Comic writer J. Michael Straczynski is overseeing a new Marvel meta-series that pairs unlikely duos together. One of these comics paired up Doctor Doom with Rocket Raccoon. The next features a young Nick Fury fighting the enormous alien dragon known as Fin Fang Foom. 

Marvel has shared an exclusive preview of “Nick Fury vs Fin Fang Foom” #1 with /Film. The issue synopsis reads:

“THE HOWLING COMMANDOS TAKE ON FIN FANG FOOM! NICK FURY knows how to handle problems, no matter the size — but he’s never faced a foe THIS big before! Witness the next chapter in J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI’s team-up event as he is joined by Marvel Stormbreaker ELENA CASAGRANDE to bring you one of the most wild pairings in Marvel History!”

Fin Fang Foom is a Makluan, hailing from the planet Kakaranthara. Centuries and centuries ago, he and some of his people crash-landed in China, inspiring ancient legends of Chinese dragons. Iron Man’s archenemy the Mandarin discovered their ship and, inside it, his ten rings. This has tied Fin Fang Foom to Iron Man too, but he was not conceived as Shellhead’s enemy.

Fin Fang Foom has a long and windy history. By publication date, he’s one of the Marvel Universe’s oldest characters, older than the universe itself. See, in the 1950s, Marvel stuck mostly to publishing monster comics. Fin Fang Foom was one such monster, debuting in 1961’s “Strange Tales” #89, where a man named Chan Liuchow awakens the dragon to attack communist China. 

“Strange Tales” #89 was written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby. Shortly after, their comic “Fantastic Four” #1 hit the stands, was a booming success, and Marvel pivoted back to superhero books. Lee brought back some old characters into the new Marvel Universe, like Captain America and Fin Fang Foom. Of course, he also co-created plenty of new ones, including Nick Fury.

See Gary Frank’s cover for “Nick Fury vs Fin Fang Foom” #1 below, showing Fury and his fellow Howling Commando Dum Dum Dugan parachuting in to face the dragon.

Marvel Comics

Nick Fury is most famous these days as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., the super-spy agency with an enviable acronym. But he was introduced in a war comic: “Sergeant Fury and his Howling Commandos,” where he led a colorful platoon fighting in World War 2. To maintain this backstory as the Marvel Universe moves on a sliding timescale, Fury is said to have received an “Infinity Formula” that slows his aging.

Well, this comic takes Fury back to 1940, when he still had his Howling Commandos but no eye patch yet. The comic opens with a recap page catching unfamiliar readers up to speed.

Marvel Comics

The comic opens on an airfield, with Fury and co. planning to fly out. That’s where Fury meets one of his future Howling Commandos: Gabe Jones, one of the first African-American Marvel heroes.

From there, the team flies out snow-drenched mountains (the Himalayas, perhaps?). They (and we) only briefly see the dragon, but he doesn’t look happy to see them. We know Fury and Jones will survive this, but they’ll also fail to bring down Fin Fang Foom. How will they escape? That’s a question only the comic can answer.

Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

“Nick Fury vs Fin Fang Foom” #1 is scheduled for release on March 12, 2025.