(I wrote this quickly and wanted to throw it out there. I will come back and add a design to make it look a bit better than just text a little later on) This may not be the most well written article but I had an idea, while re-watching “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and listening to a review from “Geekvolution” , that I just wanted to throw out there. Now there is certainly no surprise to state that even if Coulson is alive and kicking in the TV series while being stabbed during the events of “The Avengers”. Now there are multiple theories on the web about his resurrection ranging from him being the Vision to magic being involved thanks to Doctor Strange. While I believe any theory is valid in its own way and would certainly be quite an interesting spin on how Phil has returned from the dead, but I could not hold back and slowly create my own theory on the matter.
The only thing we can certainly go by is “Tahiti is a magical place”, which is stated by Coulson several times over the course of the pilot and second episode. Additionally, he is aware of being stabbed through the heart by the spear and acted that he held his breath until he was brought to the island to get some R&R. One last puzzle is given to us by Maria Hill, who stated that he might never know what had happened to him at the events before the battle at New York. It may seem that the Avengers also gave us an additional hint when Stark mentioned: “You have reached Tony Stark’s Life Model Decoy.”
It is the most common theory as well that Coulson was replaced with a LMD, which I believe is partly right. This is mostly visible through the repeating phrase “It’s a magical place”. Every time someone mentions Tahiti he simply answers with this phrase, which seems to imply two possibilities. In one way, it could imply the magical aspect where Doctor Strange could have resurrected him from the dead to repay a debt to Director Fury. Yet ignoring what he says it is more interesting that he keeps repeating that one sentence. Even Skye points subtly out that he had already stated that once before. It seems as if it was preprogrammed to react to that question almost as if it never truly happened.
If this were so than one would notice that he acts quite human. If he were a machine than he would have his memories yet no true emotional investment in anything. Just like in the Avengers he is still quite the collector of old fashioned items and especially with Lola he seems to have a deeper connection than what would think. If he would to become the Vision, who is a Android with emotions, it would be the perfect set up yet I have a hard time believing this to truly be the answer. Maybe they will take this route to introduce the character in the world but I have a feeling there is more to him being a simple LMD, who would suddenly have powers like the Vision has proven in the comics.
Taking a look back, Arnim Zola was constructing a robot body that would allow him to live forever by transferring his brain into a mechanical body. This was given a slight node as he pulls away blueprints featuring the classic designs of his future transformations. Additionally, the first time we are introduced to the character we see him through what seems to be an old timey television set. What does anything have to do with Coulson? Well, consider this technology to allow one to transfer one’s memories, personality, soul and more into an LMD? This way before he truly passed away Fury would have been able to still keep him alive.
There seemed to be a long past between Coulson and Fury that would make him desperate enough to try and keep one of his best agents alive. This seems further cemented in an after-credit scene of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s latest episode where he was furious over the destruction of the plane in just six days since Coulson returned to the field. Considering that the doctor from the first episode still wanted him to rest up it would imply that Fury was more worried he would lose his best operative once again as it may be the last time to save him. Personally I hope to see him return for an entire episode where they explore their relationship a bit more closely to understand why Phil is the good eye of the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
One last note, Tom Hiddleston had mentioned he’d be interested to return as Loki for the TV show and I personally think there would be an interesting way to make this possible. We might find out how Coulson was brought back to life in the finale, which combined with an interesting set up would allow the God of Mischief to haunt Phil as he relieves the moments of the attack. It would not only allow the actor to play Loki once more after “Thor – The Dark World” but also make the impact of his death much more relevant in the big picture. Just a little thought I wanted to add at this point.