In honor of Women’s History Month, TV Guide spoke with a number of women from the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s various television series. Calling them “Marvel’s Next Generation,” the article focuses on “redefining what it means to be a female superhero on TV.” One of the many actors they spoke to was Chloe Bennet, who is best known for playing Daisy Johnson/Quake on Agents of SHIELD and voicing the character on Marvel Rising. The actor opened up about being one of the first Asian superheroes and the journey that brought her to this point in her career.
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“When I was a kid, I really desperately wanted to be blonde hair, blue eyes, from California,” Bennet explained. “I wish that I had a show like this when I was younger.”
Bennet goes on to discuss her childhood and the path that led her to Marvel career. “To think of myself living on the south side of Chicago, being half-Chinese surrounded by all my brothers and playing pretend in the alley… To think of the fact that now I can become a superhero…” she trailed off, taking a moment to consider just how far she’s come.
After growing up without seeing people who “looked like her in pop culture,” Bennet now feels a “sense of responsibility” with her character. Although, that’s not how it all began.
“I was just trying to pay my rent,” she explained. “But then it was like, ‘Oh God. Oh, I’m playing a superhero. And it’s one of the first Asian superheroes. Oh God, that’s a responsibility that I’m kind of taking that on the same way that she had to take on her powers.’”
In the second season of the series, Bennet’s character Skye was revealed to be Daisy Johnson, a character known to any Marvel Comics fan. During that time, the character went through Terrigenesis, which triggered her Inhuman powers and earned her the superhero nickname Quake.
“It’s a parallel journey that’s made her character such a standout in Marvel,” TV Guide writes. “Bennet, like Daisy, might not be ready to solely shoulder this massive responsibility of representation, but she loves going into work every day and trying to.”
While superheroes on the big and small screen are certainly becoming more diverse, there is always room to expand and grow. For now, Agents of SHIELD is an excellent example of representation on TV. Natalia Cordova-Buckley (Elena Rodriguez/Yo-Yo), for example, is one of the first Mexican superheroes to appear on television. While Ming-Na Wen doesn’t play a powered person on the series, her character, Melinda May, is still considered one of the strongest agents SHIELD has to offer.
Agents of SHIELD returns for its sixth season in May on ABC.
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