The Nick Fury Traitor Manifesto (spoilers)

Rogue Smurf

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Hello, this is my first post ever here. I think I have figured out who the traitor is and I'm just so excited I want to see what another group of people think of the evidence I have gathered. My guess is someone everyone seems to simply gloss over, so it's even sweeter. So anyway, here is my evidence, I'd like to see what you all think.



My guess for the traitor is Nick Fury. I believe Bass wrote him off because of the skin color shown on the slip of wrist at the end of issue #6. That wrist was purposefully in the shadows so that we couldn't judge the color. It was a tease, nothing more. My evidence is based on more than that. I will try to keep things neat as well.

The Beginning: My theory starts in Ultimates 2 issues #2 and the look on Nick Fury's face at the very end. It is my opinion that the look said, "oh my...Hank's right..." and not "oh my, hank knows, we need to take him out." Fury began to see where the Ultimates and America were heading and he realized he didn't like it. This theory is backed by the chat, earlier in the issue, between Thor and one of his fans at the club. They are discussing how the President is simply the 'friendly face' of the government and that he can't be blamed for what they do. This is an important scene in that it implies that Fury is simply the 'friendly face' of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Ultimates...that he's probably not even let in on the real meetings. So issue #2 begins the Volume long arc of Fury's betrayal. Think about it, no other characters save Thor and Banner have done anything emotional this entire time, therefore the story of the traitor would begin in issue #5 when Loki reveals it. But if it were Fury, then the story would stretch back to issue #2 and indeed stretch the length of the entire volume. That look on Fury's face has not been brought up again...and the Ultimates is too good of a book to leave something like that dangling.

The Patriotic Rant: Very important to note, of course, is the rant by the traitor in the end of issue #6. The traitor says 'we' crippled a nation...Fury would, of course, list himself among the Ultimates so it doesn't matter who is actually in the picture. What matters in this scene is that the traitor specifically mentions Guantanemo Bay and Homeland Security for things that he's upset about in the country. These are very specific military things that someone like Jan or Tony wouldn't care about if ranting against the U.S. Therefore, the traitor is patriotic and attached to the military. This limits the candidates down to Cap, Hawkeye, and of course Fury.

The Trio of Candidates: To differentiate between these three, i'm going to look at things from a story perspective. The reveal of the traitor has to be huge and epic because that's the way Ultimates does things. Who among those three will carry the most depth and deepest hurt if he or she is the traitor? Surely not Hawkeye. If Hawkeye is revealed as the traitor we'll all shrug and Cap will punch him, and that's the end of that. So Cap and Fury would be the last two candidates. The traitor also has to work as a duo with Hank so that it's easier to buy and understand. Cap hates Hank's guts and Hawkeye I don't think has said two words to Hank in the entire series. Whereas Fury and Hank are close and friendly. Fury is patriotic enough to love America but liberal enough to hate where things are going. Cap is definitely conservative and would have no problem with the big brother approach, but Fury isn't as hardcore conservative. He would feel a hurting if America was going in the wrong direction.

The Future of the Ultimate Universe: Think about it, if the US government suddenly had Giant Men everywhere and the European heroes just kept multiplying, then the Ultimate universe would forever have to change. Spider-Man, X-Men, F4...they would all have to incorporate these new story points. So someone, at the end of Volume 2, things are going to change. If Cap is the traitor, that is nothing. He can be replaced and the project can go on. However, if Fury is the traitor and he turned against all of this...things were change in big ways. They can't just dump Fury and move on.

Ultron: My next piece of in-comic evidence comes in issue #6 with Fury meeting with Hank, Ultron, and Vision 2. Now, Ultron has been around since the beginning of Volume 1 and was mentioned in Volume 2 issue #3. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been trying to get Ultron for a long time...now all of a sudden Fury doesn't want them? Hank is giving them away for free but still Fury turns him down with barely a second thought or a proper meeting. In issue #3, Doctor Brankin wanted Ultron. My theory is that Fury was keeping Hank away from the Ultimates because Fury knows they're headed in the wrong direction and he wants Hank to work with him on the outside.

Hank Pym's Final Assignment: Hank's last assignment with the Ultimates was to drug Banner in issue #3. It always bugged me why they had Hank do it. They all hated Hank, were about to get rid of him, and anyone could drug Banner. So why Hank? Well, if the traitor is Fury, then the scene with the two of them afterwards in the helicopter becomes even more poignant. Fury gave Hank the final assignment and Hank said he didn't want to mess it up. What if Fury's assignment wasn't to dope Banner...but to make sure he could become the Hulk and survive? Fury liked Banner and perhaps thinks he might need his help to fight the Ultimates down the line.

Betty Ross: This is rather minor...but we haven't seen her since Fury took her out for drinks after Banner's funeral. Maybe she's working with him in secret?

Anyway, that is my evidence for why Fury is the traitor. I hope, at the very least, I've gotten some of you thinking. :shock:
 
Rogue Smurf said:
Hello, this is my first post ever here. I think I have figured out who the traitor is and I'm just so excited I want to see what another group of people think of the evidence I have gathered. My guess is someone everyone seems to simply gloss over, so it's even sweeter. So anyway, here is my evidence, I'd like to see what you all think.



My guess for the traitor is Nick Fury. I believe Bass wrote him off because of the skin color shown on the slip of wrist at the end of issue #6. That wrist was purposefully in the shadows so that we couldn't judge the color. It was a tease, nothing more. My evidence is based on more than that. I will try to keep things neat as well.

The Beginning: My theory starts in Ultimates 2 issues #2 and the look on Nick Fury's face at the very end. It is my opinion that the look said, "oh my...Hank's right..." and not "oh my, hank knows, we need to take him out." Fury began to see where the Ultimates and America were heading and he realized he didn't like it. This theory is backed by the chat, earlier in the issue, between Thor and one of his fans at the club. They are discussing how the President is simply the 'friendly face' of the government and that he can't be blamed for what they do. This is an important scene in that it implies that Fury is simply the 'friendly face' of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Ultimates...that he's probably not even let in on the real meetings. So issue #2 begins the Volume long arc of Fury's betrayal. Think about it, no other characters save Thor and Banner have done anything emotional this entire time, therefore the story of the traitor would begin in issue #5 when Loki reveals it. But if it were Fury, then the story would stretch back to issue #2 and indeed stretch the length of the entire volume. That look on Fury's face has not been brought up again...and the Ultimates is too good of a book to leave something like that dangling.

The Patriotic Rant: Very important to note, of course, is the rant by the traitor in the end of issue #6. The traitor says 'we' crippled a nation...Fury would, of course, list himself among the Ultimates so it doesn't matter who is actually in the picture. What matters in this scene is that the traitor specifically mentions Guantanemo Bay and Homeland Security for things that he's upset about in the country. These are very specific military things that someone like Jan or Tony wouldn't care about if ranting against the U.S. Therefore, the traitor is patriotic and attached to the military. This limits the candidates down to Cap, Hawkeye, and of course Fury.

The Trio of Candidates: To differentiate between these three, i'm going to look at things from a story perspective. The reveal of the traitor has to be huge and epic because that's the way Ultimates does things. Who among those three will carry the most depth and deepest hurt if he or she is the traitor? Surely not Hawkeye. If Hawkeye is revealed as the traitor we'll all shrug and Cap will punch him, and that's the end of that. So Cap and Fury would be the last two candidates. The traitor also has to work as a duo with Hank so that it's easier to buy and understand. Cap hates Hank's guts and Hawkeye I don't think has said two words to Hank in the entire series. Whereas Fury and Hank are close and friendly. Fury is patriotic enough to love America but liberal enough to hate where things are going. Cap is definitely conservative and would have no problem with the big brother approach, but Fury isn't as hardcore conservative. He would feel a hurting if America was going in the wrong direction.

The Future of the Ultimate Universe: Think about it, if the US government suddenly had Giant Men everywhere and the European heroes just kept multiplying, then the Ultimate universe would forever have to change. Spider-Man, X-Men, F4...they would all have to incorporate these new story points. So someone, at the end of Volume 2, things are going to change. If Cap is the traitor, that is nothing. He can be replaced and the project can go on. However, if Fury is the traitor and he turned against all of this...things were change in big ways. They can't just dump Fury and move on.

Ultron: My next piece of in-comic evidence comes in issue #6 with Fury meeting with Hank, Ultron, and Vision 2. Now, Ultron has been around since the beginning of Volume 1 and was mentioned in Volume 2 issue #3. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been trying to get Ultron for a long time...now all of a sudden Fury doesn't want them? Hank is giving them away for free but still Fury turns him down with barely a second thought or a proper meeting. In issue #3, Doctor Brankin wanted Ultron. My theory is that Fury was keeping Hank away from the Ultimates because Fury knows they're headed in the wrong direction and he wants Hank to work with him on the outside.

Hank Pym's Final Assignment: Hank's last assignment with the Ultimates was to drug Banner in issue #3. It always bugged me why they had Hank do it. They all hated Hank, were about to get rid of him, and anyone could drug Banner. So why Hank? Well, if the traitor is Fury, then the scene with the two of them afterwards in the helicopter becomes even more poignant. Fury gave Hank the final assignment and Hank said he didn't want to mess it up. What if Fury's assignment wasn't to dope Banner...but to make sure he could become the Hulk and survive? Fury liked Banner and perhaps thinks he might need his help to fight the Ultimates down the line.

Betty Ross: This is rather minor...but we haven't seen her since Fury took her out for drinks after Banner's funeral. Maybe she's working with him in secret?

Anyway, that is my evidence for why Fury is the traitor. I hope, at the very least, I've gotten some of you thinking. :shock:
Wow....that's a lotta guessing. Nice.

Welcome! :D
 
Welcome to the board, Rogue Smurf. You have an awesome username. :D This theory is so awesome it's driving me nuts and makes me feel like an absolute moron with regard to my Iron Man schtick, especially because it seems like there's more back up for Fury as traitor, with regards to themes and allegories.
Rogue Smurf said:
This is an important scene in that it implies that Fury is simply the 'friendly face' of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Ultimates...that he's probably not even let in on the real meetings. So issue #2 begins the Volume long arc of Fury's betrayal. Think about it, no other characters save Thor and Banner have done anything emotional this entire time, therefore the story of the traitor would begin in issue #5 when Loki reveals it. But if it were Fury, then the story would stretch back to issue #2 and indeed stretch the length of the entire volume. That look on Fury's face has not been brought up again...and the Ultimates is too good of a book to leave something like that dangling.
With that look on his face, I'm beginning to suspect that Fury is at least a co-conspirator in the traitor plot. But with regards to dangling threads, I think the same case can be argued for the unclarified "Plan" that Tony Stark speaks of way back in volume 1, issue 1.

The friendly face connection is pretty awesome, but allow me to play devil's advocate and ask: If Fury is a puppet by the few individuals who are the REAL power-players within SHIELD and the American military/intelligence bureaus, why does Fury show no visible signs of protest. He seems to display too much ease in ordering the Ultimates into the Middle East or sending Captain America to Afghanistan and breaking all the little promises he made about the team. You'd think he'd see fit to get someone other than Henry Pym on his side.
Rogue Smurf said:
The Patriotic Rant: Very important to note, of course, is the rant by the traitor in the end of issue #6. The traitor says 'we' crippled a nation...Fury would, of course, list himself among the Ultimates so it doesn't matter who is actually in the picture. What matters in this scene is that the traitor specifically mentions Guantanemo Bay and Homeland Security for things that he's upset about in the country. These are very specific military things that someone like Jan or Tony wouldn't care about if ranting against the U.S. Therefore, the traitor is patriotic and attached to the military. This limits the candidates down to Cap, Hawkeye, and of course Fury.
I don't recall Fury ever referring to himself as an Ultimate, but whether or not we consider him officially part of the team is purely an issue of semantics. But your suggestion of reading the picture as a mere gaffe point, a clever dodge is an ingenious idea.
Rogue Smurf said:
The Trio of Candidates: The reveal of the traitor has to be huge and epic because that's the way Ultimates does things. Who among those three will carry the most depth and deepest hurt if he or she is the traitor? Surely not Hawkeye. If Hawkeye is revealed as the traitor we'll all shrug and Cap will punch him, and that's the end of that. So Cap and Fury would be the last two candidates. The traitor also has to work as a duo with Hank so that it's easier to buy and understand. Cap hates Hank's guts and Hawkeye I don't think has said two words to Hank in the entire series. Whereas Fury and Hank are close and friendly. Fury is patriotic enough to love America but liberal enough to hate where things are going. Cap is definitely conservative and would have no problem with the big brother approach, but Fury isn't as hardcore conservative. He would feel a hurting if America was going in the wrong direction.
Among my theories, I've eliminated Captain America using the same approach, only backwards. Assuming that Captain America was the traitor, you could extrapolate two potential storylines: If he were the "villainous" traitor, it would damage the character too much for use in future books. It wouldn't make sense for him to be the "noble" traitor as someone like Cap who begins to question things or take offense, is more inclined to bust some skulls in a knee-jerk reaction. If Captain America were to be a traitor, I'd think he'd have to participate in that plot late in the game, under the guidance of a more calculating traitor.
 
i wanted to say Fury myself, but i ruled him out cuz he's a proud person. and stubborn as hell. but nice job Rouge Smurf.
 
The friendly face connection is pretty awesome, but allow me to play devil's advocate and ask: If Fury is a puppet by the few individuals who are the REAL power-players within SHIELD and the American military/intelligence bureaus, why does Fury show no visible signs of protest. He seems to display too much ease in ordering the Ultimates into the Middle East or sending Captain America to Afghanistan and breaking all the little promises he made about the team. You'd think he'd see fit to get someone other than Henry Pym on his side.

First off, allow me to apologize about that other thread thing. I've never posted here before and I guess it's my bad for not seeing that there are actually a bunch of other 'who is the traitor' threads. So again, my bad.

But in answer to this issue, I'd say that Fury is still a military man. If he is going to secretly betray the team, then he needs to continue to give out the orders and work with the system. If he shows any signs of protest to his higher ups then he gives himself away. If he shows any signs of protest in private, meaning to us readers only, then he gives himself away as the traitor. So he will follow orders because it provides him a safety.

I guess I'll go on with some more thinking just for fun. Now, the effeminate tone to the voice at the end of issue #6 does strike me as odd. However, that could also be a red herring. We don't know the tone of the voice when he says 'Oh Hank', it doesn't necessarily have to be an effeminate tone. Besides, if Janet had decided to betray Cap and come back to Hank, I doubt their conversation would be about betraying the Ultimates. The traitor says Hank needs something to put a smile on his face...if it were Janet saying that, he would think of a bunch of different things she could do to put a smile on his face.

And to eliminate this "The Plan" of Tony's, I'd write that down simply as his Iron Man program. The next step is joining Nick Fury and the Ultimates, testing out a new suit.

:shock:
 
Rogue Smurf said:
First off, allow me to apologize about that other thread thing. I've never posted here before and I guess it's my bad for not seeing that there are actually a bunch of other 'who is the traitor' threads. So again, my bad.
I don't know what the other moderators think about that, but I don't think it's a problem. I look at the different threads as devoted to different sub-traitor topics. Bass' Traitor Manifesto lays down the evidence presented by Volume 2 of Ultimates, My Iron Man Manifesto is dedicated to Tony and your Manifesto is dedicated to Fury. They all serve a different function, I think.

Trying to merge them all into one thread would just get so damn messy and hard to wade through. Multiple threads allows us to break the whole issue down and keep our thoughts and ideas organized.
 
This is really well done, and welcome Rogue Smurf.

The only problem I have is that, even though it's in shadow, there is no way the traitor is Nick Fury. That skin colour is completely wrong for him. You can compare it with the skin colours of Hank Pym's skin that are in shadow in the same panel.

As good as all the other evidence you've amassed is (especially the Ultron connection) I'd say you were on the ball except for the fact that we have proof that the traitor is definately not a black man.

Though, I was thinking in regards to your observation of Fury's reaction in #2 to Pym saying, "Look who they're phasing out" - perhaps Fury suspects Pym of leaking the information... or perhaps he realises that Pym is a good target for recruitment by the leak, and so is keeping him at a distance so he can't harm the team.
 
If Fury suspected Hank of leaking the Hulk info, and Fury wasn't the traitor, then he would definitely put Hank on the list of potential leakers and Hank wouldn't be allowed to just be on his own. The government would be all over him. And if he suspected Hank would be a target for recruitment by the traitor...that goes a long way in assuming that the traitor recruiting others is even an issue. That's assuming too much if all they have to go on is someone somewhere leaked the Hulk papers. The government, and a non-traitor Fury, couldn't possibly think that out on his own is safer than in their custody.

Now, not that I'm going to change your opinion about the skin color on the wrist, but I just wanna state my opinion for the record. I feel that the slip of skin isn't a clue...it's a tease. It's in the shadows, and is shown to us just so we all begin scrutinizing the heck out of it. Millar knew that the Internet would be abuzz with these kinds of theories and manifestos. The slip of skin was shown on purpose, and in shadow on purpose, so that nobody could tell for sure but they could think they know. Anyway, that's just my opinion, cause it sounds smarter than just saying, "Me see brown skin!"

Dang, I had another Fury theory I wanted to throw out...but I can't think of it at the time. It keeps coming and going. Stupid memory...
 
Wow that was impressive. Welcome Rogue Smurf. I am Thee Great One and I am Great. So feel free to start bowing at anytime.
 
Rogue Smurf said:
If Fury suspected Hank of leaking the Hulk info, and Fury wasn't the traitor, then he would definitely put Hank on the list of potential leakers and Hank wouldn't be allowed to just be on his own. The government would be all over him. And if he suspected Hank would be a target for recruitment by the traitor...that goes a long way in assuming that the traitor recruiting others is even an issue. That's assuming too much if all they have to go on is someone somewhere leaked the Hulk papers. The government, and a non-traitor Fury, couldn't possibly think that out on his own is safer than in their custody.

Now, not that I'm going to change your opinion about the skin color on the wrist, but I just wanna state my opinion for the record. I feel that the slip of skin isn't a clue...it's a tease. It's in the shadows, and is shown to us just so we all begin scrutinizing the heck out of it. Millar knew that the Internet would be abuzz with these kinds of theories and manifestos. The slip of skin was shown on purpose, and in shadow on purpose, so that nobody could tell for sure but they could think they know. Anyway, that's just my opinion, cause it sounds smarter than just saying, "Me see brown skin!"
I think this skin issue is becoming too much of a breaking point. The traitor Hank is conversing with isn't necessarily the same person who turned people against Thor, or leaked the Hulk info. Loki is referring to "they", after all. As in "they're working for friends of mine".
 
ourchair said:
I think this skin issue is becoming too much of a breaking point. The traitor Hank is conversing with isn't necessarily the same person who turned people against Thor, or leaked the Hulk info. Loki is referring to "they", after all. As in "they're working for friends of mine".

I'm gettin real bored with these "Manifesto" threads. Fate brought me to this one and I'm glad I did arrive at this point. Ourchair makes a good point. Remember when I was doubted about the traitor being someone else and I originally threw my theory out there in the first place. There was an aspect that called for the ultimization of a villainous organization (i.e. A.I.M., Hydra). Somewhere along the way we've dropped that completely. I'm holding out and hopeing there's a big terrorist organization behind all of it and our Ultimate traitor is just a pawn in a bigger scheme of things.
 
TheManWithoutFear said:
I'm holding out and hopeing there's a big terrorist organization behind all of it and our Ultimate traitor is just a pawn in a bigger scheme of things.

I said something similar, and added that it would be super cool if the "traitor" did even know he was being a traitor.
 
Well, as many members will remember, I brought up the fact that the reason there's a glove is because there is something to hide there. Sine Fury is a black man in a cast of whites, that would be something to hide so that it wasn't an immediate revelation. He's been known to go beyond what he's been told to do and has since caught a lot of heat... The media had been digging into him and the Ultimates since the hostage crisis in Iraq (Ultimates 2 #1) so it's very possible that, immediately following, Fury wanted to sweep things under the rug as much as possible and get the things that could bite him in the butt from under it. This would include both Hulk and Thor. Good call, Rogue Smurf...

Aren't you a member of Ultimate X?
 
This is a very interesting. But I dont think that Fury is the traitor. It was his job to bring the Ultimates together, and in a way it's also his dream come true. Why would Fury want to betray his own dream. I dont think it's Fury at all.
 
René said:
Why would Fury want to betray his own dream.
Like the traitor said, "I don't belive in the dream no more". When you don't believe in a dream no more, you just give it up. Here, if its Fury (not saying it is), he's just doing something else.
 
Goodwill said:
Well, as many members will remember, I brought up the fact that the reason there's a glove is because there is something to hide there.
Fingerprints. All the traitor has done is speak to Hank. They may have a reason to hide they were there, they may just be being careful. Skin tone is a possibility but since we saw the wrist and to me anyway, it was clearly caucasian (or Wasp's Caucasian looking) skin tone, My opinion remains that its not Fury.
 
icemastertron said:
Like the traitor said, "I don't belive in the dream no more".

Well I didn't know the traitor said that, I haven't read the book yet, have I?
 

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