Despite Marvel’s initial insistence and a handful of direct crossovers, it seems that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is no longer canon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But without its contributions to the lore, some parts of the MCU don’t quite line up.
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ran on ABC for seven seasons from 2013 to 2020. While its earlier seasons contained numerous references to the larger Marvel storyline, including the inclusion of Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson and guest appearances from Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander), President Matthew Ellis (William Sadler), and even Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), it drifted more as it went along.
While later seasons definitely diverge wildly from the MCU (the Blip never happens, for example), some of its contributions to the greater lore are not only welcome but necessary. Here are some things that only track if Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. stays canon.
3) Where Did That Helicarrier Come From?
At the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Nick Fury arrives in Sokovia just in time to help the superteam save all the civilians they can from the evil robot army. If you’re just watching the movie on its own, it’s a cool entrance … but it doesn’t make any sense.
The context that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. provides helps a little: After the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Phil Coulson – who didn’t die in The Avengers after all – re-forms it with himself as director. One of his secret operations was “Theta Protocol,” a plan to repair a helicarrier and have it ready when Fury needs it.
Without that important bit of info, it looks like Fury was just keeping a helicarrier with a bunch of SHIELD agents in a garage somewhere, despite the organization no longer existing. We wouldn’t rule it out, but we prefer the explanation.
2) Why Is Hydra’s Emblem an Octopus?
The MCU establishes Hydra almost right away; its debut appearance is in Captain America: The First Avenger as the research division of Germany during World War II. The group likes to brag about how its name exemplifies its inability to be defeated: “Cut off one head, two more shall take its place,” they say. It’s quite creepy.
But if they’re called “Hydra,” and their slogan describes the monster of Greek mythology, why do their badges, flags, and banners have an octopus on them? If you only watch the MCU, this will bother you forever.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. clears it up by showing the full history of Hydra. It turns out the organization is thousands of years old and worships Hive, a Cthulhu-esque Inhuman. Hydra’s ultimate goal is to return Hive to Earth from his exile on the distant planet Maveth, and they derived their emblem from a sculpture there – and, possibly, his distinctive head tentacles.
1) Why Didn’t the Kree Invade Earth?
Captain Marvel ends with Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) defeating a squadron of Kree ships, causing Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) to call for a retreat. In true supervillain fashion, he pledges to come back. But then he just kinda doesn’t.
In the 20-ish years between that scene and Ronan’s death in Guardians of the Galaxy, it seems the Kree never returned to Earth. They live to take over planets, yet they apparently never came back to this one.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reveals a good reason for that. In fact, the Kree have a history with Earth, having visited centuries ago to create supersoldiers from the population. This project worked too well, and these “Inhumans” drove the Kree from the planet. As long as they’re there – or the planet doesn’t explode like in a possible future on the show – the Kree won’t be back.
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