What it is: The World Security Council
Its power: Overseeing S.H.I.E.L.D. might not be a superpower, but it’s pretty damn powerful.
Its story: The World Security Council was formed as a means of maintaining oversight on S.H.I.E.L.D., and is made up of powerful political figures from around the world. They’re first seen in The Avengers, acting as a foil to Nick Fury, and expressing skepticism at his plan to form the group to recover the Tesseract. The council appears later on during the battle of New York, and gave the order to launch a nuclear missile at Manhattan, an order Fury disobeyed, much to the relief of the entire Northeast coast. Its next appearance comes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where the members are working with Alexander Pierce on Project Insight. However, Black Widow and Nick Fury reveal Pierce’s plan to at least one member, and Black Widow is sent in disguise as council member Hawley. After Pierce’s plan is exposed, he activates badges on all of the members, killing them, save for Black Widow—and the real councilwoman Hawley.
The World Security Council is mentioned briefly in Captain America: Civil War as part of the plan to begin overseeing the Avengers, but it’s unknown who makes up the council at this point. The group is also referenced in Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., as the main arc in season three involves a former member of the council, Gideon Malick, who belonged to it at the time of The Avengers.
Played by:
- Council member Hawley: Jenny Agutter
- Council member Yen: Chin Han
- Council member Singh: Bernard White
- Council member Rockwell: Alan Dale
- Council member Malick: Powers Boothe (The Avengers only)
- Council Chair Alexander Pierce: Robert Redford
- Unnamed council member: Donald Li (The Avengers only)
- Unnamed council member: Arthur Darbinyan (The Avengers only)
Currently, the World Security Council is: Hard at work keeping a close eye on the Avengers.
Where will we see it next? The council could pop up anywhere, theoretically, although Earth-based stories are far more likely than, say, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2.