One of the big questions about “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is the return of Agent Phil Coulson. Even the pilot episode left that mystery unsolved.
Having died halfway through The Avengers movie, it’s a little unnerving to watch the personable agent leading the S.H.I.E.L.D. team on TV. The show isn’t pre-Avengers, so how and why did Coulson return?
At some point (probably during sweeps), the truth about Coulson’s miraculous resurrection will be addressed, but for now, we can only speculate.
Cue CraveOnline — and your friendly neighborhood Iann Robinson. Together, we give you our theories about why Coulson is still among the living.
Share your theories about Coulson’s return in the comment section below!
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 10 Possible Reasons That Coulson Lived
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10. It Was All a Dream
Agent Coulson dies on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Carrier. Suddenly, he wakes up in a large bed in a palatial home. Confused, Coulson gets out of bed and stumbles over his pants. Upon inspection, he notices the belt has a giant buckle that reads BIG C.
Walking through the house, Coulson passes a newspaper that reads The Dallas Times. Coulson hears a shower running and creeps slowly into the bathroom. He pulls back the shower curtain and sees Patrick Duffy standing there. Duffy smiles and says, “What’s the matter? You look like you’ve had a bad dream.”
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9. Coulson Is Still Dead
After Coulson dies, Nick Fury is in a panic. His top agent is dead and he needs to replace him quickly. Fury turns to a long time agent, one with no family or living relatives, and asks him to step in as the new Coulson. He agrees, and is turned into Coulson via hi-tech plastic surgery.
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8. Faking Out The Avengers
The easiest answer is that Nick Fury pulled the ultimate con job. The pilot episode of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” even addresses this. In The Avengers, the world’s greatest superhero team was having a hard time coming together.
When Coulson died, it lit a fire under their collective asses. Showing Coulson is in cahoots with Nick Fury is still the easiest way to explain Agent Coulson’s return. But what fun is that?
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7. Back in Time?
This is where things get a bit, to quote "Doctor Who," “wibbly wobbly, timely wimely.” During the season, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team could run afoul of a temporal anomaly in the space-time continuum. Coulson is returned back to the moment he died, shocked to witness his own death. Coulson steps in and saves himself, forgetting that it could be dangerous.
When he returns to the present, everything seems normal, but now, knowing that he went back and saved his life, he wonders what chaos that circle might bring to the world.
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6. Cyborgs
During the early days of getting the Avengers together, Nick Fury decides to create an army of cyborgs, in hopes of helping against any kind of alien attack. One of the trial cyborgs is a replicate of Coulson. Though the “real” Coulson is disturbed by the cyborg, he agrees and the project to moves forward. The day Coulson is “killed,” it’s actually the nearly perfect cyborg who gets Loki-ed.
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5. Clones
Nick Fury has created a secret plan to try and clone The Avengers. If one of the heroes falls, he will have a replacement ready for battle. Perfecting the clone science is difficult, and Coulson volunteers to be the first clone. His successful cloning allows the agent to be in two places at once. Thankfully, when the attack on the carrier happens, the clone is the one killed. (Or is it?)
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4. Dr. Strange
Nick Fury goes against his better judgment, and rushes Coulson’s body to the Sanctum Sanctorum. He asks Doctor Strange to step into the spiritual world and bring Coulson back. The Doctor agrees, but says it will change Coulson. These odd changes could pop up throughout the show. -
3. Super Soldier Serum
During The Avengers, it became obvious that Coulson was a huge Captain America fan. After being mortally wounded, Coulson lays dying. Fury decides that he has to save his top agent. Injecting Coulson with just a small amount of the Super Soldier Serum, Coulson is healed. But, could there be side effects?
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2. Hank Pym
As Coulson lies dying, Nick Fury decides to turn to one of his Avengers in waiting to help save the life of his top agent. Hank Pym attempts to use technology to save Coulson, but when all else fails, he uses his Ant Man powers to shrink down and battle Coulson’s own body to try and save him.
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1. Nobody Dies In a Comic
Coulson dies. Suddenly, he wakes up on the doctor’s table looking at Nick Fury. Coulson says, “How am I still alive?” Fury smiles and says, “Nobody dies in a comic book, or a comic book movie” (This one won’t happen, but it would be awesome).
