Agents Of SHIELD: 10 Things Only Superfans Know About Mack

Henry Simmons spent five years bringing Agent Alphonso Mackenzie to life, but the character existed before Agents Of SHIELD added him to the series in its second season. Mack is a Marvel comic book character first, meaning there’s quite a bit of history between him and SHIELD.

Fans who love Mack might be interested to know that there’s some backstory in the comics – and some big differences to the character – that aren’t present in the show. For example, the Mack of the comics was a Caucasian man from Texas. There are also a few details that fans might have missed on the show itself.

10 Alphonso Mackenzie Debuted In 1988

Mack’s place in comic book history began when Nick Fury and SHIELD had a big breakup. He debuted in the third issue of Nick Fury vs. SHIELD.

The story chronicled Fury’s attempt to find allies against a corrupted SHIELD. Mack wasn’t initially a SHIELD agent, but working for another group. The comic did, however, feature a lot of characters that would be familiar to Marvel Cinematic Universe fans: Tony Stark, Jasper Sitwell, Alexander Pierce, Gabe Jones, Dum-Dum Dugan, and Madame Hydra.

9 Mack Has Been Superhuman Twice On TV

Though Mack isn’t a mutant or Inhuman in the comics, he has seen himself wind up with some “super” powers twice in Agents Of SHIELD.

The first time was when his interactions with the secret Kree city turned him into a sentry in the second season. He had super strength and durability for as long as the Kree temple was activated. The second time occurred when Ghost Rider allowed Mack to use his abilities in season four. In addition to that super strength and durability, he also had that whole flaming skull thing going for him. Neither experience left Mack with any lingering power.

8 He Shares An Ex With Nick Fury

Though Mack hasn’t interacted with Nick Fury in the television series, the two had a lot of run-ins during the comics, and not always for the best.

Nick Fury once dated Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. An agent for Leviathan who was recruited to join SHIELD, the two split up. When Alphonso Mackenzie entered the comics, Contessa dated him as well. The relationship made his interactions with Fury just a bit more awkward for him.

7 Mack Was A Collector

The SHIELD directors of the show certainly seem to have a thing for holding on to small objects. Phil Coulson collected Captain America trading cards, classic SHIELD memorabilia, expensive pens, and more.

Mack, as far as the audience is aware, didn’t have quite as many collective interests as Coulson. As a kid, however, he did have a coin collection. Fans might have missed that tidbit in a second season flashback episode as Mack talked Robert Gonzalez through an injury.

6 He Worked For The CIA

Even though his family has been spotlighted a few times in the television series, the show didn’t delve much into what Mack’s life was like before he worked for SHIELD. That’s a different story in the comics.

He wasn’t a SHIELD mechanic on the page. Instead, he originally worked for the Central Intelligence Agency as a spy and became their SHIELD liaison. Even, he became a SHIELD agent outright.

5 Mack Met Hunter In Dubai

The paths of Lance Hunter and Alphonso Mackenzie don’t cross much in the comics – if at all. That’s not the case for the television show.

The two characters had a history before they both debuted in the second season premiere. They made a lot of references to past experiences working together, but if fans paid attention, they’d realize just where the two friends met. Mack and Bobbi Morse worked a mission in Dubai once upon a time. That’s where the two met Hunter – and Bobbi fell for him. Mack was there for the couple’s first run at romance before Hunter decided Bobbi being a spy was a betrayal.

4 He Was One Of Ben Urich’s Sources

In the Netflix corner of the MCU, Ben Urich was an investigative journalist for the New York Bulletin. He specialized in exposing criminal empires in New York. His job wasn’t all that different in the comics, but he had one valuable source for exposing government corruption.

Urich wrote a few articles in comics that exposed the corrupt goings-on at organizations like SHIELD. Though his source was anonymous, Mack was revealed as the person feeding information to Urich and Jessica Jones in The Pulse.

3 He Graduated From The Academy In 2002

The process to become a SHIELD agent differs depending on the medium in which the organization is depicted. For Agents Of SHIELD, there was an Academy that taught SHIELD history and trained cadets to become agents.

The audience learned early in the series that Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons completed their time at the Academy earlier than any other cadets in history. While the audience didn’t learn just how long Mack attended, it was revealed at the end of the second season that he also attended the Academy. He graduated in 2002, making him a full fledged agent for less than a decade by the final season of the show.

2 His Nickname Wasn’t Always Mack

“Mack” seems to be a natural nickname for someone with the surname Mackenzie – especially when working for an organization that usually sticks to using surnames as identifiers. Like his fellow agent Daisy Johnson, however, he’s been through a few names in the past.

The comics sometimes used the nickname “Mac” instead, but the one used most often when he debuted was actually associated with his first name. His fellow agents shortened Alphonso to “Al” instead. Of course, on the television series, his brother also referenced him as “Alphie” in the third season.

1 Henry Simmons Didn’t Know Anything About The Show At First

When Henry Simmons cast cast in Agents Of SHIELD, the first season had finished airing, but wasn’t yet available on streaming sites. Simmons hadn’t watched the show live and didn’t know exactly what he was getting into.

He revealed in an interview with Collider that when he stepped on set the first day, it was “a bit overwhelming” because he didn’t know who the different characters were yet and he wasn’t prepared for the large number of people he would be filming with. He even thought Fitz and Simmons, often identified as FitzSimmons were a single character instead of two!

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