15 Ways The MCU Improved Marvel Mythology
1. The One And Only Nick Fury
The Nick Fury in the MCU is not actually a representation of the original character in the comics. Debuting in 1963, the original Nick Fury wasn't only a younger, James Bond-style secret agent leading the Howling Commandos squad, but he was also white. So white that when he was represented in a 1988 TV movie, he was played by the Hoff.
The Samuel L. Jackson-based Nick Fury most audiences are familiar with originated in the early 2000s in Marvel's now-defunct Ultimate line, and he remains one of the few good creative choices to come out of that alternate timeline. However, he was never a character in the main Marvel continuity.
Until, that is, he came out in full force during 2012's Avengers. Once Samuel L. Jackson had firmly established that his version, the cool, experienced, and manipulative director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the superior version, the comics introduced Nick Fury Jr., the white Nick Fury's secret illegitimate son who happened to look an awful lot like the movie version.
There's almost no point in comparing the new and old versions of the character. One was from a pulp era where Cold War spy thrillers could only get so graphic and the other is Samuel L. Jackson if he ran an organization of spies and had a team of superheroes at his beck and call. There's a clear winner between the two.