SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major “Orientation,” the Season 5 premiere of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
It’s all connected! “Orientation,” the Season 5 premiere of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., introduced some elements borrowed straight from the Guardians of the Galaxy corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From Deke’s mask to a certain Kree weapon, the Season 5 premiere was peppered with inspiration from Marvel’s cosmic stories.
Deke brings the first — and perhaps most eye-catching — reference to life. In his debut, he enters the Lighthouse from outside. In order to survive the harsh conditions of space, he wears a helmet much like Star-Lord’s (as pictured above), though Deke’s mask lights up blue and looks a little blockier. When he was safely inside the ship, he presses a button on the side of the helmet, which causes it to collapse into a smaller package — again like Star-Lord’s Guardians of the Galaxy helmet.
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Sanara’s weapon of choice also has a precedent in Guardians of the Galaxy, in that she operates it in the same way that Yondu uses his arrow. The Kree guard, who works in Kasius’ service, appears to have a mental link to her weapon: two levitating spheres. Though these spheres sound innocuous, they are anything but. Several times throughout the episode, she psychically hurls them at helpless human victims; the spheres travel so fast that they fly right through human flesh, killing their targets.
Something to fear. #AgentofSHIELD pic.twitter.com/HX4PVhcmnm
— Agents of SHIELD (@AgentsofSHIELD) December 2, 2017
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Unlike Yondu, who has a cybernetic fin, Sanara doesn’t have an obvious marker to show that she has an implant; nevertheless, her use of the spheres is effortless. In “Orientation,” she used them first to kill the man who hurt Kasius’ servant, then again to kill that same servant when he didn’t meet Kasius’ standard of perfection. Otherwise, she twirls them menacingly in her hand.
Of course, the Kree were first introduced in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, so they borrow their looks from that movie. However, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has provided some variations, including a white, powdery makeup. Sanara wears this makeup around her eyes, where Kasius covers his face with it, leaving only blue rings around his eyes.
Airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 5 stars Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Henry Simmons, Ian De Caestecker, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Elizabeth Henstridge, Nick Blood, Jeff Ward, Eve Harlow, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Coy Stewart.