Do the ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Cast Know What S.H.I.E.L.D. Stands For?

Kim Taylor-Foster
TV Marvel
TV Marvel

When the cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. descended on New York Comic Con, FANDOM quizzed them all on what S.H.I.E.L.D. stood for. In front of Marvel TV chief Jeph Loeb. To be fair, he didn’t escape the grilling. You’d probably expect the answer to trip off his tongue, but Loeb fared little better than his actors.

We threw a bunch more acronyms at them all, including ones from the universes of Marvel and DC. Watch the hysterical results in the video above.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns for a fifth season on December 1, after the inaugural season of Inhumans comes to an end. The series, based on the organisation seen in Marvel comics, focuses on a team of special agents tasked with keeping the peace in a world overrun with superheroes and supervillains.

Set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it crosses over with the films and other series’ that come under the banner.

agents-of-shield-season-5
The action in the Season 5 premiere takes place aboard a space station.

S.W.O.R.D. Remains Sheathed

During the panel for the show, the New York Comic Con audience was treated to the first 20 minutes of the Season 5 premiere. In it, we saw the team transported to a space station following the events of the Season 4 finale. If you remember, the team was kidnapped and taken into outer space.

But if you’re thinking that this is where S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department) gets introduced, don’t hold your breath. Marvel fans will know that this counterterrorism and intelligence agency is the space-located counterpart to S.H.I.E.L.D that deals with extra-terrestrial threats. But when quizzed on this acronym, none of the cast had a clue what it was or what it stood for, suggesting the special space-matters unit won’t make an appearance in Season 5. Clark Gregg, who plays Agent Phil Coulson in the show, even pointed out that the fact they didn’t know meant the agency was a no-show.

The Season 5 opener will be a special two-hour premiere.

Kim Taylor-Foster
Kim Taylor-Foster is Entertainment Editor for Fandom in the UK. She was raised on an unsteady diet of video nasties and violent action flicks.