While I make no secret about my love of the DC Universe, I have recently come to terms with the fact that I indeed love everything Marvel. I see no competition between the two complex universes, instead preferring to value the best in both worlds (Batman, the Avengers) while completely ignoring the stuff I dislike (Superman, Spiderman) and not giving a crap about peoples’ opinions on my choices. That being said, I have fallen in deep fan-love with the MCU this year. I’ve always loved the X-Men, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced me to a new obsession–Captain America and the Avengers. For me, it all started in 2008 with Iron Man and RDJ in a role that seemed to be made for him. Then Thor. Chris Hemsworth as a long-haired demigod with Natalie Portman as a badass scientist? Yes, please. Then the first Cap movie, Avengers, and all of a sudden, I was seeing these films multiple times, purchasing them on Blu-ray and engaging in the fandom. What intrigues me about the MCU is the care that multiple writers, directors, actors and producers (thank you, Kevin Feige!) deal with these films and the intricate plot webs that unite the universe. As a fan of pretty intense and long running shows (Doctor Who, Supernatural), what the MCU has done is unique in that they’ve created an original megafranchise that will no doubt inspire Hollywood for years to come. With the release of an intricate and loooong MCU timeline (2987 B.C.-2014 A.D.) and the assurance that Marvel knows exactly where the story is going, it’s an exciting time for comic book and film nerds alike. Since I finally finished S1 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I’m going to start there.
Spoilers ahead, sweetie!
Seriously. If you aren’t all caught up within the MCU (including AoS) DO NOT PROCEED.
The second season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. begins next week, September 23, 9pm on ABC, and will feature a flashback that includes founding Agent Peggy Carter and a couple Howling Commandos. Last week, TV Guide gave us our first look at the S2 premiere and Peggy looks to be kicking ass alongside Commandos Timothy “Dum Dum” Dugan and Jim Morita, both of whom are veterans of the MCU and the Captain America story.
photos courtesy of Marvel.com
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. took on Hydra last season after Cap discovers the Nazi-esque organization has infiltrated the spy agency and has been feeding the goverment lies since the beginning (cue sadness and despair for poor Bucky!). Of course, the show correlated with the film, and so we start S2 with Phil Coulson, the new, Fury-appointed Director, and his agents rebuilding the team that they worked so hard to develop in S1. This is exciting because of the connections that will undoubtedly be made between the new AoS and the original organization created after Steve Rogers was presumed dead. We know Agent Carter will be premiering some time next year, and the show should fill in the blanks between the time Cap pilots the Valkyrie into the snow of Greenland and when he wakes in NYC, including the formation of S.H.I.E.L.D. by Howard Stark and Peggy Carter. A strong theme throughout S1 AoS was the idea of containing/assisting people with superhuman powers, which we also saw in the end credit sneak peek of CA:TWS. We now know the brother/sister pair are Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, better known as Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Not only do these two characters have major crossover capabilities because they are part of the X-Men story as well as the Avengers (we saw Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past) , but they represent a larger story arc that includes, you guessed it, mutants.
This is a lot to process,Marvel.
Does this mean that the end game of Marvel will include uniting the S.H.I.E.L.D. universe with the X-Men at some point? If S.H.I.E.L.D. is hunting and helping (or not so much) people with abilities as they did in S1 and they do decide to connect to the X-Men, what does that mean for Agent Carter? Will Peggy and the Howling Commandos encounter Max Eisenhardt and perhaps facilitate the war on mutants?
I’d like to respectfully request a Winter Soldier cameo, with my boy Bucky Barnes fucking shit up. Please and thank you.
(insert fangirl squee!!)
I’m excited to see how these two shows will tie into the larger MCU. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you’re a Marvel fan and you haven’t seen Agents if S.H.I.E.L.D. yet, GO. WATCH. NOW.
Season two of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres Tuesday, September 23, 9pm on ABC. I will be live tweeting the premiere, so come hang with me on Twitter.
xoxo The Collectiva Diva
tweeting MCU stuff over @collectivadiva
acollectivemind.com 