ComicUI’s Secrets of SHIELD – part 2

Welcome to Level 7. We’re still watching Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. No joke, its only getting better and we feel its time to revisit those early episodes and give you the lowdown of how they relate to the bigger Marvel Universe.

In this series, we’ll be looking into Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD subtle references every week as they relate to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. We will be updating this as each episode airs and other instances come to light. Feel free to let us know if we miss any Secrets of SHIELD along the way, we’d love to have the most complete list available by the time the series hits home release.

**Please not these secrets may contain SPOILERS for the episodes. You have been warned.**

Head back and Read Part 1 of ComicUI’s Secrets of SHIELD and tune in as we come back and release more.

Secrets of SHIELD Part 2 – Episodes 6-10 

Episode 6 – “F.Z.Z.T.”

1. Like every other episode, Coulson talks about being ‘poked’ and dying from the Avengers film. Again, it seems like this will be the never ending reference.

2. Sky also refers to  Captain America as “The Dude,” as from the Lebowski. Fun exterior reference as well.

3. Also, this episode has focused HEAVILY on a Chitauri helmet, causing all the havoc. So we get to see some more Chituari props and learn a bit about their physiology.

4. This episode had the return of Agent Blake to the Marvel Universe. He was first featured in the Marvel One-Shot “Item 47” that picked up after the Avengers film. He was giving Agent Sitwell his orders to track down the fugitives with the Chitauri Device.

5. FitzSimmons mentions they used to work for Sci-Ops which sounds like Psy-Ops, a division of SHIELD in the comics that handles psychic and telekinetic powered people. Although the two previously mentioned there is no evidence of Psionics in the Marvel Universe, this division may prove that to be a lie.

6. Lastly, Coulson says he has too much iron in his blood…but don’t call him Iron Man. Insert audible groan here. 

Episode 7 – “The Hub”

1. The big one is mentioned here, in the terms of SHIELD buildings. They specifically mention the Triskelion, SHIELD’s homebase in the Marvel Ultimate Universe. They house villains here, the headquarters, and tends to be blown up on the monthly. The beauty of this statement is that the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier film will give us a look at the building and it’s innerworkings.

2. Agent Sitwell comes back into play during this episode as well. First shown as another SHIELD agent aside Agent Coulson in Thor, Sitwell has appeared in several Marvel One-Shots and The Avengers as well, cementing his place within the universe.

3. Victoria Hand is also given a real world appearance in this episode as well. Hand was created during the Dark Reign storyline to be the right hand of Norman Osborn when he took over SHIELD after Secret Invasion. She comes across as cold, calculative, and a bitch in the comics, as well as the show.

4. The Overkill Device that we see the team trying to recover/destroy in the episode is based on the Overkill Horn from the Marvel comic books. It has the same abilities but can also destroy any substance, including adamantium in the comic version.

5. Sky tells Coulson he is acting like a ‘robot version of himself’ which references LMD’s. Its good that Life Model Decoys get another throwaway in this episode as well. First brought up at the beginning of the Avengers, we all have been assuming the resurrected Coulson is a LMD but we don’t know at this point. LMD’s have also been a staple for Nick Fury during his comic tenure.

6. Lastly, we get to see a miniature Tardis in this episode in Fitz’s bunk! Any Doctor Who fan would love that reference even if just for a second.

Episode 8 – “The Well”

1. This episode picks up right after Thor: The Dark World, even using clips from the recently released movie in the opening sequence.

2. In The Well, we get a throwback to Asgardians again, which are now perceived as ancient aliens rather than gods. We’ve heard about a lot of the science/techy super heroes in the series thus far, but its great to see Asgard get a bone.

3. Which brings me back to the first point, this whole episode is in response to the actions of Thor: The Dark World movie. The cleanup, the location, everything is from that movie. We finally get to see how the bigger stories play into this series as well.

4. Not important to the larger Marvel world, per se, but interesting, is the use of the Norse runes on the park sign. Runes are always a sign of Asgardian mischief in Marvel.

5. Simmons throws out a Chitauri reference, again reminding us that weird aliens exist.

6. Moments later, Fitz references the energy reading from Thor’s hammer, meaning that cool, awesome aliens also are out there!

7. This is also the first time we’ve met an Asgardian outside of the Thor films.

8. We also find out the Bus’s interrogation room is lined with vibranium, which is what Captain America’s shield is made out of. Vibranium also comes from the fictional nation of Wakanda, home of the Black Panther.

9. Lastly, in a throwaway line, Coulson mentions Portland has a great philharmonic orchestra, a reference to his cellist girlfriend first discovered in The Avengers film.

Episode 9 – “Repairs”

1. The gas station at the beginning of the episode is Roxxon. We’ve seen a lot of smaller Marvel corporations and businesses get mentions over the past few movies, but none as much as Roxxon. We’ve seen Roxxon appear in all 3 Iron Man films and the Marvel One-Shot “Something Funny Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer” as well. Roxxon is an energy corporation in the mainstream Marvel universe but also been antagonistic along the way. In the Ultimate Universe, Roxxon has been attempting to copy heroes and powers, specifically Spider-Man along the way.

2. Telekinetics are also confirmed of not existing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe…yet.

3. Fitz states that Tobias is trapped somewhere between Earth and “hell.” This could be a reference to hell in terms of Thor: The Dark World, which is technically Muspelheim, the realm of the dead ruled over by Hela often referred to as ‘Hel.” And with The Dark World showing how realms cross over, it could be actually Hel.

4. Coulson uses SHIELD 616 for the call sign again. That number shows up a lot…

5. Agent Coulson’s lock removing mechanism shows up again! He says that only 20 were made, meaning their use is limited.

6. The scrabble board in this episode had the words ‘espionage,’ ‘strange,’ ‘tales,’ and ‘zodiac.’ Strange Tales was the title of the Marvel series where Nick Fury and SHIELD first appeared. The Zodiac is a villain organization that uses the signs of the zodiac to commit crimes? I’m not sure the full details here, but just know that the Marvel One-Shot “Agent Carter” included the Zodiac as the main villain, leading them on to be something bigger than we currently know.

Episode 10 – “The Bridge”

1. There were no noticeable references to the larger Marvel universe or comic books tonight. Which is good, since it was the big mid-season point that focused more on character.

2. A few small references are when Peterson is trying to beat Captain America’s time for pushing a bulldozer. Didn’t know he did that.

3. This episode refers back to the pilot heavily. Especially Mike Peterson’s condition and powers, especially the extremis in his centipede attachment.

4. Coulson talks about his death and how he lost his cellist, especially her part in the orchestra. He also alludes to the Avengers now knowing he’s not dead, so perhaps the charade is over?

5. Peterson refers to the Avengers as ‘the heroes of New York.” A suitable name for the city to call them, since the avenging bit was created by Tony Stark over Coulson’s death.