So ABC is “officially” moving forward with Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Of course, there are some impressions I have off of the official announcement, the name of the show, the makeup of the team, and a few other impressions.
Is Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. a good enough representation?
First, the official announcement if you have not read it yet:
Clark Gregg reprises his role of Agent Phil Coulson from Marvel’s feature films as he assembles a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Together they investigate the new, the strange, and the unknown across the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary. Coulson’s team consists of Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), highly trained in combat and espionage, Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) expert pilot and martial artist, Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker); brilliant engineer and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) genius bio-chemist. Joining them on their journey into mystery is new recruit and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet).
From Executive Producers Joss Whedon (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” ”Buffy the Vampire Slayer”); Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” pilot co-writers (“Dollhouse,” “Dr.Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”); Jeffrey Bell (“Angel,” “Alias”); and Jeph Loeb (“Smallville,” “Lost,” “Heroes”) comes Marvel’s first TV series. “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is produced by ABC Studios and Marvel Television.
The Official Announcement for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
It was smart for Marvel and ABC to start out the announcement with the mention of how Clark Gregg is coming back to lead the team. A release like this is going to gain more note if something or someone people are familiar with leads. I also like the way the announcement points out how S.H.I.E.L.D. is a worldwide law-enforcement organization as I was concerned about ABC making S.H.I.E.L.D. into a U.S.-only organization. Breaking down the specialties of each of the characters is also helpful.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. does have a cool logo
The Name: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
First off, you knew Marvel would have to have its name in the title. That should really go without mention. Second, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. does sound better than simply S.H.I.E.L.D. as the focus of the show will be on the agents and not on the organization itself.
The Makeup of Marvel’s Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Is this show partially run by Robert Kirkman? We all know that Nick Fury is black, but there can’t be another African-American on the team? Are they running with Kirkman’s unsung rule of only having one black male or black female at a time in connection with a project? Will Fury have to die to add more diversity to the team? Of course, the lack of any clear ethnic presence on the team outside of Ming-Na Wen is disturbing.
In today’s society, it is a foregone conclusion that teams have to be diversified, but this team is far from diversified on an ethnic level. While I am not saying the show is required to have people of various ethnic descents, I do want to point out how many of us in the comic book industry would prefer to move away from the preconception that all comic book readers are white males. Having a mostly white team does not bode well for breaking the misconception or spreading out to a wider market base.
Where Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Team Falls Short for Storytelling
We have the computer hacker, engineer, biochemist, blah blah blah…where is the otherworldly? Marvel has pigeonholed this team into not taking on cases of the supernatural or sorcerous? Nobody on the team has an obvious tie to space (like an astronaut), so Marvel might be tying its one hands when it comes to cosmic storytelling on the show. Just having one team member with some type of otherworldly ties would give Marvel more room to deal with characters outside of the normal human or slightly superhuman.
Of course, changes could be made into the first season to incorporate some of the shortcomings I have pointed out. I personal want to see Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. take off and become a hit show. The creators can send us down the right path, but only time and viewers will tell if we will walk it, and for how long.
