“Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD:” Patriot in the Comics

This week’s “Agents of SHIELD” gave us the Patriot Project and how that affects Director Mace. But how does it compare to Patriot in the comics?

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD certainly likes to give mysterious backgrounds to the majority of its characters. Director Jeffrey Mace is no exception.

In this week’s episode, “The Patriot,” while on a mission with the Director, Coulson and Mack discover a secret about him that’s not so shocking:

He’s not actually an Inhuman.

No, the whole Inhuman thing was a kind of PR scheme to help calm the war against Inhumans. As it turns out, Mace was part of “Project Patriot,” which involves him taking a serum to give him superhuman strength. And no, this is not the Captain America serum. In fact, it’s a slightly adjusted version of what Cal Zabo used to take to turn himself into Dr. Hyde.

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

Agents of SHIELD takes a lot of liberties with the comics, and this one actually isn’t too off-base and does provide an interesting twist. So what’s the difference?

First, he’s a reporter for the Daily Bugle and second, he’s around in the 1940s rather than present day. But his origin otherwise isn’t that much different. Mace in the comics doesn’t actually have any super powers. He’s excellent at hand-to-hand combat, but that’s about it.

He does has the same fervent patriotism as Captain America and feels a duty to fight against Nazi espionage during World War II. Which is what makes him take on the guise of Patriot. He even has a sidekick for a while known as Miss Patriot.

But the one big different between Agents of SHIELD and the comics is that in the comics, he actually takes on the mantle of Captain America form 1946 until he retires in 1949.

And while Agents of SHIELD can theoretically make him the new Captain America since the real Cap is currently a wanted fugitive… they probably won’t take that path.

Next: Agents of SHIELD: The Koenigs Will Return! Are They LMDs?

It will be interesting to see just how long it takes for the Director’s secret to reach the public’s ears.