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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #101 - Pilot

4

Just because the superheroes are busy on the big screen, there's still plenty of Marvel Universe action happening on a television near you.

Could a Marvel TV show work without a focus on the actual superheroes? When most people think Marvel, they think of the big and colorful heroes. Making a show focusing on heroes can be tricky (and costly). For Marvel Studios to shift their focus on S.H.I.E.L.D., an organization already familiar to the millions that have seen The Avengers, it was the best move they could do.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is still being fleshed out. What this show allows is a chance to see the other parts of it. Taking place after the "Battle of New York," we get to see how the atmosphere has changed among the "civilians." An attack by an alien race and a Norse god will do that.

Within the first ten minutes, we immediately find out there are more "unregistered gifted's" in this world. We also find out how the heck Agent Coulson can be in a show taking place after his death in The Avengers. Then again...you'll have to watch for yourself.

For a first episode (or pilot), there is the right pacing. Of course we get the occasional witty remark and bits of humor thrown in. There are some little nods to the comics ("journey into mystery"). The important thing is it doesn't look like a low-budget production. Perhaps more was spent on the pilot but based on this, we're off to a great start.

As we get introduced to the decent sized cast, it's not possible they'll all be likable. At least for me, the duo of FitzSimmons was a little too much. But it is early. We still need to see the others get more time in the spotlight. Characters may evolve, etc. We need to become invested in the other characters. Agent Coulson is great but it's not a solo TV show. Also, did they pull in too much for the reasoning behind the big threat in this episode?

There were some doubts over this show, at least for me. Was Marvel Studios simply going to try to cash in on the recent [great] movies they've released? Either way, this is a great next step in giving the fans what they want. Plus, it's a really good show for primetime television.

It's mentioned in the show that the "Battle of New York" ended things and also marked the beginning of a new world. This show is doing that as well. We're getting a new world and new kind of comic book TV show. Let's hope the show can keep up this momentum. Things are looking good.

69 Comments

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deactivated-5d2b83d5a0d79

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I thoroughly enjoyed this. The acting is somewhat iffy at parts but overall I think it holds up nicely. I got my daily dose of super powers right here. Yay! :D

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SlickyMike88

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I like the show , I will dare to say this is the best comic tv series out there;)

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Lvenger

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Edited By Lvenger

I'll have to wait til Friday to watch it. A UK channel actually has the rights to show this series in the UK only a few days after it comes out whereas usually, it takes years for American shows to be shown on Britain.

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InnerVenom123

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@foxxfireart: Faking Coulson's death isn't an example of a poorly handled character revival so much as it is an excellent example of SHIELD's willingness to lie to the heroes.

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Sachmoo

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Typed a whoooole essay and it posted none of it.

Anyways, I thought the LMD thing at first too. But they used the word 'Magical' to describe Tahiti TWICE. Thats hard to ignore.

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LordRequiem

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Coulson is dead. That should be the end of that.

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ms__omega

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I enjoyed its a great way to introduce some other marvel characters in to the tv/movie universe.

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BatmanFan11

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Edited By BatmanFan11

Why make a marvel show when there's no Marvel Characters and just some nobodies we don't know?

Where's Thor, Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, Wasp or any others. I hope this show gets cancelled. It's a disgrace to call this a Marvel Show if you have no Marvel Characters in it.

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IrishX

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Edited By IrishX

@cafeterialoca said:

To be honest, I think a black actress would have been better in this role. Because to me, Skye came off as this super privileged girl who’s ego was just being fed.

I'm sure it was not* intended to be but I find that a pretty racist comment. What does skin color have to do with anything? Because she's white she came off as "super privileged"?

You're a good poster who makes a lot of intelligent comments so I'm not trying to win some argument here or make you out to be some bad person. I'm just telling you how I read what you wrote.

Edit: Sorry, I meant *not intended.

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McG

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So what show did people watch? Seriously some comments bitching over the gayest things and also you seem to forget its a TV SHOW, you can't recreate a Marvel film on such a low buget... I enjoyed it, really much so I wasn't expecting Avengers 2 like most people but oh well, if you don't like it don't watch it, simples :)

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bunkerbuster05

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@foxxfireart: Faking Coulson's death isn't an example of a poorly handled character revival so much as it is an excellent example of SHIELD's willingness to lie to the heroes.

EXACTLY.

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The Mast

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Boring.

The big reveal that Coulson is an L.M.D., or that he was cloned (Moon style) is already obvious and I don't feel like waiting all the seasons to have them go, "Tadahhh!". Maybe even the Coulson that died was a clone/L.M.D. That's the reveal, though.

Anyway, it felt cheap. It felt made-for-TV.

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snarkybits

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Edited By snarkybits
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owie

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owie  Moderator

I went into this with low expectations--the cast looked too young and artificial, and SHIELD just isn't the most interesting corner of the Marvel universe.

It ended up being kind of what I expected, which was too bad. SHIELD, as a spy agency, isn't anything we haven't seen a million times before on the big or small screen. So this is only going to succeed through its characters, or the use of superheroes/villains. The enhanced character was ok, as a character, but in terms of powers was boring. Most of the other characters, especially the lead guy, were boring or annoying. I kind of liked FitzSimmons actually. And Coulson is good of course. But otherwise, not much there. And the whole "let's put all the super-power enhancement agents in one place" thing was dumb/easy. Pilots are always stiffer than normal episodes, so hopefully this warms up. I do really want the idea of a serial TV show that's tied into the expanded Marvel movie universe to succeed.

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E1000

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Edited By E1000

Cobie Smulder was doing her Robin-ized version of Maria Hill and everybody else in he show was acing better than her; apart from that, it was cool, it felt great to have this superheroic universe expanded in a series.

They also avoided the introduction through the eyes of a new character joining a secret team.

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MatteoPG

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It wasn't bad. Of ocurse it wasn't like the movies... that's a stupid expectation/comment. It wasn't the best thing ever, of course, but let's wait.

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dorsk188

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@loki9876 said:

Am i the only one who liked Fitz and Simmons?

No, I liked them, too. They were both fine, though never given much time to show any depth, but their quick idiosyncrasies hinted at some fun down the road. I especially liked his affectation of slapping Ward on the back and she was downright adorable when dissecting the alien tech.

I think people are just recognizing that these characters are intended as "fan favorites" by the writers, and are resisting the yoke. Fanboys are stubborn things, after all and pilots are the sort of complicated ugly sausages that no one really enjoys, but you know they are necessary to get something better through the system...

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Miss_Garrick

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4.5 out of 5 stars!! Coulson RULES. I don't think he's an LMD, but we'll see. I don't care for Skye, she's way too hyperactive/smug/annoying as heck. Although this is the first time I've seen a woman play the Computer Hacker character-type before. It's still too early to see if Ward and May are going to be likeable. I actually do like Fitz-Simmons.

I hope the rest of the show won't be too hectic in its pacing. I like it when a show is fast paced, but there needs to be balance, and this episode was so speedy that I had one or two moments when I thought I missed something. I didn't but it felt like it. That's something that needs work.

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