Level Eleventy-Seven: Season Two (Eps 30 – 60)

This is our podcast about Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (and Agent Carter), and we record every Tuesday following a new episode of the show on ABC.  Each week, we discuss the show along with Internet reactions to the show and speculations on where the plot will take us through the season.

Remember, you can always contact us about the show via e-mail:
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One Week Out – LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #60

Fall is here! The new season has kicked off, and the gang gathers in the bunker to discuss the upcoming seasons for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter. How will the story arcs play out? How much will Captain America: Civil War have an impact? What resolution will we get with Jemma? What kind of vacation did Melinda May take?

All this and more — with plenty of digressions — in this discussion among the crew. With new voices!

The Panel: Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Timothy Harvey, Curtis Smith, Christopher Preyer, Jason Hunt

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The Last Gasp of Marvel’s Summer — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #59

From KANSAS CITY COMIC CON — As summer winds down, we discuss the flop known as Fantastic Four. Will they ever get it right? They finally did with Deadpool. At least, it looks that way from the trailer we just got.

Plus, there’s a new Gambit movie in the works, and over on Netflix we’re about to get really, really dark with Jessica Jones. Too dark to cross over to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. perhaps, but they’re going to be a little busy with new issues of their own.

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The Summer of Marvel, Phase II — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #58

Marvel is wrapping up Phase II with the release of Ant-Man, and now we move into Phase III with plenty of news and rumors about the House of Ideas and their studio projects.

In this special summer episode of Level Eleventy-Seven, we discuss the new Spider-Man (and his director), the connections between Ant-Man and Doctor Strange — including some hints about the end-credits scenes — along with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, and the freshly-titled Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

The Panel: Maia Ades, Curtis Smith, Dan Handley, Christopher Jensen, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Calls Out For Help? — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #57

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. delivers a two-part finale tonight, with some pretty good “bang for your buck” action sequences. And some nice character moments — mostly for the fathers in the room, Coulson and Cal. Daisy comes into her own, and Mama Inhuman turns out to be … well, completely crazy. And Jemma! What will become of Fitz/Simmons?

It all sets up some pretty interesting dynamics for next year. But still has some “ka-thunk” moments.

The Panel: Maia Ades, Kammie Settle, Dan Handley, Timothy Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Leaves Us With Scars — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #56

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR Avengers: Age of Ultron

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. delivers a clunky episode full of Hand of the Writer moments and pieces of story logic that aren’t, really. As we discuss here, it seems this episode is a “point A to point B” story where elements have to be in play just so in order to set up the big two-hour finale next week. And it shows.

The Panel: Maia Ades, Kammie Settle, Timothy Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Plays Dirty – LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #55

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. starts to build toward the end of the season (and the potential spinoff with Bobbi and Hunter) with a mission to infiltrate a Hydra base. Remember when they were the bad guys, S.H.I.E.L.D. fellows? So Coulson and Gonzales bury the hatchet just long enough to remember they have a common enemy, and it’s Old Home Week as Coulson’s Crew reunites on the bus.

Only the machine isn’t quite so well-oiled, as Ward soon learns. Plus, Cal and Jaiying have a moment of clarity, with Cal telling her to watch out for Raina. Because she’s gonna be trouble.

The Panel: Maia Ades, Kammie Settle, Jeff Hackworth, Dan Handley, Timothy Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Call in the Cavalry; Skye Moves Mountains — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #54

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. finally delivers the story we’ve wanted since the beginning of the first season: how Agent Melinda May earned the nickname “The Cavalry” and what happened to make her leave field work for a desk. It’s emotional, and Ming-Na Wen gets plenty of moments to deliver Melinda May at her finest — happy wife, skilled field agent, broken soul, angry tactician — it’s all here.

Plus, Skye learns the identity of her teacher, and we learn just how her story intersects with May’s as the two plot threads intersect in an unexpected way. Except for the part where we saw some of it coming. Now, if we can just find out what happened in Budapest…

The Panel: Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Timothy Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Heads to the Afterlife With Some Surprises – LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #53

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. heads to the Afterlife. Or at least, that’s where Skye ends up — the city of Li Chi, where the residents are mostly in a snit because she “jumped ahead of the line” in getting her powers. And doing it old school, to boot: with a Diviner! In a Kree city! Oh, the Inhumanity!

Meanwhile, CoulSHIELD vs. GonzaSHIELD continues as Agent May gets an offer, Coulson and Hunter round up some help before planning their return, and we get a little bit of that ol’ FitzSimmons magic that’s been missing from too many episodes this season.

Plus, we dish a little bit on Daredevil…

The Panel: Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Timothy Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Closes In – LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #52

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gets right to it this hour, with a pretty straightforward plot that stays focused on the inevitable confrontation between CoulSHIELD and GonzaSHIELD.

As the two teams clash, we have quite a few well-scripted moments and some more Inhuman hints in a conversation between Gordon the Reader and Skye, which leads to some power-wielding. Plus, besides May and Bobbi going at it, we also have a very clever Jemma Simmons almost back to her old self, at least as far as circumstances not related to Skye.

Is “the real S.H.I.E.L.D.” really the real S.H.I.E.L.D.? Or is it just more compartmentalization in which left hand and right hand still aren’t communicating? And just what cargo was Commander Gonzales protecting from Hydra?

The Panel: Kammie Settle, Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Timothy Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Delivers Love, Hand of the Writer Style – LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #51

One of the frustrating things about Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is when they get so much right, which makes it much more noticeable when they get it wrong. We had some moments like that in this episode. And while we got some great character moments between Coulson and Skye, Fitz and Simmons, Coulson and May, Hunter and Bobbi, as well as Ward and 33, the bits with General Talbott just felt …. really off.

It’s when the character moments work and the plot moments don’t that it grinds on us a bit, because most of the time they get it right.

The Panel: Kammie Settle, Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Jason Hunt

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On AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. One Is the Loneliest Number – LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #50

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gets into inclusion, exclusion, feelings of isolation and betrayal, and good whiskey.

This week, celebrate with us as we deliver our fiftieth episode! The S.H.I.E.L.D. team is splintered as Skye’s dad starts collecting his own Legion of Doom to confront Coulson and retrieve his daughter from the clutches of the agents. Two Daredevil characters make their debut, and we get more  backstory for Cal (AKA “Mr. Hyde”) with the reveal that he experimented on himself “with chemistry”. So he’s not an Inhuman.

Meantime, Mac has Hunter isolated at a safe house that belongs to … whatever organization he and Bobbi are working for.

The confrontation between Cal’s minions and Coulson & Co. gives us a little more hint about the direction Skye’s about to travel, and we got some really nice moments between Fitz & Simmons, as well as May and her ex-husband Andrew (Blair Underwood).

And according to Ming-Na Wen, May wasn’t laughing. Just choking on the whiskey.

The Panel: Kammie Settle, Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Delivers Identity Crises – LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #49

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. delivers the return of Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif, along with that Warehouse 13 cross-over we’ve been wanting! No, wait. That’s simply Eddie McClintock not playing Mar-Vell… oh, well.

In this episode, we get more (and pretty faithful) details about the history of Kree meddling with human DNA for the purposes of developing weapons for their age-old war. When the obelisk altered Raina and Skye, the Kree picked up a signal, prompting Vin-Tak (all by himself?) to visit Earth, retrieve the remaining obelisks, and destroy the “abomination” created by Terrigenesis.

Plus: more with Mack and Bobbie, more with Bobbie and Hunter, and one step closer to that imminent “come to Jesus” meeting between Fitz and Simmons, who’s still acting a little out of character for our tastes.

The Panel: Kammie Settle, Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Tim Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Brings the Aftershocks to LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #48

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is back with the aftermath of the Terrigenesis in the lost city. What has Raina become? How has Skye/Daisy changed?

As the team deals with the loss of Tripp, Simmons and Fitz each have different takes on just what’s going on with the changes wrought by the Terrigen Mist. And Jemma is none too excited about the implications. Mac has to deal with his guilt over being used against his teammates, all the while plotting with Bobbi over Nick Fury’s lockbox, and Coulson comes up with a plan to strike at the heads of Hydra using Bakshi in a deal with General Talbott.

How did it play? Listen to our take on it and then let us know what you think.

The Panel: Kammie Settle, Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Tim Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENT CARTER Gets Validation With The Valediction – LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #47

Guys night! Through circumstances beyond our control, we end up tonight with only the male portion of our regular cast of thousands, so we carry on and discuss the final episode of season one for Marvel’s Agent Carter. And it’s a rather satisfying episode, giving us a good payoff for most of what we had set up this season — except for that whole core motivation thing for Dr. Ivchenko…

The Panel: Dan Handley, Timothy Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENT CARTER Doesn’t Quite Bomb – LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #46

More 1940s hijinks! In this episode, we have more smoldering plot as things heat up for Chief Dooley. And we finally get the scene where Agent Carter gets to tell the men what she really thinks — and in the process channels some of our frustrations with the show.

Meanwhile, Dottie is still on the loose. And Dr. Ivchenko has “the item” — which could very well spell our doom!

The Panel: Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Timothy Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENT CARTER Chases Girls, and It Doesn’t Quite Work  — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #45

In the wake of last week’s pretty good episode, we have an hour of so-so storytelling and some pretty good fight choreography, with a little not-so-good 1940s hijinks woven into the plot.

As Peggy gets to stretch and really add “Agent” as her first name, following a lead on Dooley’s say-so, the rest of the SSR deals with both Dr. Ivchenko and his magic One Ring hypnotism and the pieces Sousa has been putting together. The picture he comes up with: Peggy Carter, traitor. Wanted for conspiracy. Wanted for treason. Wanted for wearing pants.

The Panel: Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Timothy Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENT CARTER Irons Out a Few Things – LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #44

This week, we get what we should have had in episode the second: a follow-on to Jarvis giving Peggy what for as he dresses her wound — the whole “hero working alone” act for which he reproved her in that episode. Now, with Jarvis on her about putting up with the lack of consideration at the office, Peggy finally — finally, we say — takes the situation in hand and proves that she’s just as capable (if not more so) as the rest of the gentlemen at the office.

With a welcome return of the Howling Commandos, most especially Dum Dum Dugan and his bowler hat, Peggy gets to be the Peggy Carter we got to know and love in Captain America: The First Avenger. And the office dynamics will never be the same. Not only for Thompson and Dooley, but also for Sousa, as he starts to put some pieces together to form a puzzle that doesn’t quite sit right…

The Panel: Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Timothy Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENT CARTER Gets Smart, 86es The Dumb (Sort Of) – LEVEL ELEVENTY SEVEN #43

This week, Howard Stark is back with a new task for Peggy, and a new gadget for her to use in executing said task: retrieving an invention that’s not really an invention, but a vial of Steve Rogers’ blood. Plus, as the song says, “Them guys ain’t dumb” as we get to see Thompson, Sousa, and Dooley all actually doing some investigating and demonstrating some degree of competency. Not only that, but Jarvis now has a “tell” and we notice there’s a definite struggle between 1940s “film noir crime thriller” and 1940s “screwball comedy” in this hour. Most of it works. Some of it doesn’t.

And Mr. Mink gives us a look at a new gun that fires magic bullets, something that allows Dottie to show her true colors — and a killer move we’ve seen elsewhere in the MCU.

The Panel: Sonya Rodriguez, Dan Handley, Timothy Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENT CARTER Feels the Hand of the Writer: LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #42

This week, the Hand of the Writer is very much present. From making Agent Carter’s fellow agents stumble into finding out things, to using some tired plot devices, to making Agent Carter do some very smart things despite the rest of the show letter her down… Now, we do find some good things about the episode, but the contrivances are overly in abundance tonight, and it’s just too much for us to give it a pass.

Here’s hoping the rest of the season is better, because this one was a disappointment.

The panel: Maia Ades, Heather French, Marie Lim, Kammie Settle, Dan Handley, Timothy Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENT CARTER Fights For Her Place – LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #41

The new show is here! And we talk about it on our old show. Well… established show, rather.

Agent Carter debuts with back-to-back episodes pitting the resourceful Agent Peggy Carter up against chauvinism, irrelevancy, and even more important: the successor to Hydra, something called “Leviathan”.

Recruited by Howard Stark, who’s on the run under suspicion of selling out his country, Peggy has to work within the male-dominated offices of the Strategic Science Reserve to flush out the real threat from an enemy who’s stolen a good number of Stark’s more dangerous projects. With Stark’s trusty butler, Edwin Jarvis, at the ready to help with her mission, Carter gets to work on finding a stolen formula — only to learn that someone has already created a bomb with it.

Analysis, ranting, and digressions abound as we take a look at the first two of eight episodes in the new series.

The panel: Maia Ades, Heather French, Marie Lim, Dan Handley, Tim Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Gives Us Their Answer, Do – LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #40

Lots of reveals and exposition in the winter finale! In a well-crafted scene, we learn the identity of both the Doctor and Skye. Ward gets a little come-uppance, and finds a new ally in the process — although he could be playing Agent 33 just as easily as he’s actually helping her. Whitehall gets his… or does he? FitzSimmons finally seems to start clicking again. And oh, Tripp…

The reveals: the Doctor is Calvin Zabo, Skye is Daisy Johnson, Raina could be Tigra, and is that the Inhuman called Reader in the tag?

The end is earth-shattering! Game-changing! Life-altering!

The Panel: Kammie Settle, Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Tim Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Enters Into Darkness  — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #39

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. takes us down a dark tunnel to find… that we’re still not quite in the city. Is it Attilan? Buried under San Juan, Puerto Rico? Or is it just one more step in a long journey that ends up with Inhumans in 2018?

Ward seems to be following his own agenda as he retrieves Raina (and Skye for the bonus) from S.H.I.E.L.D. after the Koenigs retrieve Raina from a Hydra kidnap team, which includes Agent 33 in a malfunctioning May mask. And Whitehall isn’t very happy that Ward disobeyed orders to blow up the Bus. Skye and Raina have had a heart-to-heart about Dear Ol’ Dad, and we get our first official in-show confirmation that the “Blue Angels” are the Kree, and that Skye and Raina are “human”, but special ones. Leading to more speculation as to Skye’s true identity before we get to next week’s winter finale (yes, that’s a thing now).

Meanwhile, Fitz and Simmons are still working around the elephant in the room, and trying to work through all of the Feels that make Mac want to be somewhere else. And poor Mac. Should we start the death poll to see if you think he’ll survive being possessed by the guardian spirit (or whatever it is) that apparently was left behind to defend the abandoned city?

The Panel: Kammie Settle, Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Tim Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Gets Some Family Time  — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #38

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gets one step closer to Attilan. But is that the city for which Coulson and his team are searching? Will they beat Whitehall and the Hydra agents to the city? And what will Skye’s father do once they get there, knowing what Whitehall did to Skye’s mother? Are we seeing the first signs of the Inhumans? Or is the show setting up something else? Something more?

Meanwhile, Ward kidnaps his brother and takes him back to the scene of the crime. Literally. Digging back down to the well, and digging into their past to uncover the truth about who really did what to whom. With some terrible consequences.

The Panel: Kammie Settle, Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Tim Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Puts It In Writing — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #37

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gets back to regular programming tonight with a new episode that brings us closer to a resolution (of sorts) on the alien glyphs. And could we be getting the introduction of a new on-going character? One of the targets for Agent Sebastian’s glyph-carving rampage is one of many former agents who had his memory erased after getting injected with the GH-325, and it turns out everyone’s been having Devil’s Tower moments as a reaction. Turns out, there’s actually a meaning behind the symbols.

Ward, meantime, gets one step closer to dealing with his brother, and fulfills a prediction that he’s going to be a rogue element, unpredictable but maybe on Coulson’s side, at least when it suits him and lines up with his personal goals.

The Panel: Kammie Settle, Maia Ades, Tim Harvey, Jason Hunt

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MARVEL at 75 and Beyond — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #36

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. takes a week off, probably so everyone can absorb the big infodump from last week, which we cover in our Massive Marvel Movie Memo. Once you read that and catch up, take a jaunt with us as we talk about the Marvel special From Pulp to Pop, which gives us a very quick overview of the company’s history from the Timely Comics days to the Marvel Studio days. With quite a bit of recognition for people other than Stan Lee.

Plus, we look at the announcements and speculation for Phases 2 and 3 of the Cinematic Universe.

The Panel: Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Tim Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Fractures Families — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #35

This week, Coulson gets an opportunity to get S.H.I.E.L.D. some breathing room by making a deal with Senator Christian Ward: the good Senator backs off of his persecution of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Coulson will hand over the traitor brother Ward — a deal Grant Ward finds bothersome enough that he escapes during his transfer. All the while Senator Ward is telling Coulson that he’s got it all wrong — Grant is the one lying about his past, and the stories about Christian being the domineering evil mustache-twirling brother are just that: stories.

Meantime, HYDRA continued to test their weaponized Terragin Mist weapons, cutting through a delegation at the United Nations and targeting S.H.I.E.L.D. agents at a safe house in Belgium. This is the same Belgium with an elected leader who has ties to HYDRA through his grandfather. Turns out Grandpa worked for Whitehall back in the day.

And will Fitz and Simmons ever once again become… FitzSimmons??

The Panel: Kammie Settle, Tim Harvey, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Wings In With Twists — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #34

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. delivers a solid episode tonight, with several twists and unexpected moments that move several story threads forward in a significant way.

Several intersection points along the way, as well — Raina making Coulson choose between Skye and Simmons, not knowing Coulson “has a plan” in the form of Bobbi Morse (a.k.a. “Mockingbird”), who’s undercover as HYDRA’s chief of security; the ultimate disposition of the obelisk, now officially known as “The Diviner”; more details on Skye’s father and how much he’s trying to control the “monster” inside him (thus setting off Raina’s desperate move); and the highly anticipated reunion between Fitz and Simmons.

The Panel: Maia Ades, Kammie Settle, Dan Handley, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Has Their Game Face On — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #33

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gets us one step closer to the mystery of the alien cuneiform, while Coulson continues to pester Agent May about a fallback plan in case he loses control of himself. Fitz is fighting with himself over whether or not to interact with the real people on the team and spend less time with HeadSimmons. And HYDRA races against Coulson and Company in an attempt to recover a 500-year-old painting that was the only thing to survive the fiery destruction of a church —  because it has alien cuneiform on it? And the clock is now ticking for Raina to return the obelisk to Whitehall, or he’s going to start doing what he does best.

The Panel: Maia Ades, Dan Handley, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Chills Out With Friends — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #32

Finally: the answer to where Jemma Simmons went. More training for Skye, who proves to be a cool customer. May gets a little payback with Hunter. Fitz learns a little more than he bargained for. And Coulson is still juggling everything while S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra race to see who gets Donnie Gill first. And in the meantime, Agent 33 falls victim to the machinations of Mr. Whitehall.

The Panel: Maia Ades, Tim Harvey, Dan Handley, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Gets A Little Heavy — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #31

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. maintains its momentum as it picks up from the season premiere. Creel is on the run, May is hot on his heels. Hunter faces a crisis of conscience — will he betray Coulson and hand the team over to General Talbott? Fitz is still seeing Simmons in his head, while Mack seems to be the only one who can get through Fitz’ fuzzy fog. Hartley is still dead.

And where, oh where is Simmons? We speculate.

The Panel: Kammie Settle, Maia Ades, Garet Ades, Dan Handley, Jason Hunt

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. is Out of the Shadows — LEVEL ELEVENTY-SEVEN #30

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is back with an action-packed season premiere that introduces new characters, twists up existing characters, and gives our team some new adversaries.

Director Coulson and his team have to track down “the very first” #084 – something packed away by Agent Carter and the Howling Commandos back at the end of World War II. Using the talents of mercenaries led by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Isabel Hartley, Coulson’s team infiltrates a military warehouse to retrieve the object before it can be stolen by a new villain known as the Absorbing Man, a HYDRA operative can alter his cell structure to match that of anything he touches.

The Panel: Kammie Settle, Dan Handley, Timothy Harvey, Jason Hunt

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