Has it already been three seasons? Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continues to be the little Marvel train that could, managing to evade cancellation and promising a new season with a darker edge, a later timeslot, and a spirit of vengeance for good measure. The Agents return on September 20th, so what better time than now for a refresh on what’s been happening in their lives last season, and the seasons prior. We’ve had deaths, resurrections, super powers endowed, and villains rise to challenge our heroes throughout its 66-episode run so far. While interest has waned in the series from time to time, the introduction of a Marvel character with two solo movies to his name -- Ghost Rider -- is sure to ignite some interest from fans who had written the show off previously. With all that being said, hop into your hellfire muscle car, buckle up, and let’s get to it!
The MCU’s First Foray into Television
Love or hate S.H.I.E.L.D., it acted as the first outing for Marvel Studios’ continuity to include the world of television. By pointing the camera at fan favorite Clark Gregg, who brought the character of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson to life in the original Iron Man, Thor, and Avengers films, Marvel was able to create an interesting hook for a series that explored the “regular joes” who worked for the organization far from the Avengers’ limelight. The first season focused on Coulson’s resurrection while also introducing characters such as the computer hacker Skye, the battle hardened May, science whiz kids Fitz and Simmons, and pretty boy Ward to round out the pack for its opening installments. What we got was a by-the-numbers procedural with a Marvel twist, as superheroes were name dropped rather than shown, until the arrival of the Captain America: Winter Soldier movie hit theaters. It was here that the show’s first season ended, with Ward revealed to be a planted Hydra agent who betrayed the team and would act as a sly antagonist moving forward.
The show’s second season upped the ante by introducing a huge amount of characters and storylines from the Marvel Comics Universe. The biggest which were the super powered race known as the Inhumans, that can be best described as a more alien interpretation of Marvel’s mutant race that includes the X-Men. People across the globe began gaining super powers, as Skye realized she was a part of this race and was having to deal with her place among them (including her newly discovered earth shaking abilities). Now calling herself Quake, Skye discovered the identities of her parents, as Coulson and crew tangled with Hydra, Ward, and a frustrated rival faction of S.H.I.E.L.D.. They welcomed additional members to their team in the forms of gentle giant Mack, Bobbie Morse (who is the superhero Mockingbird in the funny books), mercenary Hunter, and others along the way. With the advent of the Inhumans, Coulson and crew decided to introduce even MORE characters into the foray by tasking Skye with putting together a team of super powered folks dubbed, “The Secret Warriors” to end the series’ second season.
Third Time’s The Charm ... Not So Much
Our third season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. began with the team firmly in the process of attempting to assist Inhumans around the world as their powers manifested due to the leaking of “Terrigen Mists.” Skye, now in full superhero mode as Quake, led a team along with her new Inhuman beau, Lincoln, of Secret Warriors who were gathered throughout the season. While Hydra still acted as a foil to the team along with the ever-kooky Brett Ward, a new villain emerged in the form of Lash, who actually turned out to be the team’s therapist and Agent May’s ex-husband! Coulson struggled with the details of leadership while also adjusting to having a robot hand, as he had lost his own in a tussle in Season 2. Fitz and Simmons continued their dance of “will they/won’t they” relationship escapades which was further complicated by Simmons being sucked into an alien world, only to escape mentally broken for it. Said world was eventually revisited by Coulson, Fitz, and Ward in an attempt to destroy/save a mysterious Inhuman being living on the planet named Hive. Ward ended up dying at the hands of a vengeful Coulson, whose girlfriend Rosalind had been killed by the former agent, but was then possessed by Hive and returned to Earth to take control of the Inhumans and the world.
The tail end of the season saw an all-out Inhuman brawl as the team attempted to stop Hive, the main antagonist, from turning humanity into lesser versions of the alien race to fall under his control. What made the battle all the more interesting was Hive managing to take control of Skye, now going by Daisy, and using her abilities against her teammates. In the finale, Hive and the team took their war into outer space wherein Lincoln sacrificed himself to take out the nefarious Inhuman. The finale scene saw the show jump in time several months, were revelations abound! Skye is now a fugitive from the law as something of a modern day Robin Hood, Coulson is no longer the head of S.H.I.E.L.D, Fitz and Simmons are officially in a relationship (THANK GOD), and trouble is a brewing in the form of Life Model Decoys from the nefarious Holden Radcliffe, who has joined the team.
And He Rides On A Pale Ghost Horse
So what can we expect from Season 4? Obviously, the biggest addition to the character roster is the Ghost Rider in the form of the young Robbie Reyes (Gabriel Luna). Reyes is the most recent interpretation of the character, possessed by an evil spirit of a once living and breathing serial killer rather than a demon named Zarathos (as the original Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze was). Aside from being slightly younger than Blaze and growing up in a different part of the country, Reyes also traded in a motorcycle for a muscle car, changing his ride into a hellfire wagon whenever he feels like “avenging innocent blood.” What makes this addition so interesting, aside from the popularity of the character, is that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has yet to tackle anything truly supernatural during their history. Granted, the short-lived Agent Carter began hinting at something from “the beyond” during its second season, but nothing on the scale of the Spirit of Vengeance. Adding Ghost Rider into the mix adds some much needed fuel to the fire for the show.
Obviously, as mentioned above, our characters are in very different places at the start of Sseason 4 then they once were, with Skye being on the run and the Agents being tasked to hunt her which adds another interesting dynamic to the proceedings. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been running long enough now to hit that sweet spot of syndication that so many series vie for, so this season is something of a make or break for the show’s longevity. If anything, I’m a Ghost Rider “mark” so I’m curious to see how well they can pull him off while also balancing the idea of Inhumans, Hydra, Life Model Decoys, and whatever other threats may rear their ugly head. One final thing to note: with Marvel Studios pushing back the Inhumans-centric film to an unspecified date, if not nixing it entirely, the producers have hinted that they may be able to use the main Inhuman characters that were once off limits including Black Bolt, Medusa, Lockjaw, Karnak and others.
What surprises will Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. have in store in its fourth season? Follow our weekly recaps starting on Tuesday, September 20th to find out!
