ABC Unveils S.H.I.E.L.D’s Newest Character Deathlok

Originally published on For Your Excitement.  20 March  2014.

Way back when Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiered we met a troubled, frustrated guy named Mike Petersen. Sixteen episodes later, Mike has made quite a transformation. Into Deathlok.

The new images released by ABC show Petersen’s (J. August Richards) Deathlok costume in full.

Petersen was first introduced as a part of the Centipede super solider program. He later switched sides and effectively joined up with Agent Coulson’s team before being blackmailed into handing Coulson over to the baddies. In a last act of heroism, Petersen tried to save the agent but was caught in an explosion, kidnapped by The Clairvoyant and converted into Deathlok via a robotic leg and an eye implant.

Personally, I’m thrilled that S.H.I.E.L.D. has kept Richards coming back as Petersen. I was disappointed to see him exit at the end of the pilot and this is a great role for the actor who is best known for his other Whedonverse character, Charles Gunn on Angel.

As for the state of the Deathlok costume, comic book fans may be dismayed to see a distinct lay of tech with IO9 saying, “He looks like an evil bounty hunter from a cheap sci-fi show from the ’70s.” Comics Alliance adds, “his costume looks a little bit like some leftover wardrobe from the Dune movie or a really fancied up seatbelt buckle,” but also points out, and I agree, that the costume is a step closer to the comics’ undead cyborg. Let’s remember that Petersen still has three of his four original limbs at this point. There’s plenty of time for the evolution to full cyborg, complete with a menacing red eye, later.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Deathlok episode will air April 1 on ABC. In addition to Richards’ return, the episode brings back Agents John Garrett (Bill Paxton), Antoine Triplett (B.J. Britt), Victoria Hand (Safron Burrows), Jasper Sitwell (Maximiliano Hernández) and Felix Blake (Titus Welliver).

Marvel Looks To The Past And Into The Future In Assembling a Universe

Originally published on For Your Excitement.  19 March  2014.

Greetings Agents and Marvel fans! In lieu of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. tonight we got to enjoyAssembling a Universe. This mini documentary tracked the progression of Marvel Studios from its inception in 2006 to its present day status as a geek and box office juggernaut. If you missed this featurette, shame on you. Check out the recap here but then go see this awesome timeline of Marvel’s rise to cinematic greatness for yourself.

Clark Gregg described Marvel’s films best saying, “These are all chapters in a giant pop culture mythology, and I love that.” Let’s take a look at some of those chapters (minor spoilers ahead!):

Big Independent Studio: Back in 2006, the still-new Marvel Studios decided to try to create its own cinematic universe. They chose heroes Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk as their starting points. Though Hulk was well known, Iron Man was almost immediately lampooned by the media and critics as a second-rate character. At the time, bigger Marvel names like Spider-Man and the X-Men were tied up with other studios. After struggling to find a writer for the Iron Manfilm, Jon Favreau finally stepped up with a passion for the project. He cast Robert Downey Jr. because he saw the film as though it were any other independent movie and he wanted the best actors possible. Downey Jr.’s casting came as a surprise to many but also solidified Marvel’s intent: to make great movies with exceptional stories, characters and actors. The studio even reached out to let fans know, via a Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury cameo, that Iron Man was the start of an Avengers universe.

Adrian Pasdar To Bring Major Glenn Talbot To Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Originally published on For Your Excitement.  14 March  2014.

Adrian Pasdar is bringing Major Glenn Talbot and his glorious moustache to Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The studio recently announced the addition of Pasdar as a new thorn in the side of Agent Coulson and his team.

The famously mustachioed Talbot is Hulk-hater General Ross’ right hand man. Talbot frequently appears in the Hulk comics hunting the green rage monster and his Bruce Banner alter ego. On Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., he won’t be engaging in his favorite pastime but he will remain, as Pasdar says, a “sanctimonious jerk.” The character is slated for one episode on the ABC show and Pasdar hinted there might be more.

“As willing as I am to jump when Jeph (Loeb, Marvel TV president) calls, there had to be a little bit more in it than just an episode for me,” he said to The Hollywood Reporter. “I can’t say much more but the mustache is in a locker and it’s being taken out and prepped as we speak for next week.”

Pasdar certainly knows a little something about supernatural powers. He played Nathan Petrelli on NBC’s Heroes and S.H.I.E.L.D. will hardly be Pasdar’s first outing with Marvel. He’s voiced Iron Man in several of the studio’s animated features.

His turn as Talbot on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will air in April on ABC.

Lorelai Gathers Her “Yes Men” Army In This Week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Originally published on For Your Excitement.  12 March  2014.

Hello Agents! In the words of our favorite genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist, “It’s good to be back!” Thank you to the lovely Special Agent Emmy Rivera for filling in last week. With the mystery of Tahiti getting more complex and crazy by the episode, we get a very welcome visit from our favorite female Asgardian warrior. Let’s join her on the hunt for Lorelei and her “Yes Men.”

What you need to know:

Skye is back: After receiving the injection of the uber secret T.A.H.I.T.I. serum, Skye is on the mend even if Simmons won’t let her out of the hospital bed yet. Ward drops by for some forced flirting and commends Skye’s stupidity in entering Quinn’s place alone. Her actions have alerted S.H.I.E.L.D. to Mike Peterson’s status as alive and owning a magical leg. Ward agrees to help Skye train harder so next time she won’t have to reply on a miracle drug to save her. In the lab, FitzSimmons is still baffled by Skye’s rapid healing and the drug that caused it.

Not Loki: While Coulson is off trying to track down Nick Fury, May briefs the team on some Asgardian activity S.H.I.E.L.D. wants them to investigate. Fitz, for one, is cool with this because Asgardians are their allies. Ward quips that Loki isn’t and for a brief moment I’m giddy with the thought that maybe Tom Hiddleston’s glorious villain will make a cameo. Alas, no. When the team reaches the site of the readings, the Bifrost opens and Lady Sif appears. And damn if she doesn’t look amazing! I do love Jaimie Alexander as Sif. She would’ve made a great Wonder Woman too.

The Lady Sif: Coulson is elected to speak with Sif, which he assures May he can handle because he’s “fine.” The Cavalry isn’t buying it though, saying “fine doesn’t look like this” and that she’s there for him. My heart sings with the Coul/May feels. SHIP IT AGENTS! Anyway, Sif fills the team in on Lorelei. The siren’s powers only work on men because “men have an inherent weakness we (women) do not share.” This makes Fitz and Ward stammer and shrug in disagreement while May looks on with pleasure.

For Your Love, SHIELD Style: Why We Ship Coulson And May

Originally published on For Your Excitement.  14 February  2014.

It’s Valentine’s Day and that means everyone deserves a little love, even tough as nails S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is one of those shows that doesn’t need a main “ship” to make it function. It gets along more than fine without two characters’ will they/won’t they at the center. But! If we were to play some speculation ball, the ship to get on board with is CoulMay aka Phil Coulson and Melinda May. Here’s why.

They have a history. Maybe they were just partners. Or maybe they had a secret relationship that was torn apart by the intensity of their work and S.H.I.E.L.D. regulations. May’s cheeky offer to “lay out the mats” and “go a few rounds with him” in “The Girl in the Flower Dress” could indicate either. This is for sure, knowing each other’s past makes it easier to build a future. Together.

Skye and Ward. We know that on some level S.H.I.E.L.D. is driving us toward this pairing. While this doesn’t work for me on a number of levels and mostly because I think they have no chemistry, what it means is Ward and May is doomed to fail (for many reasons). This leaves plenty of time for Coulson and May to happen.

Get Caught Up With The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. In “Tracks”

Originally published on For Your Excitement.  5 February  2014.

Photo courtesy of ABC

Greetings Agents! Last time we saw our beloved Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., we had learned some shocking and heartbreaking details about Coulson’s death/resurrection. Also, Skye found out she was an 0-8-4 when she was a baby, and Mike Peterson is alive but has been forced into the Clairvoyant’s service via an eye implant. Oh and Ian Quinn is a big baddie funding evil technology. Got all that? Wheels up!

Quinn is moving a VIP (very important package) by train so naturally the team is going undercover to intercept it. This is mostly important because everyone is paired up including Simmons and Coulson. She immediately calls him her dad and it’s adorable. Elsewhere, Ward changes into a conductor’s uniform and May gets in position atop the moving train. Because she’s a badass.

Skye and Fitz sneak into the luggage compartment. Getting ready to be a distraction to Quinn’s Cybertek security team, Simmons launches into her character’s backstory. She goes into hysterics about daddy Coulson being too busy with his work and prostitutes to be there for her and her mum. Stan Lee pops up for a great cameo to chastise Coulson, and following straight behind him are the Cybertek men. Simmons spills her “mom’s” ashes to slow them down, and Coulson takes moment to say, “Prostitutes? Plural?”

The Team Takes A Tumultuous Train Ride On This Week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Originally published on PopWrapped.  5 February 2014.

Hello Agents! Long time no see. When we left our favorite Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. peeps last we had learned some horrifying and heartbreaking details about Coulson’s death and resurrection. Also, Skye was revealed to be an 0-8-4 when she was a baby and Mike Peterson was kidnapped and given an eye implant to do the Clairvoyant’s bidding. Lastly, Ian Quinn is a big baddie funding evil technology. All set? Wheels up! 

The team is en route to intercept a package Quinn is transporting by train and under guard from private security team, Cybertek. Going undercover to get close to the goods, everyone is paired up, most adorably, Simmons and Coulson. She immediately labels him as her dad and it is perfection. Alone with May, Ward notes that Skye is more focused than before and wonders what changed. He’s concerned something personal might get in the way of her work. “We both know that personal urges can affect tactical decisions,” he says. May agrees, replying, “That’s why I don’t have any.” Heh. 

In their compartment, Skye and Fitz pickpocket the conductor’s keys in order to gain access to the luggage area. Elsewhere, Simmons has created an entire backstory for her character and her absentee father. Just as she goes into hysterics about how daddy Coulson was never there for her mother because he was busy with his work and prostitutes, Stan Lee pops up for a great cameo to chastise Coulson. Following behind Stan and his ladies are the Cybertek men. Simmons spills her “mom’s” ashes all over them to distract them. Coulson takes the opportunity to get in this line: “Prostitutes? Plural?” 

“Seeds” Are Planted This Week On Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Originally published on PopWrapped.  15 January 2014.

Previously on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Coulson’s sad story got even sadder and we learned to love him all the more. Skye is forever obsessed with figuring out her past but none of us really care. She just might get some answers this week if she’s lucky. Let’s dive in, shall we?

A trio of college students’ after hours pool time is interrupted when the pool starts icing over. Seth’s leg is caught as he hauls himself out and he’s only saved thanks to the quick thinking of a pool skimmer-wielding fellow student who looks remarkably like a younger Fitz. Seth’s friends then drape a S.H.I.E.L.D. towel around his shivering shoulders.

On board the Bus, FitzSimmons explains that they are being asked to consult on the investigation into the frozen pool. They designed the device used to do the freezing, after all. Ward and Skye are tagging along but Coulson and May are headed off on their own. In The Cavalry’s words, “Coulson and I have other matters to attend to.” Anyone else thinks this is some subtle shipperbait?

At S.H.I.E.L.D.’s sci-tech academy, Agent Weaver greets the foursome. She explains that someone within the Academy set off the device and it was targeted at the cadets who were attacked. While FitzSimmons goes off with Weaver to do a guest lecture, Ward and Skye have yet another heart-to-heart where he assures her that she belongs on the team with everyone else. You’d think for a hacker who broke into a government agency’s files, Skye would have more confidence in herself.

What Needs “Repairs” On This Weeks Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D

Originally published on PopWrapped.  27 November 2013.

Greetings Agents! So last week we saw the human side of Ward, the slightly damaged but still awesome side of May and the always adorable and tightlipped side of Coulson. But most importantly we saw that Coulson’s magical place aka Tahiti may be just a dream or a vision implanted in his mind after his “death” at the hand of Loki. Sadly, we get no further development on this storyline but do get more details about May and a great twist on the people with powers set-up of the show.

In Utah a young woman buys some essentials at a gas station and gets harassed by the clerk for being the cause some guy named Jack’s death. When the clerk pushes the woman a little too far she inadvertently uses her psychic powers to throw cans and then a whole shelving unit at him. As he runs out, gasoline and fire create one heck of an explosion, even as the woman prays “not again.”

In May’s room, the Cavalry is getting dressed after a night of fun with, you guessed it, Agent Ward. Lover boy himself saunters out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel McSteamy-style and reminds us all that he has some wonderful, um, assets. No time for ogling though because there’s a mission at hand. As Coulson explains to Skye, they’ll be heading out to check in with the telekinetic. He wants Skye to pay attention to how this is done properly. He’s referring of course to her laughable awful attempt with Mike back in the Pilot episode.

This asset retrieval process can be touchy because their telekinetic, Hannah, is probably in denial, like most of the assets Coulson has encountered. FitzSimmons spout off their trademark science/techy lingo, this time in regards to how they’ll confirm Hannah’s powers. I may have a simple BA but I’m pretty sure if things start flying at you when she’s around, it’s a solid indicator of telekinesis.

Which Avenger Almost Got Their Own Marvel TV Series?

Originally published on PopWrapped.  6 November 2013.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is one of the biggest shows of the Fall, but we almost got an entirely different Marvel TV series. That’s right, Agents; instead of our beloved Coulson leading a team of spies, we were nearly given a Hulk TV show.

Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s head of television, revealed in an interview with Ain’t It Cool News that initially they were looking to adapt the green rage monster into a new show. “Guillermo Del Toro came in and talked to us about doing a Hulk show and when Guillermo Del Toro comes and wants to do a show about your pinkie, you are going to want to do it. But it was just a case that once we saw what Joss Whedon and Mark Ruffalo were creating in The Avengers, that was a better solution.”

Loeb went on to say that Marvel’s relationship with Whedon, built on the strength of The Avengers, enabled them to look in a different direction of a Marvel television series: S.H.I.E.L.D.. “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. became a perfect fit in terms of what Marvel wanted to do creatively and what might work on both ABC television and television in general.” Loeb said.

For his part, Del Toro was disappointed but understanding about the decision to shelve the Hulk series, acknowledging in an interview with The Global Dispatch that “Avengers is a game-changer for Marvel.”

As for the future of Marvel on the small screen, Loeb said, “For us in television, it always comes down to finding the right show runner. The answer is always going to be that when the right person is matched with the right property that is when we will make the next exciting announcement from Marvel Television.”

Meet The Girl In The Flower Dress On This Weeks Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Originally published on PopWrapped.  23 October 2013.

Greetings agents! Are you ready to check in with our favorite smorgasbord S.H.I.E.L.D. team and have your burning questions answered? Is Skye any less annoying? Did May finally cave and punch someone on her team? Can FitzSimmons get any more nerdy cute? Let’s find out!

A man performs street magic for a crowd in Hong Kong. They’re underwhelmed until he throws in some hands free pyrotechnics. When a woman in a flower dress approaches him afterward, asking for more, he creates fire in his palm. She’s in awe.

The woman, known as Raina, and Chan the magician go back to his place to talk about his hot body, er, fire powers. He’s a fan of the greats, like Houdini, but he discovered, “There’s no real magic there; just tricks.” He again demonstrates his power and tells Raina it just started happening a few years ago.  “You have a gift,” she whispers reverently.

She thinks he’s been chosen for something special and repeatedly tells him he has a gift. He agrees, so when she asks him to close his eyes, he does. Only instead of getting lucky, Chan gets nabbed by some guys in HAZMAT suits.

On board the Magic S.H.I.E.L.D. Bus, Skye and Ward play Battleship, supposedly to help the S.O. evaluate Skye’s thought processes. Ward is complimenting Skye for being a quick study at everything and she is astounded to hear the compliment. But she’s more delighted to be beating him at Battleship. Off a ways, Coulson and May also quietly compliment Skye. Boy I hope their trust in the newest team member isn’t called into question later this episode.

The two agents also discuss Coulson’s sleeping habits, or lack thereof. She offers to “lay out the mats” and “go a few rounds with him.” It sounds saucy but she means combat training (I’m mostly sure). They’re interrupted by an alert telling them Chan has been taken. A Hong Kong agent named Kwan fills them in and says they were hacked again…by Rising Tide. All eyes train on Skye. Huh, that was quick.

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Uncovers The Meaning Of 0-8-4 This Week

Originally published on PopWrapped.  2 October 2013.

Hello Agents! Let’s dive into this week’s mission, I mean, episode.

We begin with the S.H.I.E.L.D. jet soaring peacefully through the air. A woman’s voice comes on to ask if everything is a-okay. Just as Agent Coulson says it’s going to be “blue skies from here on out” the side of the plane bursts open. Inside, our favorite agent is hanging on for dear life while the blue sky tries to pull him out of the plane. Oh please. If Loki can’t kill Coulson, what makes the air think it stands a chance?

Flashback to before the plane problems. Skye is unloading her precious van and boarding said plane. She looks skeptical but Agent Ward just looks pissed. He’s whining to Coulson about Skye joining the team but Coulson is defending his decision. He points out that she did break into their database. Twice.

“She doesn’t think like us,” Ward counters. “Exactly,” Coulson replies.

FitzSimmons is also on the fence about Skye but they’re at least more cheerful about it as they show her to her bunk. There she encounters a grouchy Ward who pushes the plane’s emergency preparedness pamphlet at her. Then Coulson slides up to talk once more about the magical place known as Tahiti and how he got the plane as a gift for almost dying before the Battle of New York. Also, he’s still adorable, asking Skye to use a coaster for her water bottle on his fancy plane.

But back to the mission. Coulson explains that a 0-8-4 means that they don’t know what it means. “An object of unknown origin.” The last one was…Thor’s hammer. And we all know what happened on the way to that.