himself on their most important missions. Supporting him, aside from the thousands of rank-and-file S.H.I.E.L.D. agents working around the world, were a core group of capable officers. Fury's aide-de-camp was the man who had filled the same function for his Howling Commandos in World War II, the boisterous Timothy 'Dum Dum' Dugan. Another ex-Howler joined S.H.I.E.L.D. in the person of Gabe Jones, whose presence had made the Howlers the Army's first racially integrated unit. There was also the by-the-books Jasper Sitwell, who balanced and sometimes clashed with the more emotional members of the command staff. The brilliant Sidney 'The Gaffer' Levine acted as head of Research & Development, designing many high-tech specialty gadgets to supplement the weapons and vehicles provided by Stark Enterprises. Later, Laura Brown, the daughter of the Imperial Hydra, defected from [[::Category:HYDRA|Hydra]] to join S.H.I.E.L.D.. Jimmy Woo, hero of clashes with the villainous Yellow Claw, served as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s FBI liaison agent. Clay Quartermain was a resident 'pretty boy' super-agent. La Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine ('Val' to her friends), a member of the European jet-set, proved to be equally skilled, as well as one of Fury's lovers. Another prominent member was Sharon Carter (Agent 13), a frequent partner and eventual lover of Captain America.

The equipment of S.H.I.E.L.D. has always been at least as distinctive as its membership. A series of flying fortresses invariably known as the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier served as the mobile headquarters of the organization. Other vehicles such as hoverfliers, flying cars and tunneling vehicles rounded out S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vehicle complement. Agents carried a variety of personal gear as well. Fury's weapon of choice was a 300-round .15 caliber pistol specially designed to fire explosive-tipped needles. Tear gas boutonnieres, explosive shirts, rear-view periscope hats, camera-phone watches, jetpacks, cigars laced with various chemical compounds (including flash bombs), and other tools of the spy trade insured that S.H.I.E.L.D. agents always had access to the right equipment. One of the most distinctive inventions of The Gaffer was the Life-Model Decoy (LMD), an extremely lifelike android designed to emulate the behavior of a specific individual, usually used to replace someone in danger of being killed. During the Cold War S.H.I.E.L.D. also maintained a large headquarters in New York City, as well as other bases in every major city in the Western world, and hidden outposts in many Communist countries.

Various specialized teams of agents have been utilized, such as the Psi Division and Super Agents. At one time, S.H.I.E.L.D. had command over an incarnation of the Hulkbusters. Throughout the years, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have left the service to perform acts both heroic and villainous. Some went rogue, such as Mentallo, becoming threats to society. Others, like Quasar, joined the superhero community. Since the early days, S.H.I.E.L.D., through [[::Category:Nick Fury|Fury]], has maintained close ties to groups like [[::Category:Avengers|the Avengers]] and Fantastic Four, and with individuals like Captain America, [[::Category:Natasha Romanova|Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)]], and Wolverine, ensuring that a capable and varied pool of special operatives were readily available. That said, S.H.I.E.L.D. often came into conflict with members of the superhero community who worked through less than legal means or against government aims. Fury's friendships with many superheroes conflicted with his duties in these cases.

Exploits[]

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main enemy, [[::Category:HYDRA|Hydra]], continued to be a threat throughout [[::Category:Nick Fury|Nick Fury]]'s first years as director. It became apparent that Fury's old wartime foe, Baron von Strucker, had become the new Supreme Hydra, with plans to to menace the world with a deadly biological weapon. Fury took the fight to the enemy stronghold, Hydra Island, turning this weapon on its makers.

When Godzilla was freely roaming the earth, a task force under Dum Dum Dugan's command, the Godzilla Squad, set forth to capture him. They used a smaller version of the Helicarrier called the Behemoth, as well as a giant robot called Red Ronin, before Godzilla disappeared into the Atlantic.

Another great threat was formed as a result of a lapse in S.H.I.E.L.D. security, when the supervillain Scorpio, actually Fury's brother Jake, stole the LMD technology to create the second team of villains called the Zodiac.

The first dismantling of S.H.I.E.L.D. occurred in the wake of a wide-scale infiltration of the agency, again involving LMDs. In this case, a group of LMDs attained sentience, infiltrating both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, replacing key members of both before being defeated by [[::Category:Nick Fury|Fury]] and an impromptu force of allies.

The reorganized S.H.I.E.L.D. was backed by the United Nations, with the acronym now standing for 'Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Directorate'. Shortly after, Baron Strucker, long thought to have died on Hydra Island, returned as the new head of [[::Category:HYDRA|Hydra]] and the organizations again clashed. The new organization had some internal structural changes, with the eight-rank system being replaced by a ten-rank one. Also, there existed "Full Champion License", a rarely-awarded accolade known to be held by Captain America, whereby the holder has authority to assemble any team they sees fit for any mission they see fit. This was the legal basis for the formation of the New Avengers.

In the wake of [[::Category:Nick Fury|Nick Fury]]'s Secret War in Latveria, he was removed from the directorship and forced into hiding. His replacement was not one of his close associates in the high ranks, but a newcomer, Commander Maria Hill. Her appointment by the U.S. president was meant to ensure S.H.I.E.L.D. bias towards American interests, and her lack of connection to the superhero community was meant to keep S.H.I.E.L.D. from aiding them. This came to the fore when S.H.I.E.L.D. units nicknamed 'Cape-Killers' were tasked with enforcing the Superhuman Registration Act. Just prior to the Civil War, Captain America estimated that there were 3,000 S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on active duty.

Towards the end of that conflict, Commander Hill decided that she had been made Executive Director so that she would fail. She proposed that Tony Stark take the job, with her as deputy director. After the victory of his Pro-Registration superhero unit, he accepted the appointment. Stark undertook a series of initiatives, including the construction of a new gold-and-red Helicarrier in the motif of his Iron Man designs, the introduction of a daycare center in the Helicarrier, and an employee suggestion-box. While accused of treating S.H.I.E.L.D. as a Stark Industries subsidiary, he succeeded in streamlining the organization and raising morale.

S.H.I.E.L.D. fought a wave of global superhuman terrorism under Stark's command, but was manipulated into two international incidents that almost saw Stark arrested, until it was revealed that Mandarin was behind the smear and was stopped from committing genocide with an Extremis pathogen.

H.A.M.M.E.R.[]

At the start of the Secret Invasion by the extraterrestrial shape-shifting Skrulls, the Helicarrier was disabled by a Skrull virus and left floating and disabled in the Bermuda Triangle. By this point the Skrulls had already replaced a large number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, including the high-ranking 'Dum-Dum' Dugan. After the invasion was repelled (thanks in part to Nick Fury and his Secret Warriors), the President of the United States decided to dissolve S.H.I.E.L.D., and had it, the 50 States Initiative, the Avengers, the Thunderbolts Initiative put under the authority of the public hero of the invasion: Norman Osborn, head of OsCorp and the original Green Goblin.

Osborn used the opportunity to transform S.H.I.E.L.D. into 'H.A.M.M.E.R.' and seemingly disbanded the Thunderbolts. In reality he turned the latest Thunderbolts into a black-ops force to do his dirty work. He also founded the newest government-sponsored Avengers team, colloquially known as the Dark Avengers. Finally, he set up a Cabal formed by some of the most powerful beings on Earth, including himself, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Doctor Doom, Emma Frost, Loki and the Hood.

After the Siege[]

Following the Siege of Asgard and the revelation of Osborn's insanity, the U.S. government disbanded H.A.M.M.E.R. Although Steve Rogers, now installed in Osborn's position by the U.S. president, had the opportunity of rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D., he decided to instead rely solely on his shadow ops task force, the Secret Avengers.

Reinstatement[]

After the return of Norman Osborn and H.A.M.M.E.R., Steve Rogers rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. from zero, with agents who could be trusted, building a new Helicarrier and giving Daisy Johnson directorship. The new S.H.I.E.L.D. subsequently saved US Army Ranger Marcus Johnson from mercenaries hired by the Leviathan, and when he discovered he was the son of [[::Category:Nick Fury|Nick Fury]], he and his army friend Phil Coulson joined the storied security agency.

One of the first measures of the new S.H.I.E.L.D. against the appearance of new super-human threats was to create their own Avengers unit.

After director Daisy Johnson broke the protocols by sending the Secret Avengers to kill A.I.M. leader Andrew Forson, Quake was suspended indefinitely and Maria Hill was put in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. once more.

Time Runs Out[]

Eight months into the future, S.H.I.E.L.D. had taken over the Avengers and was helping them hunt down the Illuminati to make the organization answer for destroying incursive worlds, which endangered the safety of Earth as a consequence of the multiversal phenomena known as incursions.

After locating the Illuminati in Spain, S.H.I.E.L.D. sent in the Avengers to capture its members. However, this was a trap set by the Illuminati, who attempted to subdue the Avengers with help from Sunspot's Avengers.  S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Avengers and Illuminati eventually agreed to a truce and work together to find a way to stop the incursions.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Act and Dissolution[]

Following the end of the incursion crisis and the resurgence of Hydra, marked by its employ of guerrilla tactics to create a climate of fear and anxiety through the United States and Europe, Captain America and Sharon Carter proposed to the U.S. Senate Select Committee the creation of a bill known as the "S.H.I.E.L.D. Act." Unbeknownst to anybody, at this point, Captain America had been secretly supplanted by a fascist version of himself from an alternate timeline that acted as a sleeper agent for Hydra. Once the bill was signed into law with bipartisan support in Congress, it drastically expanded S.H.I.E.L.D.'s authority within the United States in areas concerned with law enforcement, mass surveillance, and resource allocation, even allowing the organization to become the de facto "top cop" in an event of a national state of emergency. The passing of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Act coincided with the reinstatement of Captain America as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. after Maria Hill faced trial and was found guilty for the events that occurred in the secret superhuman prison known as Pleasant Hill, which led to her deposition.

This fascist Captain America subsequently manipulated the events behind three crises that hit the world at the same time: a Chitauri invasion, the Army of Evil's attack on Manhattan, and Hydra's uprising in Sokovia. The escalation of these events put into action S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new powers, and control of the United States was handed over to him. Using hypnotist Doctor Faustus, Hydra took over an entire S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, whose forces combined with Hydra took over the entirety of the organization. As Captain America conquered the United States, all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources were essentially absorbed by Hydra. Following the fall of Hydra's empire, what remained of S.H.I.E.L.D. was effectively dissolved.

Organization[]

Prior to the events of the Civil War, Captain America estimated there to be 3,000 agents on active duty. SHIELD is organized along a 10 tiered clearance hierarchy.

Level 1- Technicians[]

These are the entry level agents. These agents man the security details and guard-posts. You don't think Nick Fury would show up as part of a clean-up crew do you.

Level 2- Administrator[]

Administrators man the analytical and office positions of SHIELD; administrators also command technician crews when they are called upon.

Level 3- Field Agent[]

The level 3s are the core of SHIELD; these are the soldiers that execute the mission.

Level 4- Regional officers[]

Regional Officers are mission commanders under a regional command.

Level 5- Special Officer[]

Special officers are Mission Commanders under a special command.

Level 6- Regional Director[]

Regional Directors are commanders responsible for an entire region

Level 7- Special Director[]

Special Directors are commanders given responsibility over a special mission; some Special directors have access to Heli-carriers

Level 8- Executive Director[]

Executive Directors are the strategic commanders of a SHIELD branch; all Executive directors have access to Heli-carriers.

Level 9 Branch Director[]

SHIELD branches are international bodies given broad swaths of responsibility geared towards various threats to the survival of humanity.

Level 10 Board Member[]

The SHIELD Supreme board is a small secretive group that steers the direction of SHIELD.

SHIELD Branches[]

A.R.M.O.R.[]

A.R.M.O.R. (Altered-Reality Monitoring and Operational Response) is a sister agency to S.H.I.E.L.D. that monitors alternate reality incursions into Earth-616.It is stated that A.R.M.O.R. is so secret that it 'makes S.W.O.R.D. look like S.H.I.E.L.D., and S.H.I.E.L.D. look like the Post Office'. During Dark Reign, A.R.M.O.R. operates under the oversight of H.A.M.M.E.R. but Osborn wanted to fully absorb A.R.M.O.R. into H.A.M.M.E.R. They were able to keep out of Osborn's clutches when their newest agent, Lyra downloaded incriminating evidence against him.

Core Branch[]

Director Maria Hill

This is the most commonly encountered branch of SHIELD; headquartered in New York City, this was the branch led by [[::Category:Nick Fury|Director Fury]] for decades. The executive directors of the Core branch are given Agent number identifiers.

Agent 1 Classified

Agent 2 Classified

Agent 3 Classified

Agent 4 Thaddeus "Dum Dum" Dugan

Agent 5 Gabriel "Gabe" Jones

Agent 6 Classified

Agent 7 Jimmy Woo

Agent 8 Classified

Agent 9 Clay Quartermain

Agent 10 Jacob Strzeszewski

Agent 11Classified

Agent 12 Jasper Sitwell

Agent 13 Sharon Carter

Special Directorates[]

Medical Division[]

This special directorate is responsible for the medical support for the entire branch

Psi-Division[]

S.H.I.E.L.D. does employ some superhumans, including in its Psi-Division, composed of telepathic agents who deal with like menaces. S.H.I.E.L.D. also obtains help from independent heroes when their special abilities are needed. It has also accepted some superheroes and supervillains as members, but not in a separate unit.

Secret Avengers[]

After a mysterious traveler from the future who launched an attack on a battalion of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents was killed, acting director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria Hill decided to activate the "Avengers Initiative", in order to form the agency's own Avengers unit. The first recruits were the former members of the original black ops unit named the Secret Avengers, Hawkeye and Black Widow, along Nick Fury Jr., Phil Coulson and Maria Hill. Due to the sensitive nature of their missions, every member (except Fury) would have memory implants, making them forget everything they did for the period of the operation by hearing a codeword, making them believe they were doing hobby activities during their time in the mission.

Secret Warriors[]

Most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents are normal humans. At one point the organization attempted to set up a team of superhuman agents, composed of Marvel Man (the future Quasar), Texas Twister, Blue Streak and the Vamp but the latter two were secretly agents of the criminal organization The Corporation, and the team broke apart before it had its first official mission. A second team organized years later also lasted only a short while.

Its mobile headquarters is the Helicarrier, a massive flying aircraft carrier kept airborne at all times and, among other things, containing a squadron of jet fighters and housing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). In addition, S.H.I.E.L.D. maintains strong ties to the superhero community, especially Captain America, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four, and often calls upon that community for aid on particular missions.

Regional Directorates[]

EuroForce[]

EuroM.I.N.D. (European Monitoring Investigation and Enforcement Division) is a European subdivision of S.H.I.E.L.D. that later fell under the control of the S.H.A.P.E. (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) council. EuroM.I.N.D.'s director is François Borillon. Its agents include the science reconnaissance group Eurolab and the combat specialist Task Force group, who both then merged into one group known as Euroforce.

SHIELD Australis[]

Regional Directorate responsible for the southern polar region.

Project PEGASUS[]

Alternate energy research project.

S.W.O.R.D.[]

works with S.H.I.E.L.D. but specializes in extraterrestrial threats.

TIME[]

T.I.M.E. was a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. splinter branch created with the objective of dealing with timestream-related threats. When the space-time continuum was broken, T.I.M.E. found itself with a group of time-traveler opportunists called the Chronarchists attempting to modify the history for their benefit. With the help of the Tomorrow Man, T.I.M.E. sent the Hulk in a mission through time and space in order to stop them.

W.A.N.D[]

W.A.N.D stands for Wizardry, Alchemy and Necromancy Department, and is a division of S.H.I.E.L.D which specializes in matters relating to magic. It is directed by Pandora Peters.

Organization Locations[]

Although the various Helicarriers built over the years have long been considered S.H.I.E.L.D.'s primary mobile home base, the Directorate also maintains a number of land bases throughout the world, most notably "S.H.I.E.L.D. Central" in New York City. While some of these bases are publicly accessible on a limited basis, most are not publicly disclosed for reasons of planetary security. There are several fully equipped S.H.I.E.L.D. fall-out shelters scattered around the world, with twenty-eight of these being known only to Nick Fury. During the events of Civil War, Nick Fury was hiding in an American-based shelter. He also divulged the location of one to Captain America, so the Resistance to the Superhuman Registration Act could use it as a safe house.

Specialty Equipment[]

Airborne Nano-Camera

Beta Cloth

Cradle

Flying Cars

Floaters

Hover Discs

Hoverflyers

Jet-pack

Kevlar Body Armor

Life-Model Decoys

Needler Pistol

Neutro-mist

Plasma Pistol

Psi-blocker

SHIELD Heli-Carrier

SHIELD Shuttle

Skimmer

Teleporter

Uni-Lens Battle Armor

Reference[]

Marvel Database SHIELD Article- http://marvel.wikia.com/Strategic_Hazard_Intervention_Espionage_Logistics_Directorate_%28Earth-616%29

Wikipedia SHIELD Article- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.H.I.E.L.D.

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