The ominous planet that Jemma Simmons traveled to on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is back, and it shares a name with the title of the winter finale of the ABC series. What does "Maveth" mean on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? This word does not appear in Marvel comics — it is an invention of the television show and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As the show has already explained a little bit, Maveth is the Hebrew word for death, realm of the dead, or death personified. Religion does not often play into the world of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so this is a bit of a departure already. The multiple translations point to both the planet and the Inhuman that resides there. Gideon Malick explained to Ward that the Kree experiment was banned to that planet, and portals are used for sacrifice. Maveth sometimes means the Angel of Death or the Devil himself. The word also translates to a lot of water imagery — which could explain why the portal looks like crashing waves and the planet rarely sees any sunlight. Mythology often places the underworld beneath the ocean. There is a Blackened Death Metal band from Finland called Maveth, which seems to logically check out. Other than that, the word "maveth" does not have a lot of meanings or uses in popular culture or history. Perhaps it is considered unlucky. This may not be apropos to anything, but the Greek word for death is thanatos, which sounds an awful lot like the Marvel villain Thanos, who also lives in the middle of Outer Space, wouldn't you think?
So, are we going to get into why a former Nazi off-shoot organization, like Hydra, gave a Hebrew name to the planet where the being they worship resides on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? I feel like that should be unpacked. Is this a way for the show to disassociate Hydra from the Holocaust and the anti-Semitism they invariably supported? Or is that just an indication to us of how old this concept, and Hydra itself, are in the universe.
Isn't it so wild that a villain introduced in the 2011 movie Captain America is still such a major device n 2015 on a television show that didn't exist yet? I'm glad that Hydra's origin is therefore being explored and heightened on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. even though it can be baffling at times. I'm game for Hydra being as old as time itself, but have Inhumans seriously been around that long? However, the blue gel planet (theatre kids know what I'm talking about) must be named after Death for a reason, and I'm stressed out just thinking what could possibly go down on the mid-season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Images: Nicole Wilder/ABC; Giphy
