A Secret Marvel Series Joins the MCU Defenders Saga

Marvel Studios recently confirmed Netflix’s Defenders Saga is MCU canon, but this may also bring another popular Marvel TV show into the MCU timeline.

By making Netflix’s Defenders Saga canon to the MCU, Marvel Studios may have also confirmed the canon status of Marvel Television’s Agents of SHIELD. Since Marvel Studios began to develop its own long-form TV shows for Disney+, the canonicity of Marvel Television’s previous shows has been called into question. Despite originally being thought to be set in the world of the MCU, popular series such as Agents of SHIELD, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher and The Defenders were never referenced in Marvel Studios’ theatrical releases, but it now seems as though the tide may be changing.

After Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio reprised their Defenders Saga roles in MCU projects, including Spider-Man: No Way Home, Hawkeye, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Echo, the debate regarding the canon status of their previous stories was reignited. Marvel Studios put these questions to rest, however, by integrating the Defenders Saga into the MCU’s official timeline following the release of 2024’s Echo. This means the MCU’s upcoming Daredevil: Born Again will continue the Defenders Saga’s previous storylines, and this also means that other Marvel Television projects mentioned in the Defenders Saga may also be MCU canon, including Agents of SHIELD.

The Defenders Saga Makes Many References To Agents Of SHIELD

Released on Netflix between 2015 and 2019, the Defenders Saga comprised Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders and The Punisher. The Defenders Saga was the most consistently-successful endeavor for Marvel Television, but wasn’t the first of its kind, as Marvel Television’s Agents of SHIELD premiered in September 2013. Initially, there was no doubt that Agents of SHIELD was MCU canon, as the events of The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier were directly referenced. However, over time, this became less clear, but Marvel Studios’ recent choices may have changed this yet again.

Several aspects of Agents of SHIELD’s storylines were later adopted by the Defenders Saga. This includes the existence of Cybertek, which appears in a news story in the Defenders Saga, the fact that both Agents of SHIELD’s Daisy Johnson and The Punisher’s Micro were members of the Rising Tide, and the Dogs of Hell who aided Lorelei in Agents of SHIELD season 1 went on to have a huge role in Daredevil. Carl Creel, who was introduced as Agents of SHIELD’s Absorbing Man, was also the same “Crusher Creel” who fought and lost against Battlin’ Jack Murdock, Daredevil’s own father.

Saint Agnes Orphanage was also home to both Daisy Johnson, following her safe rescue from the Hunan Province in 1988, and Matt Murdock, following the death of his father. Sister Maggie Grace, Murdock’s mother, may have raised both him and the future Inhuman superhero, Quake, creating a clear and powerful bond between the pair. On top of this, Judas bullets, which were first introduced in Luke Cage season 1, were later used to try and assassinate the new Director of SHIELD, Jeffrey Mace, in Agents of SHIELD season 4, so it’s difficult to ignore the connections between these two franchises.

Marvel Studios May Have Secretly Made Agents Of SHIELD MCU Canon

The fact that Marvel Television’s Defenders Saga made so many references to specific events that occurred in Agents of SHIELD, and vice versa, suggests that the two franchises are, at least, canon to each other. This means that, by bringing the Defenders Saga into the MCU canon, Marvel Studios may have also canonized Agents of SHIELD, though there is yet to be any official comment from Marvel. Currently, some suspect Agents of SHIELD may take place in an alternate reality across the MCU’s multiverse, which could explain the drastic storyline divergence that Agents of SHIELD underwent from season 2 onwards.

The inclusion of such huge storylines in Agents of SHIELD, including the emergence of Inhumans, the rise of Life Model Decoys, the end of the world and the reestablishment of SHIELD, which haven’t been mentioned in the MCU proper, could pose a problem. However, if Agents of SHIELD is confirmed to have taken place in an alternate reality, some of the series’ events may very well have occurred in the MCU. This would allow particular Agents of SHIELD characters to return in the MCU’s future, and could explain several of the Defenders Saga’s references to the popular Marvel Television series.