S.H.I.E.L.D. dribbled out another episode last night after yet another brief hiatus. Besides a loose tie-in with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, there were a few usable references to the existing Marvel universe. Here are the comics you should check out after watching the episode.
This episode made me realize something about SHIELD: it’s focusing on the wrong story. The most interesting character on the show is Michael Peterson and his struggle with becoming Deathlok. Besides Coulson and his team, he’s the person we see most on the show, but I still don’t think it’s enough. These events would be a lot more interested if they were being told from his perspective. So if, like me, you can’t get enough Deathlok, check out:
Deathlok #1 (Volume 3)
After it was revealed that Peterson would be Deathlok in the episode “T.R.A.C.K.S.” I recommended the first appearance of the character, and the later Marvel Knights run. Deathlok has seen a few incarnations over the years, but this one follows former SHIELD agent Jack Truman, so I think it ties in nicely with the show.
The Truman series of Deathlok ran for 11 issues in a limited series, so you can get through the whole thing pretty quickly.
As for the Winter Soldier tie-in, it’s loose and basically just sets up that Agent Sitwell appears in the film, so I won’t bother recommending another Winter Soldier title (though I do think you should go read my history of where the name “Winter Soldier” comes from.) When Agent Hand gives Sitwell his new assignment, I think she also drops another clue into the ongoing Coulson mystery. Namely, The Lemurian Star.
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Lemurian Star is a mobile launch platform that Batroc the Leaper takes control of, but the name could allude to something much more revealing. Check out:
Sub-Mariner #10
Sub-Mariner #10 is the first appearance of the Lemurians, a group of homo mermanus that live in the Pacific ocean. They’re similar to Atlanteans, but their skin is described as “green and scaly” on The Marvel Database (the site where I do most of my research for these posts), but the image they chose to represent the race on that same page looks rather blue to me.
Weird blue underwater people with mysterious magical abilities? Hm. Where have we seen that in SHIELD?
Oh hai, Mr. Lemurian!
That’s just a guess at this point, obviously. Since Marvel doesn’t currently have the rights to Namor in the MCU, I’m not sure what that means for the Lemurians, so the jury’s still out on what exactly Coulson found in that lab. I will say that the Lemurian theory makes more sense than my wild stab at that being the real Coulson.
I don’t know anything about the Lemurians besides the brief Marvel Database description, so I’ll have to take my own advice this time around and do some reading.
The episode ends with the reveal that Agent Hand is working against Coulson and his team—something comic readers probably saw coming the moment she was introduced, given her comic book history. For more background on her inevitable betrayal, read:
Dark Reign
In the comics, after Secret Invasion Norman Osborn takes over as head of SHIELD and turns it into H.A.M.M.E.R.—a name Agent Hand comes up with—and puts her as his second-in-command. It’s a pretty major event that spans a lot of titles in the Marvel universe, including a number of one-shots. Thankfully, it looks like it’s available in a few trade paperbacks.
As soon as Agent Hand was introduced on the show, people started speculating about a possible appearance of H.A.M.M.E.R., and it looks like that’s what we could seen in the next few episodes. Or not. It’s pretty clear that SHIELD is slow to dole out any kind of reveal or actual story development. It’s frankly getting to the point where I just don’t care what’s up Coulson anymore. I’m on my—what? Fourth? Fifth theory? And they keep delaying it. I’m getting a little tired of all this wild speculation.
ABC is really hyping next week’s episode as a big game changing event. Just watch this slightly-over-the-top promo:
Hopefully, something will actually happen.
(via Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., images via Marvel)
- Learn about the history of the name “Winter Soldier” and why Ed Brubaker chose it
- Patton Oswalt will guest star on SHIELD and I can’t wait
- These are the comics you should read after “Yes Men”
