Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S1E1 “Pilot” recap by CynicNerd

Welcome to Level 7! After months of anticipation Marvel has finally launched its first TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC. What did you think of it (sound off in the comments), what did we think of it? Read on Towelites!

This week of course took its time to introduce our new team but also left a few mysteries to be explored in the future. Having Cobie Smulders play Agent Maria Hill was a great touch and helped to tie the show to the movies. The more Marvel does this, I believe the more successful the show will be. This week AOS does a great job introducing us to each team member and showing off their specific skill set. First up there’s Grant Ward who is your typical tough guy, there’s Fitz and Simmons the brains of the operation, the mysterious Melinda May who only wants to be the pilot, and then there’s Skye who ends up joining the team in the episode, but I’ll talk about that more in a bit. The big reveal here, of course it’s no surprise, is the return of Clark Gregg’s Agent Phil Coulson. Believed to be dead after the events of The Avengers, Agent Coulson’s “resurrection” is both mysterious and well received. Gregg really takes his character up a notch, bringing in many of the characteristics that those of you who watch Ultimate Spider-Man have become accustomed to with him as principal. Coulson’s absence is explained that his death was faked to give the Avengers a reason to come together and save the world and that Coulson had spent his missing time in Tahiti. The show alludes that this is all a cover story and that Coulson doesn’t really have any memories of that time, so I am pretty sure we will be exploring this storyline sometime soon. There’s one moment when he gets a car door thrown at him and he dodges it with almost superhuman agility. This scene makes me question who is this Agent Coulson. I just hope they don’t say he’s been spending his time at Midtown High!

So what was great about this episode? First off, this show has the Whedon-esque feel that you would expect and have come to love. The dialogue, stong female performances, and bad-ass fight scenes all come together to make this show fun and entertaining through the entire hour. The fact that we are entering the Marvel cinematic universe on the ground level is another great factor. How do these humans feel about the exposure of super-powered beings to the general public and how do the events of NYC change everything moving forward? I think my favorite quote from the episode was when Maria Hill says: “The Battle of New York was the end of the world. This, now, is the new world”. How will a band of regular joes handle the problems at that level? So what is it about this show that I really liked? First up it has more of a secret agent tone to it and I am ok with that. The concept of S.H.I.E.L.D. has always intrigued me and I am happy that this was Marvel’s first TV show. The technology in the show is already pretty amazing, as we watch FitzSimmons come up with new geekly inventions on a weekly basis. I am excited to see where this show goes from week to week as we build towards a big-bad, who do you think that will be? I just hope they don’t overuse the Chitauri technology card too much this season, even thou him sure this will be the overall arc for the season as we will find out who the Doctor works for. Also I love that the show feels huge, the Agents stopping in Paris only helps to portray the scope that the show is trying to deliver. And what will the team be traveling around in? Well unfortunately not the Helicarrier, no instead they get “The Bus”, a huge cargo plane that will act as their mobile HQ throughout this season.

The episode begins with our first look at a super-powered human by the name of Mike Richardson, Mike can’t get a break except for the piece of Chitauri tech that he was given that granted him with super powers. Richardson has super strength and invulnerability, he reminds me a lot of Luke Cage. I like the dynamic between him and his son, you can tell that after the events of NYC and his father getting these powers, Richardson’s son understands the “great responsibility” part of having powers and would like his father to shine with heroes like The Avengers. But as we learn these powers are not inherent, they were granted to Richardson when he received the Chitauri tech from a mysterious character called the “Doctor”, who we do end up meeting in the episode. Skye’s introduction in the episode is fun as she tries to warn Richardson to watch out for S.H.I.E.L.D.. She doesn’t start off as a member the AOS, in fact she is part of the “Rising Tide” organization that has been speaking out against “the men in black suits” and government conspiracies surrounding the appearance of super-powered beings in the world, all from the comfort of her van. At the beginning Skye tries to convince Richardson to go public with his powers, and that this is the only way to fight against shadow organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D. from covering up the truth. Skye also causes the agents a lot of trouble in Paris when they go after some alien tech. So what is the reach of the “Rising Tide” and does the organization exist outside Skye’s van? Questions to be answered this season. So what is giving Richardson his powers, well apparently our mysterious Doctor, and whatever organization she is working for has found a way to fuse the Chitauri tech with Gamma radiation and something similar to the Super Solider Serum, in the end we find out that what we are dealing with is Extremis. What a great bridge to Iron Man 3, which I am very happy I watched right before watch AOS, and what we are starting to build towards in Phase 2. Just like in IM3 people are exploding like bombs and the team must get to Richardson before it’s too late. His financial crisis is driving him to the edge and he even assaults his old boss when he refuses to give Richardson his old job back, the anger is only pushing the Extremis into a more volatile state. I won’t spoil the events of the episode too much for you because I think it’s a great show so far with the potential to be an awesome series. Check it out. In the end everything works out and the Agents have accomplished their first mission as a team and have also picked up a new member, Skye! In the end, the Pilot episode was pretty solid, it had its highs and lows, but def more highs. It will be interesting to see each character develop as we progress through the season and also when Thor 2 comes out, how they will tie AOS in with that movie. It’s a brave new world and we are only at the beginning, I hope that this show can stay fresh week by week and we have to have faith in Joss Whedon. He hasn’t failed us yet. So what’s next? Something that even made Coulson a little nervous and excited, 0-8-4.Check out the preview for next week and the upcoming season!

Oh and here’s our first look at a S.H.I.E.L.D. flying car, a great homage to the comics. Friends meet Lola.