Agent Phil Coulson Is Back from the Dead and Starring in ABC’s New Marvel TV Series ‘The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’

When Disney bought Marvel back in 2009, the venerable comic company was already pumping out three films a year. Since then, the movies have gotten better, and the plans for forthcoming titles haven become more ambitions, but the sheer quantity hasn't changed much. We're still looking at about three Marvel superhero films per year through 2015. Here's what has changed, though: for the first time since Mutant X went off the air in 2004, we'll soon see a live action TV show based on Marvel comics. And this time the show will have tie-ins (or at least the potential for tie-ins) to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The show? Why that would be Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and it will debut on ABC—which of course is also owned by Disney—in September of 2013.

The most interesting thing about the show from the comic nerds' perspective, of course, is the fact that it will be centered around the character Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), despite the fact that it sure as hell seemed like [SPOILER ALERT] he was killed in 2012's The Avengers. So, what, was he not really dead? Was there some rip in the space time continuum caused by Thanos's Infinity Gauntlet? Who knows. Comic books storylines are like soap opera storylines on acid. All we know for sure based on the first teaser is that Coulson is back...and that this show might be awesome.