Originally Posted by spideyboy_1111
lol Obviously SHIELD is neither full public or completely in the shadows (hence why Stark, Pepper, and Jane Foster never heard of them) hell.. and Stark's father FOUNDED shield. However.... some others did.. like Banner and Selvig. Also... if they weren't completely "out" why would they need to camouflage the hellicarrier? basically SHIELD is on a "need to know" basis with the public.
as for not being part of the US gov (iive actually been agreeing with you on that) never said they've only worked with the US...
I think what we're seeing is SHIELD *emerging* from the shadows during the course of the Phase I movies. At the time IM1 opens, I'd say nobody's heard of them; even Stark is in the dark (rhyme time, kids!). But by the time Avengers is over, that's pretty much changed. I'd liken them to the NSA --- everyone knows they exist, but nobody ever really seems to know where they're headquartered, where they come from, where they go, etc.