Main Article : S.H.I.E.L.D.
ORGANIZATION : S.H.I.E.L.D
ALIGNMENT : Good (Heroes and Agent)
LEADER : Col. Nicholas Fury (Nick Fury)
ACTIVITIES : Counter Terrorism
BASE : S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier
INFLUENCE : Global
SIZE : Worldwide
Files[]
FROM NICK FURY[]
WHEREAS attacks by terrorists such as Hydra and persons possessed of superhuman abilities continue to increase around the globe;
And WHEREAS the normal peoples of the world have no reason to trust those the media calls “super heroes” to act always in humanity’s best interests;
IT IS RESOLVED that the Council authorizes the creation of a Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate, or S.H.I.E.L.D to coordinate humanity’s resistance to these extraordinary threats;
IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council shall use the wartime Scientific Strategic Reserve as a model for this organization;
AND IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED so that no one of our member nations is singled out for super human attack for harboring said agency, Stark Industries’ proposal to build a floating “Heli-Carrier”™ is hereby accepted and once constructed, that vessel shall become S.H.I.E.L.D’s mobile headquarters.
• 1285th plenary meeting • 2 August 1965
CLASSIFIED[]
[AGENT SECURITY CLEARANCE INSUFFICIENT]
[ACCESS DENIED]
FROM NICK FURY[]
TO: All S.H.I.E.L.D Agents
FROM: Nick Fury, Executive Director
SUBJECT: The Pulse
I’m dispensing with any sense of formality. Whatever it was that hit us, hit us HARD. You already know about the power grids going down on a global scale, the cities paralyzed by gridlock as cars stop working, the rioting that always ensues whenever people aren’t sure when they’re going to get their next meal, and the psychopaths who seize opportunities like this to play their little games without getting caught. As far as we can tell, S.H.I.E.L.D is the only major institution unaffected by this “Pulse” as our orbital probes detected its approach from deep space and we were able to protect our own systems in time.
We are all that stands between the world and total chaos, people.
Effective immediately:
All leave is cancelled until further notice and all agents should report to their respective station houses or helicarriers.
All in-training agents and new recruits have been promoted to active status and should report to their superiors for field assignment.
I am activating the Avengers Initiative to assemble as many known super powered friendlies as we can to help restore order. Agents will be expected to assist in the deployment and coordination of heroes and hero teams.
It is only through this alliance between S.H.I.E.L.D and the super heroes that the damage caused by The Pulse can be minimized and those who seek to exploit it for their own selfish ends are brought to justice.
That is all. Carry on, people.
Make me proud.
PREPARED BY JASPER SITWELL[]
ENEMY ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO THE PULSE: INITIAL REPORT
TO: All S.H.I.E.L.D Department and Station Heads
FROM: Jasper Stillwell
As we both expected and feared, the chaos following the Pulse has emboldened criminal and terrorist networks. AIM and Hydra, as well as the AIM offshoot known as RAID, have taken full advantage of law enforcement’s distraction to launch multiple attacks. Their greater goals are as yet unclear. What is known:
• Numerous enemy organizations are collecting an element or compound present in some of the meteors that fell with the Pulse. We have heard this element referred to as Iso-8.
• Viper is taking an active and public leadership role with Hydra, but so is Baron Zemo. It is currently unknown whether they are cooperating or competing.
• Hydra and AIM are in open conflict.
• R.A.I.D. appears to be operating on its own.
• Enemy organizations are enlisting super-powered assets such as Whiplash and members of the Wrecking Crew. Some of these hired assets appear to be interested in Iso-8 for their own reasons.
• AIM and Hydra have deployed agents wearing power armor; one such hostile defeated by our own Agent has been sent to Tony Stark for a tech assessment.
• S.H.I.E.L.D scientific personnel are researching Iso-8. Other teams are identifying and securing known locations of Iso-8. These will likely be sites of imminent conflict as enemies attempt to capture this material for their own ends.
• The active recruitment of additional Avengers is already paying dividends. Newly recruited and trained Agents are acquitting themselves well in the field against highly motivated and dangerous enemies.
• We are in an extremely fluid battlefield situation, with the expectation that more enemy organizations will appear.
INTERNAL S.H.I.E.L.D. DOSSIER[]
ORIGINS AND NATURE OF OMEGA LEVEL PLANETARY EVENT 122822 [designated “THE PULSE:”] PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT
INTERNAL S.H.I.E.L.D DOSSIER
ORIGINS
The Pulse originated in deep space, but its point of origin is uncertain and estimates vary widely. S.H.I.E.L.D scientific staff, working in conjunction with Reed Richards, is attempting to pinpoint the source by working backward from the minute differences in recorded times of impact and different locations across Earth’s surface.
NATURE
Fundamentally the Pulse was an electromagnetic wave of singular power and integrity, with a velocity at its wavefront approaching the speed of light. The meteor shower that followed immediately after it consisted of tens of thousands of objects varying in size from dust to several meters across. These impacted Earth at expected velocities for deep-space objects, leading to questions about whether they are part of the Pulse or were dragged behind it from some location nearer Earth. Other possibilities, including dimensional disruption, cannot be either dismissed or confirmed.
The type of energy contained in the Pulse does not match any known phenomena, including pulsars, quasars, supernovae, black hole radiation, neutron stars, and/or stellar winds. S.H.I.E.L.D astrophysicists and mathematicians are isolating and identifying the complex combination of energies it contained, and finding several never before recorded.
Orbital and terrestrial telescopes, brought back online since the Pulse, have observed its effects throughout nearby bodies in the solar system. The sun itself has reacted to the Pulse’s impact with a noticeable increase in flares and sunspots. Nearer to Earth, the moon has manifested much more intense changes in light and/or color (aka Transient Lunar Phenomena) than typically observed. The long-term effects cannot be predicted.
Recovered meteor specimens exhibit unique metallurgical composition, including significant quantities of a largely unknown substance currently being called Iso-8. Research is ongoing into its characteristics.
SUMMARY
The Pulse and accompanying meteor storm are almost certainly the product of a release of energy comparable to a supernova, or even greater. Until its source can be pinpointed and observations made at that location, further speculation is unlikely to be useful.