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Agent Phillip J. " Phil" Coulson ( ) is a fictional character portrayed and voiced by Clark Gregg in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise. Coulson is depicted as a high-ranking member of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and longtime partner of Nick Fury.
During an attack on a S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier, Coulson is stabbed through the heart by Loki and the Avengers form to avenge his death. Fury later has Coulson resurrected with Kree blood to continue serving S.H.I.E.L.D., putting together a small team of agents supervised by Melinda May and coming to view one agent, Daisy Johnson, as a surrogate daughter. After rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. following its infiltration and destruction by Hydra, saving the planet, and making a deal with a demon to briefly become Ghost Rider, Coulson retires to Tahiti with May, where he dies once again.
Following the destruction of Sarge, a biological duplicate of Coulson created by a monolith and inhabited by the Inca god Pachakutiq, a Life Model Decoy (LMD) of Coulson is made from a copy of his consciousness saved to a virtual reality, and Sarge's and May's genetic memories, resurrecting him again. After preventing an alternate timeline from being conquered by Chronicoms, Coulson decides to travel the world in his flying car, Lola.
Coulson was a central figure in the "Infinity Saga", appearing in five films, two television series, one digital series, and two Marvel One-Shots, most notably in The Avengers (2012) and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020). Several versions of Coulson from within the MCU multiverse also appear, notably in the live-action series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the animated series What If...? (2021), with Gregg reprising the role.
Coulson has additionally appeared in several forms of non-MCU media, being integrated into the Marvel Universe, initially modelled after Gregg and depicted as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and supporting character of Deadpool, before being redeveloped as a supervillain servant of the demon Mephisto and commander of the Squadron Supreme of America following his death and resurrection, and the main antagonist of "Heroes Reborn".
In 1995, Coulson accompanies Fury to investigate a woman who destroyed a Blockbuster Video store. While they investigate inside the store, a shape-shifting Skrull imitates Coulson and falls victim to Fury when the real Coulson calls him wondering where everyone went. Coulson later accompanies Fury and the woman to S.H.I.E.L.D., but, trusting Fury, allows them to escape. He later debriefs with Fury, who goes on to form the Avengers Initiative in response to his escapade.
Sometime after, Coulson is put in charge of Project T.A.H.I.T.I., designed to revive a fallen Avenger with the blood of a decaying blue alien. He shuts the project down after its participants begin going mad and carving mysterious symbols.
In 2010, Coulson is put in charge of supervising a drunken Stark, before being informed by Fury of an unidentified item found in New Mexico. He travels to the desert and finds a hammer. He then seizes Jane Foster's equipment to study the hammer, and later meets Thor, who claims to own the hammer despite not being able to pick it up. After Thor uses the hammer to destroy the Destroyer, an automaton, Coulson befriends him and agrees to give Foster back her equipment.
Sometime later, Coulson and Jasper Sitwell attempt to stop the World Security Council from gaining access to the Abomination, sending Stark to annoy General Ross who held the Abomination in custody. Coulson also assists in reviving Steve Rogers after his body is found preserved in ice, 70 years after his presumed death.
In 2012, Thor's brother Loki wages war against S.H.I.E.L.D., with Fury assembling his team of Avengers. Coulson recruits Natasha Romanoff and Stark, and meets Rogers, his idol. Loki is later captured by the Avengers, but escapes after a brainwashed Clint Barton frees him, almost destroying S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier in the process. During Loki's escape, Coulson threatens him with a gun (made from the body of the Destroyer), being fatally stabbed by Loki's scepter. Coulson's death unites the Avengers, which inspires them to defeat Loki and his army of Chitauri.
During this time, Coulson becomes aware of Project T.A.H.I.T.I., finding out that he was revived using GH-325, a drug derived from an ancient Kree corpse that Peggy Carter previously recovered. Later, the terrorist organisation Hydra is revealed to have infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., leading to its demise and the murder of Fury. After Ward and John Garrett are revealed as Hydra agents, Coulson and his team work to stop them, eventually defeating them with the help of Fury, who had faked his death. Fury makes Coulson the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and tasks him with rebuilding the agency.
Following the signing of the Sokovia Accords, S.H.I.E.L.D. is re-legitimized, with Coulson replaced as director by Jeffrey Mace, though he is eventually able to retake command of operations while Mace serves as the public face of S.H.I.E.L.D. After the artificial intelligence AIDA attempts to take over the world, Coulson allows himself to briefly become a Ghost Rider to defeat her (AIDA was too quick to allow the original Rider to get up close so the only option was to take her by surprise). Coulson and his teammates are later abducted and sent to the future, to prevent the extinction of humanity. After their return, his team discover the Ghost Rider burned through the GH-325 that kept Coulson alive, causing him to slowly die ever since. Despite the team's best efforts to save him, Coulson ultimately chooses to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. and live the remainder of his life in Tahiti with Melinda May, with whom he developed a romantic relationship.
The Squadron Supreme of America are revealed to be created by Mephisto and programmed by the Power Elite so that Coulson can have them be a United States-sponsored superhero team, Coulson having gone to Hell after his death for unspecified war crimes, and made a deal with Mephisto to be restored to life. During the War of the Realms storyline, Coulson summons the Squadron Supreme of America to fight the invading Frost Giants. After the Squadron Supreme caused the Frost Giants to retreat, Coulson sends them to Ohio which has become a battleground. Avengers vol. 8 #18. Marvel Comics.
At The Pentagon, Phil Coulson is briefed about an intruder on Sublevel 7 by a Nick Fury L.M.D. when it turns out to be Black Panther. The Squadron Supreme are summoned to confront Black Panther. Hyperion states that the Squadron Supreme are the United States' sanctioned superhero team in light of the Avengers becoming an anti-American team. As Nighthawk states to Blur that Black Panther will not run as he is under arrest, Black Panther states to them that he does not know how they got their powers and that they are not the Squadron Supreme, as he even asked if they trust Coulson. Before they can grab him, Black Panther contacts Broo to teleport him away. As he disappears, Black Panther states that Coulson will not answer their questions and that the Avengers are not their enemies unless they force them to be. Avengers vol. 8 #21. Marvel Comics.
Throughout the films, Coulson is generally depicted as a supporting character of the protagonists and used to represent S.H.I.E.L.D.'s presence, to the point that Gregg has described Coulson as " the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent". However, for the Marvel One-Shot short films The Consultant and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, Coulson is given "a chance to stand in his own spotlight for once". This was a "natural" move for co-producer Brad Winderbaum, who wanted to "paint a picture of S.H.I.E.L.D. pulling the strings and being responsible for some of the events we've seen in the films. What better character to represent this idea than Agent Coulson, the first S.H.I.E.L.D. agent we were introduced to?"
At the 2012 New York Comic Con, Joss Whedon and Kevin Feige announced that Gregg would be starring as Coulson in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., despite the character dying in The Avengers, with Whedon saying "He's headlining the S.H.I.E.L.D. show and always was." Gregg said of Whedon's explanation for Coulson's resurrection, "I found it so fascinating and so true to the world of the comics and mythology in general as I understand them that I was immediately in." Regarding the amount of creative input he has over the character in the series, Gregg said, "I have meetings with the once or twice a year and talk about what the big ideas are ... They're really responsive to the fact that I've been involved with this person four, five years longer than them, but ... I have no complaints with what they're doing."
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. costume designer Ann Foley described Coulson as a "company man", wearing suits in "the S.H.I.E.L.D. palette—grey, black and navy with a distinct but subtle pattern." Foley did note "subtle changes" in Coulson's costuming in the series from the films, such as streamlined suits and "more slick" ties, "now that he is back after being 'killed' by Loki". After Coulson's hand is cut off in the second-season finale, which was realized by having a mechanical axe cut through a "faux arm made of tripe wrapped around a chicken thigh", Gregg described it as "heavy ... one of those things where you're having the practical difficulty your character does. People were handing me stuff, like files, and I couldn't really open them without using my nose." This practicality issue continued with the prosthetic hand Coulson subsequently has to use, with Gregg saying "the reality informs the thing. It's really hard to figure out how to use this prosthetic, and that's what Phil Coulson's going through ... I'm hoping it evolves at some point." Gregg also noted that in the third season Coulson would be wearing more casual clothes, partly because "he can't even seem to tie a tie" with his new hand. The prosthetic hand evolves throughout the season, with a later iteration projecting an energy shield, inspired by a similar one used in the comics by Captain America. The energy shield was created by Cosa, one of the series' visual effects vendors.
There had been considerations for Coulson to return in Iron Man 3 and , but the character was not slated to appear in any more films. Whedon asserts, "As far as the fiction of the movies, Coulson is dead," elaborating that "generally he like the S.H.I.E.L.D. audience and The Avengers audiences are not actually the same group, necessarily," and so the films would have to explain Coulson's resurrection again for the film-only audience if he were to be reintroduced. Gregg reprises the role once again in Captain Marvel (2019), as the film is set in the 1990s. Gregg is digitally de-aged by 25 years, along with co-star Samuel L. Jackson, the first time Marvel has done this for an entire film. In regards to the character's resurrection within the MCU canon, however, Loki head writer Michael Waldron suggested in one interview that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. might take place in "one other tendril of the multiverse, perhaps", a timeline parallel to the MCU's canon timeline.
On whether the resurrected Coulson would be the same as before he died, Gregg said "I don't know how you could not change going through what he went through. I think if he hadn't gone through some kind of change, it wouldn't be any good. That said, I don't know if he understands how much he's changed." Later exploring some of those changes, Gregg stated "In some ways, he kinda finds himself not nearly as cold or ruthless as he would like to be, or as he has been. And at the same time, putting together this team, he feels driven by motives inside of himself that he can't quite always make sense of and that feels very new to him."
After Coulson was promoted to Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Gregg said "He kind of got his dream job that I don't even think he would have ever dreamed he would be given ... he's got a little bit more of an idealistic, big hearted side of him than, some of which is going to be extinguished by the hard decisions he has to make." Speaking about the evolving nature of Coulson's relationship with his team, Gregg said "There's a way he can afford an intimacy with all of them when they're part of a small, elite squad on the Bus. It's different than what's possible for him as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D." Discussing Coulson's character progression through three seasons in relation to him killing Ward on the alien planet, executive producer Jeffrey Bell said, "First season Coulson would have beat Ward up and then thrown him over his shoulder and brought him back to Earth and locked him away. Season two Coulson would have defeated him and left him there on the other planet to fend for himself," while season three Coulson paused while the portal to Earth was already closing to take the time to kill Ward.
For the fourth season, Coulson is demoted back to field agent status. Gregg said that the reasoning for this "makes sense given that S.H.I.E.L.D. is coming out of the shadows. There are people that will want their person in charge." He felt that Coulson would actually prefer this, saying, "I always felt like Coulson was happiest in the field. Neither I nor Coulson loved playing and listening while his agents went into dangerous situations. And there are more dramatic possibilities when you have a boss that you have to deal with."
Clark Gregg won for Best Supporting Actor in The Avengers at the 39th Saturn Awards.
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