The Secret Warriors 2.0

The Secret Warriors 1.0Image Courtesy www.comicbook.com

This week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode, “Chaos Theory,” introduced what I’m going to call the “Secret Warriors 2.0”—a potential team roster for the Secret Warriors which we could see in action soon, perhaps even in the midseason finale. This roster consists of Daisy, Mack, Lincoln, and Joey (though he was still working on controlling his gift in the episode and we have yet to see him use his gift to fight). However, I don’t think these four will be the entire Secret Warriors 2.0 team. On the contrary, I think there are two more characters who can also join the Secret Warriors right now, though both of them are dealing with traumas which may make joining the Secret Warriors difficult: Alisha, who is in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody recovering from her clone’s death at Lash’s hands, and Deathlok, who was sent to a specialized facility for repair after Hydra dismantled his leg in season 2.

I think that these six characters could very easily form the second iteration of the Secret Warriors on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. If you remember the season premiere, they debuted a small, temporary team consisting of Daisy, Mack, and Hunter, but that only lasted a single episode (less, really) before Hunter went off to hunt down Ward. Though Hunter went with Daisy and Mack to follow Banks in “Among Us Hide…” (3x06), he’s still sort-of benched and did not participate with Daisy, Mack, and Lincoln when they confronted Andrew/Lash. Also, he and Bobbi will be leaving the show sooner or later for Marvel’s Most Wanted, so even if he did remain on the team it could only be temporary.

In any event, my goal with this article is to go through the “Secret Warriors 2.0” and see how this roster fulfills the “Team Compositions” checklist I created last spring. This article is shorter than my standard length, but I will still go into rationale for some of the positions.

Daisy Johnson, a.k.a. "Quake"
or "Tremors"
Image Courtesy
www.comicbook.com

Leader

The Secret Warriors have two leaders: Coulson is the overall leader as the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director, and Daisy is the Field Commander. At this point I think the “Lieutenant” for the team would be Mack as the longest-tenured member aside from Daisy. He also has the temperament of enforcing Daisy’s orders (c.f. the scene with Lincoln in the hospital in “Laws of Nature,” 3x01).

Tank

The Secret Warriors don’t have anyone to take damage the way the Hulk or Thor can, but Deathlok can definitely take a lot of damage as his armor seems to deflect most bullets. Additionally, Alisha’s clones can also “tank” because she can generate so many of them, though I suspect she’ll be a little “gun-shy” to just send a bunch of clones to keep someone like Lash occupied after having a clone killed.

Heavy Artillery

This is where the Secret Warriors really excel. Daisy, Lincoln, Deathlok, and presumably Joey (though we haven’t seen him in action) can all deal some serious damage from a distance and even bring down a building if necessary.

Lincoln Campbell, a.k.a. "Sparkplug"
Image Courtesy www.screenrant.com

Bruiser

Alisha and Mack can both get really down-and-dirty with an enemy, particularly if Mack eventually gets a “shotgun axe”! Deathlok, Lincoln, and Daisy can also deal a lot of damage up close.

Sniper

Daisy trained as a sniper during season 2. Also, she might have enough range with her powers to be able to vibrate a heart apart (a la Wolverine) from a distance with more practice. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: don’t underestimate the importance of a good sniper!

Mike Peterson, a.k.a. "Deathlok"
Image Courtesy www.comicbook.com

Aerial Support

As of now there are no flying members of the Secret Warriors, though Deathlok’s new leg(s) could always be equipped with repulsors like Iron Man’s so he can fly. However, that would be something of a departure for the character, as in the comics the closest the Deathloks have come to flight is jet boots that allowed the first Deathlok to jump really high. At this point I don’t know if flight is absolutely necessary for the Secret Warriors’ missions, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt. I do think that at some point the Secret Warriors will probably recruit either a new Inhuman or another enhanced with the ability to fly.

Pilot

Deathlok’s eye gives him the ability to learn how to fly just about anything just by looking at it (“Afterlife,” 2x16). Additionally, I think Mack and/or Daisy can also fly a quinjet, but I’m not certain. If they know in advance, the Secret Warriors can probably use a S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot.

Spy

All of the Secret Warriors except Deathlok can blend into regular society. As far as actual spies, I think Daisy is the best of the ones we’ve really seen in action, though Lincoln’s ability to evade S.H.I.E.L.D. and the A.T.C.U. for so long is also a testament to his abilities in this area.

Joey Gutierrez, a.k.a... "Melty Guy"?Image Courtesy www.mcuexchange.com

Medic

Lincoln’s a doctor and can serve as their field medic. For major issues, they have S.H.I.E.L.D. resources (Simmons) to fall back on.

Technical Support

Deathlok’s hardware gives him some technical abilities. Daisy (software) and Mack (hardware) can also provide technical support in the field. For major issues, they have S.H.I.E.L.D. resources (Fitz) to fall back on in this area, as well.

Conclusion

The only position that I see as lacking with this roster is “Aerial Support,” which may not be entirely necessary for this team’s mission. Additionally, without Alisha and Deathlok this team is completely lacking in the “Tank” department; of the remaining four Mack is really the only option. Though I doubt they could take on the New Avengers in a head-on attack, this Secret Warriors roster would certainly be able to hold their own against most of the threats facing S.H.I.E.L.D., perhaps even Lash with enough advance preparation—and assuming Lincoln doesn’t go off-reservation again! However, a fully-powered Graviton would probably be out of their league without some major backup, at least if he’s as powerful as his comic counterpart.

Long story short, if we see this team carrying out some missions in the second half of the season, or suiting up to fight a major threat in the midseason finale, I think they would be able to do everything necessary. And I think these characters are interesting enough and have enough of a unique dynamic to carry a few episodes by themselves.

Going forward, I think the most likely character to be added to this team is someone like Naja, an Inhuman with the ability to fly and become invisible, who could serve as the team’s Aerial Support and as a Spy.

What do you think of this Secret Warriors roster? Who do you want to see added to it? What kinds of missions do you want to see the Secret Warriors going on for S.H.I.E.L.D.? Let me know in the comments!

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