When Daisy Johnson debuted in Marvel Comics, it was as a young woman on the wrong side of the law who was given a chance to become a part of SHIELD. That origin was pretty much the same for the television series Agents Of SHIELD, though the character was originally dubbed “Skye” until her history was revealed over the course of the second season.
With Daisy making her comic book debut nearly a decade before Agents of SHIELD came to television screens, there was quite a bit of backstory for the writers to use if they wanted to. While the writers did draw a lot from the comics, there’s also a lot that they changed. As Agents Of SHIELD airs its final season in 2020, there’s still room for plenty more of Daisy’s story to make it to the small screen.
Kept: Daisy’s Parentage
Daisy Johnson wasn’t raised by her birth parents in either the comics or the television series. While there are slight differences in her story, ultimately, the story of her unconventional parents is the same.
Daisy’s father is a man named Calvin who is a brilliant scientist, but also a man who tends to experiment on the dangerous end of biochemistry. It’s his experiments that turn him into “Mister Hyde.” In both versions of the story, he has a relationship with a woman who turns out to come from a powerful lineage, producing their super-powered daughter.
Changed: Her Clearance Level
When Daisy first joins SHIELD in the comics, it’s actually as a teenager. She’s offered the chance to undergo training and make something of herself. At only 17 years old, she completes the training so well that she’s offered Level 10 clearance. That level is so high that only Nick Fury and Natasha Romanoff have the same.
In the television series, on the other hand, she begins her time with SHIELD with literally no clearance level at all, though the agency does operate on the same ten-level system. Though she’s trusted to help Coulson’s team, she’s not actually granted any kind of clearance.
Kept: Daisy’s Gauntlets
Daisy’s power involves controlling vibrations, or “quaking” objects around her. In order to better control her abilities, and to make sure she doesn’t damage her own body, she wears gauntlets. Since she channels her power most often through her hands, it makes sense that her own hands and arms could be hurt by the vibrations.
The gauntlets designed for the character in the television series take inspiration from the ones she wears in the comics. In the comics, however, Daisy has shown enough proficiency with her power to eventually not even need the gauntlets, though they remain a part of her uniform.
Changed: How Daisy Gets Her Powers
For a long time in the comics, Daisy was believed to have been a mutant, or at least, someone who was affected by the experiments her father did on his own biology, passing some of the results on to her. That turns out not to be the case as her power comes from her mother, but that is only revealed in the comics after Agents Of SHIELD plays out her origin story on television. The comics changed her power origin to be more in line with the series.
In the series, Daisy’s power is activated by her interaction with Terrigen crystals, as happens with all Inhumans. The comics, despite now including her Inhuman heritage, never has her power activated by Terrigen. Instead, her father’s experimentation somehow activates her Inhuman DNA.
Kept: A SHIELD Director Mentoring Her
In both of Daisy’s stories, she’s clearly one of her mentor’s favorite agents. For the comics, Nick Fury himself invites her into SHIELD and takes her under his wing. He even makes her director in his absence.
For the TV series, that mentor is Phil Coulson. While Coulson isn’t the director of SHIELD when they meet, he does eventually take on the role, with Daisy as part of his inner circle. He helps her become the leader she eventually is.
Changed: Her Avengers Status
Though the Agents Of SHIELD television series spun out of The Avengers, the super-powered characters in the series haven’t exactly had the chance to engage with the Avengers themselves. That’s not the case in the comics.
After helping the team on several occasions, Steve Rogers actually invites Daisy to join the team. Her first official mission is tracking down an escaped prisoner from the supervillain prison The Raft.
Kept: Her Leadership Of The Caterpillars
“Caterpillars” is a code name given to a group of young people with special abilities in the comics. They are Daisy Johnson’s Secret Warriors. While the exact lineup isn’t present in the television series, the team itself is.
Daisy leads her Secret Warriors in the series as a team of new Inhumans. When she’s presented with the project, she’s given a folder outlining the initiative from Phil Coulson. His folder is also labeled “Caterpillars,” giving her special project the same code name.
Changed: Daisy’s Working Relationship With Phil Coulson
While the TV series sees Phil Coulson as Daisy’s mentor, and the one that recruits her to SHIELD, that’s not exactly the case in the comics.
In the comics, it’s the other way around. It’s Daisy who recruits Coulson, as well as Nick Fury’s own son, into the SHIELD ranks. The comics did eventually add a nod to the Agents Of SHIELD series with Coulson giving Daisy the nickname “Skye” because part of her job duties involved protecting Earth’s atmosphere from outside threats.
Kept: Her Codename
Daisy goes through a lot of name changes in the comics and the television series as she learns about her past. There’s one name that definitely sticks, and that’s the codename used once she uses her powers.
In all versions of Daisy’s story, she becomes known as Quake thanks to her ability to literally quake things.
Changed: Her Childhood Name
She doesn’t grow up with the name her birth parents give her. Instead, she gets a different name in each medium. In the comics, that name is Corey Sutter, given by the people who adopt her. A different name in the TV series helped keep the mystery of who the character really was for comic book fans.
Though she begins the series as Skye, that is a name the character chooses for herself because she hates the name she was given at the orphanage. There, she was dubbed Mary Sue Poots.