So the much hyped Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television show hit the ABC airwaves last night and the gang is now officially in action. From what I gather, Marvel has their superheroes to take care of epic battles that may lead to world destruction with the next up to bat being Thor: The Dark World coming to theaters in November. The agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. seem to be in place to take care of the next level of bad guys that threaten human existence in weird ways - the more day to day type stuff.
Leading the crew is the return of Nick Fury's right hand man Phil Coulson who last saw in The Avengers slumped to the ground - dead. Hard to die in comics so he was just artificially killed off to rally the dysfunctional Avengers team. The back story has Phil's phony death as something more, something even Phil doesn't know. The plot of Phil thickens. Anyway, Gregg Clark's sly, stoic portrayal of Phil Coulson has been a highlight of the Marvel Universe films. Though he seems completely one dimensional, he is often working from a completely different and surprising level. There's a lot behind that sly grin and off the cuff comments.
Anyway, the debut show was really good. Great? No.... but then again this is TV. Greatness is difficult to sustain but we can live with a really good and entertaining show from Marvel and producer Joss Whedon. And it also allows a regular connection with an organization that would only show up about once (or twice now) a year at the theaters. This is now a world where S.H.I.E.L.D is now among us.
