HAIRCUT 100: Day 33, No. 33. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and architect of the ‘Avengers Initiative,’ a man for whom the word ‘maverick’ would seem to have been invented. This is a classic Jackson performance, the exasperation and barely suppressed rage maintained in Avengers Assemble by having to constantly explain what the ‘Tesseract’ is to the team, the villains and the audience. Like Tony Stark, Fury has no superpowers as such, but appears to be bulletproof, probably due to his multiple layers of black leather. Jackson has reportedly signed on for nine Marvel Universe movies, and has been appearing at the end of them since the original Iron Man in 2008, taking a more prominent role in Avengers Assemble. Although the original Nick Fury was a white World War II veteran, his longevity within the Marvel Universe explained by the ‘Infinity Formula,’ Jackson’s portrayal of the role has become so iconic that the old, cigar-chomping model has been retired in the comics and replaced by his African American son, Nick Jr, who is again based on Jackson, indicating how close the relationship between film and graphic narrative has become. The actor has compared Fury to Ordell, the character he played in Tarantino’s Jackie Brown: ‘He’s a nice guy to hang out with. You just don’t want to cross him.’
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THE HAIRCUT 100........ 