Phil Coulson (Chronicom L

Agent Phillip J. Coulson ( ) is a fictional character portrayed and voiced by Clark Gregg in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise. Coulson is depicted as a high-ranking member of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and longtime partner of Nick Fury.

After being killed by Loki and the Avengers form to avenge him, Fury has Coulson resurrected with Kree blood to continue serving S.H.I.E.L.D., putting together a small team of agents supervised by Melinda May and coming to view one agent, Daisy Johnson, as a surrogate daughter. After rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. following its infiltration and destruction by Hydra, saving the planet, and making a deal with a demon to briefly become Ghost Rider, stripping him of the blood keeping him alive, Coulson retires to Tahiti with May, where he dies once again.

Following the destruction of Sarge, a biological duplicate of Coulson created by a monolith and inhabited by the Aztec god Pachakutiq, a Life Model Decoy (L.M.D.) of Coulson is made from a copy of his consciousness saved to a virtual reality, and Sarge's and May's genetic memories, resurrecting him again. After preventing an alternate timeline from being conquered by Chronicoms, Coulson decides to travel the world in his flying car, Lola.

Coulson was a central figure in the "Infinity Saga", appearing in five films, two television series, one digital series, and two Marvel One-Shots, most notably in '' The Avengers'' (2012) and ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2013–2020). Several versions of Coulson from within the MCU multiverse also appear, notably in the live-action series ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' and the animated series '' What If...?'' (2021), with Gregg reprising the role.

Coulson has additionally appeared in several forms of non-MCU media, being integrated into the mainstream Marvel Universe, initially modelled after Gregg and depicted as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and supporting character of Deadpool, before being redeveloped as a supervillain servant of the demon Mephisto and commander of the Squadron Supreme of America following his death and resurrection, and the main antagonist of " Heroes Reborn".

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Feature films

Partnering with Nick Fury

''Captain Marvel'', which is set in the 1990s, depicts Coulson as a rookie agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who works closely with fellow agent Nick Fury.

Supervising Tony Stark

Agent Coulson was introduced in the film ''Iron Man'', in which he attempts to debrief Tony Stark on his captivity in Afghanistan. He is also one of several agents who accompany Pepper Potts in an attempt to arrest Obadiah Stane once his criminal activities are revealed. In ''Iron Man 2'', Coulson is assigned to supervise Stark for a time before being reassigned to investigate a crisis in New Mexico.

Meeting Thor

In both ''Iron Man 2''s post-credits scene and ''Thor'', Coulson's assignment is revealed to revolve around the discovery of Thor's hammer in the New Mexico desert. Coulson is able to form an alliance between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Thor, who mistakenly addresses Coulson as "Son of Coul."

Death

In ''The Avengers'', Coulson is fatally wounded by Loki, which now-S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury uses to motivate the Avengers.

Tie-in comics

Coulson appears throughout the MCU tie-in comics in supporting roles, acting in the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent capacity that he does in the films.

Short films

The Marvel One-Shot '' The Consultant'', which takes place after ''The Incredible Hulk'', sees Coulson and fellow agent Jasper Sitwell preventing Emil Blonsky from being added to the Avengers roster. '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer'' depicts Coulson getting into a scuffle on his way from Stark's lab in ''Iron Man 2'' to Thor's hammer in ''Thor''.

Television series

T.A.H.I.T.I. and resurrection

In ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', Fury brought Coulson back to life using the T.A.H.I.T.I. project, which was meant to bring a dead Avenger back to life using GH-325, a drug derived from an ancient Kree corpse that S.H.I.E.L.D. had recovered in the past. However, test patients developed psychosis and hypergraphia, so Coulson had the project shut down and Fury had Coulson's memories replaced so he could live a healthy life. Following his resurrection, Coulson puts together a team of agents to travel the world and deal with strange new cases. During this time, Hydra is revealed to have infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., leading to the latter's demise. Fury makes Coulson the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and tasks him with rebuilding the agency "the right way".

Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Coulson's involvement with alien materials leads to a faction of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by Robert Gonzalez, who distrust secrets and superhumans attempting to take over the fledgling organization, but Coulson convinces them to let him stay on as director after helping save hundreds of civilians. Together, they defeat a faction of Inhumans, though Coulson loses a hand in the process.

Romancing Rosalind Price

Coulson later becomes romantically involved with Rosalind Price, the leader of an anti-Inhuman government task-force called the Advanced Threat Containment Unit (ATCU), until her death at the hands of Grant Ward, a Hydra agent who formerly worked with Coulson. Coulson gets revenge by crushing Ward's chest with his prosthetic hand.

Demotion and deal with demon

Following the signing of the Sokovia Accords, S.H.I.E.L.D. is re-legitimized, with the still officially dead Coulson replaced as director by Jeffrey Mace, though he is eventually able to retake command of operations while Mace serves as the public face of S.H.I.E.L.D. After the artificial intelligence AIDA attempts to take over the world, Coulson allows himself to briefly become a Ghost Rider to defeat her.

Travelling through time

Coulson and his teammates are later abducted and sent to the future, to prevent the extinction of humanity. After their return, his team discover the Ghost Rider burned through the GH-325 that kept Coulson alive, causing him to slowly die ever since. Despite the team's best efforts to save him, Coulson ultimately chooses to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. and live the remainder of his life in Tahiti with Melinda May, with whom he developed a romantic relationship.

Second death and resurrection

As the team, especially May and new Director Mack, mourn Coulson, they are perturbed by the arrival of the cold-blooded Sarge, an alien who is physically and genetically identical to Coulson. They later learn Sarge's body was created in an accident involving three reality-altering Monoliths, and was inhabited by the entity Pachakutiq thousands of years ago, losing both its and Coulson's memories before becoming Sarge. Mack and Daisy kill Pachakutiq to avert the end of the world, but the team is forced to escape an attack by the cybernetic alien Chronicoms. To combat them, S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons make an enhanced Life Model Decoy of Coulson to guide them in a journey through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s past, beginning in the 1930s.

Life as an L.M.D.

The L.M.D. Coulson helps the team stop the Chronicoms from changing history while coping with his existence as a non-human entity. A year after the Chronicoms' defeat, Coulson takes a sabbatical to travel the world in a reconstruction of his red 1962 Chevrolet Corvette, Lola.

Alternate versions

= Radcliffe LMDs

=

After being corrupted by the power of the ''Darkhold'', Holden Radcliffe and Aida builds a Life Model Decoys of Coulson and other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents programmed to impersonate him while his human self is imprisoned in the Framework, in order to allow them to steal the Darkhold for themselves. After being betrayed by the L.M.D. May, Radcliffe's Coulson L.M.D. is destroyed when the L.M.D. May blows up the empty S.H.I.E.L.D. base to allow its remaining human agents to escape.

= History teacher

=

After revealed to be trapped in the ''Darkhold''-infused Framework virtual reality at the end of "Self Control", Coulson experiences a parallel lifetime in which he never joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and became a history teacher and conspiracy theorist who believes Hydra is using mind control soap to enslave the population of Earth. After being made aware of his alternate life as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent by Daisy Johnson, Coulson assists her ensuring his escape from the Framework; upon awakening in the real world, the real Coulson is surprised that he remembers the life of his Framework self.

= Destruction of Earth

=

In an alternate 2018, after failing to stop a gravitonium-infused Glenn Talbot from accidentally destroying the Earth, Coulson and his team rescue a fraction of the Earth's population aboard their Lighthouse base, built to withstand the Earth's destruction, before eventually dying as a result of his deal with Ghost Rider.

Animated series

Alternate versions of Coulson appears in the animated series ''What If...?'', with Gregg reprising his role.

In an alternate 2011, Coulson witnesses the murders of five candidates of the Avengers Initiative, and investigates the mastermind behind their deaths with Nick Fury. In another alternate 2011, Coulson assists Maria Hill, acting director of S.H.I.E.L.D., in attempting to stop an out-of-control party hosted by Thor.

Digital series

After stepping down as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. following ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' season three, Coulson appears in ''Slingshot'' to offer advice to S.H.I.E.L.D. asset Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez.

Marvel Comics

''Battle Scars''

Phil Coulson first appeared in the mainstream Marvel Universe in Christopher Yost, Matt Fraction and Cullen Bunn's ''Battle Scars

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