Summary
Marvelfans are no strangers to seeing their favorite characters interpreted differently, but one majorMCUhero’s introduction is a shocking tonal departure from her later adventures. No character is set in stone, and the story ofDaisy Johnsonaka Quake shows just how much characters can change between stories, especially once the character is adapted into another medium. This doesn’t mean that every change is a bad thing, however, and sometimes fans need to accept retcons as necessary.
In contrast to Daisy’s later characterization onAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,the 2004–2005 miniseriesSecret Warintroduces Daisy Johnson to Marvel Comics as a superspywho isn’t afraid to kill, even if there are innocent casualties involved.
Secret Waris written by Brian Michael Bendis, drawn by Gabrielle Del’Otto and lettered by Cory Petit.
The miniseries centers around a secret team of heroes led by Nick Fury, who visit Latveria to take down Lucia Von Bardas, the country’s new leader, who has been funding supervillain-based terrorism in the United States.Daisy, on Fury’s orders, brings down Castle Von Doom with her earthquake powers, seemingly killing Von Bardas along with countless innocents. However, this only leads to more destruction when Von Bardas returns a year later.
Daisy Becomes a More Moral Character Very Quickly
Daisy inSecret Waris very different from not just her MCU counterpart, but also the character she’d become in later comics. In this story, Daisy is the ultimate extension ofNick Fury’s philosophy of doing whatever it takes for the greater good. She’s a seemingly unrepentant killer and answers only to Fury, not the U.S. government, which refuses to let Fury go after Von Bardas, herself a U.S.-backed asset. Even before her MCU counterpart inAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.showed a more relatable character, Daisy began to shift in a different direction.
Her next major ongoing appearance is in the bookSecret Warriors, written by Jonathan Hickman and Brian Michael Bendis, and drawn by Stefano Caselli. In this series, Daisy leads a team of secret younger heroes on Fury’s behalf.She is less outwardly self-confident and much more humane, willing to go speak against Fury and more torn up about casualties. In fact, at the book’s conclusion, Fury taps Daisy as S.H.I.E.L.D.’s new leader specifically because he believes she won’t make the same mistakes as him, a far cry from her origin. She’s still willing to be a superspy, but the implication is that her experiences with Fury have actually pushed her in the opposite direction as him.
Marvel’s Daisy Johnson Shows Comic Characters Constantly Evolve
One of the things that Daisy’s first appearance shows is thatcharacters aren’t always set in stone from their first appearance, and that if something isn’t working, they can be changed. When he was first introduced,Batman used a gunto defeat criminals, andSuperman couldn’t fly at first. Some fans are uncomfortable with any sort of retcon to a character, but there’s a reason that the practice has been commonplace in mainstream comics.As long as there’s a good justification for a change and it doesn’t break the character, retcons can help to bring a character to new heights.
The events in question don’t even have to be retconned.Comics continuity is more than wide enough to fit multiple interpretations of a character, especially when the distinction is an internal one. Daisy can be a killer in one story, and a more moral version of herself in another. Two contradictory interpretations can fit into canon; just about everyone’s favorite character has at least one story where said character is writtenverydifferently. Whether someone’s a fan ofDaisy JohnsonfromMarvel Comicsor theMCU, her killer origin isn’t going anywhere, and that actually makes her more interesting.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Cast
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a television series that follows Agent Phil Coulson as he assembles a team within the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division to investigate mysterious phenomena, safeguarding the world from extraordinary threats. Debuting in 2013, the series expands on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s exploration of covert operations.
