The Agents of SHIELD Season 4 finale ending didn’t only tease Marvel’s Inhumans, the episode may have opened up a lot of doors for the greater MCU, potentially including Avengers: Infinity War and Captain Marvel. Agents of SHIELD has a history of indirect connections to movies such as Captain America: Age of Ultron, Thor, and Civil War and it looks like Season 5 will be no different. In case you are confused about all the moving pieces, here's the Agents of SHIELD Season 4 finale explained.
COULSON’S DEAL WITH GHOST RIDER
In order to save Jemma, Coulson transforms into Ghost Rider and burns AIDA into bits. Everyone's’ first thought was Robbie was somehow able to disguise himself as Coulson, but no, good ole Phil made a deal with the devil.
Ghost Rider Coulson and AIDA bounce through different dimensions, city streets and subways before they end up back at the SHIELD base and the team watches Coulson kill the robot once and for all. Because Coulson also died and came back to life, it’s possible he shares some sort of vengeance connection with Ghost Rider. AIDA, because of her connection to the darkhold and the dark dimension, also has some sort of mystical vengeance. It’s why Robbie says she had to be returned to hell and AIDA screams she only revenge on Fitz and Jemma will make her feel better. Robbie tells Coulson that he cannot tell the rest of the team about their deal with the devil until the appropriate time. Before Ghost Rider uses his hellfire chain as a sling ring as seen in Doctor Strange, he tells Coulson, “I don’t envy you.” Coulson says, “I was going to tell you the same.”
It’s clear Coulson is a changed man, though it’s unclear if this is permanent or not. It seems Ghost Rider has acquired some serious knowledge after being blasted through the interdimensional gate into the multiverse. It’s possible the deal he made with Coulson involves helping him protect Earth from new intergalactic threats. Only he and Coulson know what’s coming and it could be some sort of alien invasion.
THE S.H.I.E.L.D. OF OUTER SPACE: S.W.O.R.D.
As if Coulson Ghost Rider wasn’t enough of a cliffhanger, the final scene shows team SHIELD eating in a diner. Expecting to be chased by government officials, Fitz offers to take the blame for the whole AIDA thing. But before they can finish discussing and eating, a bald guy and his mysterious, never-before-seen team appear in the shadows. Next thing you know, we see a spaceship. Coulson rises and looks out his window into outer space and says, “Sightseeing is done for the day. Time to get to work.”
One fan theory suggests Agents of SHIELD and the film universe have been gearing up to introduce a paranormal defense organization called S.W.O.R.D. S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation & Response Department) is a S.H.I.E.L.D. counterpart that deals strictly with extraterrestrial and intergalactic threats to Earth. While it’s technically a subdivision of S.H.I.E.L.D., the organization is known to run independently. In the comics, Abigail Brand runs the show from a hub in outer space known as Peak. Brand is mixed--half alien/half human--and she recruits both extraterrestrial and human agents.
Tony Stark’s vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron is a large part of this theory. The Avengers lay sprawled on the ground on a rock in outer space. Amongst them are a few agents that on first glance look like S.H.I.E.L.D., but their uniforms have a slightly different logo patch.In fact, S.W.O.R.D. appears in the Infinity storyline in the comics. In desperation and in danger of Thanos, the organization asked the Guardians of the Galaxy for help.
Thanos, an extremely powerful alien, is the main baddie in Avengers: Infinity War, and who better to help the Avengers deal with an extraterrestrial threat than the Guardians and S.W.O.R.D. This sub-division of SHIELD’s presence has been foreshadowed by the fact the show almost exclusively deals with alien and inhuman threats and Phil Coulson himself is part Kree.
INTRODUCING INHUMANS
When Agent Coulson looked out the window, we saw a glowing blue ball. If Marvel’s Inhumans wasn’t set to premiere in September, this wouldn’t mean anything. However, it can’t be a coincidence the ‘Blue Area of the Moon’ is where the Inhumans settled the city of Attilan. The Inhuman Royal Family we will meet in the series seek refuge on Earth after a war on their home city. If whatever alien race attacked Attilan is an enemy of the Inhumans, who's to say they won't’ be an enemy of SHIELD (or should we say S.W.O.R.D.) as well?
When asked about the large blue glowing light in space, Agents of SHIELD writers told Entertainment Weekly, “Oh, it’s a clue. Read into it as hard as you can. I can’t wait until you see it. Everything is a clue. We can’t say anything really about the end. It’s all meant to get you asking these questions, so at least we did our job there.”
Interestingly enough, the blue area of the moon is also closely tied to The Watchers, an alien race teased in the post-credits scene of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, who were seen chatting with Stan Lee on the moon about events in the MCU.
GREATER MCU IMPACT
Good thing Agents of SHIELD was renewed for Season 5 because this ending introduces a lot of possibilities. With Inhumans and Infinity War both on the horizon in the MCU, it can’t be a coincidence SHIELD left off in space. Ghost Rider also mentions that everything is connected--planets, dimensions, hells. His new dimension hopping trick he’s learned is all to similar to Doctor Strange , who introduced Marvel fans to the astral plane and dark dimension. With Guardians of the Galaxy set to appear in Infinity War, space is becoming the new battleground in the MCU.
The aftermath of Captain America: The Winter Soldier was reflected on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Captain America: Civil War’s Superhero Registration Act (aka Sovokia Accords) was also reflected on the show with the introduction of inhumans, which has resulted in a spin off film-turned-show called Marvel’s Inhumans . This working relationship gives us no reason to believe the series hasn’t also also been foreshadowing future happenings in the Marvel film universe. It’s also worth noting Carol Danvers is closely associated with S.W.O.R.D. Also known as Captain Marvel, the Marvel hero is getting her own film set to release in early 2019.
What did you think of the Agents of SHIELD Season 4 finale? Let us know how you think the series will connect to the rest of the MCU in the comments below!
