When having a read through Agents of Shield #10, I had no idea the title had been canceled. I was a casual reader of the series but all the same I was sad to see the goodbye message at the end.  This review will be a cover not just issue 10 but also the rest of the short-lived series as a whole. Since his appearance in Iron Man in 2008, Phil Coulson exemplified the everyman of the extraordinary Marvel Universe. Coulson was/is our stand in to the spectacular world of Marvel, the proverbial fan boy / SHIELD company-man smack dab in the middle of the world that we all know and love. “Our Universe”

In some respects, I feel the comic iteration, achieved this sentiment more strongly than its televised counterpart.

One reason for this is that the Agents of Shield in the comic version had more free reign and artistic license than the ABC tv show does overall. Since the beginning of AoS the show, the central premise was to explore the non-superpowered aspect of the MCU, a faithful link and crossover over into that world, that maintained its own character and plotting. As I have written elsewhere the limits of the show’s base premise slowly grew  as the interconnectivity of AoS and the greater MCU of which it was a part of is shackled by the intellectual property turf war between the movie and television studio.

The AoS comic series did not share in this disadvantage. Reading through the AoS comic series was like a reading a love letter to the greater MU of which it was a part of. The last time that  I read a comic and felt this way was during the heroes for hire series, which played with so many aspects of the Marvel U and lead to some creative team-ups. AoS in a similar fashion, bore many touchstones  to the MU, whether that was Elektra, Jonas Graymalkin or Deathlok among many others. I am sure that if this title was not prematurely canceled this trend would have continued and would have been enriched.

Despite its short shelf span, Agents of Shield was able to enjoy at least two forays into major events namely; Civil War II and Pleasant Hill. Where I’d argue that SHIELD took a greater role the first superhuman civil war event, it is not as front and center in this current one. This may be a good thing, as the challenge for titles tying into a major event, is to do so without having too much of its own voice, and plotting being co-opted.  I would say that this series succeeded in this challenge, organically telling its own story and exploring the politics of SHIELD given the event without getting too eclipsed by it. This is exemplified in Coulson’s approach to find a “third option” to the latest superhuman disagreement.

It was a real treat to see Coulson and co. interact with such high-profile characters from the MU. Although I must admit it was a bit difficult delineating some characters from their comic versus TV counterparts. I am specifically talking about Daisy Johnson and Bobby Morse. Much like  Nicholas Fury Jr., I argue that the latest iteration of these characters suffer a degree of conceptual blending from the MCU and the Comic canon which was a bit a disservice, but this is a minor gripe. The outcome with Jemma Simmons being saved with Deathlok technology in this issue was very interesting, especially so considering the transhumanist bent that the title’s TV is currently exploring with the introduction of the Life Model Decoy AIDA and Dr. Radcliffe. Not sure if this was intentional, but if it was that would be brilliant

Agents of Shield was definitely beginning to blaze a trail that would have made a firm example for the television series. Although I’m sad to see the comic series go, I’m sure we’ll see more of SHIELD in the future, as it  as had a firm presence in the MU whether or not it has a dedicated SHIELD-centric title in publication. Given more issues, I’m sure this series would have grown to be a fan favorite with some awesome cameos, and tie-ins and stronger connection to the greater MU.

Story: Marc Guggenheim Art: Ario Anindito
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation Buy

Marvel Provided Graphic Policy with a Free copy for review