Marvel Studios is big in the TV game. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is so successful that the powers that be know that people will subscribe to a streaming platform and follow a show week to week to learn about the latest developments in the franchise. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and WandaVision all have significant connections to the movies, and they won’t be the last ones. Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is sure to find a way to make its presence felt during Spider-Man: Brand New Day, as both projects take place in New York City and feature street-level heroes.
MCU TV shows don’t have to have a name as big as Daredevil to be relevant, though. In fact, the franchise’s original TV show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., doesn’t have any of the bells and whistles that fans look for in modern projects. All it needs is a solid number of episodes and a dream to deliver a great story that puts just about any other one to shame. Maybe there’s even room for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to return in the future, if the MCU plays its cards right.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Is Still in a League of Its Own
On paper, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t have the necessary components to operate in the modern superhero TV landscape. It follows a group of agents who mostly clean up after the higher-ups, taking on jobs nobody else wants to do. The show sputters through most of Season 1, but there’s a shift about three-quarters of the way through, when Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘s HYDRA storyline starts to bleed through. Phil Coulson doesn’t know who to trust because anyone could be a double agent. The traitor turns out to be Grant Ward, who leaves a trail of bodies and hurts everyone close to him. However, Ward actually provides his former teammates with a blessing in disguise.
While getting rid of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first season of a show with the organization’s name in the title is risky, it pays off by freeing the show from all its commitments. Interesting storylines present themselves that probably wouldn’t have happened on the original course, such as Inhumans being responsible for HYDRA and Ghost Rider showing up on the scene. The later seasons even take things a step further, featuring a time-travel arc that sends the agents back in time to meet important figures in Marvel history. Not long after that wraps up, the show closes the curtain with proper send-offs for its characters. As great as they all are, though, there’s still room for the cast members to return and prove once and for all to the MCU that they’re more than forgettable step-children.
The MCU Should Find Room for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
One of the biggest mistakes the MCU has ever made is not having Coulson reunite with the original Avengers before they go their separate ways. Since they put their differences aside in the original film to avenge Coulson, it just doesn’t make sense that they wouldn’t learn about his return from the dead. Fortunately, there’s still an opportunity to make things right. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. more or less confirms that it takes place in its own reality by the end, which complicates matters. However, with the multiverse still intact, there’s an oppurtunity to bring Coulson back into the fold, and he can reach out to a few friends as well.
Daisy Johnson, who has an incredible character arc in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., going from an annoying hacker to a full-fledged hero, would fit in somewhere. Rumors were floating around that she had a role in Secret Invasion, and while that didn’t come to pass, other opportunities will undoubtedly arise. Maybe one of the next two Avengers films will throw caution to the wind and visit the reality that all of the fan-favorites call home, allowing them to provide updates on their lives and kick a few butts. There would be no harm in it, especially because it would make the original Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fans feel like their time and passion are still being appreciated all these years later.
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