Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is coming off a first season that saw its whole foundation crumble by its bigger silver screen counterpart in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the shocking revelation in Captain America’s latest big screen adventure that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be no more, the future for Marvel’s TV team seemed up in the air. With its new dark and edgy spy thriller feel this writer was more than excited to get to sit down and look the Marvel Cinematic Universe come to life. Here is a quick look at this comic book brought to life via the small screen.
Full spoilers follow:
The show opens with a flashback to WWII and a hydra outfit searching for an artifact that “holds the answer to death”. The Hydra agents are interrupted by Agent Peggy Carter, a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Howling Commandos from the original Captain America movie. Agent Carter references that this is the last Hydra facility and that they have recovered numerous dangerous items that are going to be locked up. The same item that is being recovered in the flash back from Hydra is tralso an item being sold by an arms dealer now in the present. The arms dealer is revealed to be an ex S.H.I.E.L.D. agent selling an item that has been held by S.H.I.E.L.D. since WWII. The sale is interrupted by a man that is apparently bullet proof and incredibly strong who is stopped by the appearance of Agent May and Agent Skye who was shadowing an Undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. team posing as buyers. The undercover agent then makes a call to Agent Coulson who is now in a Director role for S.H.I.E.L.D. Next we get a sweet little Easter egg back from the first season with another appearance of Glenn Talbot who in the comics is a long recurring character in the Hulk series.
When the team gets back for debriefing the team is informed Coulson only wants to speak to May, this draws comments from the both teams that Coulson has been very secretive and absent. Coulson and May have a back and forth about recruitment. Coulson brings up a map showing recruited agents across the globe. It is revealed that the Item from the flashback is the original O84 (object of unknown origin) and that fury kept special tabs on it. The next scene shows the man that stole the documents is in fact the Absorbing Man. Carl Creel is the Absorbing man in the comics and is a main enemy of Thor. He gained his powers after consuming a drink in prison that Loki laced with magic.
The next scene shows Agents Fitz and Simmons having their usual back and forth but Fitz is still struggling from the events in the season finale last year that left him with damage to his brain. He is having trouble recalling words and skills he exhibited before sacrificing himself for Simmons. Fitz struggling to perform the way he used too is causing tension between him and Simmons but the two seem to have a more romantic chemistry. They are studying a piece of what would appear to be creels body that reverts back to human flesh while studying. Once they figure out that its Creel it’s revealed that Garrett faked Creel’s death to use him as an asset. Coulson ask Skye to go down “there” and the exchange reveals that Coulson has withdrawn himself from Skye. We find out in the next scene that “there” is Wards holding cell.
Skye and Ward’s conversation has an edge that shows what each of them meant to the other, and in the process Ward reveals that Creel was a boxer named the Crusher and that he had his powers when they found him. Creel wouldn’t reveal in which way he obtained his powers, which leaves his origin story from the comics still in play. Ward also reveals the way in which Hydra communicated using white noise. This is used to pull up a map of the number of Hydra agents communicating which is extensive.
The next scene shows Creel going after Talbot and S.H.I.E.L.D. trying to intervene. Creel shows his classic marvel 616 look by grabbing a chain with a ball attached to it and absorbing the metal. Talbot calls for reinforcements, which are able to subdue Creel and Agent May grabs Talbot in the confusion. The opening to the next scene shows Creel being held in a prison cell and Talbot in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. Coulson and Talbot have an intense conversation over the morals of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Creel is being held in Talbot’s special holding cell for all the Items they have confiscated from S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra plans on using creel to break them out. Coulson rolls the dice sending in every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent left into the holding area to help keep it secure.
The team scams their way into the facility. Once inside Agent May and Skye share a knowing glance that seems to suggest they are on a separate mission from the rest of the team. Once inside Agent Hartly finds the O84 that the team is searching for and is attacked by Creel during the fight she grabs the item and tries to attack creel with it. Before Hartly can strike creel with the item she is brought to her knees by the effects of touching the item bare handed. Agent Idaho leaves with Agent Hartly to seek medical relief against Director Coulson’s orders leaving just Agent Triplett, Agent Skye, and Agent May to continue on an unknown mission.
The ending of the show is narrated by Director Coulson and shows the team left behind stealing a Quinjet and escaping the facility while the team that left for medical attention is attacked on the highway by Creel who retrieves the O84 and leaves Agent Hartly and the driver appearing to have died. Agent Idaho is shown to have survived in a terrified state. The ending scene shows the Hydra Agent from the beginning scene alive and well in modern times and is shown he is Kraken also known as Daniel Whitehall.
The episode was one of the best ones to date and really mixed in some classic Marvel 616 nuggets for the diehard comic book fan along with nods to the cinematic universe as well. This episode firmly grounds AOS as the show that many first expected it to be when it was announced. The show is much more secretive and darker now with a kind of who to trust mood that underlies every scene in the episode. This season has great potential because there is not a movie to interrupt the direction the show is going in until 2015 when the Avengers Age of Ultron movie is released.
Bringing in Absorbing Man was a nice touch because it introduced a character that has been around in the comics for about forty years and has many several appearances in Marvel’s animated series, which means he should be recognizable to any comic fan looking the show. Bringing in Agent Carter and the Howling Commandos is a nice way of foreshadowing the upcoming winter show that will see Agent 13’s aunt get her own show. Agent 13 was Captain America’s neighbor in the Winter Soldier movie that he flirts with over laundry; in the comics she becomes his love interest as Sharon Carter. Also throwing in a Quinjet was a nice nod to Iron Man and the favorite transport of non-flying Avengers. All in all, Marvel has started off the second season in a strong way hopefully they can keep the steam built up all season long.
