Fury and Maria Hill as well. Also Agent Carter, Howard Stark. There's more influence than I think you're giving them credit for. Granted it's more the movies influencing the shows than the other way around, but Agent Carter certainly has it's influence.
In July 2014, Fazekas talked about how the series would relate to the One-Shot, saying, "The short really is the basis for the series. [Carter]'s working at SSR, post-war... If you think of the short as sort of the end of the series, the series would be leading up to that moment where she gets assigned to S.H.I.E.L.D."[74] Markus reiterated this in January 2015, but added that "we all agree and understand that [keeping continuity with the short is] going to get tougher if we continue" making the series.[48]
The first season introduces the origins of the Black Widow and Winter Soldier programs, which both appear in several MCU films.[75][76][77] The second season shows the discovery of the Darkforce (known as Zero Matter in the series), which previously appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and has ties to Doctor Strange.[78] Theoretical physicist Clifford Johnson served as a consultant during the second season to help ground the Zero Matter in science.[79]
Jed Whedon explained that each Marvel project is intended to standalone first before there is any interweaving, and noted that the series has to work with the film division and be aware of their plans so as not to interfere when introducing someone or something to the universe.[106] Bell elaborated that this was preferable so that people who do not watch the films can still follow the series, and vice versa. He stated that "ABC and Marvel both want the series to be able to make sense on its own", but that it was beneficial for the films to have the series fill in any "gaps" for them, due to having to be "big" and moving "quickly through a lot of huge pieces", unlike television which has time to deal with more nuances.[61] In January 2016, Joss Whedon noted that this process "unfortunately just means the TV show gets, you know, leftovers." He stated that, for example, the series' creative team initially wanted to use Loki's scepter from The Avengers but were unable to due to Whedon's plans for it in Age of Ultron.[107]
The series' first tie-in episode with the Marvel Cinematic Universe is "The Well", which takes place after the events of Thor: The Dark World.[108] Another tie-in takes place in the episodes "End of the Beginning" and "Turn, Turn, Turn",[109] which revolve around the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.[110] This led to a retooling of the series.[111] Flashback sequences in "Shadows" and "The Things We Bury" featuring Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter tie into the Agent Carter television series.[112][113] The events of "The Frenemy of My Enemy" and "The Dirty Half Dozen" lead up to the opening sequence of Avengers: Age of Ultron, while "Scars" deals with the aftermath of that film.[114] The third season follows similar themes to the film Captain America: Civil War, focusing on powered people and the different responses to them,[115] leading up to the episode "Emancipation", which takes place after the film and shows how its events affect the series' powered characters.[116]
The episode "T.A.H.I.T.I." introduces the Kree alien race to the MCU, members of which play a significant role in Guardians of the Galaxy.[117][118] This begins a storyline that recurs throughout the series, and introduces Inhumans to the MCU,[5] with Jed Whedon saying that it was something "in the works" for a long time, as Marvel Studios has plans for an Inhumans film, and this would be "one of the first instances where we get to start planting the seeds on the show before the film."[119] Gregg noted in January 2016 that the "writer and director [of the Inhumans film] will have free rein to do what they want to do with the Inhumans, but hopefully there'll be some way that our Inhumans connect to that."[120] The third season introduces the concept of the Secret Warriors, with new Inhuman characters inspired by the comic of the same name.[7][121] The season also retcons the history of Hydra in the MCU, tying it into the Inhumans storyline.[122]
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