Following the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States in real life, a familiar face from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. appears to be campaigning for that very same office within Marvel's comic book universe.
A new piece of teaser artwork for Marvel Comics' upcoming Heroes Reborn event finds none other than Phil Coulson on the campaign trail. The image, which comes from artist Carlos Pacheco alongside inker Mariano Taibo and colorist Matt Milla, sees an elated Coulson being cheered on by a crowd of his supporters, who are holding signs with taglines such as "Vote Coulson," "U.S.A. for Coulson" and "He's Unique." That final quote appears to be a reference to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's campaign slogan, as a banner that appears to say "Coulson's Unique" can be seen overhead.
Arriving this year from Marvel, Heroes Reborn carries the same name as a crossover event launched by the publisher back in 1996. This artwork of Coulson running for office comes amid a wave of promotional pieces for 2021's Heroes Reborn, a few of which merge famous Marvel Comics heroes and villains together -- such as combining the Juggernaut with Doctor Doom or Scarlet Witch with Enchantress.
Created by screenwriters Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, the character of Agent Phil Coulson was an original creation for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Played by Clark Gregg, Coulson first appeared in Marvel Studios' 2008 debut film Iron Man. Coulson went onto appear throughout Phase One of the MCU, seemingly meeting his demise in 2012's The Avengers. However, Gregg then reprised the role for the ABC television series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. He also played a younger version of the character in the Phase Three MCU film Captain Marvel, which is set several years before the events of Iron Man.
Following his introduction to screens in 2008, Coulson eventually made his way to Marvel's mainline comic book universe. November 2011's Battle Scars #1 by Chris Yost, Cullen Bunn, Matt Fraction and Scot Eaton introduced a character nicknamed "Cheese." In April 2012's Battle Scars #6, it was confirmed that Cheese was, in fact, actually Agent Coulson. The character has since gone on to appear in numerous other comics published by Marvel -- and apparently has a major part to play in the new Heroes Reborn event.