I don't want to alarm you, but there are only two episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. left before Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters. The last time a Marvel crossover like this happened, with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it completely shattered and re-directed the show. Luckily, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will tease Ultron beginning with Doctor List in the coming weeks. Who is this character? List is a Hydra scientist who worked in a deep underground facility and "created" Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch using Loki's scepter.
He works with Baron Von Strucker, whose name sounds devious enough for the both of them. List has already made one appearance on the ABC series and was mentioned in last Tuesday's episode. We'll see him again in the next two episodes, which are titled "The Frenemy of My Enemy" and "The Dirty Half-Dozen."
List's association with both Hydra and gifted individuals has me excited for his return. Mike Peterson, also known as Deathlok on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., was tailing him for Director Coulson and uncovered some of his work on powered people and experimentation. Before we see him in the flesh again, here is a brief recap of what this doc's been up to in the Marvel universe.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dr. List first appeared in the mid-credits tag for last year's cinematic romp with Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. This scene also introduced us to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch as they would appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, played by Aaron Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen. List shared the scene with Von Strucker, a Hydra villain who will appear in Age of Ultron. The two of them discussed the many underground Hydra facilities within S.H.I.E.L.D., revealed that they were in possession of Loki's scepter, and referred to the twins as both "volunteers" and "miracles." Wanda and Pietro Maximoff appear to be the only two survivors of whatever they were doing in that bunker.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Remember that weird scene in the Season 2 episode "Aftershocks" where a bunch of Hydra big shots calmly sat in a circle and discussed their need to find a new leader in the wake of Daniel Whitehall's death? Dr. List was there. He mentioned that Sunil Bakshi had vanished — it's his seat that's missing in the image above. So, List's return to S.H.I.E.L.D. must mean that Hydra is gaining strength. Thank goodness. I need "the real S.H.I.E.L.D" and "the Coulson S.H.I.E.L.D." to reconcile and stop confusing me.
The Scepter'd Isle
List also appears in this comic prelude to the upcoming film. You can "watch" the comic above, while jamming to the Avengers soundtrack. The story details how Loki's alien weapon got into the hands of List and Von Strucker. They use the scepter to manufacture weapons, but List insists that if they will need human test subjects to advance their research any further. He goes out in search of volunteers from a group of young protesters, and the Maximoff twins are two of those volunteers. There's even a Project Insight shoutout — so we know this is taking place around the events of Winter Soldier.
So, is List's appearance on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. going to reinforce this backstory? Or, does Dr. List simply represent the looming Hydra threat? Either way, the entities of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. have become rather fractured, what with the warring S.H.I.E.L.D. factions and Skye's new Inhuman summer camp. It'll be good to see everything start to connect again before Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Images: ABC (2)
