List of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is an American television series created for ABC by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D., a fictional peacekeeping and spy agency in a world of superheroes. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it acknowledges the continuity of the franchise's films and other television series.
The series stars Clark Gregg, reprising his role of Phil Coulson from the films, as well as Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, and Elizabeth Henstridge. Nick Blood and Adrianne Palicki joined the cast for the second and third seasons, while Henry Simmons and Luke Mitchell had recurring roles in the second season before being promoted to the main cast for the third. John Hannah, who recurred in the third season, joined the main cast in the fourth, while Natalia Cordova-Buckley, who recurred in both the third and fourth seasons, was promoted to the main cast for the series' fifth season. Jeff Ward was promoted to the main cast for the sixth season after recurring in the fifth. Additionally, some characters from Marvel Cinematic Universe films and Marvel One-Shots also appear throughout the series, along with other characters based on various Marvel Comics properties. Several characters from the series also appear in the supplemental digital series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot.
This list includes the series' main cast, all guest stars deemed to have had recurring roles throughout the series, and any other guest who is otherwise notable.
Overview
Main characters
Phil Coulson
Phillip "Phil" Coulson was the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in charge of Project T.A.H.I.T.I., meant to bring a potential dead Avenger back to life using a drug derived from an ancient alien corpse. Following his death in The Avengers, Fury resurrected Coulson using T.A.H.I.T.I., and had his memories of the project replaced. Coulson puts together a team of agents, and they travel the world dealing with strange new cases. During this time, Hydra is revealed to have infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., leading to the latter's demise. Fury makes Coulson the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and tasks him with rebuilding the agency "the right way". Coulson becomes romantically involved with Rosalind Price, the leader of an anti-Inhuman government taskforce, until her death at the hands of Grant Ward, one of Coulson's former agents. Following the signing of the Sokovia Accords, S.H.I.E.L.D. is re-legitimized, with the still officially dead Coulson replaced as director. In the Framework virtual reality, Coulson teaches about the dangers of Inhumans. It is later discovered that Phil Coulson is dying due to the side effect of having Ghost Rider in him during the final battle with Aida. Following the final battle with the gravitonium-enhanced Glenn Talbot, Coulson retires to live out his last days on Tahiti with May.Phil Coulson was created for Iron Man; he was the first S.H.I.E.L.D. agent introduced in the MCU, and was portrayed by Gregg, who went on to play the character in several other MCU films and Marvel One-Shots. At the 2012 New York Comic Con, Gregg was announced to be starring as Coulson in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., despite the character dying in The Avengers." In April 2013, Gregg said that he had found creator Joss Whedon's explanation for Coulson's resurrection "fascinating" and "true to the world of the comics and mythology in general". On whether the resurrected Coulson would be the same as before he died, Gregg said "I think if he hadn't gone through some kind of change, it wouldn't be any good." After Coulson was promoted to Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Gregg said "He kind of got his dream job that I don't even think he would have ever dreamed he would be given... it's going to require him to move a little bit in the direction of a more pragmatic figure like Nick Fury". Discussing Coulson's character progression through three seasons, executive producer Jeffrey Bell said, "First season Coulson would have beat Ward up and then thrown him over his shoulder and brought him back to Earth and locked him away. Season two Coulson would have defeated him and left him there on the other planet to fend for himself," while season three Coulson paused while a portal to Earth was closing to take the time to kill Ward. Speaking to the final episode of season five, which sees Coulson retire to live out his last days on Tahiti, Gregg said, "My understanding is that Phil Coulson is no longer alive. He's been brought back, he's been really clear that he didn't want supernatural measures used again. I always felt like he thought almost like he wasn't supposed to be here... I don't think there is a real buy back for the fact that this deal he made with the Ghost Rider is killing his body." Gregg also noted he was talking with the series showrunners about appearing in some form in the sixth season, as there had been some interest in including him.
Sarge / Pachakutiq
Sarge is a man who looks like Phil Coulson; even having the same DNA. He leads a group of mercenaries consisting of Jaco, Pax, and Snowflake to Earth on a mission involving targeting people possessed by alien parasites. Then they raided Deke Shaw's tech company to target Deke himself, which ends with Sarge and Snowflake making off with May while Jaco and Pax are apprehended. After being forced to kill another parasite-infected person, May learns that Sarge is a long-lived alien who has been leading his group in hunting the parasitic Shrikes, which have been decimating worlds on behalf of their creator, and that Sarge intends to stop them once and for all. May overpowers Sarge and Snowflake, commandeers their vehicle, and drives back to the Lighthouse. While he and his group are in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, Sarge reveals that the Shrikes' creator, Izel, has destroyed his planet and his family; leading him onto his path of revenge. Following his failed attempt to blow up the Shrike tower and take on Izel's ship, Sarge is detained by S.H.I.E.L.D. May appears in his cell and shoots him while possessed by Izel. After recovering and healing, Sarge broke free from his restraints and confronts Izel where the Gravitonium generator holding the powers of the Di'Allas is. Sarge is left confused when Izel claims that he is from a non-corporeal world like her and that the "family" is Coulson's memories of his team. Sarge then remembers that his real name is Pachakutiq and how he is merely possessing a clone body of Coulson which was created by the Di'Allas and sent a hundred years into the past on his and Izel's home planet. Despite this, he still believes Izel to be his enemy, though he unknowingly starts to manifest powers. After being confronted by Daisy and fully realizing his powers, it's revealed traces of Coulson lie inside Sarge and that he wants to die before he hurts anyone else. When it came to the fight with Izel, Sarge remembers who and what he is and stabs May with his sword while sending her to the other side as a sign. He then fought Mack and Daisy where his true form was revealed. Once May returned from the other side and impaled Izel with the sword, Daisy stunned him with her abilities so Mack could destroy Pachakutiq with the sword.Phil Coulson (Chronicom L.M.D.)
Following the deaths of Izel and Sarge, Enoch and Simmons created a Life Model Decoy of Phil Coulson enhanced with Chronicom technology using the remnants of the previous L.M.D.s and the memories of Coulson saved to the Framework. Upon being briefed of what has occurred since then, he joins the team in stopping the Chronicoms from changing history. After defeating the Chronicoms, the Coulson L.M.D. receives his counterpart's car, Lola, and travels the world.Melinda May
Melinda Qiaolian May is a S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot and weapons expert nicknamed "the Cavalry", against her wishes, after a mission to Bahrain where she saved an entire S.H.I.E.L.D. team from a rogue Inhuman. Unbeknownst to S.H.I.E.L.D., she did this by killing a young girl named Katya Belyakov. Still struggling to move past this event years later, May agrees to watch her old friend and partner Coulson for Nick Fury, reporting to the latter and looking for potential side-effects of Project T.A.H.I.T.I. in the former. When Coulson becomes the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., May acts as his second-in-command, and over time begins to move past the events of Bahrain and even develop familial relationships with characters such as Skye. By mid-season five, she begins a relationship with Phil Coulson. Following the fight against the gravitonium-enhanced Glenn Talbot, May joins Coulson in his final days on Tahiti. In season six, she assists in dealing with threats involving Sarge's group and Izel, though she is grievously wounded in the process. After Simmons revives her in season seven, May gains empathetic powers, which she uses during the final battle against the Chronicoms to download empathy into the Chronicom Hunters. One year later, May becomes a teacher at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Coulson Academy, with Flint as one of her students.Wen had been on the "forefront" of the producers wishlist to appear in the series, and after a general meeting, pursued her for the part; Wen was cast as May in October 2012. Whedon had the character, who was originally listed with the name Agent Althea Rice on casting sheets, "rolling around in his head" for a long time. In preparation for the role, Wen was "given a couple of background stories" about May, but found it challenging to play a character who is respected by those around her when the audience doesn't know why, stating "It's a challenge in different ways....I use some of my own personal experience where we've been scarred or we've been greatly disappointed". When May's past was revealed in "Melinda", Wen called it "devastating", explaining "She was married, she was in love with Andrew, she had a job that she excelled at and loved and believed in—so her world was pretty perfect...To have learned what she had to do, for the good of the many...I can understand why it would traumatize her so much and cause her to retreat." May's shirt is the same blue as many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in The Avengers such as Maria Hill, so as to have some continuity between her uniform and those established in the films. The rest of her costume is inspired by military flight suits, including a leather vest, and pants with stretch panels to aid with fighting.
Following the series premiere, Wen teased the character, saying that "she's very much the observer, and whenever she wants to put in her two cents, it's something that you want to listen to and kind of pay attention to...She's slow in getting acclimated to part of the group and being in the field again." Talking about May's reasons for staying with S.H.I.E.L.D., Wen explained "May's friendship and...loyalty and her love for Coulson . Maybe not romantic , it's just really—it's hard to describe—it's a bond, it's unbreakable, and she will watch over Coulson and take care of him and help him through whatever he needs to at this point in his life... She wants to be there for him, and if it serves S.H.I.E.L.D., that's just more or less a side effect, really." Wen admitted that May develops a relationship with Skye over the course of the series, going from thinking of Skye as "someone that she didn't want as part of the team and didn't understand why Coulson wanted her" to wanting Skye "to be the best agent that she can be." After discovering that Skye is an Inhuman, Wen stated that "it's like when you have your child or your daughter losing control or getting involved with situations or people that you're not sure about. You don't have the control anymore. It's very frightening. For Skye to be an unknown entity, May still holds out hope. She hopes that her training with her will help her be able to control her new powers, but you never know. Sometimes the power overtakes everything else."
On how May deals with her ex-husband Andrew becoming the Inhuman killer Lash, Wen said, "She's come to the understanding that it was something he had no control over. The betrayal might be not sharing that information of what happened to him with her. I think she understands that, in a way, he was scared and trying to be protective of their relationship and doing it all for the wrong reasons. I think, ultimately, Agent May is kind of shut down when it comes to Lash and Andrew at this point. That's why she's re-focusing all her energy back into S.H.I.E.L.D., back being by Coulson's side. That's where she's most comfortable." Wen went on to describe May as "unconventionally maternal...she's taking care of Simmons and really believing that she needs to be able to protect herself, she's very, very concerned about the family's well being."
Wen received nominations for 'Favorite Actress in a New TV Series' at the 40th People's Choice Awards and 'Favorite Female TV Star – Family Show' at the 29th Kids' Choice Awards. Wen was also named TVLine's "Performer of the Week" for the week of April 12, 2015, for her performance in "Melinda", specifically her portrayal of May in the flashback sequences.