It’s unlikely Bill Paxton will inform Coulson that it’s game over, man, but he is coming to Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.… as John Garrett. Longtime Marvel nerds probably got whiplash at that news, but for the more casual fans, this is a long way of saying that Marvel just dropped a rather large hint as to where Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. is headed.
John Garrett coming on board is notable for a number of reasons, a lot of them arresting.
He’s A Cyborg
Garrett has, over the course of Marvel continuity, been pumped full of cybernetic implants. He’s had a plate in his head that can record audio, he’s had a cybernetic left hand, he’s even gone the full Six Million Dollar Man on us. Considering that Centipede, the terrorist organization at the center of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., has considerable interest in installing processors into scary people, that’s attention getting.
He’s Got History With Elektra
Garrett has gone toe-to-toe with everybody’s favorite Greek assassin more than once, and it’s rarely gone well for him. This is particularly interesting because, as we all know, Daredevil is getting a Netflix TV series. And if this ties into Marvel’s other TV franchises, we’re not going to complain.
He’s Got An Even Longer History Of Being A Total Monster
Garrett has ties to a lot of Marvel organizations, most of them pretty nasty. Garrett would be a good opportunity to bring in more of what we want, namely second-tier supervillains and characters who will never be put on a movie screen. And speaking of which…
He’s A Character With History In The Marvel Universe
Week in and week out, we watch Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. struggle to explain how, precisely, there’s anything Marvel about the goings on. Garrett is arguably the best choice for the show to bring out the stuff we really want to see; he’s a minor character, but one with a lot of connections. And, really, that can only improve the show, especially with Paxton behind it.