Wednesday is the day. The beginning of the end for Marvel’s longest running television show, Marvel’s Agents of Shield. As many of the shows fans know, this season will include more time travel and the return of Phil Coulson. Well, at least a version of him. At the end of Season Six, Jemma introduced the newest (oldest) member of the team, Phil Coulson. But in this case, it is an advanced version of the LMD’s introduced in Season 4, mixed with Chronicom technology. This means that he has been given all of Coulson’s memories as well as his knowledge of S.H.I.E.L.D. history. This is important as the Chronicoms are endeavoring to stop S.H.I.E.L.D. before it starts. By removing them, it will allow the Chronicoms to transform the earth into a new home for their race. Hence the need to travel back in time and stop them before they can follow up on their plans.
Clark Gregg IS Phil Coulson
Once again, fan favorite Clark Gregg will be filling Coulson’s shoes. This will his 12th year in the role and one last chance for Gregg to explore a new side of Coulson. During his time in the role, he has died multiple times, been in space, and even been the Ghost Rider for a short span. So Gregg has seen about every side of the character but that didn’t stop him from wondering how he would approach the LMD/Chronicom version. He discussed this in a recent talk with Variety.
I was a little thrown at first,” Gregg said of the decision to turn Coulson into an LMD. “I internalize everything Coulson cares about whether I want to or not. He was really adamant that he didn’t want that. And even though I love [the Star Trek: The Next Generation character] Data, I didn’t want Phil Coulson to be Data, you know, the cyber being following them around doing fast math. Their idea around it was very different. He’s wrestling with some of the stuff that classic AI characters have dealt with in the past: What am I? What am I now, in his case. And he’s also not really the kind of typical LMD. There’s other, much more advanced stuff going on. I think someday when there is extremely advanced AI, it’ll be harder to really tell the difference between organic intelligence and that form of artificial intelligence. [Pause] I went full nerd on you, didn’t I?!”
Full Nerd
Of course, it’s Gregg’s embrace of the whole Nerd culture that makes him a fan favorite. He will discuss Star Wars and Star Trek just as easily as his latest acting gig. Eventually, the discussion came up whether Gregg would portray Coulson again if the opportunity arose. His answer was probably yes, if the chance presented itself.
It’s hard for me to imagine a scenario where I’d say, ‘No, I’m too busy to put on whatever the latest version of the suit is and go play Phil Coulson.’ I’m always thrilled when I see them changing timelines and exposing a multiverse in the cinematic [universe]. Because I think, ‘Well, I’ve seen scenarios where I could be around!’ So I really learned with this character to never say never, but I’m also really grateful for the ride that we had.
Are you going to check out Marvel’s Agents of Shield when it premiers this Wednesday? If it’s anything like the previous 6 seasons, it will be television worth watching. Share your hopes for the series final here at GeekVibesNation. You can be sure yours truly will be discussing the show here as well as on our Podcast GVN’s Martin and Kathy’s Coffee Binge. This week, we will discuss Season 6 in preparation for the Season 7 premier.
h/t: ComicBook
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
