After Two Episodes, Where Might “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” Be Going?
“Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” is two episodes into its fourth season and has a heck of a lot already on the table. We’re here to take a stab at where everything may be headed
Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD has thrown a lot at the wall in the 86-odd minutes of this fourth season so far. From life model decoys to flaming skulls to not-so-hitchhiking ghosts, it feels like they have crammed a full season into two episodes.
This time around, that’s not a bad thing.
Agents of SHIELD has often suffered from packing in too much in an episode. Or trying to hard to tie itself back into the bigger Marvel Cinematic Universe. Or not having enough in an episode. The show has struggled to find a pace that works consistently.
But the first two episodes of season four have worked well. And it has me excited to see where the show heads. Here’s our (hopefully) not-so-crazy idea for where Agents of SHIELD might lead us.
In the last episode, Daisy made a threatening comment to Robbie Reyes about his uncle. While this may feel like a throwaway line to most, if you’ve read the comics, this is a big clue. The spirit that inhabits Robbie and makes him Ghost Rider is a man called Eli Morrow. In his past life, Eli was a satanic murder. He was also Robbie’s uncle (unbeknownst to Robbie until much later).
It would not surprise me if the “him” those specters referred to in the last episode happens to be Robbie’s uncle, maybe named Eli, maybe named something else.
The specters also mention the Darkhold, a ridiculously powerful tome created by the ancient god Chthon. Also called The Book of Sins, it destroys the soul of anyone who wields its power. One of the few who has used it unscathed is actually Doctor Strange.
But Agents of SHIELD would blow its budget on trying to get Benedict Cumberbatch to make a cameo.
What makes the most sense for this show is to have Ghost Rider’s power come from the Darkhold. He seemed so familiar with the Momentum lab when he became the unexpected hero in the last episode. I doubt that’s just a coincidence. He also had zero hesitation about blasting that one ghost with fire, as if he already knew it would work.
Now, on the non-Ghost Rider side of Agents of SHIELD, Marvel announced earlier this week that new SHIELD Director/possibly secret life model decoy Jeffrey just so happens to be Jeffrey Mace, aka the Patriot. For those unfamiliar with the comic, Jeffrey Mace was the Golden Age incarnation of the Patriot and also the third iteration of Captain America.
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Meet the New Boss” – Daisy goes to battle Ghost Rider at a terrible cost, and Coulson faces the new Director, and his bold agenda surprises them all, on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Jennifer Clasen)
CLARK GREGG, JASON O’MARA
This iteration of Mace happens to be Inhuman whereas the comics version came with exceptional combat skills and great athleticism. No super soldier serum for him! When they initially cast the part of the new director, Marvel execs teased that he had ties to the 1940s. This would do it.
The biggest question remains: How long has Director Mace been an Inhuman? Did the fish oils do him in? Or maybe he stumbled upon Terrigen Crystals himself back in the Golden Age? If he did have legitimate ties to Phil Coulson’s favorite era of SHIELD, that would certainly complicate their relationship.
I am all for Mace being in his late seventies, so long as we have a flashback to his original time with SHIELD. Anything for a Peggy Carter cameo. Anything to have Hayley Atwell back in the MCU.
Next: Agents of SHIELD Recap: Meet The New Boss
Agents of SHIELD still has twenty episodes left this season, so let’s see what they have in store.