Analyzing the New S.H.I.E.L.D. Trailer (And Scrutinizing Its Agents)

Analyzing the New S.H.I.E.L.D. Trailer (And Scrutinizing Its Agents)

Analyzing the New S.H.I.E.L.D. Trailer (And Scrutinizing Its Agents)

ABC isn't airing Marvel's now-totally-official Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. until next fall, but that doesn't mean the network won't hype it for all it's worth until then.

Following Sunday's release of the first official trailer, the show's in-universe conspiracy theory blog Rising Tide has slowly populated with updates and ABC has released ID cards for S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives Phil Coulson, Grant Ward, Jemma Simmons, Leo Fitz, and Melina May. Naturally, there's also a Vine, because you've gotta have a Vine to tease anything nowadays.

But most importantly, there's a nearly three-minute-long trailer that breaks down the resurrection of Coulson (Clark Gregg), who was presumably killed in The Avengers. Well, sort of. After being asked by someone unseen who sounds a lot like Cobie Smulders/Agent Maria Hill (please say it is!), what S.H.I.E.L.D. means to him, Agent Ward (Brett Dalton) notes, "I'm clearance Level 6, I know that Agent Coulson was killed in action before the battle of New York."

Enter Coulson, saying "Welcome to Level 7." (Insert 'Coulson Lives!' joke here.)

The rest plays out with Coulson explaining what this super high level of S.H.I.E.L.D. does for Agent Ward, and those watching at home. Complete ass-kicker May (Ming-Na Wen) is "just a pilot" and the guy who just jumped out a window to save a woman is "a superhero, Agent Ward." (And, yes, it does appear to be Luke Cage!) The teaser also offers quite a bit of detail about how Coulson recruited computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennett). From what we can gather, if you meddle around and snoop on S.H.I.E.L.D., they might just give you a job.

What else in this "declassified video"? There's a brief peek into the world of engineer and biochemist team of Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) – aka Fitz Simmons – and there's a particularly great moment where Coulson booms "Don't ever tell me there's no way!" Get yours, Phil!

Beyond all the great thrills in the new video, the agent's ID cards (shown above) flesh out the characters a bit. Each lists the characters' S.H.I.E.L.D. title and a QR code of sorts, but there's nothing to be gained there because the codes are, so far, unreadable. We checked.

More interesting are the issue and expiration dates of each agent's credentials. Though they could be arbitrary, the differences between them are peculiar. Coulson's start date is listed as April 25, 2011. Is that a nod to the start date of filming for The Avengers? If so, what does that mean? Also, his card expires April 25, 2015. Are ID cards issued for four-year runs? That would make sense, except May says her card is valid from Sept. 4, 2013 until that same date in 2019, a six year span. Agents Fitz and Simmons have start dates of Feb. 5, 2013 (makes sense, considering the rumored "sibling like" relationship they are supposed to have) and end dates five years later. Poor Ward gets only two years, from Sept. 9, 2013 until that same day in 2015. Perhaps that's because he's a n00b to Level 7?

If you're hoping all these dates hide the secret to the show's premiere, no dice. ABC already has announced that the show will air on Tuesdays, and none of the September dates fall on a Tuesday.
