Across their film and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. have counted some fearsome fighters among their ranks. In the comics, the organization’s decades-long history has seen even more of the planet’s mightiest warriors wear the eagle emblem. Though their leadership has changed over the years, the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division has always been tasked with protecting the world from global threats. While they often act covertly, S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t opposed to uncloaking their massive Helicarriers for a good fight.
Given the nature of their work, S.H.I.E.L.D. are often called to take on opponents too powerful for any normal military or governmental outfit. As such, the organization employs a number of enhanced assets, former assassin’s, and many of the world’s greatest combatants. While groups such as the Nick Fury, we wanted to look at those individuals more directly involved in helping them keep the peace. Here are the 17 Most Powerful Agents Of SHIELD, Ranked.
17. Timothy "Dum-Dum" Dugan
Like S.H.I.E.L.D., Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader "Dum-Dum" Dugan was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. A couple of years before the introduction of the organization, however, Dugan was a member of Nick Fury’s World War II squadron. Debuting in 1963’s Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos, Dugan is one of Fury’s oldest friends and comrades. Like Fury, Dugan's decades of experience in espionage and war have forged him into one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s greatest assets-- and that was before he was an android.
While Fury’s prolonged life was chalked up to the Infinity Formula, a lot of questions have remained about how Dugan has stayed so youthful. During the Original Sin event, we learn that the real Dum-Dum actually died during a mission in 1966 and Fury had him replaced with a Life Model Decoy. When Dugan learns this, he’s furious at his friend and asks to never be brought back again before taking his life.
Unfortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t one to let a good warrior go, and new director Maria Hill once again revives Dugan when he’s needed. Given his years of experience in the field, his expert fighting skills (which he's used to battle Godzilla hand-to-hand), and his enhanced strength and invulnerability (not to mention immortality) as an LMD, Dum-Dum is a highly formidable combatant.
16. Eric O’Grady / Ant-Man
Introduced in 2006’s The Irredeemable Ant-Man, Eric O’Grady is the latest to don an ant-themed costume and use Hank Pym’s size-changing tech. Starting out as a low-level agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., O’Grady quickly replaces another agent and former friend who was tasked with donning a new Ant-Man suit and serving as a spy. Rather than use the suit for good, O’Grady fights with fellow Ant-Man candidate Mitch Carson, badly disfiguring him. He flees and proceeds to seduce his dead friend’s wife, impregnating and then abandoning her. He uses most of the rest of his time with the suit committing crimes and generally being a creep.
Despite that, the suit and his command over it make him exceptionally skilled and Steve Rogers eventually adds O’Grady to his roster of Secret Avengers. He slowly redeems himself through their missions, but eventually dies in the field and is replaced by an LMD. Unlike Dugan, this LMD is part of a plot to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D., and declares himself the Black Ant. His threat doesn’t add up to much, however, and the character flees at the conclusion of the series. As an LMD, Black Ant is even more powerful than before, so hopefully we haven’t seen the last of the rogue.
15. Sharon Carter / Agent 13
Like Dum-Dum, Sharon Carter was created by Kirby and Lee and introduced in the ‘60s. First appearing in Tales of Suspense #75 in 1966, Sharon s S.H.I.E.L.D. as Agent 13 and quickly climbs through the ranks. Like in the MCU, Sharon is the great-niece of Peggy Carter, and shares many of the woman’s attributes. She’s a gifted strategist, an incredibly skilled combatant, and she’s got a thing for living symbols of patriotism. Throughout her comics history, the younger Carter has been romantically involved with Steve Rogers. While they’ve yet to wed, they might as well given their long and somewhat exclusive history together.
It’s not surprising that Cap would be so enamored with her, considering she’s long been one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s best assets. While she lacks his enhanced physiology, she’s gone toe-to-toe with the forces of Red Skull, Armin Zola, and A.I.M. Her time on screen has been disappointingly short, sadly, especially given how much she was hyped in the marketing for Captain America movie will let Sharon and her skills shine like they have for so long in the comics.
14. Alison Blaire / Dazzler
Alison Blaire is a fairly new S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and didn’t last too long in the post. Her comic history, however, is long and interesting. Given her look and ability to convert sound into weaponized light, it’s no surprise that the mutant Dazzler is a product of the ‘70s. Though she didn’t appear in comics until 1980’s Uncanny X-Men #130, she was designed in the previous decade.
The original plan was for Marvel to create a character and Casablanca Records to provide a real-life singer who would then star in a film based on Dazzler. Marvel held up their end by deg Dazzler after Grace Jones, but the film studio forced them to change the character to resemble Bo Derek, who they were planning a project with. Marvel conceded and premiered Dazzler as a new member of the X-Men at the dawn of the decade, but the film sadly fell through.
Dazzler has lived on, using her unique powers to prove a powerful adversary to the X-Men’s enemies. Following Cyclops' mutant revolution, Dazzler became one of the few mutants to S.H.I.E.L.D. in an effort to bridge the gap between the peacekeeping organization and the growing revolutionary spirit of her kind. Sadly, she was soon replaced by Mystique, who technically served for some time as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and so perhaps shares this spot with Dazzler.
13. Sam Wilson / Falcon
While Sam Wilson wasn’t the first black character to co-star in a Marvel comic, he was the very first African-American in mainstream comics to be a superhero. Created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan, Sam first appeared in 1969’s Captain America #117. Given his historic introduction and connection to Captain America, he’s long served as a champion of justice and equality, both on a macro scale and in his neighborhood of Harlem.
Though he started life as a criminal, Marvel later retconned this to be the work of Red Skull. The villain’s plan would eventually lead to Sam being forced to battle against Cap, with Skull granting him the ability to communicate with birds thanks to the Cosmic Cube. The spell is eventually broken, and Sam dons a suit and names himself the Falcon, spending most of his career fighting alongside Cap as one of his oldest friends.
His link with the world’s bird population grants Sam a surveillance network to rival S.H.I.E.L.D. itself, along with millions of potential avian allies. His current wing harness, designed by became the latest Captain America.
12. Theodore Sallis / Man-Thing
Iron Man, the Sci-Fi Channel made a Man-Thing movie that was actually produced by Kevin Feige. Even if Marvel would rather forget the TV movie, the creature was name-dropped by Garrison in the first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., meaning Man-Thing does exist somewhere in the MCU. Perhaps the man formerly known as Dr. Ted Sallis could follow his recent comic book path and make his way onto a horror-themed TV series.
Originally a scientist working on a version of the Super Soldier Serum, Sallis goes on the run from A.I.M. while doing research in the Everglades. As he's being chased, Sallis injects himself with the serum before crashing into the swamp. There, the concoction mixes with magical forces native to Florida and transforms him into the monstrous Man-Thing.
Retaining virtually no intelligence, Man-Thing remains formidable thanks to his acid burn that’s triggered when he senses fear in an individual. He’s also capable of teleporting himself and others thanks to the magic of the Everglades, which is a nexus of reality. He was recently put under Dum-Dum Dugan as part of the new Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D., a group of monsters and non-humans tasked with taking on supernatural threats. Tell us that wouldn't make a great show.
11. Jamie Carlson / Teen Abomination
A bit more intelligent than Man-Thing and just as strong, Jamie Carlson is also a Howling Commando. The son of Happy Hogan and Katrina Carlson, a Stark Industries scientist, Jamie was exposed to gamma radiation when a test led by his mother failed. She was fired and soon after Jamie began transforming. Given his resemblance to the Hulk villain Abomination, Jamie decided to throw back to the Golden Age of comics and named himself Teen Abomination before setting out to be confront Tony Stark.
Introduced in Superior Iron Man #1, Jamie came to Tony after his AXIS inversion into less of a villain and more of a jerk. Surprisingly, this new Tony doesn’t destroy or dismiss Jamie, but sort of takes him on as a protege. They eventually part ways as Tony grows increasingly erratic, and later he finds himself mind-controlled for nefarious purposes. Luckily, Dum-Dum and the Howling Commandos are able to rescue Jamie and add the young hero to their ranks. While he’s got a lot to learn, his gamma powers make Teen Abomination destined to be one of Marvel’s more powerful characters.
10. Bobbi Morse / Mockingbird
While many know Bobbi Morse as the superhero Mockingbird or S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent 19, she’s also Dr. Barbara Morse, a genius in biology. Her Ph.D. in the field led to her working on Project: Gladiator in the Everglades, the same Super Soldier program that led to Ted Sallis becoming Man-Thing.
Aside from her expert knowledge, she’s also one of the most skilled S.H.I.E.L.D. agents there is. Introduced in Astonishing Tales #6 in 1971, Bobbi was almost a throwaway character before being crafted over the course of several comics into the genius badass we all know and love.
Mockingbird is not only gifted hand-to-hand, but excels at the use of batons and bo-staves. Her amazing new costume also grants her some gliding abilities which pair nicely with her already impressive agility. Like a number of other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents over the years, she’s even been augmented a bit.
During a mission with the Secret Avengers, her life was saved by her being injected with a substance that combined the Infinity Formula which had long kept Nick Fury young, and an experimental version of the Super Soldier Serum. The results greatly increased her healing, stamina, and strength, elevating Mockingbird’s considerable skills.
9. Tony Masters / Taskmaster
Tony Masters may just be one of the most skilled fighters in the Marvel Universe. While he first appeared as a supervillain with a mysterious past in 1980’s The Avengers #125, his backstory has been fleshed out over the years thanks to his growing anti-hero status and work with the Secret Avengers.
It turns out Tony Masters was a once a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Already a skilled fighter and athlete, Tony somehow gained the ability of perfect photographic reflexes. This enabled him to replicate any skill or move, just by witnessing it. As such, he can now master any weapon or fighting style, with one caveat: his new abilities slowly overwrite his previous memories.
Not only does Taskmaster not his former life and loved ones, but he has trouble forming new memories. Still, he spent years using his skills to train other supervillains before slowly becoming more of a good guy. Since then, some of his past was able to be uncovered and he’s often found working with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers more than against them.
The saddest thing about his memory loss, however, is he can’t how ridiculous his costume looks, and how much cooler his more tactical, S.H.I.E.L.D.-inspired costume was.
8. Lilith Drake
ing Man-Thing and Teen Abomination on Marvel’s monster squad is the daughter of Dracula himself, Lilith Drake. Comics have never been shy about weaving literary and mythological characters into their roster of heroes and villains, and Dracula has long been a rogue in the pages of Marvel.
Back in 1974, his daughter Lilith was introduced in Giant-Size Chillers #1. Her exact age isn’t known, but seeing as she’s Dracula’s oldest child, she’s likely been around for quite some time. Her lengthy history and vast store of knowledge make her a powerful foe, so it’s unsurprising that S.H.I.E.L.D. would want her on their side in the all-new Howling Commandos.
Like her father, Drake has a number of vampiric and supernatural abilities that make her an asset to the world-peacekeeping organization. She has incredible strength, mastery over many animals, the ability to hypnotize with a gaze, and can transform into a number of things like bats and mist. Thanks to her lineage, she’s also immune to the sun, crosses, and garlic, making her superior to most vampires. She’s also nearly invulnerable, and can even be resurrected as long as Dracula still exists. Even if they’re both destroyed, she can return as long as he does somehow.
She may be a more minor Marvel character, but she’s destined to rise through the ranks.