S.H.I.E.L.D.: Coulson is Back From the Dead, Confirms Whedon

Ever since it was revealed that Clark Gregg's fan-favorite character S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson would be the star of the forthcoming ABC series Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D., fans have wondered how the character--who appeared to die in Marvel's The Avengers last year--might make his way back to the land of the living. For the most part, speculation has revolved around S.H.I.E.L.D. misdirection, Life Model Decoys and other such ways that the character may never have actually been dead to begin with, thus allowing the writers to skirt the issue of resurrection in the fairly young Marvel Cinematic Universe. (After all, the thinking goes, if you bring back the very first major character who dies, it certainly sets a standard that future deaths pack a bit less punch.) "I'll tell you guys this, Heimlich," CinemaBlend quotes the director as saying today at South by Southwest. "I can't talk about it." Still, asked whether he really did bring Coulson back from the dead for the series, Whedon answered, "Yes. For realsies." What do you think--is everyone reading too much into this by eliminating near-death of pseudo-death possibilities, or did Whedon just reveal that death in the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn't an entirely permanent condition?