While the ratings for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. haven’t always reflected it, the show has grown from an Avengers-offshoot to one of superhero TV’s best series. Not only has it expanded the role of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization and continued the adventures of Phil Coulson; it’s also introduced a number of comic book properties that Marvel would otherwise have to leave on the shelf, due to its busy movie production schedule. In the show’s three and a half seasons, they’ve given us the debut of Robbie Reyes as the Ghost Rider, premiered and fleshed out the Kree in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and brought Secret Warriors Quake and Slingshot to life.
Those last two were especially instrumental in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s effort to give us our first live-action incarnation of the Inhumans. With the group soon getting their own series, ABC and the producers Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon have pulled focus a bit from the genetically altered race of superhumans. Still, both Daisy Johnson and Yo-Yo Rodriquez continue to play a huge role on the series. The latter is even getting her own shot at the spotlight, as Marvel and ABC announced she would be leading her own digital miniseries after the season 4 midseason finale.
Just when we were starting to miss the presence of S.H.I.E.L.D. this week, ABC posted all six episodes of the new Slingshot digital series to the network’s YouTube channel. You can watch the first episode in the series above, then check out the remaining five installments below.
-
The first episode sets up the premise of the series, flashing back to the time between the end of season 3 and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4 premiere. We get cameos by Daisy (who proved how great her chemistry with Yo-Yo was earlier this season) and Coulson (who comes with his requisite batch of inside jokes and MCU references). Their appearances help orient the viewer and show that unlike the movies, Slingshot is willing to pull in some regulars from the series. We’ll leave it to you to catch up on the whole story and see how well it fits into the universe, but it’s exciting to see Marvel pursue different media avenues, in an effort to highlight more fan-favorite characters.
It’s also worth noting how good the show looks, as if it could simply fit right into an episode of S.H.I.E.L.D. Part of that is likely due to the deft hand of director Joe Quesada, the Chief Creative Officer for Marvel. It’s nice seeing Quesada step in, as it further legitmizes this miniseries. Hopefully, the show will be a success and Marvel will use a format like this to start introducing new properties form the pages of the comics. Either way, this is just one more step in the direction of us never having to go a month without new Marvel Cinematic Universe content.
Slingshot is now streaming on ABC’s app and its YouTube channel. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will return January 10, 2017 at 10pm EST on ABC.
Source: ABC
