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 storied executive director Nick Fury during S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first conflict with the would-be world tyrant Yellow Claw, which was later revealed to be a robotic simulacrum of the Mandarin. Quartermain later was part of the U.S. military's "Hulkbusters" operation, which attempted to capture and contain the Hulk.[3]
Upon being transferred back to S.H.I.E.L.D., Quartermain, along with many other agents, was seemingly killed by a self-aware, renegade "Deltan" variety of the agency's "Life Model Decoys" (LMDs) and replaced by one of them.[4] The most advanced of the Deltan LMDs, it rebelled upon learning it was not human and after several confrontations, perished.[5]
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 led a S.H.I.E.L.D. unit in rescuing Jones from a HYDRA recruitment attempt.[12]
During the events of Hulk vol. 2, Quartermain was found dead after he was seemingly attacked by the Red Hulk, with his old friend Gabe Jones subsequently investigating his death.[13] It is later revealed that Quartermain was murdered by Doc Samson after he inadvertently stumbled onto a plot by the crazed individual and the Red Hulk to utilize a LMD of Ross.[14]
Other versions
The Ultimate Marvel version of Clay Quartermain makes minor appearances as a S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent working for Nick Fury.[15][16]
^Quartermain appeared in The Incredible Hulk (vol. 2), #187-188, 192-200, 206-207, 209-210, 212-216, 219, 224, 226-228, 230-231, 233, 237-240, 243, 315, 322-327, 329-332, 334, 336-346, spanning May 1975 to August 1988 cover-dates, plus Annual #15 (October 1986)