Phil Coulson

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Phil Coulson
Aliases:	Agent Coulson Agent Phil Coulson Son of Coul Philip J. Coulson
Continuity:	Marvel Cinematic Universe Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Notability:	Supporting character
Type:	Spy
Gender:	Male
Race:	Human
Location:	S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier
Status:	Deceased
Died:	2012 (originally)
First:	Iron Man (2008)
Actor:	Clark Gregg

Agent Philip Coulson is a fictional spy and a recurring character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Played by actor Clark Gregg, he first appeared in a bit role in the 2008 film Iron Man. He also made a special after-credits appearance in it's 2010 sequel, Iron Man 2, which set up for a larger role in the 2011 movie Thor. Coulson played a key role in the 2012 film The Avengers, in which he was apparently killed off. He also appeared in a series of Marvel One-Shot mini-movies that appeared as special features on the related Marvel Cinematic Universe Blu-ray editions. Due to the growing popularity of the character however, Phil Coulson was brought back from the dead in typical comic book fashion where he played a larger role in a small venue. He took on the lead role in the ABC television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is a spin-off of the other Marvel Studios projects.

Biography

Growing up, Phil Coulson always idolized the patriotic World War II hero Captain America. He prided himself on almost having a complete set of Captain America trading cards, which were all in near mint condition. His passion for the hero carried on well into adulthood.

Coulson became a member of the American super-spy agency known as the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.), where he worked directly under Colonel Nick Fury. Coulson was sent out on special assignments that usually involved top secret parameters involving situations of a unique nature - particularly anything that may have related to the bizarre technology that began cropping up ever since World War II. One of Coulson's early missions had him stationed in Peru, where he worked closely with Camilla Reyes of the Policía Militar de Perú. A romantic relationship developed between the two at this time, though there is very little information about the nature or duration of their time together.

In 2008, S.H.I.E.L.D. sent Coulson to Malibu, California to investigate the recent abduction and escape of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark, who had been held captive for several weeks in Afghanistan by a terrorist cell known as the Ten Rings. Knowing that gaining an audience with Stark himself would prove nearly impossible, Coulson instead tried to get information from his executive assistant, Pepper Potts. Coulson was present when Stark's former business partner, Obadiah Stane, went rogue and began creating havoc in his giant Iron Monger armor - an event, which nearly destroyed Stark Industries.

In 2010, Director Fury sent Coulson to the deserts of New Mexico to investigate the discovery of an 0-8-4 (object of unidentified origin). This turned out to be the mystic hammer of the Asgardian god Thor, which had turned up in the middle of a crater. Coulson reported back to Fury telling him, "We found it".

Soon after, a wormhole emerged, which deposited Thor on Earth. A team of research scientists led by Jane Foster where investigating the wormhole event and had direct interaction with Thor. Agent Coulson was forced to confiscate Foster's research regarding the event. Thor's evil foster brother Loki sent a giant iron golem known as the Destroyer to New Mexico to kill Thor, and the robotic entity fought up against the Asgardian god as well as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. One agent asked Coulson if the Destroyer might have originated with Stark Industries, but Coulson replied that Stark never tells him anything.

The emergence of alien robots and gods on Earth changed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protocols forever. Their focus shifted towards upping their game in preparation for a time when they might be forced to deal with a threat of an intergalactic level. Fury's fears about what beings like Thor represent bore bitter fruit when Loki returned to Earth, accompanied by an alien army known as the Chitauri. Fury sent Coulson out to retrieve Russian agent Natasha Romanov from a mission with instructions to send her out to recruit "The Big Guy", which turned out to be scientist Bruce Banner.

In the hours leading up to the Battle of New York, Loki allowed himself to be captured so that he could be brought aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. This was actually all just a ruse to get close to Bruce Banner, though it was actually Banner's alter ego, the Hulk, that Loki sought to control. When Loki escaped from his cell, Agent Coulson entered the chamber armed with a large alien laser weapon. He wasn't even sure what it could do, but was confident that it could muster enough power to take Loki down. Unfortunately, Loki teleported behind Coulson and stabbed him through the back with his Chitauri staff, seemingly killing him. As Coulson fell to the floor, he managed to get off one blast from the weapon, which sent Loki reeling. He mused to himself as he laid dying, "So that's what it does".

Agent Coulson on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Director Fury addressed the superhuman Avengers that he had brought together, telling them of Coulson's death, lamenting the fact that he had lost his "one good eye". The news hit the team very hard, particularly Tony Stark, who admittedly, did not even care for Coulson all that much. Coulson's death however, was enough to galvanized the group into working together and they set aside personal differences to combat Loki and Chitauri army. During a confrontation between Iron Man (Stark) and Loki, Tony commented, "And there's someone else you pissed off. His name is Phil".

Although it seemed as if Agent Phil Coulson was dead and gone, the reports of his demise were greatly exagerrated. Agent Coulson emerged once again a short time later to lead up a special S.H.I.E.L.D. task force, who function was to investigate matters of a fantastic and superhuman nature. Coulson hand-picked the members of his team which included veteran pilot Melinda May, missions specialist Grant Ward, the British tech-team duo of Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons (collectively known as Fitzsimmons) and civilian consultant Skye.

Coulson sent his unit out to investigate a mysterious hooded superhuman named Mike Peterson, who demonstrated feats of great strength and durability. His powers derived from something known as Centipede and there was a connection between his abilities and the tesseract energy used to fuel HYDRA's weapons during World War II as well as Gamma radiation. It was during this initial mission that Coulson first learned about Skye, who was a young computer hacker and social activist linked to a group known as The Rising Tide. Against the better judgment of Grant Ward, Coulson brought into the group as a consultant.

Coulson's team then discovered an 0-8-4 found in a temple in Peru. He reunited with his old colleague, Camilla Reyes, and the two worked together to recover the item and bring it aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. mobile command center. Reyes' team betrayed S.H.I.E.L.D. however, and Coulson's unit were forced to activate the device to stop them, which caused insurmountable damage to the plane. Director Fury came to the site to personally reprimand Coulson for his reckless though effective actions.

Notes & Trivia

• The character of Phil Coulson was created by director Jon Favreau and writers Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. Other character traits and story elements were expanded upon by writer/director Joss Whedon.
• The character of Phil Coulson was originally unique to the continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and he did not initially have a counterpart in Marvel Comics comic books. As of 2012, a canonical version of Agent Coulson was introduced into the Marvel Universe in Battle Scars #1.
• Another version of Phil Coulson appeared in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series in 2012. The character was voiced by Clark Gregg and was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent assigned to serve undercover as principal at the high school that Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, attended when he was not out superheroing.
• Phil Coulson provided design ideas for Captain America's modern costume, which he began wearing when he first joined the Avengers.
• According to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Coulson recuperated from the seemingly fatal injuries he sustained during his encounter with Loki by taking some time off in Tahiti. According to Coulson, "It's a magical place".
• As far as Tony Stark is concerned, Phil Coulson's first name is actually Agent.

Appearances

1. Iron Man
2. Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant
3. Iron Man 2 (After credit appearance)
4. Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer
5. Thor
6. Avengers, The ("Dies")
7. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Pilot
8. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 0-8-4
9. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Asset
10. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Eye Spy
11. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Girl in the Flower Dress
12. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: F.Z.Z.T.

See also

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. images Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. cast & crew Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. miscellaneous

External Links

• Phil Coulson at MDP
• Phil Coulson at IMDB
• Phil Coulson at Wikipedia
• Phil Coulson at the Marvel Movies Wiki

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