Despite the fact that he’s not technically a superhero, Nick Fury is one of the most iconic characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he’s helped save the world countless times. This character, fantastically played by Samuel L. Jackson, has created amazing moments in different movies and shows, and fans love him for it. His first appearance in the now legendary post-credit scene fromIron Manall the way back in 2008 launched the Avengers initiative proper and has helped inspire untold numbers of potential franchise teases in the years since.
Aside from being a mastermind, Nick Fury is also a very funny character who has many hilarious and legendary lines. Here are some of his best quotes from the movies.
10"I’m Here to Talk to You About the Avengers Initiative." - Iron Man
Let’s kick off this list with an iconic line, the one that started it all. As most Marvel fans will surely know,Iron Manwas the first movie of this cinematic universe, and it marked the beginning of the one of the greatest series of franchises in the world. Fans will remember that Nick Fury was not a huge part of the 2008 movie, but his small participation in it was incredibly important. At the end of the movie, Tony Stark goes against all advice and decides to admit on TV that he is in fact the mysterious Iron Man, thus telling the whole world that superheroes are real. When he did that, he assumed he was the only one, but then, in a post credit scene, we see how he, in the middle of the night, finds a strange man in his house. A man who tells him the words that will change his mind: “I’m here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.”
9"I Recognize the Council Has Made a Decision…" - The Avengers
The first timeThe Avengersall get together is thanks to Nick Fury. He had always believed in the idea of a group of superheroes protecting the Earth, and he did everything in his power to make it happen. And while the initiative didn’t have the best start, in the end probably everyone can agree that it was a success. Even the most hard-headed members of the team learned to get along and work together.
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And lucky they did, because at one point, when the fight against Loki seemed unwinnable, the SHIELD council was ready to take drastic measures. Namely, bomb the city of New York. Nick Fury always believed the Avengers would prevail, which is why he told his bosses, to their face, “I recognize the council has made a decision, but given that it’s a stupid-ass decision, I’ve elected to ignore it.”
8"Sir, I’m Gonna Have to Ask You to Exit the Donut." - Iron Man 2
Nick Fury inIron Man 2was honestly hilarious. During the second movie of the franchise, Tony Stark was going through a very difficult time. The use of the Iron Man suit was slowly killing him, but at the time he had no way to modify his arc reactor to make it harmless. At the same time, if you recall, he couldn’t take the arc reactor off without immediately giving himself a heart attack, so he was facing a painful death either way. And he didn’t cope well with the knowledge. Nick Fury was watching him from a distance, hoping he would eventually pull himself together, but when he saw Tony eating fast food on a giant donut on a rooftop, he knew he had to intervene. “I’m gonna have to ask you to exit the donut,” he yelled, and a reluctant Tony Stark obeyed, not knowing his life was about to change.
7"You Are Not the Center of My Universe." - Iron Man 2
The conversation at the donuts place between Nick Fury, Tony Stark, and Natasha Romanoff inIron Man 2was iconic, because it was a pivotal moment in Tony’s story, but also because it was very funny. The main line people might remember from it isRobert Downey Jr.’s character’s"I told you, I don’t want to join your super secret boy band." A very dismissive way to talk about the Avengers, but in his defense, he was not having a good time at the moment.
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Nick Fury was trying to get him to see reason, but eventually lost his patience when a very dramatic Tony Stark asked “What do you want from me?” “What do we want from you?” Fury repeated indignant. “Uh-uh. What do you want from me? You have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe.”
6"The World Can Still Use a Man Like You, Cap." - Captain America: The First Avenger
Most ofCaptain America: The First Avengertakes place in the 1940s, and the audience gets to see how the first superhero in the world was born. Up until his ultimate sacrifice, the life of Steve Rogers was all about service for his country. When he crashed his plane into the Arctic to save New York, he was sure he was going to die and he had made his peace with that. He couldn’t possibly expect he would wake up 70 years later to a completely different world, or that he would be greeted by a strange man with an eye patch. Fury tried his best to answer Steve’s questions, and to motivate him to find meaning in this new world. When he asked about whether the war had been won, Fury answered “Hell, yes. Unconditional surrender. Taking down HYDRA was a big part of that. But the world hasn’t changed all that much. There’s still a lot of work to be done. A soldier’s work. The world can still use a man like you, Cap. There’s a place here for you.”
5"How Desperate Am I?" - The Avengers
Nick Fury had a front seat to what was the first alien invasion of the Earth. Well, second, if you count Thor’s accidental arrival in the planet in the firstThormovie, but inThe Avengers,for the first time, an alien army had malicious plans to take over the world. That army was commanded byLoki, the God of Mischief, who used the Tesseract as an entry to the Earth. Fury was there when he arrived and one of the first to suffer his wrath.
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When they finally managed to contain the villain, a very cynical Loki said he must have been very desperate and scared of him. “How desperate am I?” Fury said, exasperated. “You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can’t hope to control, you talk about peace, and you kill ‘cause it’s fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did.”
4"See, It’s Stuff Like This That Gives Me Trust Issues." - Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Captain America: The Winter Soldieris a very emotional movie that changed the course of Steve Rogers’ story in the MCU. Finding himself in a completely new world, he tried to find some sense of normalcy and comfort in the few things he felt he knew. That was SHIELD for him. The familiarity of missions and a clear hierarchy, like in the army, and the idea of fighting for a common goal and a greater good, like he did in the war. When he joined SHIELD, Nick Fury was his superior, and the director was a man named Alexander Pierce, who Fury was very close with. So, for both of them, everything came crashing down when they discovered that HYDRA had been secretly ruling the organization, and that the director was their leader. “This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said peace wasn’t an achievement, it was a responsibility,” Fury lamented when he found out the truth. “See, it’s stuff like this that gives me trust issues.”
3"B*tch, Please!" - Spider-Man: Far From Home
Yes, believe it or not, this is an actual Nick Fury quote. He was having a tough time. For someone whose entire job was to coordinate superhero missions, the five years of the blip (during which he didn’t exist) completely changed everything.The loss of Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Natasha Romanoff(the last one a close friend), some of the most important superheroes he worked with, forced him to look for help in other people. InSpider-Man: Far From Home, one of those people turned out to be Peter Parker. The problem was, since Tony Stark’s death, he wasn’t too keen on being a superhero. Nick Fury was very insistent, despite Peter saying that he wasn’t ready.
“I’m just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man,” Peter protested, to which Fury replied, “Bitch, please! You’ve been to space!” Spider-Man couldn’t argue with that logic, so in the end he joined the team.
2"Aren’t You the Cutest Little Thing?" - Captain Marvel
Phrases that precede unfortunate events. Up until 2019, Nick Fury had only ever appeared on-screen with an eye patch. It was certainly a very important part of the character, but it wasn’t untilCaptain Marvelcame out that fans got to learn why he has it. And they also got to learn why he doesn’t share the story. It’s not good for his reputation of a mysterious, tough agent. When Carol Danvers, and consequently creatures from all over the universe, arrived in the Earth, what caught his attention the most was what he thought was a cat called Goose. The reaction of everyone around him should have warned him that it wasn’t a harmless kitty, but he decided to cuddle him and pet him anyway. “Aren’t you the cutest little thing? Aren’t you cute? What’s your name, huh?,” he said, showing a side of him the audience had never seen. But Goose turned out to be an alien called a Flerken, and when he scratched him, his claws ended up permanently blinding him on one eye.
1"Well… Looks Like You’re Giving the Orders Now, Captain" - Captain America: The Winter Soldier
When he was getting too close to finding out the truth about SHIELD and HYDRA, Nick Fury suffered an assassination attempt, and for his own safety, agent Maria Hill helped make it look like the attempt had been successful. Once he recovered, they both went into hiding, and eventually communicated with Black Widow and Captain America to come up with a plan. By then, everyone knew the truth about HYDRA, but Fury still wanted to salvage SHIELD. Steve Rogers was against it, though, because if they could infiltrate the organization once, they could do it again. So, to that, Fury replied “Well…looks like you’re giving the orders now, Captain.” And it was a good thing he was, because he saved the day.
