S.H.I.E.L.D.

From Ultimarvel

S.H.I.E.L.D. is an acronym for Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Directorate. It is a counterterrorism and intelligence agency in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. It is a divison of the government and Defense department that specializes in dealing with threats outside of the normal human spectrum. S.H.I.E.L.D. polices the United States of super-powered individuals and regulates genetic human modifications.

S.H.I.E.L.D. has several projects and divisions, most of them secret from the public eye. Most visible, is the maintaining of the government sanctioned team of super-powered soliders, The Ultimates. The government spends billions of tax dollars to keep this team functional to protect America against threats like Magneto.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was first led by General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. During the Gulf War War, the Weapon X program was commissioned and funded by S.H.I.E.L.D. which attempted to create super soldiers by modifying mutants and training them as weapons. Wolverine, as well as Rogue, Juggernaut, and Nightcrawler were products of this project.

After Ross stepped down from his leadership of S.H.I.E.L.D., he began to manage the Baxter Building project. This was a secret think tank housed in a New York City Skyscraper. Talented and gifted young children were brought here to develop and design technology and weapons for S.H.I.E.L.D. with nearly limitless resources. Reed Richards spent most of his childhood here, developing teleportation technology to explore parallel universes. The resulting experiments led to a mishap which created not only the Fantastic Four, but Dr. Doom as well.

Colonel Nick Fury was elevated to the position of director of S.H.I.E.L.D. after Ross left. His first plan was to attempt to recreate the Super Solider serum, responsible for the creation of Captain America in the 1940's. He commissioned Bruce Banner to attempt to break the genetic formula. S.H.I.E.L.D. also opened this research to other industrial researchers, creating a potential bidding war as competing scientists tried to create the next "Super Solider" in hopes of securing a fat government contract. Multiple failed experiments resulted in abominations, ranging from Bruce Banner producing the Hulk, to Norman Osborn's Oz chemical producing not only a mutated goblin form of himself, but affecting an innocent visiting student and turning him into Spider-Man.