[TV] Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

[Kalcheus]

I'm pretty sure the captioning called him Mace

[Lucetia]

As for why Coulson stepped down?
He was in the mix too much during the rise of Hydra, so whether his negligence contributed, he was somehow complicit in some way, or even if it's just PR, it's bad news keeping him at the head. They're trying to start SHIELD over with as much of a new leaf as possible, from the top down at least. Coulson also pretty much insisted, because he's political enough to understand all that. It's quite possible he just enjoys being a team lead much more than the full head of SHIELD.

Eh, that doesn't resemble really anything mentioned in the episode though. Jefferey gives the exact reasoning why Coulson isn't at the head anymore.

[Endus]

Eh, that doesn't resemble really anything mentioned in the episode though. Jefferey gives the exact reasoning why Coulson isn't at the head anymore.

The exchange in question went like this, taken from a transcript online;

Jeffrey: When you stepped down, you told the President you didn't want to be the face of the Agency. For a whole host of reasons. And you said we needed a new face. And now that Steve Rogers went AWOL, you wanted a hero.
Coulson: I said the new Director should be a powered person the public could trust. And they came up with you.

Don't really see that I'm all that far off. I'm just reading into the events of the past couple years as motivation, since they're what led up to that.

[Poppincaps]

He's also dead to the public, so they'd have to answer a lot of questions about how exactly he's still alive.

[Khime]

I may need to rewatch it, but at the end did I actually see May strapped down in a quinjet along with the now nervous-looking congresspeople from the tour? An agent potentially infected with a contagion not in any kind of isolation? Does this imply that, among other things, the "tour" was not what it seemed either, and was just smoke-and-mirrors to distract Coulson?

[Deleted]

I'm pretty sure the captioning called him Mace

The subtitles called him that.

[Kalcheus]

He's also dead to the public, so they'd have to answer a lot of questions about how exactly he's still alive.

Most of the public didn't know Coulson. If he's giving congresspeople tours without comment, revealing he's alive would only piss off Tony (Pepper and Thor would be happy; Steve relieved)

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I may need to rewatch it, but at the end did I actually see May strapped down in a quinjet along with the now nervous-looking congresspeople from the tour? An agent potentially infected with a contagion not in any kind of isolation? Does this imply that, among other things, the "tour" was not what it seemed either, and was just smoke-and-mirrors to distract Coulson?

I didn't get that either; deception seems an odd choice because it's not like Coulson doesn't know how to google congresspeople. Maybe it was May's team?

[Sorshen]

This season is probably based on the teamup of Darkhold Redeemers, Ghost Rider & Doctor Strange versus Chthon and his Darkhold (with a possibility for vampires and other undead). Opportunities for references to Doctor Strange movie that's coming out soon.

[Endus]

I seriously doubt they'll drop Strange in anything other than an offhand reference, and more likely a reference to something tangential, like Dormammu. Especially since I think we're getting Strange's origin, in the film, not "I've been doing this for 30 years" Strange.

I think it's more of an "oh, btw, mystical crap is part of Marvel too, it's not all science" season. It works as prep for Doctor Strange, so he doesn't blindside people by using actual magic, but it's more about expanding the limits of the setting to prepare for that.

[Aeriel]

I seriously doubt they'll drop Strange in anything other than an offhand reference, and more likely a reference to something tangential, like Dormammu. Especially since I think we're getting Strange's origin, in the film, not "I've been doing this for 30 years" Strange.

I think it's more of an "oh, btw, mystical crap is part of Marvel too, it's not all science" season. It works as prep for Doctor Strange, so he doesn't blindside people by using actual magic, but it's more about expanding the limits of the setting to prepare for that.

Captain America 2 makes it clear that Dr. Strange has been practicing for some time now. They would not have to worry about Dr. Strange backstory given that he had a SHIELD/HYDRA file from when SHIELD was originally operational. The movie would be the backstory, but the show can still incorporate him.

I can understand why Cumberbatch himself would not appear in SHIELD, but someone like Wong, Nicodemus West, Baron Mordo, or Christine Palmer (listed from most to least likely) making a cameo would not be out of place.

[Kalcheus]

Captain America 2 makes it clear that Dr. Strange has been practicing for some time now. They would not have to worry about Dr. Strange backstory given that he had a SHIELD/HYDRA file from when SHIELD was originally operational. The movie would be the backstory, but the show can still incorporate him.

Insight identified people who could be a problem, not already were.

[Aeriel]

Steven Strange the surgeon would have no reason to be under observation. Steven Strange Sorcerer Supreme would. As for the HYDRA "could be a problem," Dr. Strange mostly stayed out of human affairs up until the Illuminati was revealed. He was not a problem for HYDRA as their interests were not in line with anything that would warrant Dr. Strange's attention, yet.

The Cosmic Cubes would fit into his realm. However, if his Ascension happened around the time of Avengers I, then the Cosmic Cube would have left Earth.

[Khime]

I didn't get that either; deception seems an odd choice because it's not like Coulson doesn't know how to google congresspeople. Maybe it was May's team?

I just re-checked, and while it's a group of people in suits, it wasn't anyone who was on the tour, nor was it anyone on May's strike team in plainclothes. No idea who those people are.

[Sorshen]

Steven Strange the surgeon would have no reason to be under observation. Steven Strange Sorcerer Supreme would. As for the HYDRA "could be a problem," Dr. Strange mostly stayed out of human affairs up until the Illuminati was revealed. He was not a problem for HYDRA as their interests were not in line with anything that would warrant Dr. Strange's attention, yet.

The Cosmic Cubes would fit into his realm. However, if his Ascension happened around the time of Avengers I, then the Cosmic Cube would have left Earth.

Isn't the Eye of Agamotto supposed to be an Infinity Gem (Time) in the MCU?

[Aeriel]

It wouldn't surprise me, but The Eye fits the powers of the Soul Gem more. Plus Strange had the use of the Soul Gem in the comics, not Time. Honestly, I would rather it not be an Infinity Stone though. Using Guardians as the method to find the Time Stone to keep it away from Thanos would fit their story, whereas The Eye being Time is just trying to make everything fit a little too much.

[Endus]

It wouldn't surprise me, but The Eye fits the powers of the Soul Gem more. Plus Strange had the use of the Soul Gem in the comics, not Time. Honestly, I would rather it not be an Infinity Stone though. Using Guardians as the method to find the Time Stone to keep it away from Thanos would fit their story, whereas The Eye being Time is just trying to make everything fit a little too much.

To riposte for the sake of discussion, the entire MCU is a single interconnected story, and that story is the Infinity Gems. After the first few films, which determined that the MCU could be a "thing", they start weaving in the gems. The only real exception was Ant-man. We've seen 4 of them so far, which means we've got two to go, and only 5 more films before Infinity War. It's unlikely that Spider-Man: Homecoming will involve them, and GOG2 will probably revolve around the Orb they've already got, and who knows what'll go on with Thor: Ragnarok. I expect we'll see one gem in Doctor Strange, and we'll either get the last with Black Panther, or it'll turn out Thanos already has one. It may be in Ragnarok, too, but Thor's been particularly "busy" and that might be a bit much.

[Aeriel]

Well, Adam Warlock is the Soul Gem, and has been "seen" in Guardians. Plus, if they follow the comics, he and his will not appear until Thanos has already collected at least one stone. Ragnarok will likely involve Thanos acquiring the glove, since it was seen in Odin's Vault.

The Eye is its own Cosmic item. Turning it into the Time Stone makes sense, but seems too easy since it technically comes from another dimension.

[Khime]

Well, Adam Warlock is the Soul Gem, and has been "seen" in Guardians. Plus, if they follow the comics, he and his will not appear until Thanos has already collected at least one stone. Ragnarok will likely involve Thanos acquiring the glove, since it was seen in Odin's Vault.

The Eye is its own Cosmic item. Turning it into the Time Stone makes sense, but seems too easy since it technically comes from another dimension.

At the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, we already saw Thanos acquiring the glove, and it wasn't the one in Odin's vault. Kevin Feige has already said that there are two different gloves in the MCU, so that significantly reduces the chances of Thanos showing up in Ragnarok. Also, GotG director James Gunn has said that Adam Warlock's cocoon was in the Collector's collection because he went through a Marvel handbook and just "picked cool things that looked neat to put into the boxes", and it wasn't intended to be a hint about Adam Warlock making an appearance (but he could be lying, of course).

As for following the comics, we've already had a major change made in having the Vision's origin be tied to an Infinity Stone. This means we now already have an angelic, flying, super-powerful, artificially-created character with an Infinity Stone in his head in the MCU, so it's seeming unlikely that they'll introduce another one in the form of Adam Warlock at this stage. Changing the origin of the Eye would be just one more alteration from Earth-616 and the MCU, and it would also give Doctor Strange a more concrete tie to Infinity War.

[Aeriel]

Adam Warlock's cocoon was first seen at the end of the Avengers. At the end of GotG it was shown in its hatched state. Gunn's comment, if real, makes no sense when it was first seen before he was hired, and was used twice in completely different states in his movie.

Dr. Strange does not need additional tie-ins to Infinity War beyond his nature. The Sorcerer Supreme is the defender of Earth from forces Cosmic, magical, and extra-dimensional. The Infinity Stones kind of fit all three of those categories. But it may be best to agree to disagree on this one.

It just makes more sense, to me, to have Guardians be the lead-in to the remaining stone(s), particularly with how they wrote Star-Lord as being descended from an Eternal or similar. That's ignoring that they know what the stones actually are, and that Thanos wants them.

[Khime]

Adam Warlock's cocoon was first seen at the end of the Avengers. At the end of GotG it was shown in its hatched state. Gunn's comment, if real, makes no sense when it was first seen before he was hired, and was used twice in completely different states in his movie.

The cocoon was first seen at the end of Thor: The Dark World, in a mid-credits scene directed by... James Gunn. So when he was talking about including that cocoon in the set, he was referring to its first appearance as well as it's follow-up in GotG.