A Beginner’s Guide to The Secret Warriors

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD teased they would be introducing some version of the Secret Warriors on the show this season, led by Skye/Daisy Johnson. The comics version of the Secret Warriors were a relatively recent team, introduced by Brian Bendis during Secret Invasion as a team of independent underground operatives working for Nick Fury and played a major part in Fury’s war against HYDRA and Leviathan.

Since we’ll at least see some form of the Secret Warriors this season on Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, it seems like a good time to briefly run down the team’s history and where you can learn more about some of the characters.

Daisy Johnson

  

You can’t really talk much about the Secret Warriors without first talking a little about the origins of Daisy Johnson. Johnson was a superpowered agent of SHIELD loyal to Nick Fury, who first appeared in the 2004 miniseries Secret War (not to be confused with Marvel’s current Secret Wars event). The superpowered illegitimate daughter of the Marvel villain Mr. Hyde, Fury recruited Johnson as a teenager, teaching her to use her powers in exchange for her personal loyalty. In her first appearance, Johnson helped Fury clean up the fallout from his secret coup attempt in Latveria. Johnson remained loyal to Fury even after he left SHIELD in the aftermath of Secret War. Fury’s replacement, Maria Hill, considered Johnson’s loyalty to be a liability and removed her from active duty.  

Caterpillars

  

After discovering evidence of a secret Skrull infiltration among Marvel’s superheroes and villains, Fury recruited Quake to form an independent team to prepare for the coming conflict. The team was made up of “Caterpillars”, superpowered descendants of different Marvel heroes and villains. Unlike the heroes or SHIELD, who the Skrulls had successfully infiltrated, Fury trusted his new recruits, as none were likely to be replaced by Skrull infiltrators.

Quake’s team included Sebastian Druid, (son of ex-Avenger Doctor Druid), superspeedster Yo-Yo Rodriguez (daughter of Marvel villain the Griffin), JT Slade (grandson of original Ghost Rider Carter Slade and Daisy’s main love interest in the series), Jerry Sledge (son of the Absorbing Man) and Phobos, the young son of Greek God Ares. Fury put the team through months of training, teaching them how to work together and better use their powers. Fury’s team first appeared in Secret Invasion #4 after the Skrulls launched their invasion and helped superhero forces turn the tide against the invading alien army. As SHIELD collapsed in the aftermath of the Skrull invasion, Fury sent the team underground again to deal with an even bigger threat.

A(nother) Secret War

  

While investigating the Skrull infiltration, Fury discovered evidence that Hydra had infiltrated and manipulated SHIELD for decades (a plot line later picked up on by Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Fury also learned that Leviathan, a Russian equivalent to SHIELD and Hydra, had also reactivated for reasons unknown. The ex-leader of SHIELD quickly moved his own forces into action, reactivating Daisy’s Secret Warrior team to raid HYDRA and HAMMER (Norman Osborn’s amoral replacement for SHIELD) bases and activating two other Caterpillar teams to wage separate wars against Leviathan and HYDRA. One of the major HYDRA threats faced by Fury and his teams was the Hydra agent Kraken, who appeared last season on Agents of SHIELD as Daniel Whitehall.

The Marvel series Secret Warriors detailed Fury’s multi-year wars against HYDRA and Leviathan.. The series (co-written by Brian Bendis and Jonathan Hickman and illustrated by Stefano Caselli) was one of Marvel’s best comics during its two year run and is probably the best modern superhero/spy comic of the last fifteen or so years. Marvel collected the series in two collected editions, both of which are available on Amazon and Comixlogy. I don’t want to spoil too much of the series (which features plenty of death, destruction and shocking twists), but the book is an obvious must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the series.

Today’s Secret Warriors

  

Currently, Daisy Johnson appears in SHIELD, a series set in the “main” Marvel Universe featuring comic versions of the Agents of SHIELD team. Johnson briefly led SHIELD, but Maria Hill replaced her as director after Johnson authorized a secret attack on AIM Island, breaking international protocol. While many of the surviving Secret Warriors faded into obscurity (or were dead) after the Secret Warriors team ended, the mutant Manifold, one of Daisy’s later Caterpillar recruits, joined the Avengers and played a critical role on the team leading up to Secret Wars.  

So What Will Agents of SHIELD’s Secret Warriors Look Like?

  

As we mentioned earlier, Marvel’s already mined a few ideas from the Secret Warriors series for different parts of their Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Hydra continuing to play a large role in Agents of SHIELD, it’s not out of the question that the TV show’s team of Secret Warriors could eventually be a wild card for Coulson and SHIELD’s revived war against the terror organization. Leviathan also appeared in Agent Carter last season, so there’s always a chance a modern version of that organization could also appear (maybe as the ATCU, the new government agency collecting Inhumans that will appear in Season 3).

Marvel has stayed mum about which (if any) members of the Secret Warriors will appear on the show, but we do know that Lincoln, the Inhuman medical student with electrical powers, will be part of the team. I’d guess that Yo-Yo or Jerry Sledge would be strong candidates for also appearing on the show next season. The Absorbing Man (Sledge’s father) appeared on the show last season and Yo-Yo’s superspeed lends itself well to television.

Since Agents of SHIELD comes out in just a few weeks, we won’t have to wait long to find out just how much of the Secret Warriors comic gets added to the series. Which Secret Warriors do you want to see on Agents of SHIELD? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!