SHIELD

SHIELD is a US-led NATO operation specifically tasked with research into alien and exotic weapons, materials, and science.

Originally the Strategic Scientific Reserve, SHIELD was created from that organization in 1949 with the formation of NATO. SHIELD was organized as Strategic Homeland Investigation and Enforcement: Logistics Division. With many of the 'founding members' coming from the SSR, including Peggy Carter and Nick Fury Sr, there was a strong loyalty to the NATO states as well as military discipline from the outset.

Peggy Carter was the first assistant director of SHIELD, under Director Col. Rick Stoner.

In 1955 she was nominated as second director of SHIELD, a position she held for nearly twenty-five years. She ushered that organization from the SSR's wartime footing into SHIELD's post-NATO mandate. In 1985, Peggy Carter was sealed in a cryogenic storage unit due to extreme cell degredation in response to a version of the Infinity Formula.

Following Carter's 'retirement' in 1985, George Washington Bridge would become the next director. Col. Frank Rhodes (father of Col. James Rhodes) was appointed to the Directorship in 1989. Director Rhodes retired in 2001 following an inquiry that revealed General Thaddeus Ross had accessed sealed files on Project: Rebirth.

After Rhodes stepped down, Colonel Nick Fury Jr. was nominated to the directorship. A consummate spymaster, he helmed SHIELD into the strange new world as metahuman populations surged and aliens made their presence on Earth officially known.

SHIELD claimed two specialized task forces over time. In 1983, Director Bridge authorized the creation of Task Force: WAND, specifically trained to deal with supernatural and paranormal threats to national security.

When Superman identified himself as an alien, SWORD was created as a special task group to focus on alien visitors and other extraterrestrials.

Over the years SHIELD has had clashes with both civilian and government entities. At times it has acted unlawfully, much to the chagrin of NATO, and has a storied history of espionage and clandestine military operations alike.

Currently, SHIELD is recognized as a global expert in handling and retrieving advanced or alien science and materials.