One of the most anticipated films of 2012,The Avengers brings together a gaggle of super-heroes introduced (or re-introduced) to audiences over the last three years in their own movies.  There is a lot to keep track of, so we are continuing our “boot camp” with the organization that has been reaching out to unite the super-heroes in a common goal- to save Earth.  It’s time for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Whether than try to put a lengthy history into a synopsis, I present you with bullet points as taken from various Marvel wikis and Wikipedia. So many events in the history of the organization, which are most relevant to The Avengers?  Time will only tell.

The Comics:

• Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, S.H.I.E.L.D. appeared first in 1965
• Originally stood for Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law Enforcement Division
• In 1991 it was changed to Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate
• For the Marvel films, it was changed to Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division
• The idea of S.H.I.E.L.D. was originally Nick Fury’s. He came up with it after World War II; but he tossed the idea to the wayside; he believed U.S. Government was not ready to accept the agency
• S.H.I.E.L.D. is a protector of all people of Earth and “super-hero” handlers- acting as the middle men between governments and super-heroes
• Nick Fury had no idea his idea was plucked from where he had locked it up, and put into action by a United Nations based international group until the then Executive Director stepped down and the position was offered and accepted by Fury
• The base of operations is a flying aircraft carrier the Helicarrier
• As Executive Directory, Fury reports to a council of 12 members, the identities of whom have been revealed, not even to Fury
• S.H.I.E.L.D. is an international organization but it sometimes depicted as controlled by the U.S.
• In the comic books, S.H.I.E.L.D. is not a super secret organization. People of the world are aware the agency exists and there are several public offices.  Unbeknownst to the world are all the locations of the secret and covert offices that are all over the world, even in communist countries
• S.H.I.E.L.D. created the Life Model Decoys that were later used to infiltrate the organization and almost kill Fury. The organization was soon after disbanded and replaced with another S.H.I.E.L.D.
• When an unauthorized mission went wrong, Fury stepped down from executive director and his first replacement was Maria Hill (to be played in The Avengers by How I Met Your Mother’s Cobie Smulders). Hill was to keep relations with super-heros to the minimum and put U.S. loyalties first in the organization
• Hill felt she was destined to fail so she appointed Tony Stark as Executive Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. with her as his second in command
• After the defeat of an alien invasion, the President of the United States dissolves S.H.I.E.L.D.  and replaces the Avengers with Thunderbolts Initiative under the supervision of Norman Osborn (yes, Spider-Man fans, that Osborn- the Green Goblin)
• Osborn turns S.H.I.E.L.D. into H.A.M.M.E.R. (which doesn’t seem to stand for anything from what I’ve read) consisting of Thunderbolts Initiative agents, former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and HYDRA members.  H.A.M.M.E.R. worked with the only government sponsored Avengers Team- the Dark Avengers
• Nick Fury discovered HYDRA was pretty much running S.H.I.E.L.D. from the beginning and he returned and “got the band back together” under the control of Daisy Johnson, aka Quake
• Quake, Fury and The Black Widow are the only S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with “level 10″ security clearance

The Movie

We haven’t been given too much access to behind the scenes at S.H.I.E.L.D.  Just the Thor’s hammer on lockdown by the men in black and the sneaky end credit scenes of each film.    It seems as if we perhaps saw the interior of the Helicarrier at the end clip of Thor.  We know they have an office in New York City, right in the middle of Times Square it would seem, as well.  Right now it looks like Nick Fury is running things and he is a man with a plan to get Hulk, Thor, Ironman, and Captain America on the same team as he and the Black Widow.  His “man on the street” seems to be Agent Coulson. I hope we learn more about him and he gets more screen time in The Avengers because I suspect he is either going to be really funny or  the one to watch with a distrustful eye.

Will their be traitors within S.H.I.E.L.D.? Amongst the havoc being wreaked by Loki, will Nick Fury find his position in the organization threatened? I can’t wait to see.

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