Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D: 10 Things You Never Noticed About The Team’s Costumes

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has really gone from strength to strength and is widely recognized as one of the most beloved and best TV shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From the character arcs to the impressive array of heroes and villains adapted from the comics, the series demonstrated that it was so much more than what viewers saw in its first season.

One area of interest, much like any MCU project, is the costumes that these characters wear. The choices of design represent a range of themes about these characters and the world they inhabit. The outfits and uniforms of the agents have evolved over time to reflect the changing show, but there are still a great many callbacks to both the comics and wider MCU.

10 Classic Callback

Speaking of callbacks, in one of the best episodes of the latest season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the team found themselves at odds with the early version of the organization. Butting heads with the leader at the time, General Rick Stoner, the agents had to infiltrate the lighthouse undercover.

The suits they got to wear were very reminiscent of the outfits seen in the early days of the comics. Indeed, while later versions of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s armor has also used a similar blue color scheme in the MCU, these suits were almost a direct replica of the classic costumes from the comics.

9 Links To Famous Agents

Some of the design choices of more recent heroes in the show can be linked back to that of characters in the MCU. These similarities are more prominent when the character is a named hero in the universe, such as Quake or The Cavalry.

One of the most notable characters, Daisy Johnson, has a costume that contains a number of nods to Black Widow’s suit, which also would have had some design elements from S.H.I.E.L.D. The look of the wrist gauntlets and even the thin lines adding bursts of color both reflect that of Natasha Romanoff’s suits.

8 Return Of The Uniform

The earlier days of the show, especially season 1, put less of an emphasis on a common costume or uniform for the agents to wear. Indeed, May and Coulson were the only members who consistently wore gear needed for their station.

Supporting troops had variations of the armor, but over time this has evolved. When the team went into hiding they utilized these costumes even less, often not using the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo. Once the group rose once more, many more members of the team started to wear their S.H.I.E.L.D. colors with pride.

7 Period Pieces

In the last season of the show, the agents found themselves jumping through time, trying to keep up with an alien race capable of taking on anyone’s identity. The agents had to adapt and therefore wore period-accurate costumes.

Each time though, the costumes chosen for them had little nods to their characters. Coulson’s costumes for instance were often very similar to that of his traditional uniform. Meanwhile, Deke wore a costume similar to that of a newsie; a role low in the societal hierarchy representing his much lower status in the team.

6 Hydra’s Uniforms

There’s been a great array of leaders of S.H.I.E.L.D. over the years, but in the Framework, Aida took over and converted the group into Hydra. Naming herself Madame Hydra, she made a few changes to the traditional uniforms.

The small Hydra pin badge is one such way that their loyalties were demonstrated, but the traditional blue colors found in many of the costumes were replaced with a darker green. This is very on-brand for the evil organization.

5 Suits Denote Position

The way in which an agent dresses can sometimes be a key as to what role their hold within S.H.I.E.L.D. as a whole. It also demonstrates how they handle their business. Someone like Nick Fury will usually wear combat-ready gear.

Characters like Agent Coulson or Hand will instead opt for a suit, a little more akin to that of the field of espionage. Field agents like May opt for gear designed for that of a hero. The suits are the most interesting choice though as they often mark some of the highest positions in the organization.

4 Agent May’s Continuity

An interesting aspect of Agent May’s character is that her costume design has remained largely the same throughout the seasons of the show. Indeed both herself and Agent Coulson have not visually changed much at all.

Considering they are both links to the past iteration of S.H.I.E.L.D. there seems to be some sort of continuity tying them to that. For May, she is always dependable and consistent in the field. Her costume has come to reflect that and it is considered the superhero uniform of The Cavalry.

3 Patriot

The Patriot’s costume was a bit of a departure compared to the previous uniforms of the S.H.I.E.L.D. directors. It combined elements of S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical gear find in possession of characters like Hawkeye and was inspired by other Marvel heroes.

A great deal of inspiration was also taken from Captain America’s uniform, of course, considering Patriot was seen as a super-soldier. However, the logo of the original comics was morphed to bring in the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem on the chest. The blue material underneath the armor is reminiscent of his original comic costume too.

2 Tactical Wear

While there are a great number of cool gadgets and gizmos for the agents to use, many of them are drawn from the comics or the wide MCU. For instance, Mockingbird’s tactical gear is influenced by Black Widow.

From the suit to the batons she uses, both seemingly would have been designed for Natasha in the past. The same could be said for Coulson’s own shield, which is representative of that of Captain America. The tactical gear evolves therefore between the different heroes but shares a few connections.

1 S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Future

The costumes used by the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. when they entered the far off future were vastly different compared to their normal styles. Each character managed to contain an element that represented their traditional costume though. The gloves of both Fitz and Mack for instance look back to their days as inventors and mechanics, working alongside one another.

Daisy’s coat is very similar to that of traditional S.H.I.E.L.D. gear, with even May sporting the kind of jacket she’d usually use to suit up as Cavalry. interestingly, Coulson’s costume is the most different compared to his traditional look, perhaps demonstrating the change in character towards the end of his life.

About The Author