Comics to Read After Last Night’s S.H.I.E.L.D. Episode “T.R.A.C.K.S.”
Oh right, this show is still a thing.
SHIELD is back from a pretty long hiatus to remind us that it’s still around, and to prove that Joss Whedon loves trains. If you watched the episode, read our comic book recommendations. If you didn’t watch the episode, maybe wait. There’s a pretty big spoiler.
As a viewer, I like that SHIELD exists on its own as a contained story. As the guy who has to pull comic book recommendations from each episode, I kind of wish they’d draw a bit more from Marvel comics and not just the other movies. That said, this week had a pretty big revelation of a character straight out of the comics. So if you watched the episode, I think you should check out:
That’s right, kids. If you happened to switch off before the very last second of the episode you may have missed the push in on the label on Michael Peterson’s new leg. It seems Michael Peterson is becoming Deathlok. You can see the first appearance of the character in Astonishing Tales #25. It’s an introduction to Deathlok as a cyborg, though in case the human half of this is Luther Manning, not Michael Peterson.
A few men have been thrown into the Deathlok program over the years in the comics, so it’s not unreasonable to expect SHIELD to use it with a new character rather than pulling strictly from the comics. This is a nice compromise on the part of the show to draw from the source material, but not be shackled to it.
If you’re looking for a little more story around the character check out:
Deathlok also had a seven-issue Marvel Knights run by Charlie Huston and Lan Medina that’s worth checking out if you want to know more about the character.
I’ll admit I’m not super familiar with Mr. Lok, but considering how integral Michael Peterson has been to SHIELD so far, it’s probably worth doing a bit of catching up in the comics. This isn’t the last time we’ll see him.
Besides Peterson’s becoming Deathlok there was also a subtle reference to another Marvel character. When agents Coulson and Ward are discussing Ward’s relationship with May and Coulson threatens Ward, he does so by telling him he’ll be sent to Barrow, Alaska to guard “Blonsky’s cryo cell.”
The only Blonsky I can think of is Emil Blonsky, AKA “The Abomination.” So check out:
Tales to Astonish #90
In Tales to Astonish #90 we see the first appearance of Blonsky/The Abomination. Does this reference mean we could be seeing him again on SHIELD or in an upcoming Marvel movie? Maybe, but it may also have just been a quick nod to fans.
(via Marvels Agents of SHIELD, images via Marvel)
- Like what Whedon does with trains? Here’s my recap of Firefly “The Train Job”
- “T.R.A.C.K.S.” had a Stan Lee cameo. Guardians of the Galaxy will not
- Check out our comics picks for the last SHIELD episode “Seeds”
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