Stepping well away from Extremis and into much more interesting comic-book territory, ABC’s poorly received Agents Of SHIELD is taking a leaf out of Arrow‘s book by bringing Seventies cyborg Deathlok to the small screen.
According to Marvel, Michael Peterson, the ill-fated supporting character played by Angel star J August Richards, will be “transformed into the cybernetic solider against his will, Mike Peterson must struggle to find the man in the machine.
“With a high-tech eye that allows him to see through walls, super strength and increased speed courtesy of a cybernetic leg, will Deathlok fight alongside the Agents of SHIELD or against them?”
It’s nice to see Agents Of SHIELD cast the net a little more widely and start reinventing goofier characters that are deeply unlikely to see live-action elsewhere – that’s definitely been one of Arrow‘s strongest lures for comic-book fans, and it sustained Smallville across a decade too!
“We have been waiting all season for this moment where we can reveal that Mike Peterson’s story arc is an origin story,” said executive producer Jeffrey Bell.
“We’re thrilled to have J August Richards playing Deathlok and to have our audience enjoy this favourite Marvel character on the show.”
“If you would have asked when I was nine-years old what I wanted to be,” said Richards, “I would have said a superhero and I’m so excited to be one now as an adult on TV! It’s a dream come true.”
Agents Of SHIELD returns to Channel 4 in March 2014. You can buy Avengers Assemble on DVD for £10.99 or on Blu-ray for £14.99 from Amazon.co.uk.
