With Joss Whedon’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. being firmly set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s only logical that it will feature appearances from Marvel characters. Here are 5 lesser known Marvel characters that could make memorable appearances on the show. In addition to these characters, the show will hopefully incorporate many other characters and events from Marvel’s huge history.
5. Daken
Daken is the son of Wolverine and Itsu, and grew up in Japan before moving to the USA to join Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers, consisting of the Sentry, Venom (Mac Gargan), Bullseye, Moonstone, Noh-Varr, Ares, and Osborn himself as the Iron Patriot.
In a blatant attempt to try and create publicity for a relatively little known character, it was decided that Daken would kill the Punisher, one of Marvel’s A-List characters, by stabbing him in the chest, cutting off both off his arms, decapitating him and kicking his body parts off a rooftop.
What followed was a surprisingly entertaining run in which Daken becomes firmly established as a supporting character within the Marvel Universe.
Possessing his father’s claws and healing factor, but not the Adamantium skeleton, and with the ability to release pheromones to control people’s emotions, Daken is not held back by his father’s sense of morality, and will gladly kill just about anyone that he takes a disliking to, even if they are innocent.
When the Punisher finally gets his revenge on Daken, the reader wants to cheer at how such a detestable character has his backside handed to him.
With Wolverine being one of Marvel’s most well known characters, why not feature a character who is essentially the opposite, to see what would happen if Wolverine did not have a conscience?
4. Moon Knight
Often referred to as the Marvel version of Batman, as he is a billionaire leading a double life as a superhero, has a mansion and a butler, and often appears at night to strike fear into his victims, and the list goes on. Moon Knight is one of the most popular Marvel characters never to have been given the Hollywood treatment, likely because of his similarities to Batman. Or maybe because he is a paranoid schizophrenic who has visions of the Egyptian god Khonshou (although Khonshou may actually be real and not a hallucination, this is never confirmed), or maybe, because unlike many other superheroes, Spector does not have a ‘no kill code’ and will even go as far as carving off the face of his nemesis Bushman and allowing him to bleed to death.
If Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is going for a mature audience, then why not have a mature character, eh Marvel?
3. The Hood
The Hood is an undeniable badass, a criminal kingpin who, during Norman Osborn’s reign, was the most powerful crime leader on Earth, and a member of the Cabal, Osborn’s secret group of masterminds that controlled the world, also consisting of Osborn himself, Loki, Doctor Doom, Emma Frost, Namor and Taskmaster.
The Hood, real name Parker Robbins, first appeared in his own self titled mini-series in 2002, published by Marvel’s adults-only MAX imprint. After briefly abandoning his villainous ways, he returned to life of crime, and became such a powerful crime lord that he overcame even the Kingpin.
Using a cloak that grants him invisibility, boots that enable him to fly, and a bond with the powerful demon Dormannu, the Hood is a force to be reckoned with. He even has the ability to resurrect the dead, and he famously resurrected the Punisher’s family, driving Frank Castle into a rage like no other.
He has yet to appear in any media outside comic books, but come on Joss Whedon, seeing as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be about agents trying to stop criminals, why not have Marvel’s signature crime lord (sorry Kingpin) as the one pulling the strings?
2. Captain Britain
Let’s face it. There’s never going to be a Captain Britain movie. With Marvel now going into the cosmos for James Gunn’s Guardians of The Galaxy, it’s unlikely they’ll be looking back at our little island. Besides, a big budget film about a character not many people are familiar with is a definite no-no.
But Captain Britain is basically the British version of Superman, with similar powers and abilities. And seeing as he is the head of Excalibur, Marvel’s number one British superhero team, consisting of Pete Wisdom, John the Skrull*, Black Knight , Spitfire etc, why not have him and his team appear in the show to give some truly awesome characters the spotlight that they deserve?
*A skrull permanently disguised as John Lennon. After the Chitauri, the Ultimate versions of the Skrull’s without the shape shifting abilities, appeared in The Avengers, it seems unlikely that Skrulls will ever get a decent depiction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sigh.
1. Werewolf by Night
Seeing as the Marvel Cinematic Universe does not shy away from the more fantastical elements of Marvel’s 50 year history by having aliens and inter-dimensional gods, why not go all out and feature a 100% supernatural character? Werewolf by Night (real name: Jack Russell, as in the dog) was once a popular leading character, before being sidelined to occasional supporting appearances. Which is a shame really, because he’s the friggin’ Werewolf by Night! Able to transform between his human and wolf forms at will, he has duelled with Dracula, fought alongside the resurrected Punisher (Franken-Castle, yeah), been transformed into a werewolf/zombie hybrid, protected the child of Hrimhari and Wolfsbane, and been a member of both the Legion of Monsters and the Midnight Sons. Hopefully Agents of S.H.I.E.LD. will embrace Marvel’s history with the supernatural, because if the show aims for realism, then what’s the point? It may as well just be any other spy show.
And unlike zombies and vampires, werewolves have never really become a big part of the zeitgeist. And if anyone can change that, it’s Mr. Whedon.
