Like a true fan, the first free couple of hours you had were more than likely spent in a movie theater, dedicated to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. If you haven’t seen it yet, then I’m very, very sorry and you should not continue reading this because it is a spoiler mine field. For those of you that have seen it, continue and let’s discuss this film.
There are major developments in this film. We find out Captain America (who will not be referred to as ‘Cap’, or the term of endearment Tony Stark coined, ‘Cap-sicle’) is adjusting to life in the present, but has problems with how many freedoms the government is compromising in the name of safety and security. For Marvel fans, this could be seeds of Civil War being planted, where it will ultimately lead to a stand-off with Cap and Iron Man fighting against each other over the government forcing supers to register and reveal their identities. Don’t get too excited because we are still a long way away, especially since we’ve only been introduced to a fraction of the key players. I’m sure since the Marvel cinematic universe is planned through 2028, we’ll get there soon enough.
Moving on.
In this film we meet some people who will play big parts in the future. One of them is Falcon, who will fast become Cap’s best friend and partner. The Cap and him will be inseparable, but not as inseparable as he will be with Agent 13/Sharon Carter. Sharon will undoubtedly be his love interest in the already announces Captain America 3. Brock Rumlow, AKA Crossbones, plays a HUGE part in Cap’s life (and death), so the fact that we see him surviving at the end of the film is no fluke. Next time we see him he’ll have a completely different outfit, especially since most of his body was badly damaged.
Speaking of damaged, we of course have not seen the last of mentally messed-up Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes. If you had the misfortune of looking at the cast and characters ahead of time (of if you were already a Cap fan) then the reveal that the Winter Soldier and Bucky Barnes are the same person didn’t surprise you. Fortunately, this is nowhere near the last time we encounter the Winter Soldier since he will become a regular (like Falcon), and even though he goes back to the side of good, he doesn’t go back to being Cap’s sidekick. He might also be a potential love interest but Black Widow’s (you know, bonding as assassins), but only time will tell (or we’ll have to wait for Black Widow to get her own film).
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At this point, you already know you have to sit through every last second of the credits. You are treated to a scene with the HYDRA mastermind at the head of the government control, Baron von Strucker, with the spear Loki had in the Avengers. The spear, which we can all assume holds the Mind Gem (one of several different gems already introduced in the Marvel Universe) is shown, along with 2 “miracles” who are locked up. They are Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Technically they are mutants, and children of Magneto, but since FOX owns the rights to the X-Men, they will have to be called “miracles” for now. It is also unlikely we will have an X-Men/Avengers cross over anytime soon because of this, but at least we get some new, powerful Avengers to the team, even if they might start off as mind-controlled baddies at first.
The Mind Gem is part of the Infinity Gauntlet that Thanos will need to get back in Guardians of the Galaxy. As for Baron von Strucker, he will be a villain working with Ultron in the Avengers 2. This is all talk of the future, but what about SHIELD?
Finding out just how deep Hydra’s roots extended in the government and SHIELD, the organization was forced to shut down, displacing some key players. Sharon Carter went to the CIA. Maria Hill joined Stark Industries as security presumably. Nick Fury went into deep cover, tracking down the source of Hydra. Normally we wouldn’t care about what happens to SHIELD, but because there is a show about it that runs almost parallel to the Marvel cinematic universe, we have to wonder what will become of it.
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After seeing Captain America: The Winter Soldier, events in Agents of SHIELD are starting to make sense. Fury going MIA and Coulson’s team being attacked are just a few of the most recent developments (although I hate the design for Deathlok). So after this season, what will happen to the show now that SHIELD has been disbanded? As of right now, the show has not been renewed for a second season by ABC. Even though the show has been criticized for being dull, it is still one of the best performing shows on the network, so it will more than likely be renewed. But what will it be called or what will it be about?
Being called “FORMER Agents of SHIELD” might be too on the nose. Maybe “ROGUE Agents of Shield” would sound better. Ideally, this could be an opportunity to introduce them (along with a few new supers) as the Secret Avengers. Who would fund them you ask? Tony Stark would of course, and it could be headed by Fury’s second in command, Maria Hill. The only problem is that they would have to introduce real super powered people and this is more of a human (-ish) centered show. Also, technically the team is supposed to be headed by Cap, but that doesn’t seem likely for him to appear frequently on a tv show. This scenario is of course the one I wish for, but chances are that they will continue with business as usual, and maybe under a different organization’s name.
Speculation aside, it could be very minimally possible that the show was only meant to run one season or that they decide to cancel it (knowing Whedon’s track record), but everything is connected. Whatever they decide to do with it, I hope they continue making the show as interesting and engaging as its been recently. If they don’t, then honestly does it matter if it’s on anymore or not?
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