# Marvel Agents of SHIELD **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608 "2013-09-25T00:55:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/61 "2013-09-25T16:48:35Z")
I thought it was good, but a tiny bit too…cutsie. Whasshisname–the agent that Coulson hit with the Truth Serum just handwaved away a really, _really_ creepy action on Coulson’s part and a huge security violation. He essentially date-rape-drugged the guy to get the info from the chick. I don’t mind that Coulson _did_ it, I mind the complete lack of reaction from the other guy. (Which is typical Joss inablity to deal with certain human emotions) \< Bzzz…kk…szzzt…\> This is Dr. Victor Von Doom interrupting this puerile analysis to deal with the temerity of this question: > [@GreedySmurf](#): > > Doombots/LMD’s - which came first? Could be an interesting documentary 😃 Doombots came first, of course. How could you have thought otherwise? Time Travel, mind transfers, semi-independent robots…all Doom’s. Doombots first appeared in the misnamed “Fantastic” Four #5, cover dated July, 1962. S.H.I.E.L.D. (let alone the LMDs) didn’t appear until Strange Tales #135, cover dated August, 1965. Once again Doom triumphs! However, I presume your lack of knowledge on this issue comes from reading those inferior licensed Marvel books (which, I might add, did _not_ get Doom’s permission to use his likeness…they will someday be dealt with.), Doom, ever generous, will forgive your temerity. Doom returns you to the “review” of the pablum that is your American Television Entertainment. \< zzzzstttkkk… \> …and I was sorry they came up with all new agents. While Dum Dum Dugan wouldn’t have worked, the Contessa might have, Clay Quartermain might have and Jasper Sitwell would certainly have. I like new characters, but just one “real” SHIELD agent would have been a nice touch. I loved the flying car–yes, it was telegraphed, but for those of us who are old Marvel fans, it was a very nice tribute to the series. It has a lot of potential, but I’d like just a tiny bit more “Marvel” in it. I don’t want a super-hero of the week guest shot, but just a hair more reference to some of the non-movie Marvel universe. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/62 "2013-09-25T16:56:28Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > When did Coulson supposedly die? > You can tell I don’t follow to closely 😃 He was stabbed by Loki in the Avengers movie. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/63 "2013-09-25T17:10:40Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > I thought it was good, but a tiny bit too…cutsie. Whasshisname–the agent that Coulson hit with the Truth Serum just handwaved away a really, _really_ creepy action on Coulson’s part and a huge security violation. He essentially date-rape-drugged the guy to get the info from the chick. I don’t mind that Coulson _did_ it, I mind the complete lack of reaction from the other guy. (Which is typical Joss inablity to deal with certain human emotions) > > \< Bzzz…kk…szzzt…\> > This is Dr. Victor Von Doom interrupting this puerile analysis to deal with the temerity of this question: > > Doombots came first, of course. How could you have thought otherwise? Time Travel, mind transfers, semi-independent robots…all Doom’s. > > Doombots first appeared in the misnamed “Fantastic” Four #5, cover dated July, 1962. S.H.I.E.L.D. (let alone the LMDs) didn’t appear until Strange Tales #135, cover dated August, 1965. Once again Doom triumphs! > > However, I presume your lack of knowledge on this issue comes from reading those inferior licensed Marvel books (which, I might add, did _not_ get Doom’s permission to use his likeness…they will someday be dealt with.), Doom, ever generous, will forgive your temerity. > > Doom returns you to the “review” of the pablum that is your American Television Entertainment. > > \< zzzzstttkkk… \> > > …and I was sorry they came up with all new agents. While Dum Dum Dugan wouldn’t have worked, the Contessa might have, Clay Quartermain might have and Jasper Sitwell would certainly have. I like new characters, but just one “real” SHIELD agent would have been a nice touch. I loved the flying car–yes, it was telegraphed, but for those of us who are old Marvel fans, it was a very nice tribute to the series. > > It has a lot of potential, but I’d like just a tiny bit more “Marvel” in it. I don’t want a super-hero of the week guest shot, but just a hair more reference to some of the non-movie Marvel universe. Squirrel Girl says “Hi!” ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/64 "2013-09-25T17:25:06Z")
I really wanted to like it, but I was left with a “meh”. Partly because the Skye character just annoyed the hell out of me, as did Generic Handsome Agent. Partly because it was too many new characters, all wearing similar clothing, almost all with the Standard TV Young-Skinny-Prettiness, and without much individuating personality. That said, Coulson. I’ll watch a few more episodes to see if it gets better, because Coulson. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/65 "2013-09-25T17:28:08Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > I thought it was good, but a tiny bit too…cutsie. Whasshisname–the agent that Coulson hit with the Truth Serum just handwaved away a really, _really_ creepy action on Coulson’s part and a huge security violation. He essentially date-rape-drugged the guy to get the info from the chick. I don’t mind that Coulson _did_ it, I mind the complete lack of reaction from the other guy. (Which is typical Joss inablity to deal with certain human emotions) I suspect that Coulson just faked the injection, and he and Ward had set it all up ahead of time - he’d still be in full control while answering Skye’s questions “truthfully”. That’s why Coulson said “Nice work” to Ward after Skye & Melinda left. Sets up a nice “You lied to me!” event with Skye down the road too. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/66 "2013-09-25T17:33:46Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Squirrel Girl says “Hi!” Doom interrupts this “discussion” again. Doom demands to know what you meant by that. If you’re referring to the stories that Doom fears Squirrel Girl and was once beaten by her, these are lies! Lies and propaganda, no doubt orchestrated by the American government, prompted by Reed Richards. While Ms Green is, no doubt, a formidable opponent, Doom has never faced her in combat, _despite the lies and propaganda_ published in various Marvel comics (who, as I mentioned, do not have my permission to use my likeness and retaliate by printing falsehoods). I _did_ help her with an issue involving time-travel, but not, as those lies stated, because I feared her (Doom fear _anyone_? A clear falsehood), but because Doom is ever generous. I can only conclude that you are either a wide-eyed naïf, taken in by by the utter calumnies of Richards, or you are, no doubt, an H.E.R.B.I.E. unit, programmed to bring up these falsehoods in a futile attempt to undermine Doom. Continue and you will be evaporated and shrunk into a micro-world from which there can be no escape. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/67 "2013-09-25T17:43:07Z")
I didn’t like it. The characters seemed really generic, the acting was meh (the HIMYM girl was especially terrible), and really, who wants to watch a superhero TV show with no superheroes? Plus I think superhero stuff, especially the more “goofy” superheroes like Thor and Capt America, work a lot better when the audience isn’t given a lot of time to think about the premise too hard. Which you can do in a movie, but not really in a TV show. FWIW: I think I would’ve started the show a lot more tangentially, focused on one or two characters outside SHIELD, and had them (and the audience) learn about SHIELD slowly over the course of the first few episodes. That would’ve let the writers focus more on developing the characters and the organization a little more slowly, instead of just dropping them in generic slots created by previous iterations of similar tv shows/movies. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/68 "2013-09-25T17:56:10Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I didn’t like it. The characters seemed really generic, the acting was meh (the HIMYM girl was especially terrible), and really, **who wants to watch a superhero TV show with no superheroes**? Plus I think superhero stuff, especially the more “goofy” superheroes like Thor and Capt America, work a lot better when the audience isn’t given a lot of time to think about the premise too hard. Which you can do in a movie, but not really in a TV show. Millions of people, apparently. And you answer your own question - if the “goofier” super-heroes were in the series, people would think too hard about the premise. So they aren’t. Or did you miss the whole “other people doing their jobs in a world of superheroes” idea the show is built around? 😛 They will build the world of the show as they go. These days, if the pilot isn’t a grabber, you never get the chance to slowly ease into anything. So Joss tossed in something for just about everybody in hopes of hooking people for at least a few more episodes. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/69 "2013-09-25T18:03:46Z")
I liked the show but I was expected to be blown away by it. It didn’t happen and I was a little disappointed. That said, I’m still going to keep watching, if only that watching it prevents me from reflexively tuning in to Seth MacFarlane’s Dads ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/70 "2013-09-25T18:10:24Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > ETA again! Okay, she was on the show **Nashville** - that’s where I’ve seen her. A smaller part - obviously not as much anymore… Huh, Chloe Bennet was on a show with Claire Bennet? Not that I watch Nashville, but the coincidence tickles me. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/71 "2013-09-25T18:19:29Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > And you answer your own question - if the “goofier” super-heroes were in the series, people would think too hard about the premise. So they aren’t. Or did you miss the whole “other people doing their jobs in a world of superheroes” idea the show is built around? 😛 “Other people doing their jobs in a world of superheroes” does in fact require thinking about said superheroes. Otherwise its just “people doing their jobs” which isn’t much of a show. > [@](#): > > They will build the world of the show as they go. These days, if the pilot isn’t a grabber, you never get the chance to slowly ease into anything. So Joss tossed in something for just about everybody in hopes of hooking people for at least a few more episodes. I think that’d be the advantage here. Everyone already knows the basic premise (and presumably has already been “grabbed by it” to some extent since they’re bothering to tune in) due to the movies, so there’s more room to wait. SHIELD doesn’t have to get shoehorned in to the pilot. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/72 "2013-09-25T18:25:37Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > I really wanted to like it, but I was left with a “meh”. > > Partly because the Skye character just annoyed the hell out of me, as did Generic Handsome > Agent. Partly because it was too many new characters, all wearing similar clothing, almost all with the Standard TV Young-Skinny-Prettiness, and without much individuating personality. > > That said, Coulson. I’ll watch a few more episodes to see if it gets better, because Coulson. I figure this is a Whedon product. It’s not like the casts of his previous shows have been a bunch of fuglies. We may be seeing the characters’ good looks in the pilot but they won’t just be a bunch of models. Their personalities will emerge. > [@Simplicio](#): > > I didn’t like it. The characters seemed really generic, the acting was meh (the HIMYM girl was especially terrible), and really, who wants to watch a superhero TV show with no superheroes? Plus I think superhero stuff, especially the more “goofy” superheroes like Thor and Capt America, work a lot better when the audience isn’t given a lot of time to think about the premise too hard. Which you can do in a movie, but not really in a TV show. I think a good comparison here is _The X-Files_ - the show’s background was aliens and supernatural beings but the show wasn’t about them. These agents aren’t the superheroes - they’re the people who deal with superhero problems. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/73 "2013-09-25T18:39:36Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I think that’d be the advantage here. Everyone already knows the basic premise (and presumably has already been “grabbed by it” to some extent since they’re bothering to tune in) due to the movies, so there’s more room to wait. SHIELD doesn’t have to get shoehorned in to the pilot. Who knows what requirements the network and Marvel put on the project. I’m just happy they have a pretty product with pretty people in it doing fun things with amazing equipment and snappy dialog. I’m easy to please that way. I see enough fugly people every day that I don’t want to be watching them on TV. They dominate my mirror enough already. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/74 "2013-09-25T18:42:53Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I figure this is a Whedon product. It’s not like the casts of his previous shows have been a bunch of fuglies. We may be seeing the characters’ good looks in the pilot but they won’t just be a bunch of models. Their personalities will emerge. What they need is someone who’s Xander ugly. Not ugly ugly, but TV ugly. Gritty. Coulson’s kinda like that already, but what stood out to me a lot was that they don’t really have any wizened agents except him shepherding these kids around. Its like they decided to take all of their bad qualities (old, ugly, balding, etc.) and put them into one person so that they would focus on the hotties ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/75 "2013-09-25T18:51:42Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > Huh, Chloe Bennet was on a show with Claire Bennet? Not that I watch Nashville, but the coincidence tickles me. It says so on her Wiki listing: [Chloe Bennet - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloe_Bennet) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/76 "2013-09-25T18:54:46Z")
And this is a bad thing why? 😛 Just how many Marvel references did they stuff into the pilot? I noted: 1. Extremis 2. Tony Stark 3. Thor 4. Hover-carrier 5. Lola 6. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/77 "2013-09-25T19:00:58Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Just how many Marvel references did they stuff into the pilot? I noted: > > 1. Extremis > 2. Tony Stark > 3. Thor > 4. Hover-carrier > 5. Lola > 6. Some others (mostly previously mentioned upthread): - Hulk (reference to gamma rays in the Centipede enhancement) - Chitauri (invading army from The Avengers) - Spider-Man (indirectly, through the line “With great power comes…”) - Black Widow (Coulson tells Ward that his test scores were the highest since Romanov) - Captain America (through the reference to Dr. Erskine’s Super Soldier serum, and there were probably more, too) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/78 "2013-09-25T19:09:52Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Coulson’s kinda like that already, but what stood out to me a lot was that they don’t really have any wizened agents except him shepherding these kids around. Ming-Na Wen (b. 1963) is only one year younger than Clark Gregg (b. 1962). They both look pretty amazing for people around 50. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/79 "2013-09-25T19:22:14Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I like the show because I see it for what it is-a live action comic book. The flying cars, the incredible weaponry, the Life Model Decoys and the rest all come from the _Nick Fury-Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D._ comic series of the sixties and seventies. That bit where Coulson gave the truth serum to the agent instead of the captive is definitely something Fury would have done in the comics back then. BTW, my current thought is that the Coulson in the series is the LMD. I don’t know much about Life Model Decoys, but Coulson being one would explain the bullet-time way he ducked backwards and underneath flying debris, when the other agents had to dive for cover. It feels to me like Coulson did in fact die, and a copy of his consciousness has somehow been resurrected, but isn’t aware that it happened. Perhaps that information is clearance level eight or nine. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/80 "2013-09-25T19:35:17Z")
I liked it. It’s a pilot. It had to explain its premise, introduce the characters, and get through a ton of exposition. For the most part, I liked the actors, and I’m willing to let them settle down a bit into what they’re doing. I’m in for the next several episodes at least. > [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Ming-Na Wen was born in 1963, she’s not 28. I knew she wasn’t 28, but does she have a painting hidden in a closet somewhere? Because _50_? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608.md?page=5)