Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. might be building up to something big. During a Reddit AMA with Head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb, one fan proposed a theory linking the Marvel Cinematic Universe show to the Fantastic Four, whose rights are still at Fox (for now, anyway). While Loeb didn’t come out and confirm anything, he did have a pretty interesting response.
The theory links a few plot points from S.H.I.E.L.D. with Fantastic Four story elements. For one, the theory points out that the show has featured a few characters who seem drawn to the idea of doom: Will Daniels, who lived on Maveth with Jemma Simmons in “4,722 Hours,” and the ancient Inhuman called Hive, who proclaimed himself to be “Doom” in “The Singularity.” The theory posits this could set up the character Victor von Doom, aka Doctor Doom.
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Hive, who possessed the bodies of Will and Grant Ward, appeared to die in the Season 3 finale. However, Hive is a being comprised entirely of living nano-particles, jumping from one host to another and absorbing their personalities and memories along the way. Though Hive cannot survive without a host, the theory speculates he may have been preserved in space, where he was destroyed in a nuclear detonation. If Hive’s nano-particles were to bond with Graviton, whose body is now floating through space, the two could become something of a super-entity with the personality of all the characters both Hive and Graviton have absorbed. That list includes Doctor Franklin Hall, Ian Quinn, Glenn Talbot, Carl “Absorbing Man” Creel, Will and Ward.
What’s more the theory links together S.H.I.E.L.D. plot points that seem the same as Fantastic Four elements, which have different names but are very similar. For instance, the Fear Dimension is a lot like the Negative Zone, alien energy could be subbed in for cosmic energy and the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy could stand in for Empire University.
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Additionally, Leo Fitz and Simmons effectively became the MCU’s “First Family” in the show’s 100th episode, where they got married. Per Deke, their grandson, the two eventually changed their names in his future, so that they could survive. What’s more, Fitz and Simmons are both brilliant scientists, who were able to create their own spaceship. They share all these characteristics with Reed and Sue Richards, two of the Fantastic Four’s founding members.
After outlining this theory, the poster posed their question: “Am I crazy, or are you guys producing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to be the epic prologue to something more? Can you elaborate or hint towards the future of the show now that it’s been renewed for Season 6?”
To that, Loeb answered, “You’re not crazy. But that’s all I can say!”
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Of course, it’s very unlikely that Fitz and Simmons will become the MCU’s Fantastic family (Fantastic FitzSimmons, anyone?), but Loeb’s response is intriguing all the same. It seems to suggest there is some kernel of truth buried in the theory outlined above, whether it’s the purposeful allusions to the Fantastic Four or the idea of the show building to something much bigger — or perhaps even both.
Returning Summer 2019, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. stars Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Henry Simmons, Ian De Caestecker, Natalia Cordova-Buckley and Elizabeth Henstridge.