If you focus only on the movies that have hit theaters and the shows that streamed on Disney+, the timeline and history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is relatively straightforward to follow. Yet outside of those projects, things haven’t always connected as well as the MCU wants us to believe. The Netflix shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones were part of the franchise, yet had very few connections to the movies. Then there were the likes of The Runaways and the underrated Cloak & Dagger that were part of it but basically existed on their own. And then there’s Agents of SHIELD, which is a complicated matter.
The show debuted with the MCU hyping “it’s all connected” as a tagline. For a while, that was true, with cameos by Lady Sif and Maria Hill, as well as the HYDRA twist in Captain America: The Winter Soldier playing a huge role in Agents of SHIELD Season 1. As time went on, the show became less connected to the MCU and now, with so many other shows being brought into canon, it still stands on its own. Thankfully, there’s a chance that could change with the announcement of Zodiac, a show whose logo features the SHIELD emblem. This means one of the franchise’s best characters could now return.
The main selling point for Agents of SHIELD early on was Phil Coulson, who hadn’t actually died in 2012’s The Avengers. However, it quickly became clear that the most interesting character on the series was a computer hacker named Skye. Right from the start, there seemed to be something special about her and the audience connected with Skye while also loving the bond she shared with Coulson. In Season 2, Skye learned that her real name was Daisy and she unlocked her Inhuman abilities, which included vibration manipulation that allowed her to create earthquakes. From there, the name Quake was born.
Her powers are far from what makes Daisy such a good character. It was her layers and her growth. Daisy’s journey of learning the truth about who she is, coming to terms with her new powers, and standing up for similar Inhumans was engaging to watch. She starts out an outcast hacker with trust issues and becomes the leader of a team, with the whole thing feeling organic. Characters like Yo-Yo and Lincoln looked to her for leadership because of her experience. She battled Ghost Rider, dealt with the life model decoys, and had the guts to go off on her own before coming back to the team.
If any character from Agents of SHIELD should be reintroduced into the main franchise, it’s Daisy Johnson. There is a lot of lore to bring along with her, including making Inhumans notable again. If they can bring Black Bolt back for a cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, then Quake isn’t out of the question. Zodiac is a good opportunity to do that. Not much is known about the series outside of it following spies who track people with special powers. The SHIELD symbol in the logo and that premise sounds like it has Daisy Johnson written all over it.
The MCU has started to make its former projects more canon than ever. Daredevil: Born Again has brought the Netflix characters back to the forefront, while movies like Deadpool & Wolverine and Avengers: Doomsday are making former Fox properties like Fantastic Four and X-Men relevant. Agents of SHIELD deserves that treatment. The show was connected to the greater franchise for a time, yet as the years went on, it was basically its own thing. The MCU has actually missed several chances to truly connect them.
Thanos’ snap and the Blip should’ve impacted all corners of the MCU, yet Agents of SHIELD went on without making much mention of it. The characters were on time-traveling adventures, but referencing it would’ve helped things feel more connected. There’s an upcoming Ghost Rider movie, yet Agents of SHIELD utilized him first and it would be welcome to see that get a mention somewhere. It remains odd that Marvel doesn’t make the show more canon, considering that was part of the point of it in its first days.
Chloe Bennet, who played Daisy, has expressed frustration over the way Agents of SHIELD has been handled by the MCU and she’s not alone among the cast. Regardless, Daisy would be an excellent addition to the MCU, but so would characters like Melinda May, Leo Fitz, and Jemma Simmons, as well as a returning Phil Coulson. Even if it’s just a check-in on what the characters are up to today, it would be great to see. It could also make people go back and watch Agents of SHIELD, which is one of Marvel’s best shows in history.
Do you want to see Daisy Johnson and the rest of the Agents of SHIELD crowd brought into the greater MCU? Let us know in the comments!
