Neal McDonough claimed to Comicbook.com that there was a Marvel Comics storyline in which Sergeant Nick Fury accidentally helps Timothy “Dum Dum” Dugan become a super soldier with a little bit of his blood. McDonough said, “In the comic books, when Nick Fury got shot, some of that Super Serum blood landed on ‘Dum Dum,’ so he lived for a long time — aged quicker than Nick Fury did, but he’s still out there, and he still could be.”
McDonough may have been referring to different accounts suggesting that Dugan was given the Infinity Formula by Fury, which also kept the latter from aging. But since the Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) of the MCU wasn’t around when the MCU’s Dugan was a Howling Commando, McDonough’s comic book pull would require a little finessing.
Conversely, Phase 5 of the MCU is all about the multiverse, which means that, narratively, anything is possible. There could be infinite versions of Dugan bouncing around, ready to join the fray whenever Marvel feels the need for that special Howling Commando flair. Although McDonough hinted that there have been “rumblings” about him returning, if he knows anything concrete, then he’s keeping it to himself.
