When the Agents Of SHIELD. With Agents Of SHIELD gearing up for its seventh and final season, Coulson’s time in the MCU is likely nearing its end.
Fans have been able to spend a decade with Phil Coulson as the character has slowly been fleshed out across the different pieces of Marvel media. Even some of the most observant fans might have missed out on a few of these details.
Phil Coulson’s Codename Is Cheese
The television series hasn’t employed codenames very often for its main characters. In the comic books, however, codenames are all the rage.
In fact, when the character debuted in the Marvel comic book series Battle Scars, it wasn’t as Phil Coulson. Instead, a mysterious character using the codename “Cheese” was introduced. It was several issues later before the character was revealed to be Phil Coulson.
He Was An Army Ranger
Though the television series doesn’t detail a military past for Agent Coulson, the comic books do. Before becoming a SHIELD agent, Coulson was an Army Ranger stationed in Afghanistan where he fought alongside Marcus Johnson. That friendship is actually what led him to SHIELD.
Marcus Johnson was actually Nick Fury’s son, and Coulson’s work with Marcus, as well as his help saving the other man’s life, is what gets him noticed by SHIELD Director Fury. Coulson quickly proved himself as an agent and rose to command his own teams in a matter of months in the comics.
His Girlfriend Was Named After A Car
Fans of Agents Of SHIELD know that TV’s Coulson has one high-flying prized possession. His red corvette is augmented with flying technology from Howard Stark. Coulson affectionately refers to his car as Lola and doesn’t let just anyone near her.
In a comic book series that featured characters created for the show, Coulson’s ex got the name Lola instead of his car, a nod to the television show. This version of Lola was a telepath and secretly extracted information from his mind during the time they were together, which eventually came back to haunt him.
Coulson Knows How To Defeat Every Superhero
Just as the TV version of Coulson is a collector, so is the comic book version. The difference is the two collect different things. While TV’s Coulson loves his superhero memorabilia and antiques, the comic book Coulson loves his superhero knowledge.
As a kid, Coulson started keeping his own notes about the strengths and weaknesses of the heroes he saw making news. He kept doing that all of his life until he knew all of the information cold. As an adult, he knew the best way to eliminate the threat of literally any superhero he’d ever been associated with, the knowledge he had in case they were influenced by outside forces or changed alliances. He did the same for the of his SHIELD teams. That’s the information Lola siphoned from his mind, creating a whole host of problems for him.
He Knows Captain Marvel’s Tell
In addition to Coulson being able to mentally keep track of heroes’ vulnerabilities in the comics, he’s put his memory to good use in other ways. He liked to play cards with quite a few heroes, including Captain Marvel.
Coulson became so good at reading the heroes he played with, that he kept track of all of their tells. Captain Marvel, for example, flared her nostrils when she bluffed. Coulson won a lot of card games, leading to speculation amongst the heroes that he was actually telepathic and just didn’t want to it it.
His Hand Is A Star Wars Reference
At the end of the second season of Agents Of SHIELD, Coulson made a brave move. He used one hand to catch a compromised terrigen crystal to make sure his team wasn’t exposed to the harmful (for humans) gas when it broke. That catch caused the metal that compromised the pure terrigen to interact with his biology, petrifying his hand. Luckily, Mack took care of the problem by chopping off Coulson’s hand for him.
Coulson losing his hand marked a tradition for Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Every property produced during that phase featured a character losing a hand - or in Loki’s case, a projection of a character losing a hand. It was a nod from the creative teams to the The Empire Strikes Back.
Coulson Was The First SHIELD Agent Introduced In The MCU
When Iron Man debuted in 2008, a man in a suit attempted to debrief Tony Stark about his experience being kidnapped and housed in a cave before escaping in an iron suit. That man was Phil Coulson, agent of SHIELD.
Clark Gregg’s role in that first movie might have only included a few lines, but it was a memorable one. Samuel L. Jackson as Director Nick Fury didn’t make his debut until a post-credit scene, making Coulson the first face of SHIELD for a lot of fans.
Deadpool Shot Coulson
Deadpool might not exist in the MCU right now, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t get the chance to interact with Coulson a few times in the comics. The two have worked together but also been at odds.
During the “Secret Empire” event, the two teamed up with Steve Rogers. Unfortunately for Coulson, that Steve was replaced by a Hydra version from another timeline. When Coulson began to suspect something was up, the man who would be Captain America convinced Deadpool to shoot Coulson and leave him for dead.
He’s Been Spider-Man’s School Principal
Live action and comics aren’t the only places fans can spot Coulson. He’s also appeared in animation, modeled after actor Clark Gregg as Peter Parker’s high school principal. Gregg even voiced the character for his appearances in Ultimate Spider-Man.
Gregg isn’t the only Agents Of SHIELD actor (or character) to cross over into animation either. Chloe Bennet has appeared as Quake in Marvel animated properties while Iain de Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge have also voiced Fitz and Simmons for Spider-Man.
Phil Coulson Is The Most Featured Character In The MCU
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the MCU has logged a whole lot of entertaining hours on screen. Between 23 movies and 11 television shows (though some may now occur in alternate timelines), there is a whole lot of the MCU to enjoy.
As a result of his place in movies and television, Phil Coulson actually logs more screen time than any other character in the MCU. In addition to Iron Man and Agents Of SHIELD, Coulson also had appearances in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, and made an appearance in the web series Slingshot. It’s no wonder that Coulson has become so recognizable to MCU fan.