GEORGE P. SCHULTZ

Real Name: George Pratt Schultz

Identity/Class: Human (real life) (World War I era into the modern era)

Occupation: US Secretary of State

Group Membership: None known;
    formerly the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the Institute for International Economics, the Hoover Institution, Economic Recovery Council, Global Commission on Drug Policy, the US President cabinet, the Council on Economic Affairs, US Marine Corps

Affiliations: George W. Bush, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard M. Nixon, Helena Maria O'Brien, Ronald Reagan, Charlotte Mailliard Swig, the US Presidential cabinet

Enemies: Captain America (Steve Rogers) (mildly)

Known Relatives: Charlotte Mailliard Swig (wife), Helena Maria O'Brien (ex-wife, deceased), five unidentified children, Tyler Schultz (grandson)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Stanford, California;
    formerly Stanford, California, USA; Englewood, New Jersey, USA; New York City, New York, USA

First Appearance: (in Marvel Comics, identified only by his title of Secretary, voice only) Avengers I Annual#15 (1986);
    (identified by name) Official Marvel Index to the Avengers II#5 (February, 1995)

Powers/Abilities: Secretary George P. Schulz did not possess any superhuman powers but he was a skilled politician and businessman.

Height: 6'0"
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Gray

History:
(real life) - George Pratt Schultz was born in New York City on December 13, 1920 and grew up in Englewood, New Jersey. After graduating from Princeton University, Schultz served in the US Marine Corps during World War II, where he met his wife Helena Maria O'Brien, before returning to USA and earning his doctorate in Philosophy. He later taught at MIT before accepting a job on President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Council of Economic Affairs. Over the years, Schultz and his wife Helena had five children. He was later appointed as Richard M. Nixon's US Secretary of Labor, though he left the Nixon administration in 1974 to become an executive at the Bechtel company. Working his way up to president and director of the company, George Schultz was offered the role of President Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State.

(Official Marvel Index to the Avengers II#5 (fb) - BTS) - George P. Schultz accepted the role of U.S. Secretary of State.

(real life) - During his time as the US Secretary of State, Schultz pushed President Reagan to establish relations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, leading to a reduction in Cold War tensions between the USA and the then-Soviet Union.

(Avengers I Annual#15 - BTS) - After the former criminals turned government agents Freedom Force battled the Avengers in an attempt to arrest the heroic team, Captain America escaped their attack and phoned Secretary Schultz. Schultz confirmed that Freedom Force was indeed operating under the authority of the executive branch of government and their task was to arrest the Avengers. When Cap asked Schulz why, Schultz could only reply that he was sure the folks at the top had their reasons. An annoyed Captain America then demanded to know if Schultz was telling him that the Avengers should blindly trust people who had just tried to kill them as well as the people who sent them there and Schultz questioned if perhaps Cap was overreacting. Cap interrupted Schultz and agreed to go along with the "nonsense" for the time being but warned Schultz that even he had a breaking point. When Freedom Force soon located Cap and announced that they had for him, Captain America revealed that he had just spoken with Washington and that he would come along peacefully.

(real life) - Following his tenure as US Secretary of State, George P. Schultz retired from public office in 1989, returning to business and other political organizations. Two years after his wife Helena's death from cancer in 1995, Schultz married his second wife, socialite Charlotte Mailliard Swig. Over the succeeding years, Schultz remained involved in various groups and on the boards of various companies, including health technology company Theranos, which caused a scandal when Schultz' grandson Tyler became a whistle blower against Theranos' faulty technology. Schultz died in his home in Stanford, California at age 100 on February 6, 2021.

Comments: Adapted into Marvel Comics by Danny Fingeroth, Steve Englehart, Steve Ditko and Klaus Janson.

    George P. Schultz was not identified by name in Avengers I Annual#15 but the Official Marvel Index to the Avengers II#5 (and the modern Avengers: Official Index to the Marvel Universe TPB) confirms that the Secretary Captain America was speaking to via phone in Avengers I Annual#15 was indeed George P. Schultz. Since we never actually see Schultz on-panel, I've included two photos of the real George P. Schultz here in the comments section, one circa the 1980s as he would've been seen if he had been drawn into a Marvel comic and one of him later in life, as he most recently looked in reality. Of course, with Marvel's sliding time scale, leaving his appearance vague as just "Secretary" makes sense because the sliding time scale would now make the Secretary Cap was speaking to be a more recent US Secretary of State.

    I realize there is much more to be said about the real George P. Schultz's life and career but this profile is meant to focus on his Marvel Comics appearances with a bit of basic real life history added in for flavor and background.

    This profile was completed on 08/20/2026 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
George P. Schultz should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)
Actual photos of the real George P. Schultz (the two images in the comments section)

Appearances:
Avengers I Annual#15 (1986) - Danny Fingeroth (co-plotter, script), Steve Englehart (co-plotter), Steve Ditko (breakdowns), Klaus Janson (finishes), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Official Marvel Index to the Avengers II#5 (February, 1995) - Murray Ward (writer), Tom Brevoort (editor)

First posted: 09/23/2026
Last updated: 08/20/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

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