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Agent Phillip J. "Phil" Coulson is a S.H.I.E.L.D. field officer who worked closely with Nick Fury as his right-hand man. After discovering MjĂžlnir in New Mexico, Coulson witnessed the arrival of Thor, who was killed by Hawkeye despite his insistence he was innocent. When Hawkeye himself died shortly after, Coulson worked with Fury to figure out who was really responsible for murdering the candidates of the Avengers Initiative.
Biography[]
Discovering MjĂžlnir[]
In 2010, Phil Coulson was sent to New Mexico to investigate an 0-8-4 that had been reported in the area. Upon discovering the item, a hammer, Coulson contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury to inform him that the item had been found. Fury, however, informed Coulson that he could not be there as he was preoccupied; Natasha Romanoff was being accused of the murder of Tony Stark. Coulson explained that his mission might not be able to wait as locals were beginning to get curious, so Fury ordered him to set up a perimeter and inform his agents that he would be arriving soon.[2]
Infiltration into the Investigation Site[]
Coulson at the Crater Investigation Site
- "Coulson, talk to me."
"We got a perimeter breach. Multiple agents down and... Whoa. I got visual on the intruder. He's a Caucasian male, mid-twenties with... really great hair." - âNick Fury and Phil Coulson[src]
Coulson and his teams of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, including Clint Barton, would construct an investigation site to perform research on the hammer. During their investigation into the object, they would discover that it was extremely powerful, emitting massive amounts of radiation and, most concerningly, alien.
By nightfall, Nick Fury had arrived in New Mexico, where he met with Barton inside the facility. Coulson, meanwhile, was guarding the facility outside, where he soon discovered one of the guards has been knocked unconscious. Coulson ordered the facility to sound the alarms, causing Fury to go to the comms room to talk with him. Coulson reported that several guards were now unconscious, but mid-sentence, he spotted the intruder, who he described to Fury, noting that he had "really great hair", bewildering Fury.[2]
Assassination of Clint Barton[]
Coulson discusses the recent murders
- "Barton was in a locked cell under observation. There was no sign of struggle, no entry wounds."
"It's weird. But I also have a space corpse who looks like a Chippendales dancer rotting on the next table over." - âPhil Coulson and Nick Fury[src]
Coulson would soon discover that during the confrontation, the intruder was attacked by Clint Barton with an arrow, though Barton insisted that he didn't do it. Coulson was tasked with watching Barton's containment cell, where Fury informed him that the intruder had been pronounced dead, and had been identified by his blood samples as being almost 1,000 years old and alien, just like the hammer. Coulson observed that with Tony Stark's death at the hands of Natasha Romanoff and the intruder's at the hands of Barton, two high-value S.H.I.E.L.D. targets had been killed by the organisation's own agents in the last 24 hours.
Coulson is shocked by Clint Barton's death
Fury asked if Barton was still insisting that he wasn't responsible for the murder, which Coulson confirmed, adding that he was refusing to talk to anyone. Fury asserted that Barton would talk to him, entering his containment cell. However, upon his entry, Fury found that Barton was unresponsive. Fury ordered Coulson to get a medic, but Coulson stood confounded, demanding Barton's guards tell him who they let enter; they told Coulson that nobody else had been let into the cell. Though a medic arrived, it was too late, and Coulson watched as Barton died.
Coulson looking at Clint Barton's corpse
Later, Coulson and Fury met once again in the facility's morgue, where Barton and the intruder's bodies had been placed. Coulson informed Fury that they were running a scan to see if Barton poisoned himself with cyanide, but Fury was certain that he had been murdered, guessing the person who assassinated Stark was responsible. Coulson explained that Barton was in a locked, guarded cell, and that there was no signs of struggle nor an entry wound, questioning how he could've died. Fury agreed it was strange, but was willing to believe it given that he was in a room with an extraterrestrial corpse. Coulson inspected the intruder's body and remarked that even when decomposing, he smelled like lavender. Coulson said that regardless, there wasn't much connecting Barton and Stark's deaths, but Fury realized there was a connection: they were both candidates for the Avengers Initiative.[2]
Arrival of Loki[]
Coulson notices objects starting to levitate
- "A meteorological phenomenon of some kind. Oh boy. Whatever it is, it came with bogeys."
"They look like they're from Earth?"
"Maybe Middle-earth?" - âPhil Coulson and Nick Fury[src]
The next day, Coulson left the facility for a coffee run, however upon trying to scan his ID card, everything around him started to shake. Confused, Coulson then noticed small things around him starting to levitate, immediately followed by a massive rainbow-coloured energy beam striking the Earth. Nick Fury contacted Coulson again, asking what he was seeing. Coulson noted it was some sort of meteorological phenomenon, then seeing that a fleet of soldiers had come with it, who Coulson likened to characters from The Lord of the Rings.
Coulson watches the arrival of S.H.I.E.L.D.
As S.H.I.E.L.D. SUVs led by Fury approached the soldiers, Coulson observed the ensuing conflict: The leader of the soldiers, Prince Loki of Asgard, declared war on Earth and used an alien device to freeze the S.H.I.E.L.D. cars in ice as revenge for his brother, Thor, being killed. However, Fury was able to negotiate a truce with Loki on the condition they find the person responsible for Thor's death by the next sunrise.[2]
Working the Case[]
- "Sir, I understand that this Prince Loki situation is the very reason you proposed the Avengers Initiative. For a group of remarkable individuals to fight the battles we can't."
"I wrote the speech!"
"There's still one name left, sir. Yours." - âPhil Coulson and Nick Fury[src]
That night, Coulson was contacted by Natasha Romanoff, who required his password in order to access S.H.I.E.L.D. files on the Avengers Initiative. Though Coulson refused to divulge his password, Romanoff eventually convinced him to tell her so they could avenge Clint Barton. Coulson then begrudgingly revealed his password, "#stevestevesteveiheartsteve0704", amusing Romanoff.
Coulson talks about the Avengers Initiative
Coulson later met with Nick Fury at Isabela's Diner, where Fury was studying a phone call sent to him by Romanoff, in which she said that the murders were "all about Hope", the last thing Romanoff had said before she, too, had been killed. With only four hours until sunup, Coulson noted that with all other candidates for the Avengers Initiative dead, there was only one left: Fury himself. Fury, though, then realized that he was not the only Avenger left.
Coulson asking questions to Nick Fury
Fury left the diner, leaving a confused Coulson to follow him to his car, where Fury was holding a 1990s-era pager, which Fury explained was their last hope. However, as he said it, Fury realizsed the real truth behind the murders, and discarded the pager, confusing Coulson even more. As Coulson asked where Fury was going, he remarked that he was not sure, but he was going to either make a pact with God or a deal with the Devil. Fury then drove off, leaving Coulson to question his director's words.[2]
Declaration of War[]
- "The Avengers fell before they had a chance to rise. May they rest in peace."
"They can, but we won't. The Avengers were always meant to be more than a team. They were an idea, the affirmation of humanity's need to believe that in our darkest hour, we will find our heroes." - âPhil Coulson and Nick Fury[src]
By the following day, Coulson discovered that the murder case had been solved; Hank Pym was responsible for the assassinations, seeking to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. as revenge for the death of his daughter, Hope van Dyne. For Coulson and Nick Fury, however, the battle was far from won, for that Friday, Loki arrived at the United Nations building in New York City, where he made it known his intent to subjugate Earth and rule it under his command.
Coulson mourning the deceased Avengers
At a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, Coulson and Fury met once more, where five coffins containing each of the Avengers candidates had been placed. Coulson commented that despite the Avengers Initiative being formed to defend Earth from threats like Loki, they had fallen before they ever had a chance to save the world. Coulson wished that they rested in peace, but Fury commented that they may, but he and Coulson would not. Fury eventually left the facility, leaving Coulson with the fallen Avengers.[2]
Personality[]
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Abilities[]
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Trivia[]
- Coulson's password is #SteveSteveSteveIHeartSteve0704.[2]
