Agents Of SHIELD Pays Tribute To Bill Paxton

04/04/2017 11:00 pm EDT

In February, actor Bill Paxton died at the age of 61 due to complications from surgery. In addition to memorable roles Alien, Twister, and Titanic, Paxton was a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing the Agent John Garrett, a mole for Hydra within SHIELD, in the first season of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD.

While Paxton's character turned out to be a villain on Agents of SHIELD, the actor was beloved by his co-stars, and several members of the Agents of SHIELD cast and crew shared remembrances of Paxton on social media immediately following his death.

As part of its return to air with tonight's episode, "What If...," Marvel's Agents of SHIELD officially paid tribute to the former cast member. After the episode ended and before the credits began, a message appeared on-screen. The messages read:

"In loving memory of our friend, Bill Paxton."

It's a simple but touching tribute Paxton from his SHIELD family.

In addition to his role Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, Paxton's career included roles in The Terminator, Weird Science, Titanic, Apollo 13, Twister, Predator 2, True Lies and Aliens. He also gave an Emmy-nominated performance in Hatfields and McCoys and starred in HBO's Big Love.

At the time of his death, Paxton was appearing on the CBS series Training Day. He completed filming for the role prior to his untimely death.

More: Storm Chasers Honor Bill Paxton With GPS Tribute / Training Day Pays Tribute To Bill Paxton / Amanda Seyfried Pays Tribute To Co-Star Bill Paxton / Rob Lowe Pays Tribute To Bill Paxton

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD returns with a vengeance for the fourth exciting season in an all new time period, Tuesday at 10:00 p.m. ET. In the aftermath of their journey to another planet, Director Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and the rest of the team were driven more than ever to put an end to the Hydra organization. Little did they know that they were up against the deadliest threat they've ever faced – an extremely powerful Inhuman, Hive, who was transported back from Maveth in the body of their worst enemy, Grant Ward. The team was able to thwart and kill Hive and take down Hydra, but they are all still mourning the death of fellow agent and Inhuman, Lincoln Campbell.

In light of the Sokovia Accords, and with Hydra obliterated, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been legitimatized again and no longer needs to operate in the shadows. Since the world presumes that Coulson is dead, the organization needed a new Director (Jason O'Mara) to be the face of the organization. Coulson finds himself back in the role as an agent and teamed with Mack (Henry Simmons), and together they are tasked with tracking down and confirming the presence of Enhanced people, aka Inhumans. They have been trying to track down and capture Daisy (Chloe Bennet), aka Quake, who has gone rogue in an attempt to atone for sins from the past. But with the world believing that Daisy is a dangerous outlaw who has taken down banks and bridges, the new Director has no qualms about taking her down for good. Agent May (Ming-Na Wen) is tasked with training specialist strike teams, and Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) have taken a big step forward in their relationship. But with Simmons' new promotion as Special Advisor to the Director in Science and Technology, Fitz, as well as her former team members, finds it hard to confide in or trust her since she's now the Director's confidant.

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