'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Adds A New 'Inhuman' Character

Marvel Cinematic Universe fans have a lot to look forward to on the small screen in the very near future. Agent Carter is currently more than halfway through its miniseries on ABC and Netflix just released the first exciting trailer for Marvel TV's Daredevil which airs its full season in April.

And of course, no Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. viewer can forget about how the first half of season 2 ended, with a major reveal that connects the series to the MCU in a very big way. The cliffhanger of the finale revealed the real identity of Agent Skye (Chloe Bennet) as Marvel Comics character Daisy Johnson, a.k.a. Quake. And she's an Inhuman.

The timing of the reveal coincided with Marvel Studios unveiling a lengthy list of upcoming movies dating all the way up to and including 2019, encapsulating a set of stories dubbed "Phase 3" (Phase 2 concludes this summer with Ant-Man). One of those films was the oft namedropped Inhumans coming November 2018, and since there are a few characters in Agents of SHIELD who now fall under that label, nothing will be the same going forward. It's the "Age of Miracles" after all (more on that later).

Agents of SHIELD - Terrigen Crystal and Terrigenesis — Skye Transforms After Contact With Terrigen Mists

With that in mind, when Agents of SHIELD returns on March 3rd, viewers will begin meeting a few new characters while also dealing with the aftermath of Skye learning to control her new earthquake powers. Blair Underwood signed on for a recurring role as Melinda May’s ex-husband and Edward James Olmos will play new antagonist Robert Gonzales. Marvel announced today that another new character, played by Australian actor Luke Mitchell (Home and Away, The Tomorrow People) has also joined the cast of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a character named "Lincoln."

What makes Lincoln special is that he's an Inhuman who will have a profound effect on the show's main plot thread now that Agent Skye's true self has emerged. The announcement reveals that the "charismatic" character will help Skye learn who and what she is. Executive Producer and Marvel’s Head of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb:

"With the revelations surrounding Skye’s true identity in the Winter Finale, we knew we’d be introducing more Inhumans as our story progressed. The charming energy Luke brings to the role that will make him a character to watch as we continue our season."

Lincoln seems to be an all-new character created for the series, but like Skye, he could be an adapted version of a known Marvel Comics character or at least could be inspired from one. For example, in the comics there's a super-strong villain named Lonnie Lincoln who goes by the alias Tombstone and battles Daredevil but that doesn't quite fit the description from Marvel for this role.

"Inhumans represent a different chapter."

- Clark Gregg on the midseason finale reveal.

The openness to explore more elements from Marvel Comics is a much welcome change for the series which struggled in its first season. After Captain America: The Winter Soldier released in theaters last spring, the Agents of SHIELD changed drastically and has been winning over more fans ever since. The first half of season 2 continued Agent Coulson's (Clark Gregg) team (the remaining core of S.H.I.E.L.D.) battle against a segment of Hydra and now they're moving on the bigger picture issues: super powers and aliens.

Avengers 2: Age of Ultron High-Res Photo - Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch — Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch

Gregg previously explained how exciting it is for him and the cast and crew of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to be trusted with setting up a major facet of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We've now already met at least a few Inhuman characters in the show and may meet a few more in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, depending on how writer and director Joss Whedon adapts the origin story of new characters Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) - the "twins" who we've long speculated will actually be Inhumans instead of their original Marvel Comics origin of being mutant children of X-Men villain Magneto.

This is something Marvel Entertainment in their trans-media efforts have been building towards in the comics as well, first with the Avengers & X-Men: AXIS series crossover event suggesting that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are not actually the children of Magneto. And just this week in the official prequel comic to Avengers: Age of Ultron, the cinematic origins of the pair are partially revealed - hinting that they are not "normal" humans. Stay tuned for more on that tomorrow...

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