“Captain Marvel” Solves an “Iron Man” Mystery, 11 Years Later

Since he first appeared after the end credits of Iron Man in 2008 to talk to Tony Stark about “The Avengers” initiative, Nick Fury has been one of the most mysterious figures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How does this guy know so much about superheroes? Is Nick Fury his real name or an awesome codename? And, perhaps most importantly, how the hell did this badass S.H.I.E.L.D. end up with an eyepatch? We may not have the answer to every Fury-related mystery but thanks to Captain Marvel, we finally have the answer to how Fury lost his eye in the first place. We’re not going to tell you how it happens in the movie, but rest assured, it does happen.

Warning: While there are no specific plot points discussed, there are slight Captain Marvel spoilers below so if you want to go in fully blind, stop reading.

For anyone who has watched the trailer for the upcoming ’90s-era MCU film, it’s no secret that the titular hero spends a good deal of time with a younger Fury (thanks to some incredible special effects), who noticeably has both eyes. We won’t explain what specifically ends up happening to his eye over the course of the film, but we will confirm that by the end of Captain Marvel, we have a concrete answer as to how Fury became the coolest cyclops in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (no disrespect to Cyclops, who technically belongs in Fox’s less-beloved and now-canceled Marvel Movie Universe).

Our one complaint? While we do get to see Fury lose his eye, we as fans are robbed of the moment where he actually chooses his iconic eye patch. It feels like a missed opportunity, although don’t be surprised if, given the ever-expanding nature of the MCU, Fury ends up getting his own spin-off movie where we get an entire scene of him shopping for dope eyepatches.