Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Deserve a Comeback in the MCU!

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Summary

  • Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. defied death and ended by creating a multiverse, making reintroduction to MCU via multiverse plausible.
  • The show’s absence post-Endgame can be explained by agents fighting multiversal threats, creating an alternate universe.
  • Reintegrating Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. offers MCU clarity and addresses canon issues while aligning with ongoing multiversal themes.

In other words, some heroes continue to live on in legend, others are recognized for their selfless acts, while many are lost to history. Yet, there are a few who spent years in obscurity on television screens before being informed that their adventures held no significance to the Sacred Timeline they were supposedly pivotal to. However, it’s important to remember: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. did indeed take place. Clark Gregg’s character Phil Coulson died multiple times, came back to life, lost his memories, died again, and was eventually resurrected as an android, painfully assimilating all the memories of his organic self to complete the narrative with his fellow cast members.

Following the renewed inclusion of Netflix’s Defenders series on Disney+ via the direct sequel “Daredevil: Born Again,” and with Season 2 hinting at the potential return of at least one more Netflix Defender, it’s apparent that Marvel Studios should consider reviving another long-lasting group of characters. Characters such as Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Daisy Johnson, Al “Mack” MacKenzie, and the married genius duo Leo Fitz and Gemma Simmons are ripe for a comeback. After seven action-packed seasons that concluded triumphantly with a multiversal, time-traveling Marvel TV adventure, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could greatly benefit from a fresh start within the Sacred Timeline, and the MCU’s multiverse might find more coherence as a result.

Where It Started vs. Where It Ended

Thirteen years ago, as a cinephile immersed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), I witnessed a poignant moment in “The Avengers” – the first global catastrophe where Loki, the trickster god, led his Chitauri army against Earth’s mightiest heroes, the original six Avengers. This battle marked the introduction of a significant tragedy: Agent Phil Coulson, a cornerstone of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury’s witty sidekick, was fatally wounded by Loki’s scepter. His on-screen demise in multiple MCU films made his loss all the more heartbreaking. Yet, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” managed to turn the tide: through a clandestine project named Project T.A.H.I.T.I., they utilized the blood of a deceased Kree to resurrect Coulson, albeit with memories of that life-altering transfusion erased to safeguard his mental wellbeing.

Following Agent Coulson’s revival, the main characters – May, Fitz, Gemma, Daisy, and others – embark on a series of perilous missions across seven seasons. These missions range from preventing S.H.I.E.L.D.’s collapse in Season 1 to acquiring a distinct version of the Darkhold, unlike that seen in WandaVision, in Season 4. The first five seasons subtly tie into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Seasons 6 and 7 introduce plot twists that disrupt the show’s original timeline. With each season consisting of just thirteen episodes, the producers swiftly move towards the series finale, which involves extensive time travel that generates new multiversal branches.

In the final episode of Season 5, Coulson dies for a second time. However, the opening of Season 6 introduces a new character who is an exact replica of Coulson but has had his memories erased. This duplicate gets hurled into space-time and finds himself embroiled in a conflict traversing multiple realities. During this journey, the team encounters old adversaries who have acquired fresh insights that lead to more complications in the timeline and personal lives. The series concludes in Season 7 with an explosive finale: it turns out that Fitz, who had been presumed lost in time during a previous season, was secretly working on perfecting multidimensional travel. As Fitz and Jemma’s relationship heals, the team manages to return home, and characters from various realities receive satisfying conclusions for the most part.

A Multiversal Explanation for Agents’ Absence and Knowledge Gaps

As a devoted fan, I’ve often pondered about how inter-dimensional travel might have resolved an intriguing conundrum: why Thanos’ snap and events before or after “Avengers: Endgame” were not addressed in “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” during Seasons 6 and 7. It seems that the team was preoccupied with their own multiverse-threatening issues within an alternate universe they somehow stumbled upon (or at least visited), unaware of what unfolded in the original timeline. The Avengers were dealing with Thanos, leaving the S.H.I.E.L.D agents to tackle challenges elsewhere. Furthermore, it would have made the narrative between the series and the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe more coherent; after all, there have been vague references to “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” in previous films, so maintaining this connection up until the agents’ time-travel adventure in Season 5 makes perfect sense.

Continuing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could offer relief from some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) recent challenges, given the abundance of Phase 4 and 5 installments that haven’t clearly shown where the franchise is heading, potential threats, or the workings of the multiverse. The final season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. provided a detailed exploration of how the multiverse operates, tearing it open over several seasons. These storylines could seamlessly be incorporated into the MCU’s ongoing narrative, for instance, by explaining Loki’s creation of a vibrant multiverse through Yggdrasil. Regardless of the approach taken, there are certainly ways to reintegrate Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gracefully within the MCU as if they never left. If Daredevil could find a way back into the fold, so can Coulson and his team.

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2025-03-14 23:56