How Did Nick Fury Lose His Eye?

Though isn’t the focal point of a single MCU film, Nick Fury is one of the most important characters in the Marvel universe.

The character has gone through plenty of career changes during his run in both the comics and films beginning as a military general before becoming a spy and eventually leading agencies such as S.H.I.E.L.D and S.W.O.R.D.

One of Fury’s most notable features is the eyepatch that he has been depicted with since his introduction in the comics. For a long while, fans could only speculate as to what was under the patch or what had happened to his eye, but eventually, it was revealed in both the comics and the films.

So, how did Nick Fury lose his eye? The story of what happened differs in the comics from in the movies.

How did Nick Fury lose his eye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe took a lighthearted approach to explain Fury’s injury. The mystery remained for years with the only hint being that he had lost it by “trusting someone,” but during Captain Marvel, we got to finally see the incident unfold. The injury was sustained after Fury was scratched by Goose, a cat-like alien species called a Flurken. Embarrassed by how it occurred, later in the film Fury claims he injured his eye battling the Kree.

How did Nick Fury lose his eye in the comics?

In the comics, there have been multiple stories of the incident set in different universes. On top of different stories, there has even been a different version of Nick Fury entirely.

The original Nick Fury injured his eye after a Nazi grenade explosion during World War II. In Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos #27, Fury caught the grenade but wasn’t fast enough to throw it away to avoid the blast. Despite the urgent injury, Fury chose to leave it untreated because otherwise he’d have to spend a year away from service to recover.

Similarly, in the Ultimate Marvel Universe set in Earth 1610, Fury was escorting Wolverine through Iraq when they were ambushed by soldiers. This allowed Wolverine to escape his cage and eliminate all the soldiers. Fury was injured in the battle. After he healed up mostly it was revealed that he had sustained an injury to his eye and he wore the signature eyepatch from then forward.