History Series / AgentsofSHIELD

** "The Dirty Half Dozen" ends with [[spoiler: Coulson sending Baron Strucker's location to Maria Hill and the Avengers, directly setting up the events of ''Film/TheAvengersAgeOfUltron'']]. Meanwhile, Raina experiences a premonition of Loki's scepter and [[spoiler: the rise of {{Ultron}}]].

** "Providence" reuses shots of one of the Helicarriers [[spoiler:that were brought down by Captain America and TheFalcon]] during ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''.

* MemoryGambit: An involuntary one, as revealed in "Nothing Personal": [[spoiler:One of Coulson's current drives was to find out who supervised Project T.A.H.I.T.I., since, after TheReveal that S.H.I.E.L.D. was infiltrated by [=HYDRA=], Coulson suspected that [=HYDRA=] might have had a hand in resurrecting him and possibly using him as an asset. But then, May manages to get Coulson the file that reveals who supervised the project... and it was ''Coulson himself'', under Nick Fury's orders. T.A.H.I.T.I. was a project designed to resurrect a fallen [[Film/{{The Avengers}} Avenger]] if worst came to worst, but Coulson not only recommended cancellation of the project, he even handed his resignation because of it. Coulson revealed that the only apparent way to be able to survive Project T.A.H.I.T.I. sane was through FakeMemories, since the process was so traumatic it'd drive the subject insane. And that's exactly what they did]].

Marvel's '''''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.''''' is a TV series set in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, focusing on the organization ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} and taking place after ''Film/TheAvengers'' and ''Film/IronMan3'' chronologically. Premiering in September 2013 on Creator/{{ABC}}, it was created and executive produced by Creator/JossWhedon, [[ProductionPosse Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen]] (Joss Whedon also directed the pilot). It stars Creator/MingNaWen, Creator/ElizabethHenstridge, Iain De Caestecker, Brett Dalton, Creator/ChloeBennet, and Creator/ClarkGregg as [[BackFromTheDead a very much alive]] Agent Phil Coulson.

--->'''Skye:''' Not long ago, I would have dumped ESP in the [[Film/TheAvengers aliens-and-portals-are-for-crazy-people]] pile, but now...\\

* BackFromTheDead: Coulson, obviously. Though he was supposedly killed by Loki in ''Film/TheAvengers'', he claims that it was only for 40 seconds (Hill says he likes to inflate the number). Over the course of the first season, it's revealed that it's rather more complicated than that. [[spoiler:He was dead for days, and a serum derived from a deceased Kree was used to bring him back. On top of that, he was originally in charge of the project, and tested it on numerous other agents, only to shelve it when the psychological side effects drove them all mad.]]

** Coulson knows what [[Film/TheAvengers the Destroyer gun]] does.

** The first time we see Ward, he is recovering a "Chitauri neural link", presumably a relic from the events of ''Film/TheAvengers''.

** Coulson mentions [[Film/TheAvengers sacrificing his card collection to help Fury]] in "The Asset".

** In "The Asset", Dr. Hall mentions the S.H.I.E.L.D. Tesseract experiments seen in ''Film/TheAvengers.''

** Agent Blake, from ''Film/TheAvengers'' Blu Ray bonus short film "Item 47", appears in "FZZT". ("Item 47" featured criminals who end up being recruited to S.H.I.E.L.D. as technical experts, in the same way Skye joined up. Blake, along with Agent Sitwell, was assigned to recover alien technology that had fallen into civilian hands; very much a proto-''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' mission.)
** The Chitauri helmet artifact and the virus it carries [[spoiler:which Simmons becomes infected with]] were relics left in the wreckage after [[Film/TheAvengers the Battle of New York]].

** Agents Barton and Romanov (aka {{Hawkeye}} and Comicbook/BlackWidow) of ''[[Film/TheAvengers The Avengers]]'' are mentioned in the same episode; apparently they are the only S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who are badass enough to go on missions without an extraction team. [[ColdOpen Which the movie confirmed in Romanov's case.]]

** In "The Well", Coulson gives a small reference to his former [[Film/TheAvengers cellist girlfriend from Portland]]. She's brought up again in "The Magical Place" as part of Raina's attempt to get Coulson to work with her. She [[http://www.tvguide.com/news/agents-shield-amy-acker-coulson-cellist-1079676.aspx appears in person]], played by Creator/AmyAcker, in "The Only Light in the Darkness".

*** When she first sees Coulson, Sif is initially shocked and suspicious, having heard of [[Film/TheAvengers his death]] from Thor.

** In "Beginning of the End", [[spoiler: Nick Fury]] shows up to give Coulson a weapon to fight the Centipede soldiers: the BFG he used on Loki in ''Film/TheAvengers''. He also [[spoiler: finally explains why Coulson's death in ''The Avengers'' was undone. The episode also directly references his actions following the events of ''Captain America: The Winter Soldier''.]]

** Coulson ''died'' [[Film/TheAvengers at the hands of Loki before an alien invasion]], and his continued existence isn't as simple as "he went to Tahiti to recuperate", like he believes. Unlike most versions, we saw the DarkAndTroubledPast before the series started. He's implied to have done a lot before the MCU films started too.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The plot of "FZZT", which involves firefighters contracting a Chitauri virus after helping out at the [[Film/TheAvengers Battle of New York]] is eerily similar to the real life instances of rescuers who developed fatal illnesses after helping search for victims of [[TheWarOnTerror 9/11]].

* DullSurprise: In "Ragtag," when Coulson finds out [[spoiler: he himself was involved in the T.A.H.I.T.I. project before [[Film/TheAvengers his death]], he looks shocked, but his reaction is simply: "huh."]]

** Coulson's "rusty" when it comes to breaking down a handgun. He makes a remark about how he had it down as muscle memory. Akela, who knew Coulson quite well before his 'death' and effectively has x-ray vision, is very concerned, and asks "what did they do to him?" Another hint that he's not quite the man he was prior to ''Film/TheAvengers''.

** "The Magical Place": Raina and Edison Po's interrogation of Coulson allows him to unlock his real memories of how he came BackFromTheDead after [[Film/TheAvengers Loki killed him]]. Although how "fixed" he is remains to be seen.

** "The Magical Place" reuses footage of Coulson's death from ''Film/TheAvengers''.

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The pre-series media campaign featured Coulson so extensively that his surviving Loki's attack in ''Film/TheAvengers'' was basically a non-reveal by the time it came. Wisely, [[TheReveal the reveal]] itself was lampshaded and [[PlayedForLaughs played for laughs]].

* VillainHasAPoint: Dr. Hall [[spoiler:wants to destroy the Graviton device in spite of collateral damage because he doesn't believe that any group is responsible enough to control it]]. He cites the events of ''Film/TheAvengers'' as evidence that S.H.I.E.L.D. can't do it either. Coulson doesn't argue the point.

[[caption-width-right:338:''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' Season 2: Cracked but not broken (From left to right: Grant Ward, Leopold Fitz, Skye, Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Jemma Simmons.]]

*** TheDragon: Tomas Calderon is Gonzales' right hand man and the one carring out tactical missions. He's a [[KnightTemplar too eager to cross off Gifted]].
*** TheEvilGenius: [[spoiler: [[TheMentor Anne Weaver]] is the former director of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy. ]]
*** TheBrute: [[spoiler: [[GeniusBruiser Mack Mackenzie]] is a mole with great strength physically and in terms of firepower.]]
*** TheDarkChick: [[spoiler: [[TokenGoodTeammate Bobbie Morse]] leads on many tasks from spying and infiltration to take-down. She's also the one advocating for Coulson and his S.H.I.E.L.D. ]]

[[caption-width-right:338:''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' Season 2: Cracked but not broken]]

* BiggerBad: As of "Turn, Turn, Turn": [[spoiler:It's revealed that Garrett is The Clairvoyant and works for HYDRA, but he's never been seen taking orders from anyone, and Alexander Pierce is TheGhost. Regardless of how much control Pierce or HYDRA as a whole has over Garrett, Garrett's still functionally the series BigBad for that season.]]

* AllThereInTheManual: Though the synopsis of several episodes confirm that Skye and the inhabitants of Lai Xi are [[spoiler: Inhumans]], the term has yet to be said onscreen. They're often called "powered people" or "gifteds" by S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA, and "descendants" by their own kind.

* ShownTheirWork: Skye correctly mentions the existence of Shining Path when they are in Peru in "0-8-4".

[[http://www.ew.com/article/2015/04/09/shield-spinoff A spinoff to the show is being developed]], which follows up on events that occur late into ''Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.''[='=]s second season (although there will not be a [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot backdoor pilot]] on the show). The spinoff may air as early as Fall 2015 or as late as Summer 2016, presuming that the pilot is approved by ABC.

* CreatorBacklash: JossWhedon has said that Coulson should not have been brought back to life, that the request ccame from Marvel's television division and he felt it cheapened Coulson's death in the movie. He's also said tthat as far as the movies are concerned, Coulson is still dead... which makes AoS CanonDiscontinuity as far as hhe and maybe the movie division are concerned.

* MexicanStandoff: In "What They Become". It starts when [[spoiler:Skye picks up the Obelisk and immediately kills a Hydra goon with it]].

* MeleeATrois: Season 2 opens with no less than four factions going up against each other in various combinations: S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, the US Military, and whoever Raina [[spoiler:and Skye's father]] are working for/with.
* MemoryGambit: An involuntary one, as revealed in "Nothing Personal": [[spoiler:One of Coulson's current drives was to find out who supervised Project T.A.H.I.T.I., since, after TheReveal that S.H.I.E.L.D. was infiltrated by [=HYDRA=], Coulson suspected that [=HYDRA=] might have had a hand in resurrecting him and possibly using him as an asset. But then, May manages to get Coulson the file that reveals who supervised the project... and it was ''Coulson himself'', under Nick Fury's orders. T.A.H.I.T.I. was a project designed to resurrect a fallen [[Film/{{The Avengers}} Avenger]] if worst came to worst, but Coulson not only recommended cancellation of the project, he even handed his resignation because of it. Coulson revealed that the only apparent way to be able to survive Project T.A.H.I.T.I. sane was through FakeMemories, since the process was so traumatic it'd drive the subject insane. And that's exactly what they did]].
* MexicanStandoff:
** In "What They Become", after Skye uses the Diviner to kill a few of Whitehall's goons.
** In "The Frenemy of My Enemy", when tensions rise upon Bakshi offering Deathlok to Mr. List as an act of good faith.

*** The Kree warrior Vin-Tak wields a specialized mallet that is capable of erasing people's memories. This is similar to the Universal Weapon, the special hammer wielded by Ronan the Accuser.

** May is a legendary S.H.I.E.L.D. agent known as "The Cavalry" but she hates that name and hates field work, which was why she ''volunteered'' to become a paper pusher. Turns out [[spoiler:she had to kill twenty cultists to save a number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and one civilian. With no weapons. Her comments to Coulson imply the civilian died and that she is haunted by the number of people she had to kill.]]

** [=#CoulsonLives!=] This is the hashtag for the 7-second teaser.
** [=FitzSimmons=] turning out to be [[TheDividual two people]] midway through the Pilot. (Up until they appear on-screen, they're referred to as if they're a single person, with pronouns deliberately avoided, and the singular often used.)

** The flashbacks in ''One Door Closes'' suggest this is also true for [[spoiler: "real" S.H.I.E.L.D. - most of the council fought together to take back the Iliad, while the rest fought at The Academy, and this seems to have made their loyalty to each other pretty unwavering.]]

** #[=CoulsonLives!=] This is the hashtag for the 7-second teaser.

* FlockOfWolves: The Bus has a serious mole problem:
** Skye is a mole for [[spoiler:the Rising Tide terrorist/hacktivist organization, though she cuts ties as she begins to warm up to S.H.I.E.L.D., and specifically when her mentor turns out to be a blatant hypocrite]].
** May is a mole for [[spoiler:Fury, given the full details of Coulson's resurrection and tasked with keeping an eye on him to make sure there were no side effects. She also built the team (short of Skye) specifically to help take him down and fix him if it became necessary]].
** Ward is a mole for [[spoiler:HYDRA, specifically the Clairvoyant and the Centipede project. While he was trawling for information in general, his mission goal was to discover the secret behind Coulson's resurrection]].
** Fitz-Simmons are a mole for [[spoiler:...no one. They seem to be just a pair of skilled scientists who managed to get on the Bus and dumped into the heart of some of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s worst conspiracies through no fault of their own - though they do set up an encrypted line to allow them to relay their research about the TAHITI serum to each other, which ends up causing some trouble despite the fact that their intentions were good. However, May does reveal that they were brought onto the team for the sake of reprogramming Coulson should he become unstable, though they were unaware of this]].
** As of "Nothing Personal", [[spoiler:even ''Coulson himself'' is revealed to have inadvertently worked against his own current interests in the past, (though he's lost the memories of doing so), by heading the T.A.H.I.T.I. project shortly before becoming its first true success.]]
** As of "Ye Who Enter Here", [[spoiler:it's revealed that Bobbi and Mack are conspiring together for a rival branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hartley was also part of this group, but she died before TheReveal so her potential betrayal had no impact on the plot.]]

* IRejectYourReality: [[spoiler: "Real" S.H.I.E.L.D. is so entrenched in their views that Coulson has been comprosied by the GH serum and can't be trusted. Whenever anyone brings up that Coulson's been trying to stop HYDRA from getting ahold of alien artifacts they twist the facts around so Coulson is hunting these artifacts for himself and not for the greater good.]]