In case you slept through the last fifteen years of popular culture, Marvel Comics has taken over the world. In fact, it’s not even called Marvel Comics anymore; it’s called Marvel Worldwide Inc. See what I mean? It all started when Stan Lee’s alt-comic empire (at least it was “alt” back in the day) rapidly conquered Hollywood like the marauding army of the Golden Horde back in the early 2000s. A decade later, they began incursions into the realm of television with their superhero action/adventure drama Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which has garnered critical praise and even established innovative transmedia links with the Marvel cinematic universe.
Now going into its second season, the writers behind Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. have branched off from the comic that gave it life and elaborated a new storyline involving a rival faction of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, this one headed up by none other than O.G. pachuco, Edward James Olmos. While Olmos’ addition to the Agents cast was announced earlier this year, the show’s marketing team has finally released posters featuring a dignified looking Olmos donning a mustache, three piece suit, glasses, and a glorious mane of grey locks, accompanied by an ominous portent in the form of the question: “Has Coulson met his match?”
For those unfamiliar, Coulson is a good guy and lead agent at the S.H.I.E.L.D. — a law enforcement and counter-terrorism agency that brings a 007-like element of human espionage to a universe otherwise populated by flying mutants. In a recent interview with the website Comic Book Resources (CBR), Olmos admitted that he is a huge fan of the Marvel universe, and accepted the role despite his usual reluctance to participate in television series (with the glaring exception of his run on Battlestar Galactica).
Whether Olmos will be straight-up bad guy or merely a debonaire rival working toward the same ends has yet to be clearly established, but we do know that Olmos’ enigmatic agent Robert Gonzalez will have an arc of about six episodes over the course of the season. And while the Oscar-nominated actor has been loathe to talk in-depth about his character, he was able to leave us with an intriguing bit of information regarding his character: “When he smiles, the world smiles with him.” Sounds terrifying.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Tuesdays at 9pm on ABC.