More questions about Fury and "Hollow Your Bones" beneath the cut. 8)
discoveringnerdum asked you:
What would Fury have done if Barton had ended it? I know he's Fury, and he's all knowing and he had Natasha on his side about keeping Clint alive, but what if he hadn't managed it? Or if he saw Clint wasn't getting better, that losing Phil was killing him without any effort on his part? Do you think he would have told him? I want to think he would but what he did is already one of the worst things you could do to someone. So I don't know. What do you think? Sorry just something I've thinking of.
Fury is a consummate gambler.  It could be argued that even when he loses, he wins.
But he calls Phil's 'death' as the guards are dragging Clint's unconscious body away. Â My interpretation of the last words with Phil is that Phil was either aware of this being a possible plan if he died, or he came up with it himself. Â
Here's the thing. Â Steve has already been to war, he's already volunteered. Â He can be counted on. Â Thor is after his brother. Â Chances are, he's going to be boots down in this fight. Â Bruce? Â No one counted on Bruce. Â Natasha would do her job.
And that left Tony Stark as one hell of a wildcard.
Without being assured of the Hulk, Fury needs all the power hitters he can get and Steve and Natasha don't have the range or the force. Â Thor does, but he's got his sights set on Loki, and therefore, cannot be trusted to hold the line. Â They need Tony.
And Tony, despite arguments to the contrary, is very, very sentimental. Â Tony just doesn't like looking sentimental. Â He doesn't like being vulnerable that way. Â But in the end, he tolerated Phil, in a way that he didn't tolerate many people nosing around his business, and I believe it's because Phil saved Pepper.
In the original Iron Man, Tony sends Pepper to get the files from Obie's office. Â She gets caught, and Obie is following her back out, Obie is chasing her down, except sitting in the lobby of StarkIndustries is one Agent Coulson. Â Pepper latches onto Coulson like a lifeline, because at that moment, HE IS.
Phil Coulson is the reason Pepper got out of that building. Â Tony sent her in, and it could've gotten her killed. Â Phil got her out. Â And Tony knows it.
So despite all affectations to the contrary, Tony is sentimental, and Tony IS the kinda guy who remembers his debts and Tony does want to do the right thing, he just can't figure out what that is sometimes.
That whole speech Fury gives about heroes is to Tony. Â Is to remind Tony what needs doing.
Now. Â Whatever else is happening, at the point when he is giving that speech, he does not know if Clint is a recoverable asset. Â Clint is unconscious in the brig. Â Clint might wake up still under Loki's control, or he might be not wake up at all. Â He might wake up and be a literal blank slate, brain dead but still breathing.
They do not know what will happen with Clint Barton, not until he opens his eyes. Â And by that time, the lie is told. Â The story is in place. Â The die is cast, and Fury has placed his bet.
Now he's in an ever more precarious situation. Â Clint is still Clint, just a shattered, crippled version of himself. Â Phil is, well, you'll see what's happening with Phil.
But we must remember. Â The world was at stake. Â And despite the words of a certain Starfleet officer, the needs of the many do outweigh the needs of the few. Â If you track his actions since then, he has scrupulously done everything possible to keep Clint alive since then.
The situation with Phil is a bit more complex than one might think, and he does have his reasons for keeping quiet the way he has, it's up to the reader if you think his reasons are justification enough for his actions or not.
As to, if he would've told Clint? Â I don't know. Â I would like to think so. If no for Clint's sake, than for the fact that Phil would kill him over it. Â And I'm not certain I'm speaking metaphorically there.
