Agents of SHIELD 'Frenemy of My Enemy' Review- The Calm Before the Storm

Agents of SHIELD was turned upside down after HYDRA overtook SHIELD during Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Coulson was appointed the new director of SHIELD and had to rebuild the organization from the ground up. He has since been overthrown and possibly lost the trust of his agents trying to rescue Skye.

***** SPOILERS for EP 2.18 "Frenemy of My Enemy to follow *****

The eyes of the Marvel universe are focused on the upcoming release of Avengers: Age of Ultron but there is always more happening in the MCU. Daredevil just got picked up for a second season on Netflix and now Agents of SHIELD has started building towards their season 2 finale.

In "Frenemy of My Enemy," written by Monica Owusu-Breen and Paul Zbyszewski and directed by Karen Gaviola, Coulson (Clark Gregg) realizes that his team of Deathlok (J. August Richards), Lance Hunter (Nick Blood), and Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) will not be enough to rescue Skye, who spends some quality time with her father.

Coulson has to make the difficult decision to ask Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) and Agent 33 (Maya Stojan) for their help to infiltrate HYDRA. Coulson proposes wiping Ward's memories after he complies but they instead settle on giving Ward a clean slate so he and Agent 33 can be together.

Meanwhile back in Afterlife, Jiaying (Dichen Lachman) decides it is time to split of the family and send Cal (Kyle MacLachlan) away from the rest of the Inhumans. Skye (Chlose Bennet) is not a fan about this plan so she decides to spend a day with him to try and ease the pain.

Back at the SHIELD headquarters Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) is testing relationships by trying to get to the truth of Coulson's actions. She orders Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) to hack Deathlok and Mockingbird (Adrianne Palicki) and Mack (Henry Simmons) go to track Coulson's team down.

HYDRA, Coulson's team, Skye, Cal, and Lincoln Campbell (Luke Mitchell) all collide in an epic showdown. The battle ends with Gordon (Jamie Harris) taking Cal and Skye away just as she realizes Coulson and Ward are there and working together. Mockingbird and Mack arrive soon after everyone has cleared out to find Coulson ready to surrender after Ward points out they do not have the necessary man power for this mission.

Kyle MacLachlan is the standout in this week's episode thanks to the wide range of his abilities, both as an actor and as Cal. He gets super emotional talking about the life and family he dreamed he would have had and shows the rage multiple times whenever Skye, who now knows her full name is Daisy Johnson, is put in harms way.

Agents of SHIELD returns next week with "The Dirty Half Dozen" as they prepare to take down HYDRA once and for all. Check out a promo for next week's episode below!

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Agents of SHIELD 'Melinda' Review- The Calvary is Born

In the early episodes of Agents of SHIELD, it became clear that Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) had a rough past but that she also was a very skilled agent. Nicknamed "The Calvary" around SHIELD, May always hated that name and in this week's episode, we finally find out why.

***** SPOILERS for EP 2.17 "Melinda" to follow *****

This episode, written by DJ Doyle and directed by Garry A. Brown, takes us seven years in the past to Bahrain. We see a completely different Agent May then the one that is currently the second in command at SHIELD. Coulson, May, and a tactical SHIELD team go to Bahrain to meet the super-powered Eva Belyakov (Winter Zoli).

Back in the present time, Mockingbird (Adrianne Palicki) tries to recruit May into helping the "Real SHIELD" figure out what Coulson (Clark Gregg) has been up to. It appears that Coulson has secretly been very busy. He has been moving assets and resources all across the globe and not telling anyone. This project is being called Theta Protocol and Mack (Henry Simmons) believes it is because Coulson is building a separate base to house powered people. 

Skye/Daisy (Chloe Bennet) is still with the other Inhumans in Afterlife and learns the secret that Jiaying (Dichen Lachman) is her mother. Jiaying helps Skye understand her abilities and the different ways she can use them. Jiaying requests Skye has dinner with Cal (Kyle MacLachlan) because without him her, they never would have been reunited.

When we go back to Bahrain, another organization was also after Eva and captured her and a young girl. This forces Coulson's hand and reluctantly sends May in alone. Once inside the building, May finds a room containing her other SHIELD agents but they are not okay. They need her pain. 

Melinda goes on to take down guards and try and rescue the little girl being held hostage. She kills Eva thinking that her death would eliminate the spell her coworkers were under. Unfortunately, a much darker choice lies ahead for her. The little girl, Katya (Ava Acres), is actually the one controlling their minds. May is given the choice of either touching Katya's hand and falling under her spell or eliminating the child.

She is forced to make the logical choice and kill the child. This came at a time where her and her husband Andrew Garner (Blair Underwood) were trying to have a child of their own. Melinda becomes distant and requests a transfer out of the field and not become a member of the team Coulson is assembling to recruit Earth's mightiest heroes.

Coulson has always referred to his SHIELD team as a family and this week we got a look at an Inhuman family but also the beginning of the end for another. 

Check out the promo for next week's episode "The Frenemy of My Enemy" below, which has strong ties to Avengers: Age of Ultron!

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Agents of SHIELD Season 2 EP 15 Review

Agents of SHIELD is continuing a great second season that has turned the focus to the Inhumans and another SHIELD faction. Both of these plots may seem very separate but the two collided together and shaped what we should see during the remaining seven episodes.

***** SPOILERS for "One Door Closes" to follow *****

"One Door Closes," written by Lauren LeFranc & Rafe Judkins and directed by David Solomon, has the "Real SHIELD" show its strength and cause a lot of problems for Coulson's SHIELD.

The episode goes back and forth between the current time and a flashback to the day SHIELD was overtaken by HYDRA. The flashbacks bring Isabelle Hartley (Lucy Lawless) back to the fold and show her and Mockingbird (Adrianne Palicki) kicking some major butt from the start.

Hartley and Mockingbird are also joined by Mack (Henry Simmons) and rescue a wounded Robert Gonzalez (Edward James Olmos). These four and a few others follow the plan laid out by Fury to sink the helicarrier they are on. That is until Mockingbird proposes a new plan instead. She decides to defect from Fury's plan and save the ship.

This is where we see the beginning of this new SHIELD faction and lays the foundation for what they believe in. It is interesting to see them portray Mockingbird as the brains behind this new faction, even going so far as Gonzalez telling Coulson he didn't even want to be the Director of the "Real SHIELD." During the last few episodes, Mockingbird's true allegiance seemed to be very questionable thanks to her relationship with Hunter, but now it appears she has actually been telling the truth about just how loyal she is.

When we are back in the present day, Coulson (Clark Gregg) immediately starts questioning the loyalty of Mack while Mockingbird is snooping around his office. Once Mack and Mockingbird are discovered as being double agents, a scramble for control ensues as Mockingbird and Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) go toe to toe for one of the best fight scenes in the shows run.

During the scrum for control, we see Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) get the best of Mockingbird and Mack save his old buddy Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) from an explosion that he set.

The "Real SHIELD" takes over the SHIELD base, but during their head count they somehow do not account for Agent May. With Coulson in handcuffs, he and Gonzalez finally come face to face to try and sort out their problems. This is truly great as we see Clark Gregg and Edward James Olmos share a lengthy scene and a lot of interesting dialogue. Just as they are finishing up their discussion, May comes in to save the day and help Coulson escape to find Skye.

Speaking of Skye (Chloe Bennet), she was taken away to a secret log cabin and since this is the Marvel universe, it is no ordinary cabin. 

Hulk Fist Indentation in Skye's Cabin

This just so happens to be the same cabin that Bruce Banner spent time in, likely the same one seen during the last scene of The Incredible Hulk. Skye starts to learn how to control her powers after a visit from Gordon (Jamie Harris) and a promise to return once she needs him. That comes much sooner than Skye anticipated after the "Real SHIELD" begins to hunt her down. She calls upon the other Inhuman after having her first moment that shows her true power as Quake, and it was beautiful.

Seeing Skye, Mockingbird, and May have a major presence in this episode, as well as Simmons to a lesser extent, was a nice reminder of just how many strong female characters the show has. Agent Carter got a lot of praise for being a show driven by a female character and Hayley Atwell was a great leading lady as Peggy Carter, but these four actresses also deserve a lot of praise.

Chloe Bennet started off being an awkward and seemingly forced character but has become a focal point of the show who has been given a story justifying her presence. Bennet has been tasked with introducing the entire MCU and its millions of fans to the Inhumans, and on a TV show none the less. She can now carry the show when necessary and her future is the most exciting thing about the show.

Ming-Na Wen joined the show as a stone faced, no nonsense right hand lady to Coulson but her transformation to becoming Skye's mentor while also kicking major butt every week is amazing. Adrianne Palicki is basically a nicer and younger version of Agent May, but she has been on a roller coaster ride during her first season. She has now been turned into a villain of sorts but I still find myself rooting for her, except for when she is defying SHIELD. Elizabeth Henstridge has also come a long way since her being an agent afraid to be in the field, even taking down Mockingbird in this episode. She is still trying to come to peace with all the changes at SHIELD, and after her best friend suffering brain damage as a result of saving her life and now Skye becoming something that could destroy them all, it's hard to really blame her.

The episode ends with Coulson on a beach, but thankfully not TAHITI this time. He is there to meet up with Lance Hunter (Nick Blood), his only other agent not being held captive. The show has really developed Hunter recently and made him the character that is worthy of being a season/series regular and not just a guest star. He signs on, while be it on a napkin, to be fully committed to Coulson's SHIELD team and these two will have their hands full come next week.

Check out a preview for next week's episode "Afterlife" below!

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Agents of SHIELD Season 2 EP 14 Review

After weeks of inhuman and alien plots, Agents of SHIELD took a turn back to its roots of secret missions featuring the return of many recognizable faces. We also met a new enemy for the team as we get closer to finding out where Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) and Mack (Henry Simmons) place their allegiance.

***** SPOILERS for "Love in the Time of Hydra" to follow *****

"Love in the Time of Hydra," written by Brent Fletcher and directed by Jesse Bochno, sent the characters we have grown to love in three separate directions.

The first was Coulson (Clark Gregg), May (Ming-Na Wen), Skye/Daisy (Chloe Bennet), Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) on the mission of helping Skye understand and control her powers while also deciding what her role should now be within SHIELD. May convinced Coulson to pull Skye off of active duty, which did not go over well her.

Simmons developed new gloves for Skye to wear that are meant to diminish the strength of her powers. This seems to be just the beginning of the transformation that Skye will undergo, which hopefully ends with her looking something like the image on the left.

Speaking of transformations, emotions of the audience went through the roof during a straight to the point confrontation between FitzSimmons. It has been great to see these two come back together and hopefully this conversation will bring them back together and give us more of the witty banter the pair had in Season 1.

The other members of Coulson's team were unable to be apart of these events due to them being with the "Real SHIELD." This version of SHIELD is run by Robert Gonzales (Edward James Olmos) and features one familiar face among their leaders in Agent Weaver (Christine Adams). Their leaders plus Mack and Bobbi try and convince Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) that, just like every evil organization, they are not the enemy.

The "Real SHIELD" is convinced that Coulson is the real problem and he should be the one to blame for the deaths of Isabelle Hartley (Lucy Lawless) and Agent Triplett (B.J. Britt), the transformations of Skye and Raina (Ruth Negga), and much more. Thankfully, Hunter does not agree with them and even hijacks one of the many vehicles on-board their helicarrier to escape.

This episode also featured the return of Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) and Agent 33 (Maya Stojan). Last time we saw the two of them they each had a number of things that needed to heal. Ward was shot three times and Agent 33 had part of her mask and face destroyed so they needed some obvious time to get back to being themselves. They set on a mission to fix Agent 33's face and then kidnap and start to brainwash Sunil Bakshi (Simon Kassianides). The kidnapping means an encounter with General Talbot (Adrian Pasdar) which ends up being quite comical thanks to the inability of Talbot in distinguishing who people really are.

Dalton was a welcome edition to the show after a few weeks of being away and getting to see Grant Ward back in action was a highlight of the episode. Nick Blood also gave a memorable performance as he continued to thwart the attempts of the "Real SHIELD" recruiting him. Hunter has become an increasingly likable the past few weeks which I find to be fascinating given his cold shoulder approach at the beginning of the season.

As the writers make the likes of Hunter and Fitz more likable, they have turned Bobbi and Mack into characters that are hard to be a fan of. Their characters are still interesting but I could not imagine them keeping an actress as high profiled as Adrianne Palicki and have her turn evil, especially given her character's history.

Another highlight recently has been the ability of the writers to find time for the fun and heartfelt conversations between Coulson and Skye. Whether it was Coulson comparing Skye to his beloved car Lola or Skye pleading with Coulson to just be her friend and not a SHIELD Agent during this difficult time in her life, the interactions between the shows main characters are something that the show is based on and needs more of.

A quick shout out is also well deserved for Ming-Na Wen who had to display the regular stone cold perception of May but then also convey the emotion felt by Agent 33 after being "taken in" by Ward.

Agents of SHIELD returns next week with "One Door Closes." Check out the promo for the episode below as the two SHIELDs come face to face!

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Agents of SHIELD Season 2 EP 13 Review

Now that Agents of SHIELD has returned from its winter break, the focus has turned to the transformation of Skye/Daisy (Chloe Bennet) and the discovery of double agents, again. In the thirteenth episode of the season "One of Us," Calvin Zabo (Kyle MacLachlan) assembles his own team of super powered people to help him seek revenge on SHIELD.

"One of Us", written by Monica Owusu-Breen and directed by Kevin Tancharoen, introduced us to a handful of new baddies that Coulson (Clark Gregg) and the rest of his (dwindling) team will have to face.

***** SPOILERS for "One of Us" to follow *****

Zabo organizes a team that includes newcomers such as a lady with razor blades for fingernails in Karla Faye Gideon (Drea de Matteo), a man with super strength in Francis Noche (Geo Corvera), a tech genius in Wendell Levi (Ric Sarabia), and later a man with a deathly scream in David Angar (Jeff Phillips).

Coulson and Mockingbird (Adrianne Palicki) go off together to hunt down this team of super villains, while Agent May (Ming-Na Wen) recruits her ex-husband Dr. Andrew Garner (Blair Underwood) to help Skye deal with her new abilities.

The super villain team lures Coulson and Mockingbird back to his hometown for a big showdown, but Coulson arrives short handed. Skye is unavailable due to safety reasons, Fitz (Iain de Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) are not reliable field agents, and Mack (Henry Simmons) has kidnapped Hunter (Nick Blood) in order to preserve the secret that he and Mockingbird are hiding.

Just as the showdown is about to begin, Gordon (Jamie Harris) steps in and takes Zabo away before any real harm can be done. The team takes down the remaining villains in typical SHIELD fashion but the battle ended yet again with them worrying about Skye.

We were all lead to believe that Skye had been getting a handle on her abilities and stopping the shaking from happening, but as it turns out, she has only been harming herself. Instead of stopping the quaking, Skye has been internalizing the effects which has caused her arms to become severely bruised and for hundreds of hairline fractures to develop throughout her body.

The episode ends with Mack taking Hunter to the place that will reveal what side him and Mockingbird are on. What side is that? According to Mack, it's the "real SHIELD." We will be finding out more about the "real SHIELD" in the coming weeks and find out exactly what Mack and Bobbi are up to.

The episode itself was good and pickup a lot near the end after a slow first half. Blair Underwood was great as May's ex-husband and the scenes with him and Skye are fantastic. The special effects were once again far and above anything we saw in season 1 and shows the commitment by Marvel to give the show the budget it needs to make the VFX as close to movie quality as they can.

Check out a preview for episode 14 "Love in the Time of Hydra" below!

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Agents of SHIELD Season 2 EP 12 Review

The focus of Agents of SHIELD from the beginning was that ordinary people can do extraordinary (inhuman) things. During this second season, more and more special people have popped up with three taking the focus this week.

***** SPOILERS for "Who You Really Are" to follow *****

Skye/Daisy (Chloe Bennet) has been the primary character for the last few weeks but this week, Marvel brought a few cosmic characters into the fold. Asgardian warrior Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and a Kree by the name of Vin-Tak (Eddie McClintock) join the show with a goal that ultimately shakes up the team.

Vin-Tak comes to Earth to investigate an alert being sent back to his planet from an ancient and dormant city. The city was home of Kree long ago during their experimentation of humans and was the site of Skye and Raina's transformations.

Sif has followed Vin-Tak to Earth because of the disagreements that Asgardians and Kree have had in the past. The two have a destructive dual that ends with Lady Sif without her memories in the bottom of the ocean.

Luckily, Director Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and the rest of SHIELD come to her aid. They do what they can to help track down Vin-Tak including Mockingbird (Adrianne Palicki) and Skye doing their best to take down the Kree "villain."

After eventually subduing Vin-Tak and him granting Sif back her memories, things begin to get very tense for all parties involved. Vin-Tak explains he came to Earth to find whoever was affected by the terrigen mist in their ancient city. Vin-Tak, Sif, and Coulson begin unloading questions upon Skye, which causes her to lose control and quake.

Her secret is officially out and it tears the team apart. Coulson and Fitz (Iain De Caesteker) support Skye and believe she can eventually learn to control her new powers, but not everyone agrees. Mack (Henry Simmons) believes the team needs protection from her and it seems Simmons, Mockingbird, and Hunter agree. Skye's mentor Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) is on the fence but it seems she will side with Coulson and Fitz.

The sub-plot of the episode and possibly this season has been the mysterious plans and alliance that Mockingbird and Mack have. Morse wants to bring her on-again-off-again boyfriend Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) into the fold but Mack suggests to push him away, which Morse does. Unfortunately for Hunter, he knows their is a secret and confronts the enormous human being that is Mack about it and ends with Hunter unconscious on The Bus.

The true star of the episode was Fitz who has time and time again this season turned in memorable performances. He is the only one to stand up for Skye in front of the rest of the team and Iain De Caesteker more than holds his own and steals the majority of the scenes that he is in.

A quick mention must be given to the visual effects team for Agents of SHIELD as they continue to make the VFX look on par with those we've become accustomed to seeing in Marvel Studios Movies. Whether it was the Absorbing Man earlier in the season, the seamless transition from Kree to Human for Vin-Tak tonight, or making the Biofrost look extremely similar to what we see in the Thor franchise, that crew has time and time again risen to the occasion this season.

Check out the promo for EP 13 and the superhero vs super villain battle it will have!

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Agents of SHIELD Season 2 EP 11 Review

After a two month break that had Agent Carter fill the void, Agents of SHIELD returned with force after a crazy season finale. The first half of the season left viewers with some unanswered questions, but the second half of the season is sure to answer those.

***** SPOILERS for "Aftershocks" to follow *****

The return of Agents of SHIELD promised to be very inhuman and it delivered on every aspect fans could want. The episode followed the journeys of Skye/Daisy (Chloe Bennet), Raina (Ruth Negga), and the rest of SHIELD following the events that happened in the Temple.

Skye has been locked in a quarantine room since the last time we saw them and has not been coping well. She dreams of the death of Tripplet (B.J. Britt) and blames herself for his death.

Raina is also struggling with her new abilities and appearance. She now has spikes coming out of every part of her and is using them for some very deadly and bloody reasons. She tries to find comfort in Cal (Kyle MacLachlan) but ultimately his joy from finding out Skye also had a transformation dominates his thoughts.

For the rest of the SHIELD team, they are all in different places and "Aftershock" was able to really show the differences by fantastic performances across the board. Coulson (Clark Gregg) has put the blame on himself and has become increasingly agitated and angry. May (Ming-Na Wen) is using fighting like always, Mack (Henry Simmons) continues to build, Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) investigates Skye's blood, Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) searches through the destruction and seeks the termination of all super powered people, and Hunter (Nick Blood) and Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) each comfort each other.

HYDRA is scrambling to fill the void left by the death of Whitehall (Reed Diamond) and thinks Bakshi (Simon Kassianides) would be an acceptable replacement. The SHIELD team devises a plan to trick HYDRA into eliminating their main leaders and fulfilling their promise of handing Bakshi over to General Talbot (Adrian Pasdar).

This was also possibly the most emotional episode of the series. Whether it was a large group fight, Simmons announcing her hatred for people with powers, or Fitz discovering that Skye is the one who caused the death of Tripplet, the emotion that each of the actors displayed throughout the episode was a real bright spot for what has been a great second season.

Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) returns next week for episode 12, "Who You Really Are." Check out the promo for next week's episode! 

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Drea de Matteo Joins Agents of SHIELD

We are just three weeks away from the return of season 2 of Agents of SHIELD and Marvel is gearing up for a game changing 12 episodes. The show has plenty of questions it needs to answer before the season finale and it has added some new pieces to the cast to help them.

Today, Marvel announced the addition of Drea de Matteo to the cast as the villainous Karla Faye Gideon. She is a gifted woman who will join forces with Quake's (Chloe Bennet) father Mr. Hyde (Kyle MacLachlan) to take on SHIELD.

Matteo joins newcomers such as Edward James Olmos, who will play Robert Gonzalez, and Blair Underwood as Melinda May's (Ming-Na Wen) ex-husband.

“We’re thrilled to have Drea join us as yet another great villain to challenge our cast,” said Executive Producer and Marvel’s Head of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb. “We relished the opportunity to work with her in such a menacing role.” 

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Agents of SHIELD Season 2 EP 4 Review

Ever since Captain America: The Winter Soldier came out, HYDRA has been the focus of attack for what is left of SHIELD and its allies. Agents of SHIELD was a clear example of this as the focus over the last 10 episodes has been stopping HYDRA and all the threats they present. That focus lead to the tone of the show being very serious, straightforward, and frequently dropping surprises and jaws.

In this week's episode of Agents of SHIELD "Face My Enemy," the tone of the show took a dramatic turn. Instead of a dark and serious plot and sets, this episode was light and full of... dancing? Yes, dancing.

With an ancient painting being sold that features the same mysterious markings Coulson has in his head, he and May dance their way to the painting and into trouble. With Bakshi posing as General Talbot and Agent 33 closing in, Philinda must get out of danger without the help of the rest of their team.

The episode was directed by Kevin Tancharoen, known for directed Mortal Combat: Rebirth, and his expertise in fighting clearly showed. The May on May fight was one of the best fight sequences in Agents of SHIELD especially with the real Melinda May's "fatality" move.

"Face My Enemy" also featured more great usage of Skye, further expanding Lance Hunter and Mack, and exploring the emotional and mental turmoil that Fitz is fighting through. They have to join together to save The Bus from exploding, ending with Hunter showing Fitz a sign of respect.

Next week's episode "A Hen in the Wolfhouse" marks the debut of Adrianne Palicki as Bobbi Morse, aka Mockingbird. It will also draw us closer to finding out who or what Skye and her father really are. Check out the full promo for next week's episode below.

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Comic-Con 2014 - What Should We Expect from Marvel?

The San Diego Comic-Con is the biggest weekend for people of the "geek" community. With the latest news about Star Wars, DC, Marvel, Walking Dead, and more, Comic-Con presents a unique venue for these brands to bring out the big guns. Luckily for us, it officially kicks off tomorrow!

Marvel has not been shy on not announcing things leading up to Comic-Con or making huge announcements during their panels. This year we will learn about season 2 of Agents of SHIELD, season 1 of Agent Carter, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, and hopefully more. So what exactly should we expect to learn about each of these properties? Let's discuss below:

Agents of SHIELD

So far we know that Coulson (Clark Gregg), Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), Skye (Chloe Bennet), Fitz (Ian de Caestecker), and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) will be there. Marvel's Head of Television, Jeph Loeb, and producers Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jeffrey Bell will also be in attendance. Hopefully we will learn what kinds of problems the team will face throughout season 2 during this panel. I would also like to learn a little more about the fates of Ward and Fitz in the show. Seeing BJ Britt, who plays Triplett, up there with the rest of the cast would be great. Marvel also just announced that Lucy Lawless will join the show for season 2 so getting some word on just who she might be playing would be a pleasant surprise.

Agent Carter

Not much is known about Agent Carter. We know Hayley Atwell will reprise her role as Agent Carter and be the lead. Reports recently surfaced of a rumored character list with descriptions for each character but Marvel has not confirmed that. I would hope we get some official casting news on the supporting cast.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Mark Ruffalo confirmed a while back that the cast will make an appearance during Marvel's panel in Hall H. We got a glimpse of Ultron this past week thanks to Entertainment Weekly's Comic-Con preview magazine cover. I believe they will show some sort of sizzle real to get this movie even more hyped. They are over halfway through shooting so some sort of footage is not out of the question. The only reason they wouldn't show it is if there is footage at the end of Guardians, like I expect.

Ant-Man

We know the Ant-Man cast will make an appearance thanks to Hank Pym himself, Michael Douglas. Besides who Douglas is playing, the only other confirmed role is Paul Rudd as Scott Lang. They haven't started production yet so footage is out of the question, but casting should be a major focus. The likes of Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena, Patrick Wilson, Kevin Weisman, Matt Gerald, and David Dastmalchian have been attached to some degree to this movie and finally learning who they will play will be a step in the right direction.

Other Bullet Points

Last week Marvel announced they have movies planned out to 2019 and just a few minutes ago announced another date in 2018. That means they have 8 dates with unconfirmed movies. July 8th, 2016 will in all likelihood be Doctor Strange and from there on is a mystery. Laying the groundwork for what we will see till 2019 would be nice. Titles that could be announced include Black Panther, Guardians 2, Thor 3, Avengers 3, Ms Marvel, and a Nova solo movie.

Speaking of Doctor Strange, it has a writer and a director. So what does it need now? Stephen Strange himself. Jared Leto, Tom Hardy, and Benedict Cumberbatch have all been in the mix reportedly. Cumberbatch seems like the favorite and will be at Comic-Con even though he is not (officially) involved with anything happening there. Getting an announcement of Cumberbatch taking the lead in a Doctor Strange film would be super exciting.

Marvel has already confirmed Captain America 3 will be hitting theaters on May 6th, 2016. I'm hopeful they reveal a subtitle that shows what kind of adventure we can expect when Steve Rogers and company take the big screen again.

In case you forgot, Marvel is also starting to release original Netlfix series starting next year. Daredevil is the first hero to get his own show and has already starting filming. Getting a look at the official Daredevil costume would be great as well as getting official word on just who Rosario Dawson could be playing.

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Comic-Con in the comments below or tweet us @Marvel_CMU!

Agents of SHIELD Season 1 Finale Review

 It's over. Not forever thank goodness as Marvel and ABC announced that season 2 of Agents of SHIELD will kick off in the fall, but season 1 is now officially over. Through all of it's highs and lows, Agents of SHIELD has turned itself into a quality television show. Ratings were not where Marvel wanted which prompted them to push back the time slot next season to 9 pm. "End of the Beginning" finished the season strong and had many great moments

***** SPOILERS for season 1 of Agents of SHIELD to follow *****

"End of the Beginning" delivered on every front fans could want. It had a great story. It had great one liners. It had great action scenes. It had a lot of emotion. It had a big time cameo. It gave us fans a lot of things to think about.

One of the first things we see from the season finale is John Garrett sketching that at first looks like gibber jabber, but when we get a closer look, it is actually very familiar. Garrett is copying down what is believed to be some type of alien formula or equation. Now that Garrett has GH 325 flowing through him as well as the centipede formula and Cybertek gear, he feels one with the universe. The formula is not something small, and even though it is still a mystery as to what exactly it is, it looks like it could play a big part in season 2. 

Meanwhile, Fitz and Simmons try to rescue themselves from the bottom of the ocean and Fitz is willing to do it at all costs. In his plan to rescue them, he gives up his chance at surviving. Luckily, once Simmons pulls herself and him to the surface, a friendly face appears. Nick Fury. 

The rest of the team is busy stealing armored trucks, blowing holes in walls, and breaking into Cybertek for a showdown with Deathlok, Ward, and Garrett. Ward thinks Garrett is losing his mind and confides in Raina where she tells him to get the one thing he cares about, Skye. Raina says she is important to the evolution of the world and that Ward, a monster, and Skye, whose parents are "monsters", are not that different.

When Ward goes to get Skye, she delivers many one liners and sets up an amazing fight sequence between May and Ward, where May is the victor. Coulson is trying to take down Garrett when Fury show up. Garrett calls it the first tag-team fight between 4 dead guys, which prompts Coulson to say, "I only see one." Thanks to Skye's ability to deliver a message to Deathlok, he turns on his master and shoots a rocket right at Garrett, seemingly killing him. Ward gets taken into custody where Coulson says he will find new ways to make his life miserable.

Skye lets Deathlok walk away free but he knows SHIELD, or what's left of it, will monitor his actions. Coulson finally gets his yelling session with Fury where we still don't get many answers thanks to a wonderful surprise from Fury. He hands Coulson a little black box that holds the key to rebuilding SHIELD. Director Coulson, weird to say, is now the overseer of SHIELD and will rebuild it slowly and from the ground up. Fury, meanwhile, states nobody will see him for quite some time.

In one of the craziest scenes of the episode, the believed to be dead John Garrett, kills the people guarding him and drags his body to a machine that equips him with brand new Cybertek gear. With the audiences jaws dropped and Garrett poised to be back for season 2, Coulson destroys him using the 0-8-4 from episode 2. As the team takes off, they head to the first coordinates found in the black box, where they are met by a familiar face. Simmons shows up outside The Bus and is greeted with hugs from the rest of the team. With Fitz not by her side, the team asks questions leading to an uncertain future on how/if Fitz will recover. 

Another familiar face, or maybe not so much, appears after. Agent Koenig. But this time not Eric Koenig, Billy Koenig. Billy Koenig, played by Patton Oswalt, could have a mysterious origin. Is he a life model decoy? Is he a clone? Is he a twin? Only season 2 can answer those questions.

As far as what to expect for season 2 of Agents of SHIELD, the last few minutes plant a couple HUGE seeds. The first is Raina handing a picture of Skye to a person in a dark room with bloody hands. Raina tells this person that she has found their daughter. Raina has previously mentioned Skye's parents being monsters, so just what kind of monster will be a big question on fans minds till next fall. The second seed, and the final scene for season, involves Coulson. Coulson sees the alien formula/equation that Garrett sketched and walks to a near by wall with a knife. He then starts making the same markings as Garrett, leaving us with questions on his sanity. 

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