MCU Fight: Nick Fury Vs. Phil Coulson

[BigThor]

We will be doing VS. battles for the MCU every week and will be using the Winners and Losers to create an accurate power tier list created by some of it's biggest fans (you). So don't forget to VOTE and after voting for a Winner please include a comment on which power tier, both the Winner and Loser should reside within. Also, see below for more details on the characters abilities as well as for a list of available power tiers to choose from.

Don't forget to put which Tier group you think Nick Fury and Phil Coulson belong to in your posts. Also, don't forget I've now added the option of being able to change your vote if you change your mind.

So, without further delay here is this week's match up

NICK FURY

PHIL COULSON

NICK FURY

- Master Tactician: Fury was a master strategist and an astute judge of character. He used these talents to great effect in his leadership of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Fury showed foresight by instigating many operations like the Avengers Initiative, Theta Protocol, Phase 2, Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., Project T.A.H.I.T.I., and Project Insightto counter threats to global security. Fury has done what would be called questionable tactics all throughout his years in command but nonetheless, he will ultimately do what is right. Case in point, when the World Security Council ordered him to strike New York City with a nuclear missile, he would not, going as far as disabling one of the planes with a rocket launcher and warning Iron Man.

- Master Spy: When Fury needed intelligence on Bruce Banner, he sat practically unnoticed among restaurant patrons to observe him. Fury managed to make the majority of those who knew him think he was dead, including HYDRA.

- Expert Combatant: Fury was a seasoned unarmed and armed-combat expert and veteran. He was able to take down two brainwashed agents with ease.

- Expert Marksman: Fury was also trained to use U.S. military firearms. He is highly proficient in artillery such as a Rocket Launcher to accurately disable a F-35 Lightning from taking off to bombed Manhattan. During the HYDRA assassination attempt on his life, Nick used the built in Turret of his personal SUV with expert precision, killing multiple HYDRA assassins in quick succession.

- Master Pilot: Fury was able to pilot a helicopter onto the helipad at the Triskelion and maneuver it through rubble in order to save Sam Wilson during the Triskelion's destruction.

- Smith & Wesson M&P: The Smith & Wesson M&P pistol is the standard sidearm carried by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and Fury also carried one as his sidearm, using it to fire at Loki while he escaped after having obtained the Tesseract for the first time, when the Helicarrier is attacked, during the Battle at the Triskelion, and to try to kill John Garrett during the Battle at Cybertek. He also carried it while commanding the bridge of the Helicarrier during the Battle of Sokovia, but he did not use it against any of the Ultron Sentries that attacked it.

- Glock 17: The Glock 17 was the standard sidearm used by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, before being replaced by the Smith & Wesson M&P. Fury carried one while he accompanied Tony Stark to his mansion in order to help him overcome his Palladium poisoning finishing Howard Stark's work.

- Airtronic RPG-7: A heavy rocket launcher that Fury used to disable a F-35 Lightning II that had received orders to drop a nuclear bomb on Manhattan. Though he successfully shot the rocked and prevented the plane from taking off, another F-35 had been ordered to do the same, and Fury was unable to prevent it.

PHIL COULSON

- Expert Martial Artist: Coulson is highly trained in multiple martial arts and hand-to-hand combat styles, taking on a highly-trained specialist as Grant Ward, easily holding his own against a brainwashed Agent 33and even fighting Calvin Zabo, a man with enhanced strength, on equal terms. He easily subdued Sebastian Derik, a highly trained assassin, even after having being tortured by him, and handled himself against Alphonso Mackenzie, who had gained strength from being under the control of the Kree City. He also killed an L.M.D. of Anton Ivanov after leaving the Framework.

- Expert Marksman: Coulson is skilled in use of military assault weapons as well as edged weapons. He has wielded a variety of weapons in his missions, including experimental weapons.

- Expert Spy: Coulson is an expert at intelligence and espionage. He could tell what the man controlling Akela Amador looked like just by her description of how he typed. He has maintained very good covers on multiple occasions including when pursuing Ian Quinn on a train, at Cybertek's offices, and at Gabriel Soto's party in Miami, where he, along with Melinda May, were able to locate all the security cameras..

- Master Tactician: An accomplished logistics specialist, Coulson assesses tactical situations and implements equipment and personnel as needed. He is also very proficient at designing ops. He is also a recognized expert on analysis, being able to run possible scenarios for any given information, and quickly recognize the probable one, such when deducing the Clairvoyant was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, or the reason why Skye accompanied Grant Ward out of Providence despite knowing he was a HYDRA operative.

- Expert Interrogator: Coulson is an expert in interrogations, knowing how to gather intelligence from rather small bits of information. While talking to Erik Selvig, Coulson knew that he was lying about the true identity of "Donald Blake". He had figured out that Elliot Randolph was an Asgardian based on how he interrogated Thor. During an interrogation of Glenn Talbot, Coulson knew what to say to get the emotional reaction he wanted to glean Talbot's fingerprints. Coulson interviewed each remaining member of his team to learn that Grant Ward loved his brother Thomas.

- Smith & Wesson M&P: The Smith & Wesson M&P pistol is the standard sidearm carried by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and as such, Coulson uses it to threaten or shoot most of his enemies.

- Smith & Wesson M&P Compact: Coulson has used the compact version of the Smith & Wesson M&P pistol in some missions that required high mobility, such as the infiltration into the Guest House to quickly obtain medical assistance for Skye, being involved in a shootout with the security guards of the base.

- Glock 17: The Glock 17 was the standard sidearm used by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, before being replaced by the Smith & Wesson M&P. As such, Coulson and a team of agents carried those weapons when they tried to capture Obadiah Stane, raiding Stark Industries sector 16, and when Coulson prevented a theft in a gas station in New Mexico.

- SIG Sauer P226: Coulson used this weapon at one time as his sidearm along with his fellow agents as it was standard issue for SHIELD agents during the 1990s.

- Tokyo Marui Strike Warrior: Coulson obtained Luther Banks' handgun when he was tied up by the ATCUduring his attempt to ambush Rosalind Price. He removed his prosthetic hand and knocked Banks over, taking his gun and pointing at all the ATCU operatives inside the train while Lance Hunter summoned a Containment Module in order to escape.

*****Below is the list of power tiers to choose from. Please select a power tier for each character doing battle (the characters below in Red are not in any particular order). Be aware both characters can share the same power tier*****

The character's current statuses below are as follows

*****NOTE: Characters that are OFFICIAL will always be Placed above characters that are UNOFFICIAL.*****

Cosmic Tier (cosmic/interdimension level power/presence on a planetary scale, at the minimum)
Thanos (w/ Filled Infinity Gauntlet)
Dormmamu
Eson The Searcher with Infinity Stone
Surtur Prime
Ego The Living Planet
Odin
Doctor Strange (w/ Time Gem)

Transcendent Tier (City to planetary level power & Cosmic/interdimensional level influence on a local scale?)
Thor
Hela
Captain Marvel
Thanos (Base)
Ronan with the Power Stone
Kurse
Surtur's Fire Dragon
Fenris
Ultron Prime (Vibranium)


Powerhouse Tier (Beyond top tier, power/interdimensional power on a block to city Level)
Doctor Strange
Vision
Malekith (W/ reality gem)
Hulk
Ghost Rider
Ebony Maw
Scarlet Witch
Destroyer
Hulkbuster Ironman
Pre-Eternal Flame Surtur
Abomination
Iron Man
Cull Obsidian
Abilisk
Jotunheim Beast
Kronan
Ancient One
Giant Man
Kaecilius

Top Tier (Street to block level?)
Ronan
Valkyrie
Hogun
Aldrich Killian
Loki
Drax
Heimdall
War Machine
Corvus Glaive
Iron Monger
Whiplash
Quake
Malekith
Sif
Fandral
Volstagg
Korath The Pursuer
Groot
Killgrave
Yondu
Lash
Hive
Frigga
Pepper Potts with Extremis
Mantis
Skurge
Korg
Baron Mordo
Master Wong
Corvus Glaive

Superhuman Tier (Street Level)
Black Panther
Captain America
Spider-Man
Gamora
Star-Lord
Vulture
Falcon
Winter Soldier
Luke Cage
Yon-Rogg
Red Skull
Crossbones
Quicksilver
Iron Fist
Jessica Jones
Eric Savin (Extremis Soldier)
Ellen Brandt (Extremis Soldier)
Emil Blonsky (Super Soldier)
Madame Gao
Mr. Hyde
Slingshot
Aida
Raina
Deathlok
The Patriot
Carl Creed the Absorbing Man
Lorelei
Nebula
Miek
Ant Man
Yellow Jacket
Proxima Midnight
Erik Killmonger
Ulysses Klaue

Street Tier (non super human, agent level)
Daredevil
Elektra
Black Widow
Okoye
Rocket Racoon
Hawkeye
Nick Fury
Punisher
Coleen Wing
Batroc the Leaper
Shocker
Kingpin
Nobu
Diamondback
Bakuto
Peggy Carter
Sharon Carter Agent 13
Dum Dum Dugan
Mocking Bird
Maria Hill
Misty Knight
The Punisher
Phil Coulson
Zemo
Jig Saw
M'Baku
Shuri

 

[Spider-Fan]

Fury would pull this out. I like Coulson, and Coulson maybe has more moves than Fury, but Fury is more clever. He wins.

 

[Stormborn]

Fury's the better spymaster but in a fight, I'd say Coulson has the edge. He's younger and just as highly trained plus he has a bionic hand that can break guns in two.

In Captain Marvel we saw Fury briefly put up a fight against Talos before getting overpowered because Skrulls are stronger than humans. In Avengers we saw Fury get the drop on a couple of Loki's brainwashed SHIELD agents and take them out. He's clearly got some skills but that's pretty much it in terms of feats.

Thanks to Agents of SHIELD Coulson has way more combat feats. He's beaten other highly trained SHIELD agents in hand to hand (Agent 33, Garrett), used Jiu Jitsu to grapple a superhuman (Calvin Zabo) to the ground, used superior skill plus improvised weaponry to take on superhuman LMDs, and used stealth to take out remorath aliens that can see in the dark. Comic Vine has a pretty good respect thread for him.

Plus this is how he handled being held at gunpoint in the "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to Thor's Hammer" One Shot:

 

[jolldan]

In this case the student has surpassed the master, Coulson for the win.

• In terms of Defence the edge goes to Coulson (He has his own shield god damn it!)
• Strength Coulson takes it as well (With his robot hand Phil has bent crushed metal pipes)
• Offensive both will likely be using firearms so equal here
• Even in terms of passive abilities Coulson has Fury beat. (He can even use it for X-Ray vision through walls so he could use that to get the jump on Fury)
• And the ability to command a quinjet from his hand
• Obviously Fury takes experience

Just comparing them stat for stat I feel I've got to go with Phil.

 

[Batmannerism]

I went with Fury, but I'm not as familiar with Coulson's AoS feats.

I think a lot of this one depends on what tech they have available - the above descriptions include guns and I suspect Fury is a slightly better shot despite lack of depth perception.

I feel that Fury is probably a better tactician and could set an ambush to neutralize the physical advantage . With that in mind I'll stick with Fury for a gunfight.

Fury is also more ruthless. I can see him taking a punch or even a gsw and being badly wounded just to lure Coulson into close quarters and then stabbing Phil with a quick acting poison.

Hand to hand, in a fair fight the evidence suggests Coulson wins, age being a big factor - SLJ is 70, Clark Gregg is 57. Also Fury probably has a few more injuries to slow him down - again I see Fury winning by cheating e.g. looking dead / unconscious after a fist fight and then shooting Phil in the back.

 

[Docker2.0]

AoS isn't even really canon at this point. Fury. He has gadgets that he hasn't had to use because he hasn't had to. Spy of spies. I can see him taking Coulson out quickly, if Coulson even tries to go for the win knowing that he can't.

 

[Darkprime]

Depends when in the timeline the fight takes place. Fury is older than Coulson so thats a disadvantage right there hes slower hes been hurt in the past that may have lasting effects on him Coulson is younger and more physically able.

 

[Stormborn]

AoS isn't even really canon at this point.

Agents of Shield, Daredevil, Jessica Jones etc are still officially canon. Nobody at Marvel's said otherwise.

Coulson's AoS feats should definitely count.

 

[jolldan]

AoS isn't even really canon at this point. Fury. He has gadgets that he hasn't had to use because he hasn't had to. Spy of spies. I can see him taking Coulson out quickly, if Coulson even tries to go for the win knowing that he can't.

Yeah this would seem a little unfair to discount the stuff that Coulson has done and give edges to Fury because of gadgets that we don't even know if he has.

 

[Docker2.0]

Yeah this would seem a little unfair to discount the stuff that Coulson has done and give edges to Fury because of gadgets that we don't even know if he has.

It's not that I'm being unfair but it seems like Marvel tv and MCU are two different things, especially since Fiege has come into full power.

 

[Docker2.0]

Agents of Shield, Daredevil, Jessica Jones etc are still officially canon. Nobody at Marvel's said otherwise.

Coulson's AoS feats should definitely count.

I stopped watching AoS after last season. They kind of lost me when they went into the future with the Kree. That's why it's kind of hard to believe it's MCU canon.

 

[jolldan]

It's not that I'm being unfair but it seems like Marvel tv and MCU are two different things, especially since Fiege has come into full power.

I see what you mean but that's simply because Feige has control over the movies not the shows. Plus just the reality of differences in tv & movie budgets are going to mean they do look a little different but he's never to my knowledge dismissed the tv shows as non canon.

Unless confirmed otherwise AoS is definitely canon (and even if it wasn't now then you would have to find out when that decision was made as it definitely was before.)

 

[Mjolnir Reborn]

If we're just talking a fight I'll see Coulson edging it out. Fury is older and his real power comes from things that aren't really about direct fighting.

 

[BigThor]

especially since Fiege has come into full power.

When was he ever in half power?

 

[Docker2.0]

When was he ever in half power?

When Ike Perlman would have a lot of say. Now it's strictly Fiege.

 

[Darkprime]

Agents of Shield, Daredevil, Jessica Jones etc are still officially canon. Nobody at Marvel's said otherwise.

Coulson's AoS feats should definitely count.

Agents of shield maybe but the others lets be real. if its not produced by Feige its not MCU.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Does a vs thread really have to devolve into what is or is not MCU? We have other threads for that topic, why don't we stick to the who would win scenario presented, and per the scenario AoS counts.

 

[BigThor]

When Ike Perlman would have a lot of say. Now it's strictly Fiege.

Oh yeah true.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Fury for me, while Coulsonis good, Fury has contingencies upon contingencies for any situation. Even when seemingly soundly beaten, he can turn the tables.

 

[Stormborn]

Unless most of you guys are in the "Agents of Shield doesn't count" camp I really don't get why Fury's winning this.

Comic Fury might be a semi immortal WW2 vet with the skill to outclass superhumans and Batman level crazy preparedness but MCU Fury has none of those traits. He's a genius spymaster with very few combat feats, his prep feats aren't combat related and in the modern MCU era he's well past his prime.

Coulson has better hand to hand, marksmanship and stealth feats plus better tech and the youth advantage.

 

[WhoMani]

This seems a little unfair as there are some folks that haven't seen AOS and we rarely see Fury in hand to hand combat. In Agents of Shield we've see that Coulson can put up a good fight (but he isn't as skilled as Black Widow, May or even Skye) and like Fury he's good with guns. I'm gonna go with Fury as he tends to always have a contingency plan when dealing with a tough opponent and that he has more experience in being a spy.

 

[Stormborn]

In Agents of Shield we've see that Coulson can put up a good fight (but he isn't as skilled as Black Widow, May or even Skye) and like Fury he's good with guns.

If we're ranking SHIELD agents for their hand to hand skills I'd say Widow > May > Barton > Grant Ward > Bobbi Morse > Rumlow > Daisy Johnson > Agent 33 > Maria Hill and then Coulson and Fury are on a second tier below all of those.

The important thing though is that Coulson's above Fury due to way better feats plus the youth advantage and a super strong bionic hand.

Fury for me, while Coulsonis good, Fury has contingencies upon contingencies for any situation. Even when seemingly soundly beaten, he can turn the tables.

I'm gonna go with Fury as he tends to always have a contingency plan when dealing with a tough opponent and that he has more experience in being a spy.

What kind of contingency are you guys imagining? I presume this is a fight on neutral territory rather than a "Fury gets hours to set up traps and then along comes Coulson" fight.

MCU Fury's paranoid enough to wear a bullet proof vest and carry a sidearm even though he's not a field agent any more but other than that almost every contingency plan we've seen from him involves getting the Avengers to fight the battle for him.

 

[Docker2.0]

I think people are forgeting Fury's "powers" per say. Isn't his eye robotic and can scan all kinds of things? Reason I'm saying that is because he carries all kinds of little gadgets and I know people say hand to hand we don't know what he can do but he has done a little things in the Avengers and Winter Soldier. He's no slouch and goes up against big dogs while Coulson hasn't shown that except on AoS and most of us have no clue what that show is about now because I stopped watching when they went to the future. Talk about jumping the shark!

 

[Mjolnir Reborn]

I think people are forgeting Fury's "powers" per say. Isn't his eye robotic and can scan all kinds of things? Reason I'm saying that is because he carries all kinds of little gadgets and I know people say hand to hand we don't know what he can do but he has done a little things in the Avengers and Winter Soldier. He's no slouch and goes up against big dogs while Coulson hasn't shown that except on AoS and most of us have no clue what that show is about now because I stopped watching when they went to the future. Talk about jumping the shark!

I've never seen his eye being robotic. He had hidden the scan of his ruined eye deep in the SHIELD systems so when Hydra cleaned out his access he still had that one left. I also can't remembering him going up against any big dogs in a fight, and this is just about a pure fight.

 

[Stormborn]

I think people are forgeting Fury's "powers" per say. Isn't his eye robotic and can scan all kinds of things?

Nope. This is the MCU. Which version of Fury are you thinking of?

Reason I'm saying that is because he carries all kinds of little gadgets

Again, not really. He wears a bulletproof vest and carries a gun, that's about it.

and I know people say hand to hand we don't know what he can do but he has done a little things in the Avengers and Winter Soldier.

He got the drop on a couple of the mooks attacking the helicarrier, shot some of the hydra mooks that ambushed him in WS and he got thrashed by a skrull in Captain Marvel. That's about it. Nothing that puts him above Coulson fighting expert martial artists and superhumans.

He's no slouch and goes up against big dogs

He hasn't fought any "big dogs". Unless you mean the Skrull that wiped the floor with him?

while Coulson hasn't shown that except on AoS and most of us have no clue what that show is about now

You don't have to like Agents of Shield but it's still canon.