How secret is SHIELD?

[samsnee]

When we first meet them in Iron Man, Pepper has no idea who they are. They are treated as a secret Men-in-Black type organization. Yet they have, or had, a public government building in DC since 1989 which we see being built in Ant-man. But after events of Winter Soldier, we're led to believe it's a secret off the books organization again. It seems inconsistent at best and forgetful at worst.

 

[Flint Marko]

This is a good question. I always just assumed that the building would've had a cover story. But you're right, it's unclear and potentially inconsistent.

 

[Eddie]

They seem to be portraying old S.H.I.E.L.D. as a publicly known entity who's actions (rather than identity) were kept secret. As for post Winter Soldier S.H.I.E.LD., that's thoroughly covered in AoS. S.H.I.E.L.D. was officially disbanded, so the new S.H.I.E.L.D. is privately run by Coulson (with tools provided by Fury). They were viewed as vigilantes, but after multiple dealings with the government/military they seem to have slightly better standing.

 

[samsnee]

But then who's funding the new Shield if it's not the government? Someone has to be paying for the fuel.

 

[Eddie]

They haven't completely answered that, but much of it seems to be tied to Fury's toolbox he gave to Coulson. Basically Fury, super spy he is, had a bunch of off the books backup measures in place.

 

[starscream22]

Maybe they're secret in the since that you wont see them coming since there's countless cases of SHIELD taking on Hydra and Helicarriers falling from the sky. LOL!

Despite all that you won't be able to Google them or look them up in the yellow pages.

 

[Loki882]

I have a theory that that Marvel kind of changed their minds on SHIELD post-IM:

-SHIELD in IM comes across as a relatively new-ish organization (they don't even have an acronym yet) that's been set up specifically to deal with the "weird stuff" that's starting to pop up.

-But when we get to the other Phase One films, now SHIELD has been around in one form or another since at least WWII.

I really do think that it's simply a case of their function changing as the MCU evolved. They were intended to be one thing, in IM, and then Marvel decided to go in a different direction.

As for how "secret they are, they seem to be kind of like the CIA in that regard. Everyone knows that they exist, and they make little effort to try and hide the fact that they do. However, a lot of the general public doesn't really know how they operate/what they do. It seems like SHIELD in the MCU operates in a similar way.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I have a theory that that Marvel kind of changed their minds on SHIELD post-IM:

-SHIELD in IM comes across as a relatively new-ish organization (they don't even have an acronym yet) that's been set up specifically to deal with the "weird stuff" that's starting to pop up.

-But when we get to the other Phase One films, now SHIELD has been around in one form or another since at least WWII.

I really do think that it's simply a case of their function changing as the MCU evolved. They were intended to be one thing, in IM, and then Marvel decided to go in a different direction.

As for how "secret they are, they seem to be kind of like the CIA in that regard. Everyone knows that they exist, and they make little effort to try and hide the fact that they do. However, a lot of the general public doesn't really know how they operate/what they do. It seems like SHIELD in the MCU operates in a similar way.

Bingo. It's inconsistent, but it's not major. Marvel's brain trust just decided to go in another direction. I always thought it strange that Stark needed to be told who Fury was in the post credit scene if SHIELD had been around for a long time. HE of all people should have be aware of a government organization that not only his father dealt with but which most likely would have been a HUGE potential client of STARK INDUSTRIES.

 

[Loki882]

Well IM2 kind of tried to cover that by having Tony act surprised when Fury said that Howard was a founding member of SHIELD. Whether or not his reaction makes sense in-context, well that's another matter.

Spoiler

There are rumors that Peggy Carter will die in CW, and that the film will touch on what influence she had on Tony as well as Cap. Given her decades-long friendship/partnership with Howard, Tony knowing her would make a lot of sense. But if Tony did know her, then that makes it even more inconsistent with his reactions in IM & IM2.

 

[Best]

Tony being unaware of SHIELD prior to IM1 & the Triskellion definitely make their history/continuity a little iffy... On Tony though, let's just say he wasnt contacted by SHIELD until Fury in 2008 for whatever reason. I always shrugged that off and saw Coulson finally "revealing" the acronym to Pepper as them purposely acting underdeveloped/nobody's. And yes, they were still well-hidden at that point. The Triskellion... The cover-up story is a possibility, but a strange one. It's basically a big welcome sign to conspiracy theorists [in the MCU].

 

[Infinight888]

Am I the only one who remembers it being implied (by Skye) in the first episode of Agents of SHIELD that the general public was unaware of SHIELD prior to the Battle of New York? I'll have to rewatch it to find the lines.

As for the Triskellion, I admit I've wondered about that myself, but just assumed that they had a cover story of some sort. I don't actually remember the bottom of the building being shown, so I wouldn't be surprised if they had very legitimate-looking operations down there to dissuade suspicion.

 

[samsnee]

Bingo. It's inconsistent, but it's not major. Marvel's brain trust just decided to go in another direction. I always thought it strange that Stark needed to be told who Fury was in the post credit scene if SHIELD had been around for a long time. HE of all people should have be aware of a government organization that not only his father dealt with but which most likely would have been a HUGE potential client of STARK INDUSTRIES.

Let's be honest. How many Americans would know the head of the CIA if he just showed up at their door? Although to your point, Tony isn't like most Americans.

 

[John Locke]

Shield is a secret in the MCU. In season of AOS, most people don't know about Shield. Jane doesn't know who Shield is on Thor and Darcy's intern doesn't know who they are in the sequel.

The Triskelion doesn't make sense though. There was a glass logo in the lobby, Quinjets out in the open.