| Character Name: | Clay Quartermain |
| Real Name: | Clay Quartermain |
| Publisher: | Marvel Comics |
| Debut: | Strange Tales #163 (December 1967) |
| Creators: | Jim Steranko (writer / artist) |
| Alliances: | S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Paranormal Containment Unit Hulkbusters |
| Powers: | Trained in espionage, firearms, hand-to-hand combat |
Clay Quartermain is a fictional character, a secret agent appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
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 was the S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison to the "Hulkbusters" military program, and a supporting character in The Incredible Hulk (vol. 2), beginning with issue #187 (May 1975).[1] A Life Model Decoy (LMD) replica of the character 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.
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[2] who first worked with the organization's director Nick Fury during S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first conflict with the Yellow Claw. Quartermain later joins the "Hulkbusters" operation led by General Thunderbolt Ross for the U.S. military to capture the Hulk.[3]
After transferring to S.H.I.E.L.D., Quartermain and many other agents are seemingly killed and replaced by Life Model Decoys (LMDs).[4] One of the LMDs rebelled upon learning of not being human and, after several confrontations, was seemingly killed.[5]
In 2007, Quartermain is retconned into being a former romantic interest of Jessica Jones as well as the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Paranormal Containment Unit,[6] and later a new incarnation of the S.H.I.E.L.D. "Hulkbusters" unit.[7] [8]
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.[9] [10] Additionally, a flashback reveals he befriended Jones while the latter was recovering from a months-long ordeal with the Purple Man.[11] Following this, during The Pulse, he leads a S.H.I.E.L.D. unit in rescuing Jones from a HYDRA recruitment attempt.[12]
During Hulk vol. 2, Quartermain is killed by Doc Samson after learning that he and Ross are working together.[13] [14]
An alternate universe variant of Clay Quartermain from Earth-1610 appears in Ultimate Marvel as a S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent working for Nick Fury.[15] [16]