STARRING: Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennett, Brett Dalton, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge
The most hyped show of the season has arrived. Marvel’s Agents of Shield is the most ambitious project this season, but ambition doesn’t necessarily translate into quality. While it has been a while since we walked this path with such a major canon, we’ve been here before. Heroes had to create a story without the benefit of a backstory, and make it interesting. And regardless of how you feel about Heroes later seasons, Season 1 was incredible. And comparing Agents of Shield’s pilot to Heroes? Well…
Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) is alive and well. Though, there’s a hint of mystery as to how he is alive and well. I’m sure that’s a major reveal waiting for a future episode. He assembles a team of Shield agents, who are all badasses in their own areas. You have the tech side (Caestecker/Henstridge) and the enforcer side (Wen/Dalton). The first episode is really about recruting Skye (Bennett), who is a hacker of sorts. The episode also features a super, a guy who is artificially powered by a device attached to his arm. Of course, the attachment is faulty, and he’s going to explode. So the Shield team has to try and get to him before he does.
Heroes did a great job of introducing the characters. Here, they spent a ton of time on a character that I’m not expecting to see next week, as well as Skye. The two tech agents, I couldn’t pick them out on the street if I saw them. Ming Na whines about her backstory, but we never are really told the deal. As a pilot, I’m not really sure this works. They are riding too much on the idea that you want to watch an Agents Of Shield show already, and you don’t need to be pulled in. I have a lot of shows to keep up with this season, and sadly, this one is not near the top of my list, though I will be back next week.
FINAL GRADE: B-
