It's in Hydra's nature, and motto, to never truly die out. This Tuesday's episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reinvigorated the organization in an especially menacing way. The last scene in the mid-season finale revealed that Hydra's Inhuman leader traveled to Earth on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Gideon Malick is giddy as ever about it. Not to mention, this thing has Ward's face now. Fantastic.
This thing has incredible strength, seems basically immortal, and likes to take on dead bodies as hosts. Astronaut Will thought that It drove his NASA crew mates insane, but now I'm wondering if it hadn't just killed all of them first. And while it may seem like a good thing that It no longer has access to an army, it was truly awful to see Lash kill so many innocent Inhumans.
So, who is this creature? How was it, or its people, able to carve an updated Hydra logo, since FitzSimmons showed us only two episodes ago how the logo evolved into the octopus that it is today? It almost seemed to crawl out of Will and (presumably) into Ward. We saw it bulging from Ward's temple in the tag scene. Is it a yeerk, like from Animorphs ? There is a hooded Marvel character who mingles with the Inhumans and has a parasitic approach to brains called Supergiant (not the best name), This is where the Marvel Cinematic Universe gets a little frustrating, honestly, because you know it's not likely to be one of the Inhuman Royal Family characters from the comics — they'll likely be in the 2019 Inhumans movie. Who's left? In the comics, the Skrulls are shapeshifters, but Hydra seemed pretty convinced that It is an Inhuman.
I think this planet, and the nine cities that destroyed themselves by warring against change and with one another, is the key. Is Maveth really the planet Ego? Is It some altered version of Doctor Doom, from the Fantastic Four comics? Is it something else entirely? Now that this thing is on Earth and wearing the face of someone we already love to hate, it's time to start answering these questions. I can only hope that he or she doesn't cause too much destruction when Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns from hiatus in March.
Image: Nicole Wilder/ABC
