Anatomy of an Avenger: The men and women behind SHIELD

Forty-nine years ago, Marvel Comics debuted the first issue of The Avengers, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s answer to DC Comics’ Justice League of America. Teaming up such classic comic heroes as Iron Man and Thor with lesser-known characters such as Ant-Man and Wasp, the series was an instant success, spawning countless crossovers and tie-ins to other Marvel titles.
Now, after various stops and starts, Disney has finally brought The Avengers to the big screen, with Joss Whedon’s all-star film hitting screens across North America May 4. But Whedon’s collection of superheroes is not entirely faithful to that original September 1963 issue — instead, today’s team is made up of both Golden Age icons (Captain America) and revamped versions of ’60s mainstays (Nick Fury).
To help you distinguish your Hulks from your Hawkeyes, the Post’s Barry Hertz and Rebecca Tucker will spend the next two weeks breaking down each member of 2012’s Avengers team — and their enemies. Today: SHIELD agents Phil Coulson and Maria Hill.
Heroes SHIELD agents Maria Hill and Phil Coulson













Alias Um, same as above
Abilities None, as these government agents are more akin to Nick Fury in that their only power is mere bad-assery. As employees of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (SHIELD), Hill and Coulson are simply the superheroes’ handlers. Still, each one did make it pretty far up the SHIELD totem poll, so they are well-equipped with weapons training, hand-to-hand combat and other spy skills.
Comics background While Hill has a background in the Marvel universe, Coulson is a strictly film-only creation. The SHIELD agent, played by actor and occasional screenwriter Clark Gregg, has appeared in both Iron Man films and Thor, where he comes off as an unflappable, disciplined bureaucrat with vague ulterior motives. (Bonus geek points: Gregg played a similar man of government mystery, FBI special agent Mike Casper, on TV’s The West Wing.) Hill, meanwhile, has a rich comics background, even though her first print appearance was only in 2005. Still, despite her so-far short stay in the Marvel universe, Hill has become a core member of SHIELD, fought a spaceship full of Skrulls and gone toe-to-toe against the U.S. President over his order to nuke an island full of Avengers. Not bad for a relative novice, and one without any superpowers, either.


http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/04/27/avengers-assemble-the-men-and-women-behind-shield/