Nick Fury May Have Just Taken Over a Major Marvel Role

Spider-Man: Far From Home concluded with a shocking post-credits twist involving Nick Fury. This twist may hint at Fury taking over one his most important roles from the Marvel Comics Universe. If this is the case, it may be a signal of major changes coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Far From Home follow.

The post-credits scene reveals that the Skrull Talos at some point replaced Nick Fury on Earth. The real Fury is somewhere in space on a ship crewed by Skrulls. The film offers no explanation for why Fury has left Earth, but there is a precedent for Fury going into outer space and leaving a duplicate on Earth in his place. This is when Fury revealed himself as "the Man on the Wall."

The Man on the Wall is a significant role from the Marvel Comics Universe. He wasn't the first, but the Man on the Wall for most of the Marvel Universe's published history was Nick Fury. He kept this role secret from his fellow members of SHIELD and from the superheroes he often found himself working alongside. The job required him to take decisive and sometimes less than heroic actions of the sort that may cause heroes and average men to waiver.

The purpose of the Man on the Wall is to defend the Earth from cosmic threats at any cost. Fury came clean about his off-world activities during Marvel's Original Sin event, written by Jason Aaron. Here's how he described the job:

"I've killed... More times than I can count. I've burned worlds. Destabilized galaxies. Dethroned gods. And I did it without any of them even knowing my name. That's what it means to be the man on the wall. To be the invisible monster who keeps the other monsters at bay."

The reveal came as the Infinity Formula that had kept Fury young for so long faded from his body. Knowing he'd soon die, Fury needed someone to replace him as the Man on the Wall. He murdered Uatu the Watcher and then tasked six potential replacements with solving the case. Those candidates were Emma Frost, the Punisher, the Winter Soldier, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and Ant-Man. The Winter Soldier took the job.

Could the Spider-Man: Far From Home post-credits scene be our first glimpse at Fury in his role as Man on the Wall in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? It seems possible.

Do you think Nick Fury is the Man on the Wall? Let us know in the comments. Spider-Man: Far From Home is now playing in theaters.