If there’s one thing that sets Joss Whedon apart as a showrunner, apart from his eminently quotable wit and his penchant for killing off beloved characters at the drop of a hat, it’s his capacity for showing ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Buffy may have had the brawn and Willow the magic, but it was Xander who was at the Scoobies’ heart; his fundamental humanity brought the world back from the brink more than once.
Similarly, Agent Coulson (played by the always brilliant Clark Gregg) may spend his days trying to keep the lid on a bunch of squabbling superheroes. Nick Fury may be in charge of operations, but it’s Phil Coulson who seems to keep things afloat on a day-to-day basis. It was Coulson who gave us our first glimpse at the wider MCU all the way back in Iron Man and since then he’s appeared in three further films and played a crucial role in two One-Shots. Suffice to say, the guy gets around.
And, despite his apparent death during the events of The Avengers, it appears you can’t keep a good man down as Phil “His first name’s Agent” Coulson will be returning to star in ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. tonight. Exactly how he survived impalement at the hands of Loki (or did he?) remains to be seen, but in a world where immortal demi-gods get sucker punched by giant green rage monsters, it’s comforting to know there’s a guy like Phil looking out for us.
10. “I’m Agent Phil Coulson” (Iron Man)
So, let’s start at the very beginning. The year was 2008. The world was still readying for the release of The Dark Knight following Heath Ledger’s oh-so tantalizing appearance in the trailers when Marvel Studios released their first live-action superhero movie, Iron Man. Introducing, as it did, Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark to the cinematic firmament, you’d be forgiven for forgetting about the unassuming middle-aged guy who pigeonholed Tony’s squeeze, Pepper Potts, at an expo to give her the mission statement of the “Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division” (“That’s quite a mouthful.” “I know, we’re working on it.”). With both Tony and Pepper putting off the debrief for Tony’s return home from Afghanistan, Clark Gregg’s presence in the film is one of tired forbearance; he might not yet be in the walking-away-from-explosions, but he’s certainly in the turning-your-back-and-waiting-arms-crossed-for-something-to-blow-up business, and he might have stayed that way were it not for Tony’s inability to stick to official cover stories…
9. “I couldn’t help myself” (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
One thing about working in the civil service: there’s not much room for a sense of humor. Nick Fury may be the person to call in case of a global crisis, but it’s hard to imagine he’s particularly good fun at parties (sorry Samuel L. Jackson). On that note, it’s nice to see that Agent Phil still manages to have some fun at work. Case and point: this moment from the as-yet unaired S.H.I.E.L.D. in which Agent Coulson emerges from the shadows to refute the news of his death: “Welcome to Level 7”. It seems, at first, an on-the-nose cliché seen in a thousand other sources – the G-Men emerging from the darkness at the point of optimum coolness – but Coulson’s wry grin and sheepish apology really sell it.
8. Hammer Time (Iron Man 2)
Admittedly, this moment is less about Coulson himself and more about what he’s unveiling: after two Iron Man movies and more, less successful Hulks than we might like to remember, the end of Iron Man 2 pulled back the curtain on what would become The Avengers franchise – and Agent Phil Coulson was just the man to do the pulling. After tear-arsing across the desert in a hire car, Phil Coulson appears on a rocky mountainside, looking down at a huge, still-smoldering crater. Cue a removal of sunglasses, a mysterious phone call, and four little words that promised so much: “Sir, we found it.” Cut to the center of the crater, the camera drawing back to reveal Mjolnir, the preferred weapon of the MCU’s most famous Asgardian. Cut to black and the fans go wild. Coulson seems so cool and composed in this clip, you’d never guess he stopped off en route to foil an armed robbery (see number 2 on the next page of this list).
7. The Consultant
For a top-secret organization charged with protecting the United States, if not the world, from super-villains, S.H.I.E.L.D. sure seems to demand a lot of busywork from its agents. Then again, if that busywork involves keeping Emil Blonsky AKA The Abomination in custody, it probably still merits consideration. Having failed to convince the World Security Council that Blonsky would be a bad fit for The Avengers – as much as I’d love to see Tim Roth in the role again – Agent Coulson agrees on choosing the worst possible liaison to request his release, and who better to rile up the self-important, stick-in-the-mud General Ross than equally self-important “Consultant”. Despite his initial unwillingness to get Tony Stark involved, Coulson yields to reason, the net result being that Blonsky gets to remain in incarceration indefinitely. And some unfortunate drinking hole gets demolished. C’est la Tony. In an all dialogue scene, Clark Gregg shows he doesn’t need a gun or action moves to make his presence felt: his Downey Jr./Mark Ruffalo-grade snark is more than weapon enough.
6. Son of Coul (Thor)
5. “Don’t touch Lola” (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
We don’t know much about Agent Phil Coulson’s home life, aswith much of the S.H.I.E.L.D. staff (apart from the Galaga guy; at least we know he has a hobby). After the marketing campaign for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson may be no less an enigma – HOW IS HE STILL ALIVE?! – but at least he’s now an enigma with a bitching ride. A cherry red 1962 C1 convertible, “Lola” may be compensation for something – you’re allowed to have a mid-life crisis if you’ve just died, right? – but it’s a nice touch for a character who has, on occasion, seemed slightly staid. Now, at least, Iron Man’s not the only one who gets to travel in style.
4. Coulson vs. The Beetle (Ultimate Spider-Man)
It’s Coulson, but not as we know him. The only entry on this list not from the official MCU canon, Agent Phil Coulson finds new life in Disney’s XD’s Ultimate Spider-Man series as the acting head of Peter Parker’s high school. Charged by Nick Fury with keeping an eye on the young Webhead, Coulson finds himself in with more than he bargained for, like trying to balance the school budget in a recession. Though the show mostly uses Coulson as a figure of cheesy fun – if you’ve ever wanted to see a cartoon Clark Gregg in a pair of tighty-whities… – but occasionally Ultimate Spider-Man gives him a chance to show off his bad-ass side, such as in taking on The Beetle in hand-to-hand combat. Coulson + kung-fu = unmitigated levels of awesomeness.
3. Awkward…
As if the snarky, deadpan Coulson wasn’t already fan-bait enough, it turns out he’s also a fan-boy, as evidence in his first hilariously earnest, awkward meeting with Captain America. You see, while Steve was in the ice it seems he became something of a legend. No wonder Phil Coulson made a point of watching him while he was sleeping… unconscious. Damn. No matter which way you cut it, Coulson’s fannish nervousness around the Cap is adorable, if a little stalkerish. It’s one thing to take an interest in the American icon whose trading cards you used to connect, quite another to help redesign his costume. No wonder The Avengers were willing to buy the Coulson had the cards on him when he got stabbed (hence the blood).
2. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer
Tony Stark might have the Iron Man suit, Thor may have his hammer, and Steve Rogers may be a super soldier, but Phil Coulson is the only hero armed entirely with the power of self-deprecation. In this second Marvel One-Shot, when he’s not bombing it through the desert listening to classic jazz, he’s casually foiling a robbery at a 7/11. From the oh-so polite way he draws attention to the weapon he’s carrying – “Excuse me, I also have this gun” – to the simple and practical way he controls the situation – slide the gun over then lob a bag of flour at one of the thieves’ heads – Coulson handles the situation with zero property damage and loss of life. He takes no credit for it and never even ruffles his suit. Quiet and unpretentious, can you say the same of the bunch of lummoxes he’s forced to corral?
1. Coulson Dies
You know you’ve made it big in the world of mainstream comics when you get your first resurrection. Coulson’s death in The Avengers was one of those things that you could just about predict – who else are they going to kill off? Thor? – but that made it no less shocking when Loki appeared behind him and shoved a spear through it back. Coulson died making a brave but ultimately futile stand against the Norse God of Mischief, a being he could never hope to defeat, even with that threatening-looking gun, but at least he got to blast the smug son-of-a-bitch through a wall, striking the movie’s first real blow against him. As deaths go, it was a doozy. His reappearance in S.H.I.E.L.D. may diminish it somewhat – did he somehow survive or was he, as Clark Gregg’s choice of words in a recent interview suggests, “brought back”? In any case, it’s a mystery we hope the show delves into as it progresses.
And that about does it. There were many more moments we could have chosen, like that time Coulson threatened to taze Tony Stark and leave him drooling while he watched Supernanny, but, nevertheless, Agent Phil Coulson definitely has the bad-ass credentials down. We can’t think of anyone more suited to leading S.H.I.E.L.D. in its eponymous show – what has Nick Fury ever done, in the movie universe at least (sorry again, Mr. Jackson). We’ll have a review of the pilot of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ready for ASAP. Till then, all we can say is bravo, Agent Coulson. Bravo.
What are your favourite Agent Coulson moments? Sound off below or send them to us on Twitter!