As many of you know, Rick Jones is a classic comic book character that has been the side kick to both the Hulk & Captain America and has been around as long as the Avengers themselves. When Loki tricks Hulk to go on a rampage, Rick and his friends send out a distress call to the The Fantastic Four that is intercepted by Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man and Wasp. And thus, the Avengers are formed (but you already knew that.)
To me, being responsible for the original assembly of The Avengers is a pretty big deal. Obviously, Rick was not granted this key role in the MCU, but thanks to a quick easter egg in The Incredible Hulk, we know that Rick exists in this universe even if it's just on paper. Here we see Rick Jones' name appear as a known associate of Bruce Banner.
In the comics, Rick and his friends were part of a radio enthusiast group that called themselves the "Teen Brigade". Needless to say, this aspect of Rick's character would either need to be updated (or excluded). Until recently, however, I had no idea how this could be done.
While watching a featurette for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it suddenly hit me. From what we've gathered from previews, Chloe Bennet's character, Skye, is a member of a information-seeking group known as "Rising Tide". What if Whedon worked Rick Jones into the TV show as a member of Rising Tide? Instead of using a short wave radio to contact Super Heroes, what if Rick helped form Rising Tide to find out more information about them? It could be explained that a past experience with The Hulk has made Rick curious about what other heroes are out there.
This would be an awesome "bone" to throw the fanboys seeing as most of this show's characters will not be derived from the comics. Also, Rick would be a logical choice if Whedon was looking to include a classic comic character. A: It's not as if Marvel Studios is holding Rick out for his own movie. B: Rick always wore street clothes, so he would fit right in with the other, non-empowered characters. Plus, this could introduce a character that could cross over nicely into a Ruffalo-led The Incredible Hulk sequel.
I'm not suggesting that this is already in the works: simply proposing an idea to get some feedback.
Let me know what you think and thumbs up if you like the article.