A minute later, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s perennial nice-guy agent, Phil Coulson, appeared once again in the owner's office of the Daily Planet, standing before Richard in an impeccably professional posture.
"Nice to see you again, Mr. Lee," Agent Coulson greeted him.
Richard crossed his legs and leisurely took a sip of tea. "S.H.I.E.L.D. missions have been pretty demanding lately, huh? You're short-handed?"
Coulson froze. Recalling Richard's jabs during their previous two meetings, he instinctively reached up and touched his bald scalp...
"That's not what I meant." Richard waved a hand. I really wasn't trying to mock his hairstyle this time. How had he become so self-aware?
"I mean, does S.H.I.E.L.D. only have three or five field agents or something?" Richard pointed at him. "Why are you the one who comes here every time?"
Richard genuinely felt that way. Agent Coulson was practically S.H.I.E.L.D.'s model worker, Nick Fury's tireless old workhorse. That was how it had been in the movies too: he was in Iron Man, he was in Thor, and he was in The Avengers, right up until Loki killed him in The Avengers.
Coulson's death in The Avengers directly spurred the Avengers into uniting. This model worker could be said to have given his all until his dying breath. But did you think that was the end of it? No, no, no. Comrade Coulson's path of dedication to the organization had only just begun. Who would have thought that after he died, Director Fury would use alien black technology to drag him back from the gates of hell, telling him that the organization still needed him and he could not die yet? And so the miserable Agent Coulson began another five full seasons of service in the TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D...
Agent Coulson explained, "Because the director felt that you