Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Who Are Skye's Parents?

Last night’s season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. concluded most of the season’s long arcs, [...]

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Last night's season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. concluded most of the season's long arcs, but still left us wondering about what it is that makes Skye so special. Towards the end of the episode, we get a glimpse of Raina visiting someone. She hands them a picture of Skye and says, "I found your daughter." The person picks up the photograph and we can see blood running down his hand. If we're trying to figure out the mystery of Skye's parentage that's not a lot to go on, but we have some other clues. We know from things Raina has said in previous episodes that she believes there is a connection between herself and Skye. We also know that Raina has an interest in evolution and people with special powers. As for Skye, we know that she was identified as an object of unknown origin by S.H.I.E.L.D. Later, Raina tells Ward that she had heard about Skye. Apparently, as an infant, Skye showed up in China. Monsters destroyed the town she was in, attempting to find baby Skye. Many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents died keeping Skye safe from those monsters. Raina also revealed that those monsters were Skye's parents. We also know that Raina was being examined by the Clairvoyant with the same mindreading machine that was being used on Agent Coulson. Meanwhile, Skye was given the same GH 325 serum that Coulson was given in order to save her life, but Skye hasn't exhibited any of the weird effects of it the way Garrett or any other test subjects did. Putting all of this together, it would seem that Skye – and presumable Raina – aren't isolated incidents of unusualness. They seem to be part of something much larger. Presumably, these monsters that hunted Skye are part of a larger race of such monsters that Skye and Raina are connected to. Of course, if this is true then why haven't Skye and Raina showed the same monstrous abilities? Well, perhaps they haven't been triggered yet. It's possible that Skye and Raina are descendants of the Inhumans. This is all assuming that Marvel has plans to introduce the Inhumans into their universe at all, and there have been theories and rumors about that possibility. The Inhumans are a mysterious subspecies of humanity that has superhuman powers. These superhuman abilities would easily explain how they were able to easily level a Chinese village or two and take out some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents along the way.

inhumans

As to why Skye isn't just as monstrous, the Inhumans powers don't naturally manifest themselves over time the way a mutant's do. To trigger an Inhuman's powers they need to undergo Terrigenesis, prolonged exposure to a mysterious substance known as the Terrigen Mists. Many fans theorize that the blue alien that is the origin of GH 325 is a Kree (Chloe Bennett basically confirmed it before retracting her statement). The Inhumans are a race created by Kree scientists during Earth's early days. They share some Kree biology, which would explain why Skye was able to integrate the GH 325 into her system without having negative side effects. There are some questions that arise from this theory. If a couple of presumed Inhumans destroyed a Chinese village looking for Skye, and Raina shares this in common with Skye, then why didn't the Inhumans launch a similarly destructive search for Raina? It's possible that Raina isn't as connected as she thinks, but she clearly knows something we don't since she went straight to Skye's father after talking to Garrett. It also doesn't tell us exactly who Skye's parents are. All we really have to go on for specifics is that one shot of a bloody hand. The Inhumans are not my area of expertise, but in the research I've done I haven't come across any Inhumans particularly known for having blood on their hands. The closest I've come – and it's a stretch – is Karnak, who is a known martial artist. As a hand-to-hand combat expert, he would probably find some blood on his hands pretty frequently. On the other hand, if we're just talking about monsters, then Gorgon seems likely. He's a big, destructive guy who looks like a variation on a Minotaur, so he certainly fits that monstrous description, and he was one of the first Inhumans to appear in comics, making him an easy choice for first Inhuman to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If I had to guess tough, I think Skye's parents – even if they are Inhumans – will be original characters. Skye herself is an original character (unless she's secretly an analogue for another comic book character and we just don't know it yet), and so trying to trace her parentage to an established comic book character will always be a flawed proposition from the start. When looking at whatever comic book character it is you're theorizing about, the theory will always fall apart when you realize that the character doesn't have a daughter named Skye in the comics. We don't know anything for sure, but Skye as an Inhuman seems to me to be the most viable theory. The showrunners may take things in a different direction, coming up with an origin that has no such roots in Marvel Comics history, but if that blue alien is a Kree (and everyone is assuming that it is) then giving Skye an Inhuman origin seems like a natural place to take the story.

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