Nick Fury's Howling Commandos
Promotional art for premiere-issue cover by Eduardo Francisco
Group publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Nick Fury's Howling Commandos #1 (December2005)
Created by	Keith Giffen
In-story information
Type of organization	Team
Leader(s)	S.H.I.E.L.D.
Agent(s)	Abominable Snowman Frank Glob Gorgolla Gorilla-Man Grogg The Living Mummy Vampire by Night Warwolf Werewolf by Night Zombie
Nick Fury's Howling Commandos
Series publication information
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Horror,superhero
Publication date	December2005 – May2006
Number of issues	6
Creative team
Writer(s)	Keith Giffen
Penciller(s)	Eduardo Francisco
Inker(s)	Kris Justice Terry Pallot Robert Campanella
Letterer(s)	Dave Lanphear
Colorist(s)	J. Tai
Creator(s)	Keith Giffen

Nick Fury's Howling Commandos was anAmerican comic bookseries published byMarvel Comics. Running six issues before its cancellation and cover-dated December 2005 to May 2006, the series featured afictional team set in theMarvel Universe, consisting ofsupernatural characters employed as a unit of theespionage agencyS.H.I.E.L.D.

The title is a play on that of Marvel'sWorld War II-based seriesSgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. Although Marvelsuperspy heroNick Fury is the title character, he only appeared in acameo in the first issue.

The group's official name was never established in the series' six issues, but was called theS.H.I.E.L.D. Paranormal Containment Unit in its single other appearance, inBlade vol. 3, #1 (Nov. 2006). The same issue established its nickname as the Howling Commandos.

Marvel returned to the concept in 2015 withHowling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D., a series canceled after six issues where that version featured a spiritual successor to the team that is established by S.H.I.E.L.D. subsidiaryS.T.A.K.E.

Written byKeith Giffen^[1] for its entire run, the series was launched withpenciller Eduardo Francisco for its first two issues, followed by Dan Norton for issues #3, Derec Aucoin for #4-5 andMike Norton for #6.

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A powerfulmagician claiming to be the one trueMerlin (one of many characters in theMarvel Universe to make this claim) escapes from aS.H.I.E.L.D. containment facility dubbed the Warehouse. He journeys to theUnited Kingdom where he transforms the entire country into afantasy realm. The Howling Commandos are charged with stopping him.

The team is headquartered in Area 13, a classified base run by S.H.I.E.L.D. for its supernaturalblack op program. It also serves as aresearch and development facility, specializing in the supernatural.

Some of the characters, includingBrother Voodoo andGorilla-Man, were pre-existing human characters from Marvel'ssuperhero andsupernatural comics. Others, such asGoom,Grogg andGroot, were monsters frompre-superhero Marvelscience fiction/fantasyanthology comics of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Others were newly created or new versions of existing characters.

The seven primary characters are:

• Frank - Frank is an intelligent clone of the originalFrankenstein's Monster. He has super strength and durability, as well as a healing factor.
• Gorilla-Man (Kenneth Hale) - Hale is a man trapped in agorilla's body, granting him superhuman strength, stamina and dexterity as well as immortality. He is a member of theAgents of Atlas.
• The Living Mummy (N'Kantu) - N'Kantu is a human who is injected with a fluid causing him to be immortal, although he resembles a rotting corpse. He has super strength and durability.
• Clay Quartermain - Quartermain is the commanding officer of Area 13. He takes over in the first issue fromDum Dum Dugan. He is later killed byDoc Samson when he discoversRed Hulk's identity.^[2]
• Vampire by Night (Nina Price) - Price is a hybrid of a vampire and a werewolf.
• Warwolf (Vince Marcus) - Marcus is the field leader. He is awerewolf who can shapeshift voluntarily wheneverMars is in the night sky.
• Zombie (John Doe) - Doe is depicted as having normal human-level intelligence, in contrast to other zombie characters in the Marvel universe.

The main antagonists are:

• Merlin - Merlin is one of many magicians in the Marvel universe claiming to be the trueMerlin.
• Tilesti of the Folk is aFaerie and Merlin's second-in-command.

Supporting characters include:

• Bradley Beemer - Beemer is Area 13's Tech Chief and in charge ofresearch and development.
• Brother Voodoo (Jericho Drumm) - Drumm is a master of voodoo magic. He is later killed when theEye of Agamotto is destroyed.^[3]
• Glob (Joseph "Joe" Timms) - Timms is a swamp monster that has superhuman strength, stamina and durability.
• Grogg - Grogg is a winged dragon that can shoot flames from his nostrils. He is used as the team's transportation.
• Groot - Groot is a sentient tree. He has super strength and durability and he is able to animate and control plant life. He later became a member of theGuardians of the Galaxy.
• Hellstorm (Daimon Hellstrom) - Hellstorm has mystical powers due to being a human-demon hybrid. He is currently a member ofHYDRA's Department of Occult Armaments and is one of theHell-Lords.
• Lilith - Lilith is the daughter ofDracula and possesses vampire powers. However, she is immune to sunlight and can not be permanently killed while her father is alive.
• Buzz McMahon - McMahon is aS.H.I.E.L.D. agent that pilots Grogg.
• Werewolf by Night (Jacob Russoff/Jack Russell) - Russell's lycanthropy gives him superhuman speed, strength and agility as well as sharpened senses and a healing factor. He only appears in issue #1, the Director's Cut.

Other characters include:

• Abominable Snowman - This Abominable Snowman is described as the actual folkloricAbominable Snowman and not specifically connected to the other versions of the Abominable Snowman that were seen in Marvel Comics.
• Dragoom - Dragoom is an alien who has a plasma form and theability to control fire. He joins the team in issue #6.
• Goom - Goom is an alien from Planet X first appearing in "pre-superhero Marvel". He is seen briefly at the beginning of issue #3.
• Gorgolla - Gorgolla's body is made of living granite, giving him super strength and near-invulnerability. He also has wings that allow him to fly.
• It the Living Colossus - It is a living statue, capable of flight and is nearly invulnerable.
• Manphibian - Manphibian is a member of an amphibious race, with superhuman strength and razor-sharp claws.
• Joshua Pryce - Pryce has magical abilities. He joins the team in issue #6.
• Sasquatch - This Sasquatch is described in issue #2 as the actualfolkloricSasquatch and not specifically connected to the superheroSasquatch ofAlpha Flight vol. 1 or to the race of Sasquatches revealed in the seriesAlpha Flight vol. 2.

• Nick Fury's Howling Commandos appear in theUltimate Spider-Man two-part episode "Blade and the Howling Commandos", consisting ofFrankenstein's Monster,Werewolf by Night,N'Kantu, the Living Mummy, theMan-Thing, and a minor original character called Maxthe Invisible Man. Additionally,Blade was originally a member of the team before he left for unknown reasons.
• Nick Fury's Howling Commandos appear inHulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., consisting of Blade, Frankenstein's Monster, Werewolf by Night, N'Kantu the Living Mummy, and the Man-Thing.

Nick Fury's Howling Commandos appear inHulk: Where Monsters Dwell, consisting ofMartin Reyna / Warwolf, the Man-Thing, a zombifiedJasper Sitwell,Nina Price / Vampire by Night, andBenito Serrano / Minotaur.

• Creature Commandos, a similar team fromDC Comics
• 2005 in comics

• Review Nick Fury's Howling Commandos #1 at ComicCritique.com
• Nick Fury's Howling Commandos at theGrand Comics Database
• Nick Fury's Howling Commandos at the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)
• Nick Fury's Howling Commandos at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators

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