The Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding once again, because Marvel Studios has announced at New York Comic Con another project that will debut after Avengers: Secret Wars wraps up the Multiverse Saga. That would be Zodiac, a new “spy thriller” from Marvel Television. But besides a 2028 release window, we don’t have any other official information beyond the show’s logo, which has resulted in Marvel fans the world over asking the question: What the heck is this show even about? Is it a character? An organization? Is Marvel making a TV series about the Zodiac Killer? (Not likely on that last one).
Meanwhile, Clark Gregg, aka Agent Phil Coulson from Agents of SHIELD, seems excited about the new show… or at least has shared the Zodiac news on social media. Hmm…
Well, Zodiac does in fact exist in the Marvel comics universe as a team of villains. So let’s look at thewhat Marvel has up their sleeve… and whether or not this means Agents of SHIELD could somehow be returning too
Marvel Cinematic Universe: Every Upcoming Movie and TV Show
Marvel’s Zodiac Cartel Explained
The most prominent Zodiac in the Marvel universe is the Zodiac Cartel, a group of 12 supervillains who stylize themselves after the signs of Western astrology. So there’s someone named Aries, someone named Taurus, someone named Gemini… you get the idea. The organization is a subversive criminal group who sought world domination under the leadership of Cornelius van Lunt, aka Taurus, and would become recurring enemies of the Avengers. Although they made several appearances over the years, the Zodiac Cartel has never been a standout member of the Avengers’ rogues gallery – they’re not exactly on the same level as Loki, Ultron, or Thanos. Their schemes often involve the Zodiac Key, a powerful cosmic artifact that can generate psionic energy and empower mechanical devices.
One of the most notable aspects of the Zodiac Cartel is that Scorpio’s alter ego is Jake Fury, the brother of SHIELD director Nick Fury. While the original Zodiac stories had Jake as a villain who came into conflict with SHIELD and the Avengers, later stories in the Secret Warriors comic would reveal that the evil Jake was actually a Life Model Decoy (basically a robot that mimics a specific person), and the real Jake had been secretly helping his brother all along. The storyline in Secret Warriors also featured the Great Wheel, a version of the Zodiac group founded by none other than Leonardo da Vinci, which may be what’s referenced in the “O” in the Zodiac show‘s logo.
Several other evil groups took up the Zodiac name after the first Cartel, including one composed entirely of Life Model Decoys, but none made much of an impact. Zodiac as a concept has struggled to break out in the Marvel comics universe, with other nefarious groups like Hydra, Advanced Idea Mechanics, and the Hand being much more popular.
Is Agents of SHIELD Being Revived?
Since Zodiac isn’t a well-known aspect of the Marvel universe, it’s surprising to see Marvel Studios greenlight a show named after them. It feels more likely that Marvel will reinvent the idea instead of doing a straightforward adaptation of the Zodiac Cartel – I doubt we’ll see van Lunt decked out in a bull costume. Since Hydra seems to be defunct in the MCU, and given that Marvel described the show as a spy thriller, perhaps Zodiac will be established as a new evil espionage group working in the shadows as part of the MCU’s next saga.
This would make sense given that the “A” in the Zodiac logo looks quite similar to the eagle emblem used for SHIELD in the MCU. Which raises our next question: Is Zodiac actually an Agents of SHIELD revival? That would track with Clark Gregg, who plays Phil Coulson in the MCU, sharing the Zodiac announcement on social media. Will the show feature the return of Agent Coulson? What about Chloe Bennet’s Quake or Ming-Na Wen’s Melinda May? It’s been a while since we’ve seen them, but the Agents of SHIELD characters making a comeback would be a welcome development for the MCU.
Given that Zodiac has ties to SHIELD in the comics, this feels like the perfect place for the Agents of SHIELD characters to return to the fold.“
Agents of SHIELD is one of the holdouts from the pre-Disney+ era of Marvel television that hasn’t been reintegrated into the shared universe. Although Marvel Television insisted that “it’s all connected” back in the day, Coulson’s SHIELD team hasn’t been brought back in new MCU projects in the same way Daredevil and friends have. However, given that Zodiac has ties to SHIELD in the comics and the SHIELD insignia is referenced in the show’s logo, this feels like the perfect place for those characters to return to the fold. Perhaps Coulson’s team has to reunite to deal with a new threat in whatever form the MCU’s Zodiac organization takes. Maybe Samuel L. Jackson, who recently confirmed he will return as Nick Fury for Avengers: Secret Wars, will appear in Zodiac if they pursue the Jake Fury storyline.
Of course, we’d be remiss not to mention that Zodiac does already exist in one way in the MCU…
What About the Zodiac Bioweapon From Agent Carter?
So this is a deep cut even by MCU standards, but Marvel made a handful of short films called Marvel One-Shots in the MCU’s early days. One of those was Agent Carter in 2013, a precursor to the television show of the same name starring Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter.
In the short, which takes place after Steve Rogers went into the ice at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, Peggy takes it upon herself to retrieve a blue vial from some criminals. This vial contains a bioweapon codenamed Zodiac, and while the short ends with Zodiac safely back in the good guys’ hands, it hasn’t been followed up on in later MCU projects. Could this bioweapon be what the bad guys are after in the Zodiac show? We don’t know, but it wouldn’t be the first time Marvel has picked up dangling plot threads many years down the line. Hopefully it works out better than the Leader’s appearance in Captain America: Brave New World!
What do you think Marvel’s Zodiac is about? Let us know in the comments!
Carlos Morales writes novels, articles, and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations onTwitter.
