Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Is The Origin Story We Didn’t See Coming

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a show about Phil Coulson, right? It’s about the inner workings of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the behind the scenes stuff of all our favorite Marvel movies, right?

Well, you might like to think so, and it may have even appeared to start out that way. But, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has actually become the origin story for one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first female superheroes.

Doctor: This is a disaster.
Mike: No, it’s an origin story.

In the pilot, Skye is introduced to us as a trouble-making hacker who is perhaps a little too smart for her own good. For a while, it appears Skye’s connection with S.H.I.E.L.D. is merely a coincidence: that she’s there because Coulson thought she’d make a good asset as someone who’s not from S.H.I.E.L.D. –a different perspective. However, the show has really been about Skye the whole time.

Throughout the course of the first season, we watch Skye become a part of the team, and by extension, a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. We also learn that her mysterious past (and unknown parents) may make her a little…more than human. In “SEEDS”, we learn that Skye is what S.H.I.E.L.D. refers to as an 0-8-4, or an object of unknown origin. The plot to find out who, or rather, what Skye is, remains the most consistent storyline featured throughout the series.

When Skye is shot in “T.R.A.C.K.S.”, the team scrambles to find the same mystery drug that saved Coulson’s life after the Battle of New York. In “T.A.H.I.T.I.”, Coulson learns that the drug came from the blood of the Kree, an alien species featured in other Marvel projects, such as Guardian’s of the Galaxy. Coulson attempts to stop his team from using the drug on Skye once he learns of its origin. However, it is too late. We get the first hint that Skye is an Inhuman when the drug cures her without any of the painful side-effects we see in Coulson.

Season 2 brings us in contact with Skye’s parents. Her father, Cal, is a dangerous man, set on finding Skye–or as he calls her, Daisy–and helping her become who she was meant to be. Her mother, Jiaying, is like Skye, and also had powers, including healing and regeneration. In the mid-season finale, “Aftershocks”, Skye’s superhero status is confirmed when she comes in contact with Kree crystals, called Terrigens, that allow her powers to be revealed.

Skye is the onscreen counterpart to Marvel Comic’s Daisy Johnson, or Quake: with her powers, she can manipulate vibrations in the universe, create shockwaves or earthquakes, and even use telekinesis.  After Skye gains these powers, we watch her struggle to learn to control them. It’s a difficult adjustment at first when, out of fear, her friends at S.H.I.E.L.D. try to suppress her powers, rather than embracing them. Later, it is revealed that her mother is still alive, and under her tutelage, Skye learns to use her powers without hurting herself or others.

Skye has come to accept the changes she’s gone through, and we see her reunite with the team in the Season 2 finale, “S.O.S”. In this episode, we see the same Terrigen crystals that caused Skye’s transformation being dropped into the ocean in a montage that leads us to believe many more Inhumans will start popping up across the world. Season 3 looks to follow the next exciting steps in Skye’s superhero origin story, as she becomes the hero we need!

 

What are you most excited to see from our new superhero and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 3? Share your thoughts in the comments below!