Characters / The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! – S.H.I.E.L.D.

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S.H.I.E.L.D. In General

S.H.I.E.L.D.

Voiced by: Nolan North - Jimmy Woo; Tom Kane - Jasper Sitwell

The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, better known as S.H.I.E.L.D., is a secret multinational military/espionage peacekeeping organization. The founder and director of S.H.I.E.L.D. is Nick Fury. They keep the peace and order on Earth.

Tropes fitting the other members of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as the organization itself, include:

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• Badass Army: They are this as shown when Kang the Conqueror launches his invasion on Earth, they engaged the hordes of Scarabs in battle despite being outnumbered and outgunned.
• Damsel in Distress / Distressed Dude: All of the SHIELD agents the Skrulls replaced, including Clay Quartermain and Bobbi Morse.
• Fun with Acronyms: Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logisitcs Division
• Government Agency of Fiction: It's not entirely clear if it's just the US government, though.
• Hulk Out: The agents suffer this after being caught in the Gamma Dome of The Leader twice, painfully transforming into grotesque monsters and bursting out of their uniforms.
• Knight Templar: S.H.I.E.L.D. does have the official goal/intention of protecting Earth from super-related threats, but are willing to go to extreme lengths to do so. Including manufactoring their own Super Soldiers. In his first episode, Bruce Banner tries to convince Samson that the Cube's true purpose is to enable S.H.I.E.L.D. to find a way to control the radiation-empowered crooks there, and/or replicate the gamma mutation that spawned the Hulk to create an army of similar beings for their own purposes. The flashback to Graviton's story reveals he was brought on to create super soldiers for S.H.I.E.L.D., was kept as a specimen by them for 10 years after turning into a Gravity Master — and then there's the throwaway line in the same flashback that Graviton has full support in testing his experimental ideas on human beings to see if they'll work. Not to mention, if this series is set in the same continuity as Wolverine and the X-Men (2009), S.H.I.E.L.D.'s involvement in the whole Wendigo debacle.
• Mildly Military: While most members of S.H.I.E.L.D. wear form-fitting dark-blue standard S.H.I.E.L.D. agent uniforms that accentuates their body figures, there are others who wear customized outfits that stands them out from the rank and file such as Mockingbird, Quake, Doc Samson, Black Widow and Hawkeye for example.
• Powered Armor: The Mandroids whose technology is reverse engineered from Stark Industries, which Iron Man took it personally when he found out.
• Red Shirt: The agents are almost useless against any threat. Or rather, the threats they are capable of handling aren't worth calling in the Avengers over.

Directors

Nick Fury

Nicholas "Nick" Fury

^{Click here to see his season two appearance}

Voiced by: Alex Désert

First appearance: "Iron Man is Born!" (Micro-Episode: "HYDRA Lives!")

Captain America: "So, what Iron Man said... Can I trust you?"

Nick Fury: "When it counts... absolutely."

The director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury oversaw the containment of the super-villains contained inside the Big House, Raft, Cube, and Vault. Though his primary focus is on the security of America and the world, he's more than a bit pragmatic and ruthless in his efforts - not to mention willing to get his hands dirty when it comes to developing ways to create "super soldiers" of his own. After Agent Mockingbird captures a Skrull during the destruction of HYDRA Island, Fury goes to hunt down the other Skrulls infiltrating the Earth.

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• Badass Normal: He has no powers, but he is still the badass director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Bodyguard Babes: In the second season, he has one with Black Widow, Mockingbird, and Quake.
• The Chessmaster/Manipulative Bastard: Most evident in Season Two.
• Composite Character: This version is black like his Ultimate and movie counterparts, but he bears the gray hair and wears the blue outfit of the Nick Fury from the mainstream comics.
  • Nick Fury leaves for undisclosed reasons during the last episodes of the first season, and the first episodes of the second season. By the time he returns, he becomes bald and grows facial hair, like his Ultimate and MCU counterparts.
• Consummate Liar: According to Wolverine, every word that comes out of Fury’s mouth is half a lie.
• Da Chief: He tries to assert himself and recruit the fledgling Avengers team in the pilot, only for them to turn him down and act on their own. But, he basically fills this role in the micro-episodes and for the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Eyepatch of Power: He wears one, as always. In Wolverine and the X-Men, however, it is on the right eye instead of the left as in most versions.
• Eye Scream: The explosion was a little too close for comfort. Thanks a lot, Winter Soldier.
• Good Is Not Nice: Both he and S.H.I.E.L.D. can be counted among the good guys, but Nick and his organization can be plenty ruthless and are willing to experiment in creating super soldiers of their own, even when such thing is clearly dangerous - as shown with Graviton and the gamma mutants imprisoned in the cube.
• Legacy Character: See "Strong Family Resemblance" below.
• Out-Gambitted: He gets deceived by Veranke in the second season. She even lampshades it by mocking how he was beaten at his own game.
• Manipulative Bastard: In "Wolverine vs. Hulk", Fury blackmails Wolverine in fighting the Hulk and refuses to help mutants in danger because of “politics”. It’s later revealed Fury already commandeered Bruce Banner to help stop the Wendigo that had been terrorizing the mountainside, but used him as bait as the Hulk to draw out the Wendigo. Turns out the Wendigo had been a result of SHIELD experimentation in an attempt to create a monster under their control but lost control of it. When caught for his deception, Fury simply wrote as off as something SHIELD doesn’t have answer for and regarded Wolverine and Banner as nothing more than tools to be used as his leisure.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He reveals to Stark the existence of a Skrull imposter among the Avengers to deliberately instigate the Avengers' disbandment in a convoluted plan to get said imposter to make a slip-up. But this also means that the divided Avengers are insufficiently prepared for the Skrull invasion. It turns out this was deliberately engineered by Veranke, who had been posing as Mockingbird and manipulated Fury into breaking the Avengers apart.
• Pet the Dog: When he returns Captain America's old bike to him, and tells him how much of an inspiration Steve was to him and how important he was to his father.
  • He's also genuinely sorry when he apologises to Wasp about Hank Pym's apparent death.
• Race Lift: As with all new media adaptations of Nick Fury. Notably, his look in the first season still retains some of his Earth-616 counterpart’s features (graying temples of a head full of hair). By the time of the second season, he has become the leader that Ultimate Marvel readers and moviegoers are used to.
• Shadow Archetype: To Iron Man. Both are leaders of super-level organization among other things. However, Fury's tendency to keep his subordinates and allies in the dark, not to mention his unscrupulous acts for the greater good, makes Stark with all his egotism look moral in comparison.
• Shame If Something Happened: In Wolverine and the X-Men, Nick pulls this on Wolverine to get him to stop the Hulk from destroying a few towns by order of S.H.I.E.L.D, under penalty of leaking the location of the X-Men’s whereabouts and their names to Senator Kelly.
• Strong Family Resemblance: His father, Jack Fury, takes his comic book counterpart’s place as the leader of the WWII heroes, the Howling Commandos. Not only does he look a lot like his father, they share the same voice actor.
• Unwitting Pawn: To Veranke, who manipulated him into breaking up the Avengers.
• Wolverine Publicity: Despite going missing for 13 consecutive episodes, and not actually being an Avenger, the popularity of Fury's previous incarnations allows him to narrate the second opening aired on Disney XD.

Maria Hill

Maria Hill

Voiced by: Kari Wührer

First appearance: "Iron Man is Born!" (Micro-Episode: "HYDRA Lives!")

"More and more superheroes are popping up... There has to be accountability. There are laws, and it's my job to enforce them."

The deputy director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria Hill serves as Fury's representative on S.H.I.E.L.D. matters, assists him in his duties, and serves as acting director when Fury himself is unavailable.

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• Actually a Doombot: It is revealed that she has been using a robot double when the Skrulls attacked her.
• Age Lift: In the comics, she has the appearance of a woman in her early-to-mid thirties. Here, she is a young adult that appears to be in her twenties.
• Ambiguously Brown: Her ethnicity is hard to discern, but its implied to be of Hispanic descent if we go by her middle name Christina, making her Maria Christina (which is a pretty common Hispanic female name).
• Badass Normal: She's pretty much the only normal human that can stand face-to-face with Ultron without fear. That is until the Mind Probe...
• Breakout Character: While this is not Maria's first appearance on TV, ^note She first appeared on Iron Man: Armored Adventures as a very minor character. this incarnation was the one that made her a recognizable character for those who didn't read the comics. In fact, it is believed that it's because of this version that many were confused and/or angry when Cobie Smulders was cast as Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, since this version was their introduction to her character, as this one was Ambiguously Brown while Smulders is Caucasian, they thought that the character was whitewashed. Even to this day, many people prefer this version over her MCU counterpart as this incarnation is the last to include her comic counterpart's distrust of superheroes and strict adherence to the law.^note  Both the MCU incarnation and later incarnations of her would be Nick Fury's loyal sidekick/aide and mostly a background character.
• Deadpan Snarker: One notable instance occurs after the Skrulls sink the Helicarrier.
  ”I've had the same car since I was nineteen years old and never had a problem, yet this thing falls out of the sky every other Thursday!”
• Hero Antagonist: She repeatedly hinders the team during the A.I.M./HYDRA battle and sees them as a threat although her actions are within the bounds of the law and well meaning.
• Idiot Ball: HYDRA and A.I.M are fighting each other all over New York and what does Maria do? Attack the Avengers.
  • You gotta wonder why when Red Hulk shows up to attack S.H.I.E.L.D., she doesn't suspect it might be a conspirator attempting to frame Hulk. While her explanation for the Hulk's change of color kinda makes sense (the fact he used to be gray causes her to assume he might have changed color again), and Red Hulk sounds exactly like the Green one, 1) Ross came to ask her for a Hulk's blood sample a few minutes ago which makes it a strange coincidence; 2) The Avengers confirm Banner is with them and not even in his Hulk form; 3) Fury provided her with information about a shapeshifting alien invasion; With so many elements together, you'd expect her to at least consider the possibility Hulk might have been framed, but she immediately assumes it was the real Hulk and allows the Thunderbolts to arrest Banner.
• Jerkass Has a Point: When Wasp rushes to congratulate Hank for stopping Ultron and saving the world, Hill points out that it's only because of Hank that Ultron exists - and moreover, went crazy - in the first place.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In "Alone Against AIM," she went from scolding Tony's refusal to register, to saving him from Technovore, though she later insists she only did so because her job requires her to save people from danger. At the same time, she shows genuine concern for Tony's well-being after Veranke tampered with his Arc Reactor, leaving him close to death.
• Karma Houdini: Maria never gets chastised for falsely accusing the Hulk of committing Red Hulk's rampage since her actions inadvertently made Skrull Captain America deliver an Out-of-Character Alert. The joy that Ross and Dell Rusk must have felt to have Banner in captivity probably also helped her avoid chastisement.
• Knight Templar: While not quite evil, she still fits this to a degree with her insistence that the Avengers register and her occasional stonewalling of their efforts.
• Lawful Stupid: Spends more time (at least, onscreen) antagonizing the Avengers than actual villains.
• Male Gaze: She tends to get subjected to these due to her athletic figure and a very form-fitting S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform that she wears. Also, the animators don't waste any opportunity to show her backside.
• Ms. Fanservice: Maria is a very attractive, fairly tall, tan-skinned woman who wears a very form-fitting dark-blue standard S.H.I.E.L.D. agent uniform that accentuates her athletic figure.
• Pet the Dog: she refused to give away the Hulk's sample to the Hulkbusters and even took defense of Hulk and the Avengers against Ross. Doesn't last sadly.
• Race Lift: In the comics, Maria Hill is unambiguously white. This version of Maria is brown-skinned and likely belongs to an ethnic minority.
• Ship Tease: In "Alone Against A.I.M.", Tony and Maria save each other from Technovore's attacks, and tease the thought of dating each other. And when Tony goes to comfort Pepper, Maria gives a dirty look that resembles jealousy.
  Maria: I saved your life because that's my job. But you, you're putting people at risk. The Avengers put people at risk.
  Tony: (pause) So, I'm guessing dinner is out of the question.
• Spy Catsuit: She wears a very form-fitting standard S.H.I.E.L.D. agent uniform.
• Took a Level in Badass: She proves to have learned from Fury during the Secret Invasion story arc, as she was wise enough to prepare herself using the information he gave her. She even ends up saving him and Iron Man.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: During Hill’s first appearance in the series, she didn't seem all that against the Avengers and came off more as just another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, though it could possibly be that that was because she was not yet in a position to breath down their necks like she is later.
• Ungrateful Bitch: At least until the Skrulls invade, it seems like no matter how many times the Avengers save the world, S.H.I.E.L.D., and/or her, she'll insist that "nothing's changed," and the heroes still need to register.
• The Watson: Despite being Fury's second-in-command, she only found out about The Raft - which houses the most dangerous villains, including Graviton and Baron Zemo - a week before the events of "Breakout".
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: That's one way of looking at her characterization. In spite of her antagonistic relationship with the Avengers, one could still argue that she's doing it for the right reasons, something supported by the fact that she consistently does the right thing (or what she perceives to be the right thing).
• The Worf Effect: It seems that Hill's job is to get taken out or told to stand down before Fury proceeds to do something bad-ass. This is fortunately corrected in the Secret Invasion story arc, where she proves competent enough to actually save him.

Agents

Black Widow

Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)

Voiced by: Vanessa Marshall

First appearance: "Hulk vs. The World" (Micro-Episode: "Hulk vs. The World")

"Your superior, tovarisch. Now, back off."

She is Hawkeye's former partner and an elite operative for S.H.I.E.L.D. Also, a double agent for HYDRA. Make that a triple agent for Nick Fury.

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• Action Girl: She is a female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who is very badass.
• Advertised Extra: To attract people who saw The Avengers (2012) and associate her with the team:
  • The covers for Australia's Blu-Ray Discs depict her standing alongside the Avengers and Fury, despite the fact only 10 total episodes have her.
  • A poll about the show's best Avenger included her as a choice.
  • She appears on the cover of Disney's sixth DVD, regardless of the fact she has no lines in the included episodes.
• Anti-Hero: Type IV. Although her betrayal was simply a ploy to infiltrate HYDRA the morality of her action was muddied by framing Hawkeye for treason.
• Badass Normal: She has no superpowers, but she is a very skilled fighter that can take on anyone with or without superpowers.
• Combat Stilettos: They are part of her costume.
• Composite Character: This version of Black Widow has the Ultimate and movie versions’ backstory of being a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative instead of her comic book counterpart’s origin of being a reformed Russian supervillainess.
• Face–Heel Turn: Subverted. She even becomes a frequent ally to the Avengers in the tie-in comics and series finale.
• Male Gaze: Widow tends to get subjected to these, mainly through shots that focus on the motions of her painstakingly animated behind.
• The Mole: She becomes one for HYDRA. It turns out that shes a Reverse Mole for Nick Fury. Not so much for S.H.I.E.L.D., though.
• Mother Russia Makes You Strong: She uses her Russian accent when dealing with HYDRA.
• Ms. Fanservice: She is a extremely beautiful, red haired Russian woman who wears a very form-fitting catsuit that receives highly detailed animation and highlights her nice body and legs.
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Averted. She sounds perfectly natural when interacting with other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, speaking with an American accent. She only reveals her Russian accent when interacting with agents of HYDRA. Though one has to wonder why she bothers, since it's not like S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't know she's Russian, with a last name like Romanoff. To make it even odder, she maintains her American accent at all times in "Widow's Sting", around S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA alike.
• Out of Focus: She's not very important in the second season.
• Reverse Mole: Turns out to be one for Nick Fury, pretending to betray S.H.I.E.L.D. so she could infiltrate HYDRA's ranks.
• Spy Catsuit: She wears a very form-fitting, dark purple catsuit.

Doc Samson

Dr. Leonard Samson

Voiced by: Cam Clarke

First appearance: "Hulk vs. The World" (Micro-Episode: "This Monster, This Hero")

A colleague of Bruce Banner, who sought to study and find a cure for Hulk and others affected by Gamma Radiation. Unfortunately, during the break out, he was exposed to and transformed into one of the same beings he was trying to help. Now blessed with great strength as well as a sharp intellect, he seeks to atone for his past mistakes and help stabilize the Cube, ultimately assisting the Avengers in defeating the Leader.

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• The Atoner: Not so much because he did anything wrong, but he feels his blind trust in S.H.I.E.L.D. allowed the breakout to happen in the first place
• Face–Heel Turn: He's working with Dell Rusk and helped create the Red Hulk
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: The real reason he's working with Dell Rusk in the first place.
• Genius Bruiser: Is a scientist that gets Super-Strength.
• Meaningful Name: He has long hair and superhuman strength, just like another Samson.
• Nice Guy: Despite his intimidating appearance, he is actually a very agreeable guy.
• Omnidisciplinary Scientist: He's still a psychiatrist like in the comics but now he's also an expert in Gamma Radiation and Genetic mutation.
• Power Dyes Your Hair: His hair is bright green after his Gamma Radiation exposure.
• Power Makes Your Hair Grow: After being exposed to Gamma Radiation, his hair goes from regular length to eventually armpit length.
• Sour Supporter: He still works for S.H.I.E.L.D. but is far less trusting of them and may make the leap to the Avengers once he recovers.
• Superpower Lottery: He's pretty much the only character exposed to Gamma radiation in the series who seems to suffer no negative repercussions as a result. While every single other character undergoes some kind of disturbing transformation that comes with their powers, he gets super strength, and the only physical changes he undergoes are bodybuilder-level muscles to match and green hair, neither of which are particularly monstrous.
• Took a Level in Badass: After exposure to gamma radiation
• The Big Guy: Considered third in line after Hulk and Thor in terms of raw physical strength.

Mockingbird

Mockingbird (Barbara "Bobbi" Morse)

Voiced by: Elizabeth Daily

First appearance: "Hulk vs. The World" (Micro-Episode: "This Monster, This Hero")

A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who once served under Hawkeye during his days with S.H.I.E.L.D. who stepped up to full agent after Hawkeye quit.

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• Action Girl: She is a skilled female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
• Ascended Extra: She appeared as a random S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in one of the micro-episodes focusing on the Hulk. She's promoted to superhero when Hawkeye resigns.
• Badass Normal: Just like many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, she is very badass despite having no superpowers.
• Damsel in Distress:
  • When she first appeared as a regular S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, her ship was about to crash, but Hulk saved her at the cost of losing his chance to escape.
  • She was also captured by the Skrulls, who replaced her with their Queen Veranke.
• Early-Bird Cameo: She's piloting the dropship for Hawkeye and Black Widow when they go after the Hulk early on.
• Last-Name Basis: Hawkeye calls her "Morse" more often than he does her first name or codename.
• Meaningful Name: She does have one superpower, which is talking the ears off of people.
• Not Quite Flight: Given height and momentum, she can glide on her wide, wing-like sleeves.
• Ship Tease: With Hawkeye, not helped by the fact that they were an item in the comics. When Hawkeye discovers that Mockingbird had been abducted and replaced by the Skrulls, he gets pissed and threatens them should anything happen to her.
• Spin to Deflect Stuff: She does this with her bo staff.
• Stripperiffic: It’s not ridiculously so or anything, but her bare legs stand out when the only other costumed ladies (Wasp, Black Widow, and Madame Hydra) have almost nothing showing. Unlike them, however, she wears a mask. Hawkeye does say he asked her to accompany him because of the costume...
• Youthful Freckles: They are visible when she doesn't wear her mask.

Clay Quartermain

Clay Quartermain

Voiced by: Troy Baker

First appearance: "The Man in the Ant Hill" (micro-episode: "The Big House")

A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who, among other things, helped save the world from getting conquered by the Skrulls.

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• Ascended Extra: Despite only appearing a few times in the first season, Quartermain became a supporting character in the second season, mainly due to the fact that the Skrulls captured and replaced him.
• Distressed Dude: After the Skrulls captured him.
• Perpetual Frowner: At least when compared to his Perpetual Smiler comic counterpart.

Quake

Quake (Daisy Johnson)

Voiced by: Lacey Chabert

First appearance: "Who Do You Trust?"

She is a young agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. with seismic powers who works specifically for Nick Fury.

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• Action Girl: She is a female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with superpowers.
• Badass Adorable: She is this considering that she manages to hold her own against Gryphon and later Terrax, albeit while helped in the latter instance.
• Deadpan Snarker: She is kind of witty.
  Tony: (after Fury shows him a Skrull) Where did this thing come from?
  Daisy: Uh, space.
  Tony: Cute.
• Dishing Out Dirt: She has the power to produce seismic waves and create earthquakes from her hands.

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