10 Great Marvel Characters Failed By Agents of SHIELD

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Many comic characters, and some original characters, were made much more important in Agents of SHIELD, but, unfortunately, the Marvel Television series also wasted several others who have more prominence in Marvel Comics. Agents of SHIELD, despite not being canon to the MCU, explored the ground-level stories of Clark Gregg’s Phil Coulson and his SHIELD team following his resurrection after 2012’s The Avengers. Agents of SHIELD ran for seven seasons between 2013 and 2020, and introduced dozens of Marvel Comics characters that the MCU otherwise avoided into live-action.

While Agents of SHIELD began its release as a very popular installment in the MCU timeline, over the years, viewership dwindled, and the series became more and more separated from Marvel Studios’ main continuity. Now, Agents of SHIELD is not considered canon to the MCU, which could allow some of its failed Marvel characters to get new life and be handled better in the MCU proper. This includes some iconic names such as Patriot, Deathlok and even Ghost Rider, all of whom Agents of SHIELD could have explored more faithfully to their Marvel Comics roots.

10

Victoria Hand

Saffron Burrows Played Victoria Hand In Agents Of SHIELD

Victoria Hand played a key role in Agents of SHIELD season 1 as a high-ranking member of the titular secret intelligence organization, played by Saffron Burrows. She briefly worked alongside Phil Coulson and his team to research and hunt down the enigmatic Clairvoyant, but was unceremoniously killed by Grant Ward during the HYDRA uprising, which coincided with the events of 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Victoria Hand had a much larger role in Marvel Comics following her debut in 2008’s The Invincible Iron Man #8.

Originally a SHIELD accountant, Victoria Hand was promoted to Deputy Director of HAMMER by Norman Osborn after the Secret Invasion storyline. This was due to her vocal opposition to Nick Fury and Tony Stark, and she supported the implementation of the Dark Avengers. Hand was a huge part of HAMMER’s activities during the 2010’s Siege event, though her allegiance soon shifted to ally with Steve Rogers’ Captain America. This prominence was completely lost in Agents of SHIELD, which killed off Victoria Hand before she had the opportunity to become anyone memorable.

9

Kara Lynn Palamas’ Agent 33

Maya Stojan Played Kara Lynn Palamas In Agents Of SHIELD

Dubbed Agent 33 during her time with SHIELD, Maya Stojan’s Kara Lynn Palamas was quickly brainwashed by HYDRA leader Daniel Whitehall in Agents of SHIELD, and allied herself with Grant Ward after Whitehall’s death. She was little more than a minor, insignificant character who played no major role in any grand-scale storyline, which was a huge departure from her Marvel Comics roots. In the comics, Palamas was a researcher and historian whose studies into the Olympian Gods made her an expert in her field when they started to emerge as new superheroes.

Palamas became an agent of SHIELD as an ancient history and mythology expert, accommodating the arrival of Gods as heroes on Earth. In Marvel Comics, Agent 33 interacted with the likes of Ares, Tharamus, Thor and Hercules, but later became a mercenary using stolen Stark technology. This complex history and her connection to some of Marvel’s most powerful heroes was completely omitted from Agents of SHIELD, which transformed Agent 33 into nothing more than Grant Ward’s love interest, only battling her own trauma and identity crisis.

8

Jeffrey Mace’s Patriot

Jason O’Mara Played Jeffrey Mace In Agents Of SHIELD

Jeffrey Mace was introduced in Agents of SHIELD season 4 as the new Director of SHIELD, spearheading the return of the organization’s public identity. He debuted as the super-strong Inhuman known as Patriot, but this was revealed to have been faked, turning Jeffrey Mace into a joke character in Agents of SHIELD, whereas his Marvel Comics counterpart was far more important. In the comics, Mace was a journalist for the Daily Bugle who fought during World War II as Patriot, one of Marvel Comics’ original superheroes back in 1941’s Human Torch Comics #4.

A 1976 storyline in Marvel Comics retroactively revealed that Jeffrey Mace had also become the third Captain America, following in the footsteps of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. It would have been fantastic to see Agents of SHIELD explore this period of Marvel’s live-action history and implant Jason O’Mara’s Jeffrey Mace as a secret version of Captain America, but the Marvel Television series negated to include this aspect of his character. It was a shame to see one of Marvel Comics’ oldest heroes treated this way.

7

Graviton

Adrian Pasdar Played Glenn Talbot In Agents Of SHIELD

While many characters dabbled with Gravitonium in Agents of SHIELD, it was Adrian Pasdar’s former high-ranking United States Air Force officer Glenn Talbot who eventually became Graviton. The decision to make Talbot Graviton was a controversial and confusing one, especially since he had been a key figure, minor antagonist and sometimes ally to Phil Coulson’s team from the very beginning of Agents of SHIELD. Talbot perhaps shouldn’t have become Graviton, as this could have allowed the supervillain to get a more comic-accurate depiction in the Marvel Television series.

In Marvel Comics, it’s Canadian physicist Franklin Hall who becomes Graviton after graviton particles are merged with his own molecules. This gives him the ability to manipulate gravity, which would have been a far more impressive power to see in Agents of SHIELD than watching Glenn Talbot absorb poorly-animated liquid. Graviton is a long-running villain in the comics, and is particularly associated with AIM, which could have used more development in Agents of SHIELD. It would be great to see a more faithful Graviton adapted for the MCU proper.

6

Flint

Coy Stewart Played Flint In Agents Of SHIELD

Coy Stewart’s Flint played a key role inthe alternate future of Agents of SHIELD season 5, where he helped the SHIELD team after they were sent to a future version of the Lighthouse. He was later revealed to be an Inhuman, and he gained geologic manipulation powers after undergoing Terrigenesis. This followed Flint’s Marvel Comics trajectory fairly closely, though several changes were made. In Marvel Comics, Flint is named Jaycen, and has many more powers that Agents of SHIELD never even came close to exploring, so Flint could have been far more prominent in live-action.

As an Inhuman, Jaycen joined those in New Attilan in Marvel Comics, and was crucial to the development of the Inhuman community on Earth. He demonstrated more abilities, such as being able to harness rocks as armor, using the earth beneath him to fly and transform his body into crystalline materials. Flint in Agents of SHIELD could manipulate rocks, but never really got the chance to show off some of his more cinematic, exhilarating and impressive superpowers, which meant that he didn’t receive the popularity he perhaps should have.

5

Carl Creel’s Absorbing Man

Brian Patrick Wade Played Carl Creel In Agents Of SHIELD

Brian Patrick Wade’s Carl Creel appeared in nine episodes of Agents of SHIELD, and had a more memorable role than most minor characters. However, the series never tapped into what made the Absorbing Man so interesting in Marvel Comics, and never explored his wider connections to other MCU characters, such as Daredevil. It was a shame that Marvel Television never explored these other sides of Carl Creel, instead depicting him only as a HYDRA soldier and later as the bodyguard and victim of Glenn Talbot. The Absorbing Man deserves redemption in the MCU.

Marvel Studios has the perfect opportunity to reimagine Carl Creel in the MCU proper, as he was the boxer who fought “Battlin’ Jack” Murdock, Matt Murdock’s father, in the fight that led to Murdock’s demise. While it was a HYDRA experiment that gave him powers in Agents of SHIELD, it was actually Loki who gave Creel a mystical potion in Marvel Comics. Agents of SHIELD only teased Creel’s evolution into an antihero, which is a huge part of his comic transformation, but Daredevil: Born Again and subsequent Daredevil-centric projects can make the Absorbing Man more notable.

4

Calvin Zabo’s Mister Hyde

Kyle MacLachlan Played Calvin Zabo In Agents Of SHIELD

Calvin Zabo’s introduction to Agents of SHIELD was exciting, especially since this marked the beginning of the series explaining who Chloe Bennet’s Skye was: Daisy Johnson, the Inhuman known as Quake. Even so, Kyle MacLachlan never tapped into what made Mister Hyde such a terrifying character in Marvel Comics. Agents of SHIELD made him much too sympathetic, and even ended with him being something of a hero, killing Jiaying to protect his daughter, Daisy, and subsequently having his mind wiped to live a normal life, which was a far-cry from his roots as a supervillain in Marvel Comics.

Agents of SHIELD neglected to bring Calvin Zabo’s proper Mister Hyde form into live-action, instead going for a more dulled-down, realistic form of the villain, where he should have been transformed into a Hulk-like creature. He was far stronger in the comics, too, allowing him to take up a career as a professional supervillain and a long-running enemy to Thor. Since he debuted back in 1963’s Journey into Mystery #99, Mister Hyde is one of Marvel’s longest-running villains, so it was a dire shame that Agents of SHIELD didn’t introduce him into live-action to his full potential.

3

Deathlok

J. August Richards Played Mike Peterson In Agents Of SHIELD

Mike Peterson became the villainous Deathlok cyborg over the duration of Agents of SHIELD season 1, which could have set him up to have a major role throughout the entire season. This wasn’t the case, however, as the iconic supervillain was quickly transformed into a hero, and then only made brief appearances in seasons 2 and 5. Deathlok is a mantle taken on by many other characters in Marvel Comics, dating all the way back to Luther Manning in 1974’s Astonishing Tales #25, but these varying identities were not explored in Agents of SHIELD.

In Marvel Comics, Deathlok is typically the resurrected form of dead characters who are brought back with cybernetic enhancements. These characters have seldom been villainous, so it was interesting that Agents of SHIELD depicted Mike Peterson’s Deathlok primarily as a villain, until his later appearances. It would be great to see Marvel Studios introduce new iterations of Deathlok and kick-start a new legacy for the interesting comic character in live-action. During a 2021 interview with Heroic Hollywood, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s Malcolm Spellman expressed interest in bringing a new Deathlok into the MCU, so this could easily happen.

2

Robbie Reyes’ Ghost Rider

Gabriel Luna Played Robbie Reyes In Agents Of SHIELD

Ghost Rider is one of Marvel’s most iconic, powerful and beloved characters, but Gabriel Luna’s Robbie Reyes only appeared as Ghost Rider for one season of Agents of SHIELD. Season 4 saw Reyes team up with Daisy Johnson and the SHIELD team to battle Lucy Bauer, Eli Morrow and the knowledge held within the Darkhold. The fact that Robbie Reyes only appeared in one season of Agents of SHIELD meant that he didn’t have nearly enough time to grow into the iconic comic character that Marvel fans know and love, the fifth Ghost Rider.

Robbie Reyes’ Agents of SHIELD history is fairly faithful to his story in Marvel Comics, though there are some key changes. Perhaps the biggest alterations came later in his career, however, as Reyes’ Ghost Rider became a member of a Ghost Riders team and even an Avenger, which was not explored in Agents of SHIELD. Gabriel Luna did a great job at bringing Robbie Reyes to life in Agents of SHIELD, but there was so much potential with the character that Luna and the Marvel Television series did not explore.

1

Johnny Blaze’s Ghost Rider

Tom McComas Played Johnny Blaze In Agents Of SHIELD

Robbie Reyes was the more prominent version of Ghost Rider depicted in Agents of SHIELD, but you’d be forgiven for forgetting that his legendary predecessor, Johnny Blaze, also actually appeared in the Marvel Television series. Johnny Blaze’s Ghost Rider appeared after Robbie and Gabe Reyes’ accident and brought Robbie back to life by handing over the Spirit of Vengeance. Johnny Blaze wasn’t named, due to rights issues, but the bullet wound in his skull referenced Blaze being shot by a priest with a holy bullet in 2006’s Ghost Rider (Vol. 5) #5.

Johnny Blaze’s brief cameo appearance in Agents of SHIELD did not do the notable Marvel antihero justice in live-action. Tom McComas wasn’t able to live up to the standard set by Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze in the eponymous 2007 movie and its 2011 sequel. Blaze has been heavily rumored to be debuting in the MCU proper soon, especially with Marvel Studios seemingly setting up the Midnight Sons. This will allow Johnny Blaze’s Ghost Rider to finally have a pivotal role among Marvel’s heroes in the MCU – an opportunity that Agents of SHIELD​​​​​​​ wasted.

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