- Some also aren't happy about the cast being comprised mostly of canon foreigners, since there's already plenty of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from the comics to use. Others feel that with Coulson himself having been an original character for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's appropriate.
- When the show started, some criticised the show for what was perceived to be Monochrome Casting, since only two of the original six were non-white. However, this criticism was contested by the fact that, many of the people who complained were overlooking the presence of two Asian leads, something uncommon in genre shows, even ones that are praised for diversity (notably, some of the people complaining didn't notice Ming Na-Way or Chloe Bennet's ethnicities before accusing the show of being too white). This lessened when Trip and Mack joined, and though Trip was killed, Mack has since became one of the most prominent cast members. This complaint now is almost non-existent now that the show has also introduced prominent Hispanic characters like Yo-Yo and Robbie, making it the most diverse cast within the MCU.
- Some also hate the show because it focuses on a small team of individuals instead of the much larger overall organization of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is also likely lessened by Season Two, as that ends up being what it's doing. Others have complained about the increased cast size and the way attention has left the original small team.
- There's a split in the fandom over the show taking several episodes to get around to fleshing out the majority of the characters. Some fans are fine with the pacing, citing that the show needed to establish itself before it could flesh out the characters, whilst others point to the lack of Character Development meaning there was no connection between the audience and the cast. Like before, this is also mitigated by the second season, which notably avoids dragging out storylines and actually wraps up what would have otherwise been a season-long arc in only ten episodes.
- The show in general seems to be this amongst the MCU, with some liking everything about it, some liking it as a show on its own merits but a sub-par offering when compared to the rest of the MCU, and some who basically hate it.
- The reveal that Ward is a HYDRA agent in "Turn, Turn, Turn." Some fans think this development makes the character more interesting and shows that the showrunners are willing to take risks. Others think it wasn't properly built up in previous episodes. As of the second season, the previously present split between those who were hoping he'll be redeemed and those who are hoping he remains a villain has intensified into a massive debate on if he should be redeemed or not. It gets very extreme, however, with some, less rational fans on either side of the fence who are either so on his side that they demonize the others for not supporting him while others ignore Ward's complexity and see him as nothing but a Nazi (and as such, any support for him is akin to Nazi sympathizing). The show itself appeared to be building up to both at one point, with Ward seemingly trying to seek redemption despite his own earlier insistence to the contrary and everyone else shooting down the idea by bringing up his atrocities, at least until the season finale when he reveals his last apparent act of good was a manipulation before he crossed the Moral Event Horizon.
- The Stand With Ward movement/hashtag itself is either a legitimate worldview focusing on both a legitimate Freudian Excuse and even plausible redemption arcs on the part of Ward, along with the raising of awareness for how abuse victims are arguably sidelined in the media, or one of the most egregious cases of Draco in Leather Pants in order to justify the shipping of a "Nazi" with a woman of color while also noting that Ward himself is guilty of just as much emotional abuse as he received and thus muddying the abuse victim argument. Alternatively there are those who believe that SWW could have been, or started out as the former, but the overprevalence of Skyeward shippers gradually devolved it to the latter, and there are those that while finding Ward's Freudian Excuse legitimate, do not agree that he should be redeemed either because of the severity of his actions or because they find him much fun to watch or interesting as a villain, or both. However their recent harassment of those behind the show and even actors on social media, as well going onto online media to argue with everyone from the writers of the show to the FX people demanding changes to their favorite character storyline does them no favors.
- When Coulson was made the director of the new S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first season finale, a number of fans protested that he was chosen over the various female characters that were S.H.I.E.L.D. heads in the comics (like Maria Hill). Some fans felt it betrayed Captain America's decision to abolish S.H.I.E.L.D. in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, or that it rewarded Coulson without earning it. Others feel it's a development that opens new opportunities for the show in its coming seasons.
- Lance Hunter's ex-wife being revealed as Bobbi Morse, even though it was a pretty common guess before it was revealed. On the one hand, some feel this is Canon Defilement as the two never had any relationship in the comics, with her canon-relationship with Hawkeye and their dynamic now being used for her and Hunter (and thus, annoying fans of the comics who liked said relationship), along with Lance's comments directed at her before now coming off as far more petty given it's now clear she didn't treat him like dirt like he made her out to be. Others, however, don't mind the addition as it adds more to both their characters, with many finding their interactions cute regardless.
- Mockingbird's outfit. Either it's on par with the movie costumes, it's OK but subpar compared to her outfit in the comics, or it's dull and derivative. Of course, a lot of the criticism seems to stem from the over-presence of black, while ignoring that her suit in the comics is also largely black as well. Some Marvel fans were hesitant concerning Adrianne Palicki's casting, noting that she was part of the abysmal Wonder Woman pilot. This lessened when she appeared and many liked her afterwards, but there's still a split on if she's the right choice for Bobbi and/or if another would have been better suited, and even some who like Palicki, but wish she was cast in a different role such as Carol Danvers.
- A minor one is the fans' interpretation of Skye and Coulson's relationship. Many view Coulson as Skye's unambiguous Parental Substitute, while others genuinely think that the writers are intentionally building up a romantic relationship between them.
- The Fantastic Racism towards the Inhumans, with many fan arguments over how believable it is to see this attitude from several characters, Simmons in particular, when they were perfectly fine with the Avengers. She agrees the Avengers were necessary but only because "we unleashed alien horrors". She also sums up a long list of people like the Inhumans who were a danger to others, as well as witnessing Raina murder four unarmed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
- The "Real" S.H.I.E.L.D. plotline itself. Some feel it's a realistic development, given the fractured nature of S.H.I.E.L.D. post-Winter Soldier, and opens up exciting possibilities for a potential Civil War tie-in or as the origins of the MCU equivalent to S.W.O.R.D. or H.A.M.M.E.R. Others feel it's a tired rehash of the HYDRA plot from Season One. There's also a split between those who find them hypocritical (they're a secret organisation who are against secrets, while their only claim of legitimacy is based on being formed first) and others who find their claims actually have some merit (their issue is with authority figures keeping secrets from agents and other actions that put their agents in unneeded danger, something both Fury and Coulson are guilty of), as well as their apparent Fantastic Racism against Gifted and aliens (which, in fairness, members of Coulson's team are just as guilty of).
- The announcement that Ward will be a major villain for season 3. Some people thought this was an interesting move, while others thought that Ward should have been better used as an dark Anti-Hero or Anti-Villain or even rejoin HYDRA to destroy it from within. Another group believes Ward should have died in season 2 and would prefer someone else be the Big Bad over rehashing a previous antagonist. There are even others who think this move is blatant character assassination to keep Ward a villain and is even insulting towards abuse victims. Others find it tiring that despite the harm Ward has caused or the people he killed or tortured he seems to keep getting away with it.
- Similar to Skye becoming Daisy Johnson, there's some who hope Ward will become the MCU equivalent of a supervillain, the most commonly cited one being Taskmaster. A large number of Taskmaster fans react as if this is a Fandom-Enraging Misconception when suggested because he's so different from Taskmaster's comic self that many would find it a huge and pointless change, and they want to see the character introduced properly. Then there's those who think that Ward is too interesting as he is that making him someone else would ruin him. This all became a moot point when he just dies halfway through Season 3, while the comics are having Grant Ward introduced, indicating he was always a Canon Immigrant.
- The addition of Luke Mitchell's Lincoln to the main cast was met with mixed reception from the fans. Some loved the character and couldn't wait to see him on screen. Some argued that there are other character more deserved to be in the main cast like Mack. A third camp had nothing against the character or his actor but disliked the idea of an extended cast where everyone has less screentime; this group cited Ward, a main character who was absent for 8 episodes as an example to why extending the cast at the expense of screentime is a bad idea. And, a fourth group exist who largely found him boring and uninteresting. The second group are somewhat migated after Mack was also confirmed to being upgraded to main cast, after a season of being a Fake Guest Star.
- Cal's redemption. Some, (mostly Ward fans) think it was extremely hypocritical for SHIELD to offer a man who had killed (or at least participated in the killings of) an entire village during one night, this being one of the first things he did in his 25 years of killing, to not only get a second chance, but be shown receiving so much sympathy from Coulson and Daisy given their detest for Ward and his actions, which arguably pale in comparison, in-spite of Ward's past attempts at redemption and Cal's seeming lack of interest in such. Others however believe this exaggerates how they treated Cal (who didn't actually get any sympathy from Daisy until she bonded with him (something she only did after Jaiyang essentially forced her to spend time with him), while Coulson didn't really sympathise with him at allnote ).. Given that, as noted above, the first view is largely expressed by Ward fans, given that Ward was offered a second chance by Coulson and with the same stipulations—that he would go through TAHITI to wipe his memory, but Ward chose instead to use whatever sympathy Coulson had left so he could kidnap and torture Bobbi as opposed to Cal who agreed to it in-spite of the fact he would lose his relationship with Daisy.
- The news between seasons 2 and 3 that Skye would be officially changing her name to Daisy Johnson has been met with mixed reactions. To some, Skye's journey to becoming Daisy Johnson happened too quickly, and they dislike the fact the quirky hacker girl is now the superhuman lead, while others have enjoyed her Character Development up to this point and are happy to have an actual superhero as a lead on the show.
- While Season 2 is generally considered superior to Season 1, there are those who dislike the Darker and Edgier tone and the Fantastic Racism on the part of established characters, particularly Simmons. Another common third group believe that the second season started a lot stronger, but decayed as it went on thanks to the Inhumans and Real SHIELD plotline.
- The fact that Season 3 will continue to use the Inhumans; the Inhumans currently have a very vocal hatedom due to Marvel pushing them as a property and a Suspiciously Similar Substitute for the X-Men, so the show using them at all is gaining criticism from fans for the same reasons. Others understand the legal red tape reasons behind using them and don't mind their inclusion.
- The Reveal early in Season Three that Andrew Garner is actually the Inhuman Lash; its either a twist that comes out of nowhere, or its The Un-Twist due to how many had guessed this quite early. Garner's behaviour doesn't gel with what Lash is doing, but at the same time, this explains a lot of the unanswered questions about Garner and May's cancelled reconciliation as well as his stubborn refusal to green-light candidates for Daisy's sanctioned team of Inhumans.
- The Season 3 Winter finale, specifically Ward being killed off and his body being used by It. On the one hand, many fans are glad that, after all the crap Ward did to the rest of the cast it's nice that he's finally dead, and It allows them to keep Brett Dalton on the show in-spite of this. On the other hand, many feel the fact Coulson is the one to end him rather than Daisy, May, or Bobbi (who 'deserve' the kill more thanks to what he did to them), with Coulson only getting the kill because of the Stuffed In A Fridge plot the episode prior, makes it feel like they wasted the build up for them (especially given that, while Daisy and May have had their respective Catharsis Factor moments listed below, Bobbi has yet to get payback for her brutal torture and near-crippling), with the feeling that Ward's character arc was rather quickly re-written for the sake of Mallick and It.
- This intensified after Hive repaired Ward's body in "The Inside Man". Some are hoping this means Ward could return once Hive is destroyed, others are sick of him and think he just needs to stay gone. Among the people who want him back, there is also a split between those who want him to be the same character he was before, and those who want him to be changed by the experience -the most common idea being him losing his memories, which could potentially allow him to be made into a heroic character again.
- Bobbi and Hunter's spin-off, Marvel's Most Wanted, had fans (and people who don't even watch the show) divided on if it's needed/a good idea or not, with some thinking that a third 'Marvel Spy Show' is rather pointless and that they've become too essential to the team's dynamics that cutting them out is a poor choice, while others think it's a great idea, as they're likeable enough to support their own show and that this will help reduce the large cast size. It hurts that due to the nature of Bobbi and Hunter's exit it's highly unlikely they'll ever return to the parent show. As it later turned out the proposed spinoff didn't even make it past the pilot stage before being cancelled, so the characters were written out for nothing.
- The reveal that Season Four will involve Ghost Rider, specifically the Robbie Reyes version. There are many fans who are happy to see one of Marvel's regained heroes return in some sort of fashion, but there are many who'd rather him have his own Netflix series like the Defenders foursome, citing that Ghost Rider deserves a darker tone and better effects budget than network TV can provide. Also, like the controversy over the use of Scott Lang in Ant-Man, there's a rift between some fans who are mad that the show isn't using the original Johnny Blaze incarnation of Ghost Rider (especially because most people think of a flaming bike, not a car, when they think of the character), and fans who are happy to have this version be the one debuting in the MCU. Further, some who want to see the Robbie Reyes version wanted to see him in the films as a prominent Hispanic presence, which now seems unlikely as the MCU's shows and movies rarely have significant crossovers.
- Related to that, there are also some fans who think that Ghost Rider is a poor fit for the series, which up to this point has largely avoided explicitly supernatural characters and situations in favor of having a more sci-fi slant. Others argue that finally introducing the supernatural and otherworldly makes perfect sense now that Marvel is bringing magic powers into the MCU with Doctor Strange (2016).
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