The first season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is now available on Blu-Ray. It is a great way to rewatch the series now knowing the truth behind Centipede and the Clairvoyant. It is also fun to get excited about Season 2 which is just around the corner. The Blu-Ray features audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and bloopers. Also including is the Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe special. I have decided to compile some fun facts from the Blu-Ray as well as the book Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Season One Declassified that you can follow along with. So without further ado… welcome to Level 7.
Pilot:
- Maria Hill (guest star Cobie Smulders) mentions a man named Vanchat was looking to sell the Chitauri neural link.
- Agent Simmons welcomes Ward to their “journey into mystery” which is a nod to the Journey into Mystery comic which is where Thor made his first appearance.
- “The Bus” is three stories high.
0-8-4:
- Flight control designates the Bus call sign as “S.H.I.E.L.D. -616” a nod to Earth-616 the home of the mainstream Marvel continuity
- This is the first mention of the Slingshot, a top-secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility where dangerous objects are rocketed into the sun.
- Nick Fury’s cameo was filmed in secret with many cast and crew members not having known the shoot had taken place.
The Asset:
- The episode features the first mention of the Fridge, a S.H.I.E.L.D. containment facility where the Gravitonium is stored at the end of the episode.
- In order to film the climax, a set was built inside a giant gimbal, which was nicknamed the “roundy-round”.
- In the comics Dr. Franklin Hall is the villain Graviton. He is portrayed by Ian Heart in this episode.
Eye-Spy:
- Coulson says Amador disappeared while leading a rain on “one of Vanchat’s gulags.” This is the same Vanchat mentioned in the pilot.
- The opening sequence featuring the red masked businessmen was filmed in Stockholm. The set was then reproduced in Los Angeles for the scenes with the main characters.
- The writing on the wall inside the Todorov Building is the first appearance of the mysterious writing that would be a big mystery heading into Season 2. The font was provided by comic-book letterer and cartoonist Chris Eliopoulos who happens to be a big Disney fan.
Girl in the Flower Dress:
- We hear the first mention of “The Index” which is S.H.I.E.L.D.’s list of individuals with special abilities.
- This episode introduces “The Clairvoyant” whose reveal would be one of the major plot twists of the season.
- In a deleted scene, we see Ward trying to convince Skye that she should be happy for trading in her hacker lifestyle.
FZZT
- The outdoors scenes were filmed at Disney’s Golden Oak Ranch. At night, the cast was unable to go off by themselves for fear of snakes. They actually have a snake wrangler on site.
- The Chitauri helmet was made for the series as there was never one made for the film.
- Clark Gregg brought the helmet to the premiere of Thor: The Dark World to tease the upcoming episode.
The Hub:
- Agent Sitwell reunites with Agent Coulson following working together in New Mexico when the “0-8-4” which turns out to be Thor’s hammer is investigated.
- Fitz reveals that his favorite sandwich is procsciutto and buffalo mozzarella with just a jint of Simmons’ handmade pesto aioli.
- Saffron Burrows premieres of Agent Victoria Hand who is an agent with mixed alliegences in the comics. She passed away in the comics after showing her alliegence to the good guys.
The Well:
- This episode ties in to the events of Thor: The Dark World which made the world realize the Norse gods are actually a race of aliens.
- After doing location shots, no chapels were found that could handle the rigging required for filming so the monastary was created on a soundstage.
- In a deleted scene we see Skye worried about Ward after being influenced by the Beserker.
Repairs:
- A gas station seen is owned by Roxxon Oil which is a mainstay energy company in the comics.
- The episode features the first mention of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy.
- The Batesville Clarion, a newspaper seen in the episode was founded in 1901, the year of Walt Disney’s birth who was a paperboy as a boy.
The Bridge:
- This episode was the last to air before the midseason hiatus and the first to promote that “It’s all connected.”
- The shot on the bridge was filmed on Long Beach’s Queensway Bridge.
The Magical Place:
- In his vision, Coulson sees the strange alien writing that Ward saw on the chalkboard in “Eye-Spy”
- We finally get to meet Vanchat who has been mentioned since the pilot.
- The device used by the Clairvoyant to take out Po is the sameone used by Obidiah Stane to take out the terrorists in the original Iron Man.
Seeds:
- On the S.H.I.E.L.D. Wall of Valor Skye focuses on the name of James Buchanan Barnes who ended up being the Winter Soldier.
- The weather climax was filmed on top of the Zorro parking structure at the Walt Disney Studios.
- In a deleted scene, we learn the Fitz is 23 days older than Simmons.
T.R.A.C.K.S:
- Stan Lee makes his first cameo in the series as a debonar gentleman on the train.
- Mike Peterson’s connection to the Marvel Comics is revealed when his cybernetic leg is listed as MODEL #BL23R and version 5.01 of Project Deathlok. Deathlok is a cybernetic character with a long history in the Marvel Universe.
- Ming-Na Wen has a terrifying fear of heights but had to walk on top of a moving train for the opening sequence.
T.A.H.I.T.I.
- Bill Paxton is introduced as Agent John Garrett. In the comics, Garret is a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who was made into a cyborg to save his life.
- Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada did a sketch of what the alien lifeform should look like.
- The actor scanned to be the digital model of the alien is Brandon Kolpack, son of Visual Effects Supervisor Mark Kolpack.
Yes Men:
- The episode feature Jaimie Alexander guest starring as Sif from the Thor films.
- Sif says that the only aliens she believes to have visited earth are the Frost Giants.
- The episode introduces Lorelei who in the comics is sister to perennial Thor foe, The Enchantress. She has yet to be introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but meeting Lorelei is one step closer to that moment.
End of the Beginning:
- Skye mentions Department H, which in the comics is the Canadian military organization that runs the superhero team, Alpha Flight.
- Agent Sitwell is unable to complete his mission as he is assigned to the Lemurian Star (See Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
- The climax was filmed at the Historic Hollywood Park. The racetrack was sold and shutdown in 2013 which left the bulding an abandoned shell. That being said, horses and jockeys were still using the venue for training during filming.
Turn, Turn, Turn:
- Agent Sitwell’s alliegence to HYDRA is referenced when Garrett mentions that a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents rank’s had been filled by Sitwell.
- Seeds of Ward’s betrayl had been in place since the beginning of the series as he worked to gain the trust of Coulson and his team.
Providence:
- Col. Glenn Talbot is best known for hunking the Hulk since 1964. He is played by Adrian Pasdar who voices Tony Stark in the Marvel cartoons.
- Eric Koenig fought along Nick Fury in the comics. He is played by Patton Oswalt (Remy from Ratatouille) who has a voiceover role in ABC’s The Goldbergs.
- Nick Fury’s secret Providence base made its debut in 2010 in the pages of Secret Warriors.
The Only Light in the Darkness:
- Agent Trip shares that his grandfather was a Howling Commando implying that his grandfather was Gabe Jones who fought alongside Captain America.
- We finally get to meet the Cellist who was first mentioned in Marvel’s The Avengers.
- Amy Acker was the crew’s first choice to play the special role. She played Clark Gregg’s character’s niece in Joss Wheadon’s Much Ado About Nothing.
Nothing Personal:
- Maria Hill is now working for Stark Industries as seen at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
- Lola’s star turn in the battle sequence took two different soundstages to film.
Ragtag:
- Trip’s grandfather is mentioned again as old-school S.H.I.E.L.D. tech left by him is utilized throughout the episode.
Beginning of the End:
- We meet Billy Koenig, Eric’s twin brother who was mentioned earlier. It raises the question to wheter there is more to the Koenig brothers than meets the eye.
- Samuel L. Jackson makes his second appearance on the series and names Phil Coulson the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- DIRECTOR Coulson is seen writing the mysterious script seen throughout the first season, what does it mean leading in to Season 2?
Speaking of Season 2…. the show returns to ABC at the new time of 9/8c on Tuesday, September 23.