With the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s cast counting hundreds of stars, it’s hard to keep track of all the names involved in the franchise. Still, it’s a crime people forget Lizzy Caplan was in the Scared Timeline, as she’s responsible for one of your most beloved MCU TV shows.
In the days of yore, long before Disney Plus was just a glint in Bob Iger’s eye, the only way for Marvel Studios to expand its interconnected universe beyond the big screen was — believe it or not — in the form of DVD extras. Enter the Marvel One-Shots. The idea was to shoot low-budget short films and add those to the media release of the MCU’s movies, giving fans tiny self-contained stories that explained what happened with secondary characters or how some key events of the feature films affected real people.
On Sep. 25, 2012, the home release of The Avengers came with one of these shorts, titled Item 47. The story follows Lizzy Caplan, one half of a couple who finds a Chitauri weapon and uses it to rob banks, together with Jesse Bradford. It’s a quirky story that explores the aftermath of the Battle of New York while cementing Agent Jasper Sitwell’s (Maximiliano Hernández) role as the new Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) – Agent Coulson seemingly dies in The Avengers.
What happened to Lizzy Caplan’s character in the MCU?
While Item 47 marks the MCU’s first and last Caplan appearance, Item 47 leaves some breadcrumbs behind for Marvel Studios to follow. In Item 47, Agent Sitwell is sent by his supervisor, Felix Blake (Titus Welliver), to track down and neutralize Caplan and Bradford’s characters. However, instead of killing the MCU’s Bonnie and Clyde, Sitwell recognizes their potential and turns them into S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. At the time, that felt like a happy ending. However, retrospectively, it was a clue about Sitwell’s true allegiances.
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, we discover Hydra survived World War II, infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., and used the agency to advance its agenda. Sitwell is one of Hydra’s most efficient men. That means Sitwell recruited Caplan and Bradford because the couple was unafraid to get their hands dirty so they could better serve Hydra’s goal.
So, what happened to Caplan? Did she become a loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agent? Has she hailed Hydra? Until Marvel Studios brings her back, there’s no way to know. There’s still time, though, as the cliffhanger left behind by a different Marvel One-Shot, All Hail the King, only got resolved seven years later in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
There’s a strong argument in favor of Caplan’s return. While Caplan’s MCU appearance might seem minor, it kicked off Marvel Television’s grandiose plans.
How did Lizzy Caplan’s MCU adventure lead to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
As fun as Item 47 may be, this Marvel One-Shot is inconsequential to the MCU’s bigger narrative. However, behind the scenes, Item 47 had a huge impact. For instance, after watching the short film, Disney’s then-CEO Bob Iger greenlighted Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where Welliver reprises the role of Felix Blake.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. don’t need further introductions. The fan-favorite series aired 136 delicious episodes over seven solid seasons, exploring corners of the Marvel Universe the movies haven’t dared to touch so far. While Marvel Studios refuses to give Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. its deserving canon status, the series has influenced some of the MCU’s biggest productions. For example, Anson Mount’s Black Bolt, leader of the Inhumans’ royalty, has a memorable cameo in Doctor Strange in the Universe of Madness. However, the Inhumans were first developed for the MCU in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Likewise, the Darkhold history begins in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. before the events of WandaVision.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is also crucial from a production perspective because it showed there was an audience for TV shows created with significantly less money than Marvel’s blockbuster movies. The success of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. paved the way for Agent Carter, which was also first tested in a Marvel One-Shot. Furthermore, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. led to the Netflix deal that gave us the Defenders universe, which is being slowly (and partially) reintroduced as part of the Scared Timeline thanks to shows such as She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Hawkeye, Echo, and the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again.
Many words have been written about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s importance to the MCU (and it’s still not enough). However, little has been said about how this fantastic journey starts with Item 47. As for Lizzy Caplan, she completely changed the MCU by agreeing to appear in a goofy short film that most forgot exists.
Published: Sep 24, 2024 08:04 am