Agent Coulson lives!

Like all characters in comic books, dead doesn’t really mean dead.  And we couldn’t be happier that Marvel Studios is bringing back Agent Phil Coulson, who, played by Clark Gregg, was the unlikely lynchpin of every one of the recent interconnected movies based on Marvel Comics’ characters.

In the marathon opening night for The Avengers, Agent Coulson served as our guide, speaking directly to viewers as he introduced Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Iron Man 2, and Captain America: The First Avenger.  In The Avengers, we saw what was unquestionably the most emotional scene of the franchise as Coulson was killed by Loki.  Or so we thought.

Check out the preview for the ABC Network’s new TV series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.:

As ABC’s answer to the CW Network’s DC Comics universe series Arrow, which had its season one finale last night, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has something unique to overcome for a superhero genre production:  It will feature agents operating in a superhero world, but instead of superheroes as the featured characters the series’ focus will be on what it means to be human in a world of superheroes.  If the idea is going to be successful, attaching The Avengers’ director Joss Whedon to the project is a great first step, adding Agents to his roster of fan favorites TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse.

But Whedon alone probably isn’t enough to make the series appeal to a wide audience.  Since The Avengers was so popular and so well-received, adding Clark Gregg’s likeable and loyal Agent Coulson is a sure-fire way to bring fans of the movies to the small screen Marvel Universe.

The series also features Ming-Na Wen, recognizable as the voice of Disney’s Mulan and from several TV series, going back to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, As the World Turns, Spawn, ER, Vanished, Two and a Half Men, SGU Stargate Universe, and Eureka.  J. August Richards, seen in the preview, played Gunn on Angel, and he’s appeared in Warehouse 13 and Arrow.  British actor Iain De Caistecker was seen in The Secret of Crickley Hall and Monarch of the Glen.  Shannon Lucio and Arlene Santana were recurring characters on Grey’s Anatomy.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres on ABC Tuesdays this fall.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com