Pilot

"I've seen giants up close and that privilege cost me nearly everything. But the good ones, the real deal, they're not heroes because of what they have that we don't. It's what they do with it."

- Phil Coulson

"Pilot" is the first episode of Season One of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. It was written by Joss Whedon & Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen and directed by Joss Whedon. It is the first episode of the series overall, and premiered on September 24, 2013. This episode is the series premiere.

Synopsis
It's just after the Battle of New York, and now that the existence of super heroes and aliens has become public knowledge, the world is trying to come to grips with this new reality. Agent Phil Coulson is back in action and has his eye on a mysterious group called The Rising Tide. In order to track this unseen, unknown enemy, he has assembled a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division). The group's first assignment together as a team finds them trying to track down an ordinary man who has gained extraordinary powers. Powers that could have devastating consequences.

Starring

 * Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson
 * Ming-Na Wen as Agent Melinda May
 * Brett Dalton as Agent Grant Ward
 * Chloe Bennet as Skye
 * Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz
 * Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Jemma Simmons

Guest Starring

 * J. August Richards as Michael Peterson
 * Shannon Lucio as Debbie
 * Ron Glass as Dr. Streiten
 * Bob Stephenson as Gary

Special Guest Star

 * Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill

Co-Starring

 * Ajani Wrighster as Ace Peterson
 * Aaron Behr as Angry Man
 * Nicole J. Butler as Mindy Peterson
 * Sarah Dumont as Beautiful Woman
 * Dan Sachoff as Reporter #1
 * Arlene Santana as Hunter Harris
 * Kevin Sifuentes as Technician

Uncredited

 * Eddie J. Fernandez as Train Station Thug
 * Akeem Mair as Pedestrian
 * Unknown Actress as Kisha Peterson

Locations

 * Paris, France
 * Los Angeles, California
 * Ruthie's Skillet
 * Union Station
 * Agent Maria Hill's Field Office
 * New York City, New York (archive footage)
 * Stark Tower (archive footage)
 * New Mexico (mentioned)
 * Russia (mentioned)
 * Tahiti (mentioned)

Events

 * Centipede Investigation
 * Chase of Michael Peterson
 * Battle of New York (mentioned)
 * Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. (mentioned)

Items

 * Centipede Serum
 * Extremis (mentioned)
 * Gamma Radiation (mentioned)
 * Super Soldier Serum (mentioned)
 * Centipede Device
 * Night-Night Gun
 * D.W.A.R.F.s
 * QNB-T16 Truth Serum
 * Holocom
 * Holotable
 * Chitauri Neural Link
 * Mjølnir (archive footage)
 * Echo Chamber

Vehicles

 * Bus
 * Lola
 * Skye's Van
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicopter
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV
 * Helicarrier (mentioned)

Sentient Species

 * Humans
 * Chitauri (mentioned)

Organizations

 * S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Rising Tide
 * HYDRA
 * Centipede Project
 * Avengers (archive footage)
 * Stark Industries

Episode Connections

 * Skye's line about "With great power..." is a reference to one of Spider-Man's best-known lines, first used in Amazing Fantasy #15.
 * The aircraft and team are referred to as "SHIELD 6-1-6". In Marvel Comics continuity, the baseline universe is referred to as Earth-616.
 * Simmons calls their mission a "Journey into Mystery", which was the original title of the comic that debuted "The Mighty Thor". The character was so popular, the book was eventually renamed for him.
 * There is a reference to Project Pegasus. In the Marvel Comic Universe, Project Pegaesus (Potential Energy Group/Alternate Sources/United States) is a secret US research project into alternative energy sources and a containment program for various arrested supervillians.
 * In the 1960's, when the Marvel Comics Universe was still in its early days, "Lola" style flying cars were often seen in the S.H.I.E.L.D. related issues. This is why Coulson said, "People tend to confuse the words 'new' and 'improved'."
 * In the opening sequence wide shot of New York City, Stark Tower can be seen on the left.
 * The song playing while Grant Ward searches the apartment in Paris is "Fais Comme Si" by Édith Piaf.

Production Notes

 * Thanks to the boosted budget for the pilot, the scenes in Paris were actually filmed in Paris.
 * The license plate on Lola is California, 681 PCE.

Behind the Scenes

 * Ron Glass (Dr. Streiten) previously played Shepherd Book in Joss Whedon's Firefly, and the subsequent film Serenity.
 * J. August Richards (Michael Peterson) previously played Charles Gunn in Joss Whedon's Angel.