Origin
Rick Stoner was a United States Army Colonel whom fought during World War II. He first came into contact with Nick Fury after he was tasked to discipline Nick and his Howling Commandos for botching a U.S. military operation. The meeting did not go well, with Nick even hitting Rick Stoner in the face. For this, Nick served some time in jail until he was pardoned by the President of the United States.
Creation
Rick Stoner was created by Barry Dutter and M.C. Wyman and first appeared in the one-shot comic Fury (1994).
Major Story Arcs
After the War
After World War II, Stoner remained a very disciplined member of the army, not wanting people to smoke or drink if he was around. He was tasked by the U.S. and Canadian government to form a special ops team with the Canadian operative named Wolverine to retrieve James Hudson’s Guardian armor from the terrorist organization known as Hydra. The operation was a big success. This and Stoner’s long perfect record made the U.S. president and Tony Stark decide to ask Stoner to become the head of a new organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. Their second choice was colonel Nick Fury. Rick Stoner however accepted the offer and became the first director of S.H.I.E.L.D. As such, he was the key player in the organization’s rise. As Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. he did not want any of Fury’s Howling Commandos to become S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. While S.H.I.E.L.D. thrived at first, it soon became known that there was a mole in the organization. It turned out to be Jake Fury, Nick Fury’s younger brother whom had joined the Hydra organization. When Rick Stoner found out, he was shot and eventually killed by the enemy faction. This caused Nick Fury to become the second director of S.H.I.E.L.D., whom uncovered the mole and took out his younger brother Jake Fury and after that took charge of the organization. Although Nick never worked well with Rick Stoner, he realized what a good man he had been. Some years later, Rick Stoner was mentioned in the history files of Nick Fury.