You lily-livered, chicken-scratchin', pickle-pickin', pink-eyed son of a bob-tailed hyena-- YA DENTED MY EVER-LOVIN' FEDORA!!! I don't mind a guy takin' a pot shot or two at a fella-- but ya went too far this time!! 
- —"Dum-Dum" Dugan[src]
History
Early Life
Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader "Dum-Dum" Dugan was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He was born into a poor family of Irish immigrants. To make money worked as a circus strongman. He was on tour in England on the lead up to World War II.[2]
Howling Commandos
World War II
During World War II, In early 1941 Dugan was traveling with the circus through Europe. In the Netherlands Dugan first met Nick Fury, the man who would become his closest friend, who was then a performer in a stunt flying act and parachute instructor. Dugan helped Fury and Sam Sawyer escape the Nazis during a mission. Dugan later joined the British Army.
Howling Commandos
When Sawyer was charged with creating Fury's First Attack Squad, also known as the Howling Commandos, Sawyer invited Dugan to become second in command. After training, the unit was dispatched back behind enemy lines in France to recover Free French resistance fighter who was captured by Nazi soldiers. This was a vital rescue mission since they knew the date and time of an impending Allied landing on the beaches of Normandy. With the help of Free French resistance fighters they rescued the man from the Nazis before he could be forced to talk.[2] His exceptional strength saved the day in several of his adventures with the group. During his time with the Howlers Dugan became skilled on all Allied small weapons and gained experience in all forms of hand to hand combat, especially Judo. With his trademark derby, Dum Dum frequently struck fear into the Nazi and Japanese enemies in mission after mission. The Howling Commandos were so feared by the Third Reich that a counter squad of elite fighters, the Blitzkrieg Squad was formed, and among their number, bar room brawler Siegfried, whose story of defeating six men with his bare hands made it to the ears of Von Strucker, was chosen to stand against Dum Dum Dugan.
After seeing combat in a French coastal town, Fury was called back to base where he was informed that the Nazis were getting ahead in the race to develop an atomic bomb. Posing as sailors the Howling Commandos managed to smuggle their way into Germany to seek out the laboratory in the town of Heinemund where the atomic weapons were being developed. Initially Dugan was captured by the Nazi's and the rest of the Howling commandos attempted to free him but they realized the only way they could get near the lab was to allow themselves to be captured and placed into a nearby concentration camp. Breaking free, Fury and his Commandos attacked the Germany laboratory, sabotaging the scientists works there. After they fled the exposed rods of nuclear material reached critical mass and destroyed the lab in a massive nuclear explosion. It is possible that this set back is what caused Nazi leader Adolf Hitler to call off any further development of atomic weapons. [3]
Among the foes Dum Dum squared off against was Colonel Klaue, stepping in for Fury on a one-on-one match with the iron-handed officer. Following this incident, Dugan was brought up on court martial charges, but Fury soon revealed that it was a plot by the Agent of a 1,000 Faces. Perhaps one of his most daring moments was his face off against the Sea Shark, during which he lead a group of prisoners to take over the German ship. Foreshadowing his future experiences in S.H.I.E.L.D., Dugan also faced a number of supernatural and super-human menaces during the war, including Baron Blood.
Dugan had many opportunities to take command of the Howlers himself. On one occasion, trapped behind enemy lines during Allied bombings of a German town Dum Dum took command and lead a demoralized team back across heavily fortified enemy territory with a wounded Fury in tow.
Deadly Dozen
His experience with the Howlers lead to Dugan to being assigned to train the similar task force known as the "Deadly Dozen" by Sawyer. Promoted to sergeant, Dugan along with fellow Howlers Pinkerton and Maneli trained and fought alongside the Dozen on their first missions. Dugan was reassigned to the Howlers just prior to the Battle of the Bulge where he fought alongside not only his Howler teammates, but also the Deadly Dozen with their new commander and Captain America and Bucky.[4]
Korean War
Like the rest of the Howling Commandos, Dugan re-enlisted in the army when the United States entered the war in Korea in 1950's. The army reunited the Howling Commandos, with Dugan again serving as Fury's second in command.
Avengers 1950's
Avengers (1950's)
In 1959 Dugan joined Nick Fury in assembling a group of superhumans who would be under presidential order to undertake missions too dangerous for ordinary operatives. Dugan accompanied Fury in looking for the people required to compose these so-called Avengers, first travelling to Madripoor to seek out Victor Creed. When a belligerent Creed began threatening Fury, however, Dugan shot him in the head. Assuming Creed to be dead, Dugan turned to leave when Fury informed him of the mutant's healing factor. Creed then got up and agreed to join Fury's team. Dugan and Fury then travelled to Paris where they recruited Dominic Fortune, the Emerald Coast in Florida where both Namora and Kraven the Hunter agreed to join and Boston where they recruited Ulysses Bloodstone and the Silver Sable.[5] For some reason, Dugan did not join the group on their mission to Helsingborg, Sweden, where they were tasked with stopping a Red Skull impersonator from finishing a chemical compound which turned out to be a mixture of the Nazi version of the Super-Soldier Serum and the Infinity Formula.[6] The group succeeded in capturing the Red Skull, though Sabretooth beheaded him before he could reveal any information and they recovering the sample formula.[7]
Dugan was also not present at the team's dinner at the Stork Club back in New York City where Fury congratulated them on a job well done.[8] Instead, he was acting as General Hill's bodyguard on Fury's orders and helped to save the general from a perceived Nazi boobytrap, which was set up in actuality by the organization ICON.[9] After the Avengers managed to end ICON's threat, Dugan was sent with Eric Koenig to Latveria by the U.S. State Department to rescue Prince T'Chaka of Wakanda who was being held prisoner there by ICON's forces.[10]
_(Earth-616)_Secret_Warriors_Vol_1_25_001.jpg){kind=link}
The Great Wheel
Great Wheel
In 1961, Dugan, along with other intelligence agents John Garrett, Thomas Davidson, Vasili Dassaiev, Cornelius van Lunt, Baron Strucker, Shoji Soma, Nick Fury, Jake Fury, Daniel Whitehall and Viktor Uvarov, were called by Leonardo Da Vinci alias Aries to form the Great Wheel of Zodiac. Each member was assigned a codename from the Zodiac Calendar, Dugan being Libra. The group consisted of the best covert intelligence agents from around the globe. After only a few key missions for Da Vinci, he would provide them resources that would be of great value to their own separate agendas. The mission was a success, and Vasili began conspiring with with Viktor. Together, they betrayed the Great Wheel and stole the technology their missions had acquired. [11]
S.H.I.E.L.D.
The broken Great Wheel led to the creations of S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra, Leviathan and the Zodiac Cartel. Due to their long history together Nick Fury invited Dugan to join S.H.I.E.L.D.[11]
Life as a LMD
In August of 1966, a year after the creation of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury and Dugan found themselves in a top secret mission to stop Otto Vermis from destroying Fort Knox. What was supposed to be a typical mission took a turn for the worse when Dugan was fatally wounded by a ricocheted bullet.[12]
Deeply affected by the prospect of loosing his best friend, Fury decided to put into work some extremely advanced Life-Model Decoys, which had been retrofitted with alien tech, to serve as hosts for Dugan's consciousness, which would be broadcast from him while he was kept in suspended animation. Only Nick knew about Dugan's fate, keeping it a secret from even Dugan himself, who believed he maintained his youth and vigor by using the Infinity Formula.[12][13] Dugan's body was kept in a secret safe place, and it would be beamed to a spare LMD each time one was destroyed.[14][13]
As a LMD, Dugan served at the front lines of many of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s battles with the likes of Hydra, A.I.M., the interplanetary Wraiths, a robotic clone of the Yellow Claw, Scorpio and the Zodiac, the Druid, the Maggia, the villainous duo of Mentallo and the Fixer and many other foes. Dugan also came to know and befriend many of the world's heroes, including the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Falcon, Black Widow, Quasar and of course Captain America.
Stark Seven
Stark Seven
Dugan joined a team assembled by Howard Stark to kidnap the Rigellian Recorder 451 from a faction of the alien race known as Greys, which would eventually help Stark and his wife to get a child.[15] He later reassembled the team in order to kill the boss of the Greys and force his thugs to abandon Earth in order to preserve the safety of Howard's child.[16]
Godzilla Squad
The late 1970's saw him take command of the special helicarrier named Behemoth IV to track down the Japanese monster Godzilla, an assignment he became somewhat overzealous on in the opinion of others, including Gabe Jones. Nicknamed "The Godzilla Squad", the group headed by Dugan, and including Jones and Jimmy Woo, followed Godzilla across his many exploits in the United States, including along the Alaskan pipeline, Seattle, and San Francisco where the interference of the Champions of Los Angeles led to the crashing of the original helicarrier. This mission to neutralize the threat of the beast left one of the few blemishes on Dugan's career, as he nearly lost S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mobile headquarters. Following the crash, Dugan was assigned the Behemoth IV carrier and the Red Ronin drone to apprehend the monster. In time however the creature returned to the sea on its own, never seen since.
Deltite
His loyalty was tested to its limits during the Deltite Affair when his close friendship with Fury endangered his position in S.H.I.E.L.D. and nearly cost him his life. With Fury on the run, Dugan was expected to assume command of S.H.I.E.L.D., however the Deltite-controlled oversight council that ran the agency cited Dugan's heart condition as a specific reason not to choose him. Following that turn of events, Dugan was among one of the few agents who suspected something wrong with the hunt for a rogue Nick Fury and together with fellow Howler Gabriel Jones and the Contessa, they uncovered the corruption at the heart of the Deltite Affair, leading to the dissolving of S.H.I.E.L.D..
Retirement
After S.H.I.E.L.D. disbanded he retired to a civilian life with his wife and children, however a bizarre plot involving the Death's Head and the Yellow Claw unwittingly him and his family their lives. The death of Dugan spurned Fury to return to the world of espionage and avenge the death of his trusted and life-long friend. As events later revealed, Dugan was in fact still alive, frozen by the Yellow Claw and allowed to be found by Fury. The motivations behind the Yellow Claw's elaborate ploy remain a mystery unsolved.
Returning to S.H.I.E.L.D.
Returning to active duty, Dugan served as a firm bedrock for Fury during the formative months of the new S.H.I.E.L.D. and later the traumatic events of the massacre at S.H.I.E.L.D. Central in 1991 and the subsequent fiasco involving the brainwashing of long thought dead agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Once again Dugan was at the front lines alongside Fury, most notably on a mission with to thwart the theft of a long lost Soviet nuclear submarine. Together with the mutant Wolverine, Fury and Dugan put a minor dent in the growing HYDRA arsenal. Dugan was in command of the helicarrier when it was hijacked by a cadre of super-terrorists lead by Mad Dog and bankrolled by AIM, enduring considerable torture at the hands of the hijackers.
Dugan briefly served as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 1993, however the position was nearly in name only as Fury still ran S.H.I.E.L.D.. Fury took back the mantle later that year in time to lead an invasion against Von Strucker's base in Iceland.
Feeling his age, in the years that followed, Dugan served more in an administrative sense, always close at Fury's side to offer consultation and advice. Among the crises S.H.I.E.L.D. faced were the subterranean Tantalus and the terrorist organization known as DANTE. Despite his age, Dugan was not opposed to some field work, taking a shot in the leg following his escorting of former KGB officer Dmitri Panshin, which eventually led to a rogue band of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents taking over the helicarrier.
In 1995, Dugan's loyalty to Fury tested their friendship as he sided with Fury's son, Mikel and helped him try to capture the Punisher, who was gunning after Fury thinking he had the Castle family killed. The events of those days eventually culminated in the apparent 'death' of Nick Fury, shot and killed by the Punisher. Dugan was quick to oversee the situation and played a large role in the funeral of his friend.
Acting as a deputy director Dugan assisted the Contessa in the aftermath of Fury's death, helping her during Fury's funeral and later in dealing with Fury's son who went gunning for the Punisher looking to avenge his father's murder. Later under director G.W. Bridge's tenure, Dugan served aboard the carrier during the chaos of the apparent death of many of the world's heroes at the hands of Onslaught, seriously wounded during the helicarrier's crash into Manhattan harbor following attacks from Sentinels. Later Dugan served aboard the carrier, helping to solve the computer malfunctions aboard the new helicarrier caused by the evil spirit Ogun.
Details remain unclear as to how upon his escape from his imprisonment in Operation Back Slide, Fury returned to command S.H.I.E.L.D.. What is clear is that by the end of the millennium, Dugan was once again acting as unofficial commander of the organization under direct orders from Fury himself, while his friend maintained a low profile. Dugan kept tabs on the Thunderbolts and faced a plot by Nightmare with Sharon Carter and Captain America. Dugan informed Captain America and Falcon that Fury was in fact alive and investigating a new threat from the Hate-Monger.
Dugan served as a special director during Sharon Carter's tenure of command in the agency, offering his experience in combating threats from AIM and their attacks with Protocide and her formation of the ELITE agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., with whom he lead to apprehend the Thunderbolts.
When Nick Fury returned to the helm, Dugan now in his fifth decade at S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed to adopt a much lower profile when compared to earlier years. Retiring from active combat roles, Dum Dum Dugan can still be seen at Fury's side, such as during the interrogation of the Vulture after the Identity Disc theft and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s recent dealings with Cable and his floating city of Providence.
Following the savage HYDRA attacks on S.H.I.E.L.D. that left Nick Fury injured, Dugan served as acting commander of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Under his command, S.H.I.E.L.D. launched an all-out assault on factions of HYDRA, AIM, and the cult known as the Hand lead by mutant Gorgon.
Civil War
During the Civil War, Dugan, along with several other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, was sent to capture his fugitive friend Captain America. The entire group was defeated. He expressed regret to fellow agent Sharon Carter for trying to capture his friend. He also stated his concerns about losing faith in S.H.I.E.L.D. due to the war and the way the organization was run under Director Maria Hill.
World War Hulk
After the events of Civil War and as Tony Stark took over as director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Dugan turned in his letter of resignation, stating that he did not approve of the changes Stark had made, or of the way he ran the organization. Dugan's resignation was not accepted however, as he was too vital to S.H.I.E.L.D.[17] Despite Dugan's disapproval of Stark's leadership, Stark still trusted Dugan and Dugan alone with the command of a weapon that could send an abandoned Manhattan into the Negative Zone, destroying the island and anyone inside during World War Hulk, citing that Hulk and the Warbound were too dangerous a global threat to leave Manhattan free. Stark trusted that Dugan would know the appropriate time to execute the plan, if at all. Dugan never used the weapon. Dugan continued work after that as Deputy Director, alongside Maria Hill.[18]
Dugan was later placed in charge of pursuing Wolverine. While chasing Logan and Omega Red, Dugan was badly wounded by Daken.[19]
Secret Invasion
Shortly after the death of Captain America, Dugan was ambushed and stabbed by a Skrull impersonating Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, who then took his place.[20] The Dugan impostor destroys the Peak, S.W.O.R.D.'s Orbital base, in a suicide strike that allows the Skrull armada to invade Earth. After the invasion, Iron Man discovers the Skrull kidnap victims alive and well, including Dum Dum. Dugan is later shown in a support group meeting with the others that had been replaced by Skrulls.
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Dum-Dum Dugan as a member of the Ducky Dozen
Ducky Dozen
Some time later, Dugan was recruited by Howard the Duck to join a group of operatives assembled by A.R.M.O.R. to stop an invasion of Earth-616 by the Nazi zombies of Earth-12591. Though hesitant to join the group, Dugan did accompany them on their mission and was instrumental to the team's success.[21] He was furious with Howard, however, when he discovered that he had been selected for the mission to impersonate his zombified self of this world.[22] Dugan was among the few members of the group who successfully wiped out the zombie Nazi threat and survived to return home.[23]
Back in Action
Dugan returned as Fury's right hand and helped Captain America to take down Codname: Bravo. And rejoined S.H.I.E.L.D. when Rogers decided to reactivate the organization under the direction of Daisy Johnson. He has most recently been seen in action assisting Captain America with Dr. Mindbubble and the Iron Nail.[24]
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Original Sin
After the Infinity Formula wore out from his blood and he started aging, Nick Fury began looking for a replacement in his top secret mission as "The Man in the Wall," the Earth's first line of defense against extra-planetary threats. Dugan helped him throughout this period, wondering why couldn't Nick use the Infinity Formula from his blood to jumpstart his or something similar. Nick then revealed to Dugan that he was a LMD, but made him believe he was dead, and that he was just an ordinary LMD that looked and acted like the real Dum-Dum Dugan.[12][13]
Shocked by Nick's statements, Dugan felt betrayed because Nick toyed with him without his permission, and believed that Fury actually kept him alive for a selfish purpose, so Dugan could serve as his conscience only for Nick to feel remorse for his methods and justify himself as the man tough enough to get the job done. Dugan asked for Nick to never bring him back again, and shot himself.[12]
Agent of S.T.A.K.E.
Months later, S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill deemed necessary to bring the LMD of Dugan back, and removed the blocks that prevented his resurrection, so he could return to Area 13 and help the Special Threat Assessment for Known Extranormalities, a.k.a. S.T.A.K.E.[14]Attributes
 |
Powers
Abilities
Marksman: During his time with the Howlers, Dugan became skilled on all Allied small weapons. He is skilled in the use of most firearms
Judo: He gained experience in all forms of hand to hand combat, especially Judo.Weaknesses
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Weapons
Transportation
Notes
- Dugan is now officially referred to as "Commander" Dugan.[24]
See Also
- 592 appearance(s) of Timothy Dugan (Earth-616)
- 14 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Timothy Dugan (Earth-616)
- 46 minor appearance(s) of Timothy Dugan (Earth-616)
- 28 mention(s) of Timothy Dugan (Earth-616)
- 5 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Timothy Dugan (Earth-616)
- 124 image(s) of Timothy Dugan (Earth-616)
- 29 quotation(s) by or about Timothy Dugan (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (Vol. 3) #4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos #1
- ↑ Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos #2
- ↑ Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos #13
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 2) #10
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 2) #11
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 2) #12
- ↑ Avengers 1959 #1
- ↑ Avengers 1959 #2
- ↑ Avengers 1959 #5
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Secret Warriors #25
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Original Sins #5
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 New Avengers (Vol. 4) #17
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 S.H.I.E.L.D. (Vol. 3) #9
- ↑ Iron Man (Vol. 5) #10
- ↑ Iron Man (Vol. 5) #12
- ↑ Iron Man (Vol. 4) #15
- ↑ Iron Man (Vol. 4) #20
- ↑ Wolverine: Origins #6–10
- ↑ Secret Invasion Prologue #1
- ↑ Marvel Zombies Destroy! #1
- ↑ Marvel Zombies Destroy! #3
- ↑ Marvel Zombies Destroy! #5
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Captain America (Vol. 7) #19
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 New Avengers (Vol. 4) #12
- ↑ Marvel Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide #2
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 3