21) Phil Coulson Is Brought Back To Life – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Not long after the battle of New York, Nick Fury assembles a dream team of surgeons (who would eventually disappear without a trace) and orders them to accomplish the impossible—bringing Phil Coulson back to life. With the help of the mysterious, tissue-regenerating drug GH-325, the agent is revived after a long, arduous process that takes days of surgery. Several officers, such as Maria Hill and Melinda May, are subsequently revealed to be fully aware of the entire ordeal.
As Coulson wakes up, he is shown in agony and begging to be killed out of mercy while an unidentified machine works on his brain. In order to hide the specifics of Coulson’s recovery from him, he is ultimately implanted with a fictional memory that gave him the illusion of spending off-time in Tahiti. As a result of this operation, Coulson appears to have lost muscle memory and constantly responds to questions regarding Tahiti with a mere “It’s a magical place.” The true motives behind Fury’s willingness to keep the agent alive at all costs, how the GH-325 actually works and why the project was completely shrouded in secrecy are some of the many enigmas regarding this particular event.
22) Coulson Assembles A New Team Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
After allegedly recovering in Tahiti due to the wounds he sustained during the fight on the Helicarrier, Level-7 Agent Phil Coulson is back at work. After dialoguing with a few superior officers, he assembles a team of capable S.H.I.E.L.D. agents —he recruits old friend and weapons expert Melinda May as the driver, and enlists the help of arrogant field agent Agent Ward, as well as the brainy British duo of Leo Fitz and Jenna Simmons, in order to investigate the appearance of new superhuman Mike Peterson and a certain Project Centipede that has unexplained ties to Extremis.
The team is incomplete, however, until the arrival of Skye, an orphan hacker with a smart mouth – even though her future teammates are at first unaware of her desire to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. just to gain the favor of hacktivist group “The Rising Tide.” Despite all her efforts to help Peterson, he ends up kidnapping Skye out of sheer panic and anger, and is ultimately defeated by Coulson’s team, who place him in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. The young hacker marvels at the possibility of joining the agency (regardless of her distaste for their ways), and is eventually persuaded by a decidedly impressed Coulson to come on board.
23) Frigga Dies At The Hands Of Malekith And Kurse – Thor: The Dark World
Fearing for Jane’s safety, Thor brings her to Asgard in hopes of protecting her from this unearthly force, which Odin recognizes as the Aether. Malekith and his lieutenant Algrim invade Asgard in an attempt to seize the Aether to continue his plan of destroying the universe that he started eons ago. Frigga, Thor and Loki’s mother and Odin’s wife, tasks herself with guarding Jane and escapes into the inner palace.
Malekith is able to track down Frigga and Jane while the battle continues outside. Frigga warns Malekith and gives him a chance to leave unscathed; not threatened, he pursues Jane. Frigga immediately draws her sword and proves herself extremely skilled in battle, gaining the upper hand and nearly slaying Malekith in the process. However, Algrim interrupts and lifts Frigga by her neck into the air. Malekith approaches and looms over Jane, but she ends up being an illusion, with the real Jane been hidden elsewhere by Frigga. Unwilling to answer any of Malekith’s questions, she is impaled by Algrim right before Thor rushes into his room to see his mother fall. Malekith and Algrim escape and Thor cradles his mother’s lifeless body.
Later, Loki is told of his mother’s death and lashes out in his cell, breaking his usual witty persona.
24) Malekith Is Killed, Loki Takes The Throne – Thor: The Dark World
After a botched attempt at destroying the Aether, Loki kills Algrim but is also killed himself while Malekith escapes. Thor once again watches one of his family members die in front of him.
Malekith decides to destroy the universe by unleashing the Aether starting with Earth. At the center of the Convergence, where the Nine Realms are in alignment and spawning portals that open up between them, Thor, Jane, Darcy, Dr. Selvig, and Ian fight Malekith with the help of Dr. Selvig’s devices. Though beaten and battered, Thor manages to teleport Malekith to Svartalfheim, his deserted homeworld, while Dr. Selvig teleports Malekith’s falling ship to crush him.
Thor returns home to Asgard, retelling his feats to Odin. He states that he does not wish to be king, and with Odin’s blessing, he returns to Jane. Once Thor leaves, however, Loki is revealed to have been impersonating Odin as he sits on the throne that he had thirsted for since he was born.
