MCU: 10 Actors Who Redefined Their Characters
4. Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury)
Nick Fury has been a part of the Marvel Comics canon since 1963, and his character has gone through a fair share of retoolings over the years. Initially the centerpiece of Marvel's war genre, he was repackaged as the face of their espionage subgenre, a grizzled, cigar-chomping American face for the mysterious SHIELD organization.
In 2002, with the launch of Marvel's Ultimate universe, Nick Fury was re-tooled as an African-American with a striking resemblance to Samuel L. Jackson. Six years, that fan fiction-esque alteration was made a reality when Jackson appeared as Fury in the post-credits scene of Iron Man. From there, Fury has been the connecting fiber of the MCU, appearing in various films and forming the Avengers, as well as giving the iconic speech in the titular film that rallied the troops.
The modern day version of Nick Fury doesn't need a cigar or a gravelly voice to carry masculinity or gravitas, as Samuel L. Jackson is both of those things personified. Although, like the classic version of Fury, Jackson's version knows that eyepatches look pretty freaking sweet.