ABC and Marvel Studios have released a 3-minute extended teaser for this fall’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. show which details the characters, situation, and the threats they face in much more detail. Also there’s lots of Coulson. Lots and lots of Coulson. (He’s yelling at the newbies! Oh we love that man.)
There’s also more information on the mysterious new superhero featured in the original teaser. The internet has been speculating that he’s playing Rage, or possibly a younger Luke Cage, but we think we’ve got him pegged, and it’s not either of those characters.
The full teaser:
We suspected this form the beginning, but the “I should wear a shield?” line really clinched it. The superhero featured throughout the teaser is probably Eli Bradley, otherwise known as Patriot.
Patriot was introduced in the early 2000s in the Young Avengers mini-series and is essentially a young, modern Captain America. Initially, Eli was revealed to have received his powers due to a blood transfusion from his grandfather Isaiah. Unbeknownst to Eli, though, his grandfather was one of a group of African-American soldiers fighting in World War 2 who were secretly used as guinea pigs to test the Super Soldier Serum on. Most of those soldiers died due to imperfections in the formula, although Isaiah lived on. The entire saga was detailed in the groundbreaking 2003 Marvel Comics mini-series Truth: Red, White, and Black, written by the recently deceased Robert Morales.*
*Yes, we know that this origin was later retconned by Patriot’s creator Allan Ginsberg Heinberg, but only because the writer wanted to tell a story about drug addiction instead. The TV show has the luxury of ignoring that, if it prefers.
Although it hasn’t been confirmed, we’d be surprised if J. August Richards’ mystery superhero turns out to be anyone else. Introducing the Truth as canon onscreen Avengers history would mesh well with the existing Avengers movie universe, and it’s a dramatically rich storyline that Joss Whedon and the showrunners would most likely enjoy digging into.
It would give the TV show it’s own unique version of Captain America, as well, and it would explain why Coulson is so interested in him. The character of Patriot fits so well within the smaller confines of the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show that it makes more sense to have him there than to not. It also paves the way for other Young Avengers to possibly pop in, giving viewers an Avengers fix in between movies.
