Maria Hill in the MC2

 

With the release of Marvel’s Secret Invasion series on Disney+ prominently featuring former Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria Hill as portrayed by Cobie Smoulders’ who has played the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2012’s The Avengers, I thought now would be an opportune time to finally cover Maria Hill in the MC2.

 

Maria Hill made her debut in the pages of New Avengers #4 in 2005 though was apparently originally meant to first appear in the Secret War mini-series before lengthy delays saw it released far later. In either event, she replaced Nick Fury as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. during that period.

 

Meanwhile in the MC2, we see some familiar faces amongst the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. during the Carnage story arc, with Maria Hill making the scene in Amazing Spider-Girl #9. On behalf of her ‘superiors’ Agent Maria Hill tasks Special Agent Arthur Weadon and his team of former villains led by Kaine with safeguarding the transport of an item referred to only as 'Specimen 297' (actually a piece of the Carnage symbiote) through New York City. When the transport convoy is attacked by a faction of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents led by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (who will no doubt warrant her own post someday) and the Specimen accidentally let loose in the city by Spider-Girl, Carnage is reborn.

 

With the New York City Police Department on the scene (including Police Scientist Peter Parker), Special Agent Maria Hill obstructs Captain Ruiz’s investigation of the situation before chastising Special Agent Arthur Weadon and his team’s failure to protect the Specimen. Nick Fury makes his first on-panel appearance in the MC2 - albeit shrouded in shadow-when he assures President G.W. Bridge the situation would be resolved despite the complications as he has his best Agent on the case. After an attack by Carnage at Café Indigo, Hill dispatches S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Weadon’s team to track down Spider-Girl for questioning about her involvement (Amazing Spider-Girl #10-#11).

 

After evading both groups, Spider-Girl is reacquired during a battle with Carnage, with Maria Hill sending Weadon’s team and S.H.I.E.L.D. after her once more which results in Carnage attacking all of them. Fortunately, Spider-Girl manages to save everyone involved, but her baby brother Benjy, now merged with a part of the Carnage symbiote, is taken by the villain. Hill calls for emergency aid before following them to Midtown Medical Center (Amazing Spider-Girl #12).

 

 We learn through the investigative work of Kaine and Darkdevil the true plot: the United States was unwilling to destroy the Carnage symbiote despite the United Nations stance on the use of bio-weapons, G.W. Bridge and Nick Fury organised for the team of disguised S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents to 'steal' the Specimen, setting up Weadon's team to fail.  This was all to demonstrate the dangers to the congressional committee wishing to keep the symbiote for bio-weapon research under the guise of finding a cure for cancer (Amazing Spider-Girl #12).

Maria Hill reports back to Nick Fury that Specimen 297 has been fully neutralized. Despite the operation not going as planned, the situation was salvaged thanks to Spider-Girl's intervention, providing the President with a sound rationale to convince the congressional committee to destroy the remaining Specimen (Amazing Spider-Girl #12).

 

As for where Special Agent Maria Hill next appears in the MC2, we turn to the American Dream mini-series. These appearances are tricky. Maria Hill shows up so you would think she was working for S.H.I.E.L.D. but dialogue and recap pages both state she is working for the National Security Force. I would be inclined to accept that Hill simply changed employers since her last appearance, except every issue after she shows up in American Dream #2 clearly depicts her in full S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform and leading other agents also clad in S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform.

 

Maria Hill calls into Avengers Compound to order Shannon Carter aka  American Dream to cease her inquiries into the crystalline creatures she had encountered. After some consideration and discussion with the rest of the Avengers, American Dream decides to continue her investigation while seeking a missing person (American Dream #2).  

 

Returning to Avengers Compound with a federal warrant to assume custody of a crystal creature, Hill proceeds to chastise American Dream, and tells her again to back off before she and the rest of the Avengers are charged with treason. This prompts American Dream to resign from the Avengers to protect them while she pursued the matter solo (American Dream #3).

 

For good measure, Hill angrily makes a third trip to Avengers Compound to arrest American Dream after she is spotted at a classified crime scene, only to be told by Edwin Jarvis that he does not know where the former Avenger has gone. After threatening to take Jarvis in as an accessory, Thunderstrike steps in to defend him, questioning why Hill is trying to stop the investigation. We soon learn that S.H.I.E.L.D. is attempting to discover how to destroy the crystalline creatures to prevent them falling into enemy hands, unaware they are actually illegal immigrants who’ve been unwillingly transformed by the villain Silikong. When the one in their custody reawakens, Hill finds herself shorthanded (American Dream #4).

While across town the Avengers locate and aid American Dream in her fight against the combined forces of Hope Pym aka The Red Queen, Ion Man, Silikong and his crystalline creatures, Maria Hill and her agents struggle against their single foe until the control over the creatures is stopped by Dream. This leads Special Agent Maria Hill to admit she has some grovelling to do and we later learn that Hill has arrested Silikong and will try to reverse the process used on the victims of his experiments (American Dream #5).

 

Maria Hill in the MC2 is a good example of a Main Marvel Universe character who debuted after the point at which the MC2 diverges, with very different events unfolding. Her appearance in the MC2 acts as a nice nod to the New Avengers era of the Main Marvel Universe in much the same way as references to Luke Cage established his membership on that team in the MC2’s own history.

 

Until I perform dual duties as an National Security Agent and an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., I remain

 

frogoat

S.H.I.E.L.D. in the MC2

I've been super busy of late, and I missed my self-imposed deadline for releasing anything S.H.I.E.L.D. related in time for the Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 6 premiere. So, without further ado, let's look at S.H.I.E.L.D. in the MC2.

S.H.I.E.L.D. makes it's first appearance within the MC2 in A-Next #4 via an appearance from Agent 33 (not to be confused with the Main Marvel Universe's Agent 33 also created by Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz) who is tasked with protecting the Wakandan ambassador, N'Kano and the Wakandan prince, T'Chaka during their visit to America. Notice Agent 33 wears a yellow and blue-black S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform.

Shortly after within the pages of Spider-Girl #5 we first learn of the organisation's Maximum Security Facility at Mount Athena, New York. It's here we glimpse the Venom Symbiote, who's been imprisoned here for over a decade. Notably, the unnamed S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent's seen here wear yellow (or perhaps orange?) and black uniforms.

The very next week, in A-Next #5, we get another appearance from members of S.H.I.E.L.D. operating in Latveria's former capital Doomstadt.  Here we see a few more Agents, this time clad in more standard looking military attire, attacked by Doombots while searching for a missing girl. We learn that thanks to political bickering, even S.H.I.E.L.D. is forbidden to set foot within Castle Doom. After the Avengers recover the missing child, they provide S.H.I.E.L.D. with a false story to hide the existence of Kristoff Vernard. This is also our first reference to Nick Fury in the MC2.

The title goes for 3 in a row with another S.H.I.E.L.D. appearance in A-Next #6 when the Avengers team accompanies Argo to the Mount Athena Facility in search of his father Hercules. Agent 33 returns to give intel to the Avengers team, advising them no one on-site has clearance high enough to know the identity of 'The Merchandise' (in actuality an insane and grief-stricken Hercules himself) but 'the Top Man himself' approved the Avengers team to take over custody.

Over in Fantastic Five (Vol. 1) #2 we witness the titular team field-testing the invention of Dr. Lenny Gilcrest, 'The Superoid,' for S.H.I.E.L.D. Things go awry when Gilcrest is knocked out by the villainous Dominator disguised as a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent. Dominator and the rest of the Wizard's Warriors take control of the Superoid and attempt to steal it, coming into conflict with the F5 and S.H.I.E.L.D. Interestingly, Dominator mentions she used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. Note the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are garbed in yellow and blue uniforms.

We don't see S.H.I.E.L.D. again for quite some time until Spider-Girl #86 when we revisit Agent 33 at the Mount Athena Facility as Apox the Omega Skrull escapes his containment deep beneath the mountain. Notice again that the various S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents all wear the seemingly standard yellow and blue-black uniform.

After this, S.H.I.E.L.D. is mentioned to be attempting a rescue of Nova and Earth Sentry following the destruction of their spacecraft by Galactus' herald Dominas (Last Planet Standing #3).

We see some familiar faces among S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents during the Carnage story arc in Amazing Spider-Girl #9-12 with Maria Hill (more on her in the future!) and Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and the shadowy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. himself, Nick Fury all making their MC2 debut. We also see a more tradition S.H.I.E.L.D. colour scheme for the first time here with white on black uniforms.

Next up we have Fantastic Five (vol.2) #4 in which a freshly returned and cosmically-empowered Doctor Doom forcibly ejects S.H.I.E.L.D. forces from Latveria. Here, the S.H.I.E.L.D. forces are seen in the military attire seen previously in A-Next #5. Later in the issue we get our first and only glimpse of a Helicarrier in the MC2 as we learn of it's destruction.

For the final appearances of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the MC2, we turn to the American Dream mini series. These appearances are tricky. Maria Hill shows up so you'd think she was working for S.H.I.E.L.D. but dialogue and recap pages both state she's working for the National Security Force. I'd be inclined to accept that Hill simply changed employers since her last appearance, except every issue after she shows up in American Dream #2 clearly depicts her in full S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform leading other agents also clad in S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. Perhaps I could cover this further at a later date, but for now, I'll simply include these appearances.

That's it for present-day appearances, but we also see S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Sharon Carter in flashbacks in both Spider-Girl #32 and American Dream #3 in addition to mentions elsewhere. For a bit more on this see The Carter Family Tree.

That's it for S.H.I.E.L.D. in the MC2. I find it interesting that all of the organisation's appearances prior to the Amazing Spider-Girl series seem to feature a distinct variation of the S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform with the yellow and blue-black colour scheme, while all appearances since feature the classic white and blue-black uniform colours. It brings to mind this old Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entry:

Until I master spy craft and become a secret agent tasked with obtaining unpublished MC2 stories from Tom and Ron's desks, I remain

frogoat