# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/121 "2013-09-26T15:32:45Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Actually, this was one of my peeves with the episode. The “He must never know” bit was too cliche, too trite, too predictable for my tastes. I would have preferred more subtlety or just ignore the issue for now. No need to throw that in the pilot. I would imagine Whedon and co. all know this already and may spin this mystery into a different, funny, dramatic, or interesting direction. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/122 "2013-09-26T15:46:06Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > I’m curious to see how well it integrates with the movie franchise. It would be nice to at least have the occasional cameo from Sam Jackson, or one of the other stars (other than Agent Hill). But I don’t want the show to become just a platform to promote whatever Marvel movie is coming out that week. Hmm. Stark’s a celebrity, and Thor doesn’t use a mask – but would someone like the new guy ever have seen the face of Steve Rogers? Just imagine Captain America briefly showing up to go unrecognized in civvies: square-jawed and built like an NFL safety, sure, but only ever meeting folks who can’t recall what they never knew… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/123 "2013-09-26T16:17:58Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > When Skye told them they couldn’t break her encryption because it was tied to the GPS in the van, so they had to bring it back to where she had it parked, I was expecting and hoping that Coulson would have said “Hang on a minute”, got on the phone, and had entire GPS satellite constellation reprogrammed. Just as a little “We’re SHIELD. We have powers you haven’t even dreamed of” moment. That would have been AWESOME!!! 😃 > [@Czarcasm](#): > > [What Jim Steranko thought of the show.](http://www.newsarama.com/19028-jim-steranko-slams-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-premiere.html) > Hoo boy! I reject his review as missing the point. > [@Telemark](#): > > Actually, this was one of my peeves with the episode. The “He must never know” bit was too cliche, too trite, too predictable for my tastes. I would have preferred more subtlety or just ignore the issue for now. No need to throw that in the pilot. “He must never know” followed by his finding out one episode later - I have enough faith in Joss to think that he won’t go that clichéd route, but he is on network tv, and they do love to spell things out and highlight them and put flashing neon signs around things for the audience that they so completely underestimate. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/124 "2013-09-26T16:26:27Z")
First off, many thanks to ABC for making it possible for me to catch a Whedon pilot in the same week that it acually piloted! And the online version doesn’t even have commercials!!! That was classy. Wild and crazy Whedon fan-girl dancing ensues. Ok. Now some actual thoughts. I think FitzSimmons are the Merry and Pippen of the group = purposefully young and slightly idiotic, very earnest, but totally clueless. That makes the “older” (god I wish I could look like that in 20-odd years) team-members more accessible, because we feel for them babysitting the younguns. I see Skye ending up in the young and naive camp also. Ming Na was awesome. I like her a lot. I also hope Shepard gets a little more to do in the future (is he even a regular?) Coulson is marvelous, but he needs a few more “point” expressions than the cheesy-yet-knowing grin. Not that it’s a bad expression, mind, just that he used it approximately a bajillion times in that pilot. I think swordy-poo has great potential for the straight-man. His expressions during the truth-serum scene were really good. “blah blah blah revelation revelation and damn this stuff works fast!” I have no opinions on Luke Cage, but I do hope that the Hooded Hero comes back after he’s been appropriately stabilized and rehabilitated. He’s a really good actor, and I thought he did a great job in a role that could have gone really melodramatic and cheesy really quickly. I see a lot of Dollhouse here, and a good bit of Dr Horrible, just in the pacing and the staging, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I do think they had a pretty good budget and used it well - there weren’t any great amazing bits, but it was a tech-and-effects heavy pilot, and I thought all the visuals were very solid. Does anyone know if ABC will continue to show episodes on the internet as they come out? ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/125 "2013-09-26T16:37:51Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > When Skye told them they couldn’t break her encryption because it was tied to the GPS in the van, so they had to bring it back to where she had it parked, I was expecting and hoping that Coulson would have said “Hang on a minute”, got on the phone, and had entire GPS satellite constellation reprogrammed. Just as a little “We’re SHIELD. We have powers you haven’t even dreamed of” moment. I got scolded for calling out, “You already have the van in a big metal box. Why don’t you just use a simulator to spoof the signals.” Even I have access to the equipment to do it. And that’s assuming you can’t just fake the communication between the GPS receiver and the computer because she built the receiver herself or something. ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/126 "2013-09-26T16:43:10Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > I think swordy-poo has great potential for the straight-man. His expressions during the truth-serum scene were really good. “blah blah blah **revelation revelation** and damn this stuff works fast!” Heh. Not so much a truth-serum as an exposition-serum. ---
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/127 "2013-09-26T16:47:32Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Maybe it’s because I’m playing through the games again, but Fitz and Simmons reminded me a lot of Donnelly and Daniels, the ship engineers from Mass Effect 2 and 3. That is exactly who I thought of immediately, and I haven’t played the game in ages. ---
**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 26, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/128 "2013-09-26T17:04:06Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > I have no opinions on Luke Cage, but I do hope that the Hooded Hero comes back after he’s been appropriately stabilized and rehabilitated. He’s a really good actor, and I thought he did a great job in a role that could have gone really melodramatic and cheesy really quickly. I don’t think this is going to happen. I’m reminded of the pilot episode of _My Name Is Earl_. There was a character named Sonny in the episode. And viewers assumed he would be a regular ongoing character in the show because he had a relatively significant part in that episode - as much as Catalina or Crabman did. But as it turned out, he was not intended as a regular character. Two years later, they did bring him back for another episode and lampshaded the fact that his first appearance had confused viewers. My point is that I don’t think they were introducing J. August Richards as a regular character. He was a guest star of the week who happened to appear in the first week. ---
**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 26, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/129 "2013-09-26T17:08:18Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > I think FitzSimmons are the Merry and Pippen of the group = purposefully young and slightly idiotic, very earnest, but totally clueless. That makes the “older” (god I wish I could look like that in 20-odd years) team-members more accessible, because we feel for them babysitting the younguns. I see Skye ending up in the young and naive camp also. The big problem with the guy part of the duo was that his Welsh (? Scottish? Irish?) accent was utterly incomprehensible to me. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/130 "2013-09-26T17:48:41Z")
Am I the only one that thought the British girl looked exactly like a young Jennifer Garner, and the hacker girl looked exactly like a young Alyssa Milano? I mean, _exactly_. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/131 "2013-09-26T17:50:22Z")
I trust Joss to play the long game. Pilots are, by necessity, flesh-out TV. They can’t imagine that viewers will know backstory. It’s introducing the characters, the setting, the universe. I trust Joss to tell his story. StG ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/132 "2013-09-26T17:53:23Z")
Does anyone else follow Clark Gregg on Twitter? He says the second episode will be “siick.” 🆒 > [@amarinth](#): > > 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. > [@Tanbarkie](#): > > I’m coming at this whole thing as someone who loves the Marvel universe films, and who is a longtime fan of the Whedons, but has never read a comic book in his life, so I’m curious to see how my experience varies from those of you who are better versed in the comic book lore. Ditto to both of the above. > [@Lasciel](#): > > I think FitzSimmons are the Merry and Pippen of the group = purposefully young and slightly idiotic, very earnest, but totally clueless. I don’t get a “slightly idiotic” vibe at all: I get a “young genuises with underdeveloped social skills” vibe. 🙂 > [@Fenris](#): > > The big problem with the guy part of the duo was that his Welsh (? Scottish? Irish?) accent was utterly incomprehensible to me. Scottish: the actor ([Iain De Casetecker](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0207691/?ref_=tt_cl_t5)) was born in Scotland. …when I was in high school. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/133 "2013-09-26T18:55:09Z")
Overall I liked it, though it was mostly a plot-less cast introduction, but that’s high praise for any pilot episode. Is this the first time that Joss Whedon has _ever_ cast an older female character? A real character I mean–Buffy’s mom was obligatory window trimming. I have good feelings for the turning the “I’m getting too old for this shit” trope into a kick-ass female role. Mac 'n Tosh didn’t grab me. The overtalk bantering was nonsensical and there wasn’t the slightest bit of character to the two. But I can forgive this for now as just playing the ‘pilot’ card to get the obligatory stage walk-ons out of the way. Agent Hunky-O-7 has promise. Joss is able to bring character and acting range forth from the bland Sears catalog models that casting agents foist on us (i.e. Angel) and he was already showing signs of character. Giada Dela-hacker wasn’t believable to me so far, I’m hoping there’s a back-story for how a Stark-level genius is living…in a van…down by the river…maybe she’s Doctor Octopus’ orphaned daughter or something. Agent Coulson is a great centerpiece to pivot around, I can’t wait to see his development. ---
**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 26, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/134 "2013-09-26T18:59:23Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Is this the first time that Joss Whedon has _ever_ cast an older female character? A real character I mean–Buffy’s mom was obligatory window trimming. Well, Darla and Dru were both several hundred years old. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/135 "2013-09-26T19:05:08Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > …hoping there’s a back-story for how a Stark-level genius is living…in a van…down by the river… This. I almost wriggled in my seat, just _knowing_ they were going to continue that line all the way. Ah well. And I’m old for this wriggling shite. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/136 "2013-09-26T19:26:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > My point is that I don’t think they were introducing J. August Richards as a regular character. He was a guest star of the week who happened to appear in the first week. That’s sad. I knew he was a guest, but he was REALLY solid - I think he’d be a very good recurring guest… like Q on Star Trek Next Generation was. Maybe if fans are vocal enough, he might come back every once and again. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/137 "2013-09-26T19:28:25Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Ah. Well, Iron First is by no means a top-tier Marvel hero, so maybe they could include him… its weird how characters come and go. When I was collecting comics back in the 90’s, they were constantly reviving characters like Ghost Rider and Deathlok, who had been dormant for a number of years, and they were really popular. Characters like Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Spider Woman were all very much second string. Now, Cage, Iron Fist and Spider Woman seem to be massive in Marvel again, where as several characters invented or massive in the 90’s seem to have mostly disappeared (Although the 90’s was a bit of a weird decade for comic books, so maybe this doesn’t happen all the time) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/138 "2013-09-26T20:12:52Z")
It’s happened about 8 million times in comics. A writer creates a character. The next writer to come along isn’t interested, and the character suffers. After a few years another writer comes along with a crush on that character. The character gets invigorated, maybe even a total remake. But writers never stay and the next umpteen writers don’t have the same take. Rinse, repeat, repeat again. Comics may be a visual medium but the characters are always writer-driven. Sean Howe’s [Marvel Comics: The Untold Story](http://www.amazon.com/Marvel-Comics-The-Untold-Story/dp/0061992100) is a good source for such stories. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/139 "2013-09-26T21:54:49Z")
Because writers want to write the characters they read as kids. That’s why the terrible ideas of the 90s are coming back. That generation are now the editors, writers and artists. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608/140 "2013-09-26T23:27:21Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It’s happened about 8 million times in comics. A writer creates a character. The next writer to come along isn’t interested, and the character suffers. After a few years another writer comes along with a crush on that character. The character gets invigorated, maybe even a total remake. **But writers never stay** and the next umpteen writers don’t have the same take. Rinse, repeat, repeat again. Comics may be a visual medium but the characters are always writer-driven. I’d edit that to “then the writer gets bumped up.” It’s sort of a farm system - unproven writers are dumped on weak-selling characters/titles, and if/when they reinvigorate them they’re moved to one of the flagship books, or go to DC. The X-men were given to Claremont and Byrne after the book was dropped to bi-monthly due to poor sales; Daredevil was in similar straits before Miller. But yeah, sometimes you get a writer that _wants_ an obscure character, and does great things. The only comics I still own are Denny O’Neil’s three-year run on “The Question” and Grell’s stint on “Green Arrow.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-agents-of-shield/669608.md?page=8)