The Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding once again, because Marvel Studios has announced at New York Comic Con another project that will debut after Avengers: Secret Wars wraps up the Multiverse Saga. That would be Zodiac, a new “spy thriller” from Marvel Television. But besides a 2028 release window, we don’t have any other official information beyond the show’s logo, which has resulted in Marvel fans the world over asking the question: What the heck is this show even about? Is it a character? An organization? Is Marvel making a TV series about the Zodiac Killer? (Not likely on that last one).
Meanwhile, Clark Gregg, aka Agent Phil Coulson from Agents of SHIELD, seems excited about the new show... or at least has shared the Zodiac news on social media. Hmm...
Well, Zodiac does in fact exist in the Marvel comics universe as a team of villains. So let’s look at the source material and other MCU projects to see if we can figure out what Marvel has up their sleeve... and whether or not this means Agents of SHIELD could somehow be returning too.
The most prominent Zodiac in the Marvel universe is the Zodiac Cartel, a group of 12 supervillains who stylize themselves after the signs of Western astrology. So there’s someone named Aries, someone named Taurus, someone named Gemini... you get the idea. The organization is a subversive criminal group who sought world domination under the leadership of Cornelius van Lunt, aka Taurus, and would become recurring enemies of the Avengers. Although they made several appearances over the years, the Zodiac Cartel has never been a standout member of the Avengers’ rogues gallery – they’re not exactly on the same level as Loki, Ultron, or Thanos. Their schemes often involve the Zodiac Key, a powerful cosmic artifact that can generate psionic energy and empower mechanical devices.
One of the most notable aspects of the Zodiac Cartel is that Scorpio’s alter ego is Jake Fury, the brother of SHIELD director Nick Fury. While the original Zodiac stories had Jake as a villain who came into conflict with SHIELD and the Avengers, later stories in the Secret Warriors comic would reveal that the evil Jake was actually a Life Model Decoy (basically a robot that mimics a specific person), and the real Jake had been secretly helping his brother all along. The storyline in Secret Warriors also featured the Great Wheel, a version of the Zodiac group founded by none other than Leonardo da Vinci, which may be what's referenced in the "O" in the Zodiac show's logo.
Several other evil groups took up the Zodiac name after the first Cartel, including one composed entirely of Life Model Decoys, but none made much of an impact. Zodiac as a concept has struggled to break out in the Marvel comics universe, with other nefarious groups like Hydra, Advanced Idea Mechanics, and the Hand being much more popular.
Since Zodiac isn’t a well-known aspect of the Marvel universe, it’s surprising to see Marvel Studios greenlight a show named after them. It feels more likely that Marvel will reinvent the idea instead of doing a straightforward adaptation of the Zodiac Cartel – I doubt we’ll see van Lunt decked out in a bull costume. Since Hydra seems to be defunct in the MCU, and given that Marvel described the show as a spy thriller, perhaps Zodiac will be established as a new evil espionage group working in the shadows as part of the MCU’s next saga.
This would make sense given that the “A” in the Zodiac logo looks quite similar to the eagle emblem used for SHIELD in the MCU. Which raises our next question: Is Zodiac actually an Agents of SHIELD revival? That would track with Clark Gregg, who plays Phil Coulson in the MCU, sharing the Zodiac announcement on social media. Will the show feature the return of Agent Coulson? What about Chloe Bennet’s Quake or Ming-Na Wen’s Melinda May? It’s been a while since we’ve seen them, but the Agents of SHIELD characters making a comeback would be a welcome development for the MCU.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/is-marvel-zodiac-series-actually-an-agents-of-shield-revival
