‘Agents of SHIELD’: Fans Want Ming-Na Wen’s Melinda May in the MCU
With Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD about to wind up on ABC, fans are hoping this is not the complete end of these characters. One can argue this final seventh season was a true throwback to the excitement fans felt when the show debuted in 2013.
While the series lost some footing at its midpoint, the characters at least continued bringing a lasting impression. Out of all those, which ones do fans want to see return in other Marvel Cinematic Universe media?
The chances of some returning are still up in the air, even if they seem to logically fit into future MCU phases. From all indications on places like Reddit, Melinda May is most in demand.
What do fans want in ‘Agents of SHIELD’ characters returning?
If going by a recent Reddit thread asking this very question, the choices are all over the map. Some want Agent Coulson to come back first and foremost. The chances of this happening seem better considering he was in the Iron Man movies years back. This goes on the assumption the duplicate copy of him will keep existing.
Other fans want to see Daisy Johnson/Quake (Chloe Bennet) return in some form, especially on the Disney+ series of Ms. Marvel. Unfortunately, in recent months, via Screen Rant, Bennet squelched all rumors about her being on that series by saying she probably will not appear. She did note she wished it would happen.
Perhaps it still will when given more time to sort things out in a time when COVID-19 has all production mostly shut down. Even so, Daisy is not necessarily the most popular character fans want to see return.
As noted on Reddit above, quite a few want to see Ming-Na Wen’s Melinda May return in some form, thanks to Wen’s long established history with Disney.
What makes Melinda May so popular?
Trained in martial arts, Melinda May is one of the true badass women superheroes of SHIELD, something Ming-Na Wen was happy to portray. Casual fans may not even realize May has more black belts than Black Widow had, which is really saying something.
She went through a lot on a personal level as well as with her time with SHIELD. She was essentially killed at one point, yet brought back as an LMD. There was another time when she was almost killed again (when thrown into the Fear Dimension), albeit ultimately surviving.
In-between, she also had a close relationship with Phil Coulson, something that led her to take time out to be with him when the real Coulson died. Later returning to SHIELD, she played an important role in the Agents of SHIELD finale. Wen even noted above the series will end with the assumption the story is not quite over.
Where would she turn up, though, if her character does return in another MCU show or movie?
Finding a place for Melinda May
Said one Reddit fan above: “May would make for a great re-occurring Maria Hill type character, but with the action set of a mini Black Widow.” Yes, some fans think if May is going to have any kind of appearance in the MCU, having her appear with Black Widow would be the most logical.
Both of them would perhaps be at odds with one another, however, when going by May’s superior martial arts skills. So far, though, there appears to be no surprise cameo in the upcoming Black Widow film, other than past proof May has Natasha Romanoff on speed dial.
Beyond Melinda May maybe returning in something, it might seem unlikely any of the SHIELD characters will be back anytime soon, if ever again. As the MCU basically resets and starts to introduce new characters, the SHIELD cast may be relegated to history, if at least designated canon rather than ignored.
