Clay Quartermain is a fictional character, a secret agent appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
Created by writer-artist Jim Steranko, he first appeared in Strange Tales #163 (December 1967).
Clay Quartermain appears as an agent of the fictional espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., beginning in the feature "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." in Marvel Comics' Strange Tales in 1967, and continuing into the subsequent series Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 1968. He became the S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison to General Thunderbolt Ross's "Hulkbusters" military program, and a supporting character in The Incredible Hulk (vol. 2), beginning with issue #187 (May 1975). A Life Model Decoy (LMD) replica of Quartermain was a featured character in the 1988 miniseries Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D.. Quartermain has since had guest appearances in issues of Alias, Cable, The Defenders, Marvel Team-Up, The Pulse, Silver Sable and the Wild Pack, and the miniseries Secret War; in the "Nick Fury" feature in the omnibus Marvel Holiday Special (January 1994); and in the "Elite Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." feature in the one-shot Captain America 2000 (Nov. 2000). He also led the S.H.I.E.L.D. Paranormal Containment Unit in the 2005–2006 series Nick Fury's Howling Commandos.
Fictional character biography
Clay Quartermain is a high-ranking agent of the fictional espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. described as a "blond-haired, fast-talking, grinning Burt Lancaster" sort who first worked with the organization's storied executive director Nick Fury during S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first conflict with the would-be world tyrant Yellow Claw, which was later revealed to be a robotic simulacrum of the Mandarin. Quartermain later was part of the U.S. military's "Hulkbusters" operation, which attempted to capture and contain the Hulk.
Upon being transferred back to S.H.I.E.L.D., Quartermain, along with many other agents, was seemingly killed by a self-aware, renegade "Deltan" variety of the agency's "Life Model Decoys" (LMDs) and replaced by one of them. The most advanced of the Deltan LMDs, it rebelled upon learning it was not human and after several confrontations, perished.
In 2007, Quartermain was retconned into being a former romantic interest of Jessica Jones and the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Paranormal Containment Unit and later a new incarnation of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "Hulkbusters" unit.
In the Alias series, Quartermain works with Jones to uncover a conspiracy against the President of the United States by investigating Mattie Franklin, a superheroine who was trapped in mysterious circumstances. Additionally, a flashback reveals he befriended Jones while the latter was recovering from a months-long ordeal with the Purple Man. Following this, during The Pulse, he led a S.H.I.E.L.D. unit in rescuing Jones from a HYDRA recruitment attempt.
During the events of Hulk vol. 2, Quartermain was found dead after he was seemingly attacked by the Red Hulk, with an old friend, Gabe Jones, subsequently investigating his death. It is later revealed that Quartermain was murdered by Doc Samson after he inadvertently stumbled onto a plot by the crazed individual and the Red Hulk to utilize a LMD of Ross.
Other versions
The Ultimate Marvel version of Clay Quartermain makes minor appearances as a S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent working for Nick Fury.
In other media
Clay Quartermain appears in Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., portrayed by Adrian Hughes. Clay Quartermain appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, voiced by Troy Baker. This version, in addition to being a S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent, is an acquaintance of the Avengers. After an appearance in the episode "Breakout" where he works alongside Nick Fury and Maria Hill, he has major appearance in the episode "Gamma World" where he tries to contain the Leader who is eventually defeated. While a Skrull infiltrator posed as him in the episode "Nightmare in Red", the actual Quartermain is seen in the episodes "Prisoner of War" and "Secret Invasion" where he joins forces the fellow captives to escape imprisonment and aid Earth's heroes in repelling the Skrull invasion. In the episodes "Along Came a Spider" and "Assault on 42", Quartermain assists in trying to transport several supervillains which is disrupted by the Serpent Society and investigates Prison 42's assault by Annihilus respectively.