With Phase Two now in full swing with the release of ‘Iron Man 3’ over the weekend, the next offering from Marvel Studios should be the ABC pilot ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ from Joss Whedon. Starring Clark Gregg as the incomparable and beloved Agent Phil Coulson after the events of ‘The Avengers’, the show is meant to focus on the every day operations of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, otherwise know as S.H.I.E.L.D.

Whenever details of this show come up, everyone is quick to address Coulson and how he factors in considering what happened to him in last year’s record-setting film. But Entertainment Weekly changes things up when they ask Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige about other characters that could pop up on the as-good-as-greenlit show, specifically some heroes that we may not have seen on the big screen yet:

“If that works the way everyone expects it to work I think that would open up another avenue, another outlet for some of those characters. Maybe they guest star, I don’t know. I think they’re avoiding the cameo of the week on that show, which is very smart.”

In addition to the possibility of new characters showing up, the magazine asked Robert Downey Jr. about the possibility of his involvement somewhere down the line. He responded by saying, “You know what? There’s no telling. I am open to everything.” While it would be great to see Tony Stark drop in on the peacekeeping organization’s headquarters, I’ll bet we have a better chance of seeing Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill or Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury before we get a cameo from the Armored Avenger.

Power Man and Iron Fist

But back to the idea of guest starring heroes. I recall reading somewhere about Whedon saying that he intends to focus on the characters in the show first, but if a special guest came in a few times for an episode or two, I don’t think the spotlight would be compromised too much. If I had to choose a few characters that could be right at home on the small screen, my first instinct is to bring up Heroes For Hire. At one point, there was talk of a show based on the comic series ‘Alias’ called ‘AKA Jessica Jones’ starring the former superheroine Jewel. When that was a thing, I assumed that Heroes for Hire would be incorporated into that show somehow because of Jessica Jones’ relationship with the group’s leader, Luke Cage. But since that show appears to be off the table, I’d love to see the likes of Power Man, Iron Fist, Misty Knight, Shang-Chi, Paladin, and Moon Knight show up in ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ for an episode. Maybe after the formation of the Avengers, these street level heroes might want in on the action in exchange for the almighty dollar, so they go superheroing around the city and appear on the organization’s radar, leading to a confrontation between the two.

Another group that I wouldn’t mind seeing on the show would be the Runaways. Way, way back, there were plans for a movie based on the heroic teenage team of supervillan offspring as part of Phase One, but that idea was scrapped and hasn’t been heard from since. However, ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ presents an excellent opportunity to introduce them into the Marvel Cinematic Universe without a major motion picture (even though they really should get one). Maybe after escaping their evil-doing parents collectively known as The Pride, Alex Wilder, Nico Minoru, Karolina Dean, Gertrude Yorkes, Chase Stein, and Molly Hayes find their way to New York City with the hopes of getting S.H.I.E.L.D. to help them in taking down the people who brought them into the world. With Joss Whedon’s connection to the characters because of his involvement in the writing of the second volume of the comic book series, I hope that the thought would at least cross the director’s mind while laying out the rest of the season.

The Runaways

 

Finally, another hero that could work well with S.H.I.E.L.D. and it’s agents could be the recently returned Daredevil. Or at the very least, his lawyer alter ego could make an appearance on the show. With the film rights of the character recently reverting back to Marvel from Fox, it would be cool to see the Man Without Fear swing into action in Hell’s Kitchen or in the courtroom alongside Coulson, Sitwell, or their fellow agents. Additionally, if this guest appearance does happen to involve a courtroom, then maybe Bruce Banner’s cousin Jennifer Walters could pop up as well, with or without her big, green, and less angry than her relative alter ego.

Now, to be clear, I wouldn’t be in favor of this show being modeled after some of the animated Marvel shows like ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ or ‘Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ where the main cast teams up with a new hero or heroes every week for a new adventure, but seeing guests from the movies or the comics every once in a while would be a fun surprise. But as Feige said, they’re staying away from that guest of the week format, so there’s no need to worry about that. After all, the show’s not even officially greenlit yet, so let’s pray for that first before we start to get into guest stars.

Do you think that Marvel’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ will eventually feature the introduction of new superheroes or supervillains? If so, which ones would you want to see? Share your picks with us in the comment section.