Titus Welliver's Agent Blake Returning to the MCU

While many of the connections between Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe have been in the form of single-episode guest stars, there have been a few characters who made multiple appearances. The most prominent of these was Agent Sitwell, but he's not the only Agent who got his start elsewhere.

Titus Welliver's Agent Felix Blake first appeared in the Marvel One-Shot Item 47 before making a few appearances in season 1 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. When he was last seen, Blake was in critical condition after a confrontation with Deathlok. His fate is set to be revealed in the upcoming season 3 episode 'Watchdogs,' and fans should find out once and for all where his loyalties lie.

Agent Blake's fight against Deathlok occurred before the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, so Marvel fans never found out whether he was loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. or if he was a member of Hydra. The official synopsis for the upcoming episode doesn't help much in that regard, as it reveals that he is a guest star, but not which side of the episode's conflict he will be on.

The Watchdogs appeared as an enemy in Captain America comics

"Watchdogs" – When a radical group called The Watchdogs emerges with plans to eliminate the Inhumans, Agent Mack and his brother become caught in the crossfire. Meanwhile, Simmons discovers a powerful chemical compound that could alter the future for Inhumans."

Guests: Titus Welliver, Mark Dacascos, Gaius Charles, Trenton Rostedt, Justin Morck, Jonathan Camp, D. Elliot Woods

In the comics, The Watchdogs were an extreme right-wing US terrorist group operating largely in the south that was focused on restoring "traditional" American values through violence, kidnapping and the use of shock collars to forcibly reprogram those who didn't see eye to eye with their moral views. They were traditionally an enemy of Captain America, and had at least some ties with the Red Skull (who refused to supply them with high-tech equipment so that they would continue to look like a grass-roots organization). If Blake was a member of Hydra before The Winter Soldier, he may have joined up with The Watchdogs and will appear as an enemy in the episode instead of a friend.

Though The Watchdogs is being refocused against the Inhumans in the show, it's possible they could retain at least some of their "traditional American values" as well. This could play out similarly to some of the radical groups that have opposed the X-Men over the years, seeing their abilities as proof of genetic impurities that don't fall in line with the group's idea of "real" Americans. Of course, it's also possible the producers will play it safe and focus less on The Watchdogs' "traditional American values" to avoid drawing unintentional parallels to actual political movements during an election year.

Whether the Watchdogs shift away from their values in the comics, it will still be interesting to see the group on the small screen. It shows that Marvel is still interested in featuring some of its lesser-known characters and organizations in some form, even though it means we'll likely never see Captain America take on The Watchdogs himself (which obviously wasn't very likely anyway). Now we just have to wait and see if the Serpent Society makes an appearance somewhere down the road.