What do you do when your little superhero movie goes on to gross more than $2 billion? You create a TV spin-off, of course! Last year’s The Avengers has given way to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is going to premiere this fall on ABC. And because Marvel Studios are clearly able to recognize genius, The Avengers‘ director Joss Whedon was put in charge of developing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. For those who don’t know, Whedon is also the brains behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dollhouse and the much beloved Firefly, so the man knows a little something about producing great TV shows.

The new Scoobies

Unfortunately, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is not going to feature any of the Avengers (probably) or Samuel L. Jackson as S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll feature in cameo roles, but probably not until Sweeps Week. Instead, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will star Agent Phil Coulson from the movies, as well as a handful of new, original characters to make up the main cast. Most of the bad guys they fight will probably be original characters too.

That’s all well and good, but a comic book geek like me wants to see real Marvel characters from the comics! The great thing about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is that it takes place in the Marvel Movieverse, in the same world as The Avengers and all those Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Hulk movies. And since it’s produced by Marvel Studios, they have nearly full access to the entire library of Marvel comics for possible characters, cameos and Easter Eggs. So here are six Marvel Comics characters who I think would be perfect for uncomplicated, licensing-approved appearances on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Before we get started, I would just like to point out that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is essentially Marvel’s version of the DC comic Gotham Central, which was about the Gotham City Police Department. Both are about a group of civilians living and working in law enforcement in a superhero world, with the actual heroes relegated to the margins. So either S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to be the closest we ever get to a Gotham Central series, or maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. will become so popular that Warner Bros. finally makes Gotham Central into a show. Nothing would make me happier.

At any rate, on with the list!

6. Daimon Hellstrom

Who is he: Hellstrom is the son of Satan and a mortal woman, who uses his fiery, demonic powers for the forces of good. Literally, Daimon is supposed to be the son of the Biblical Lucifer. And he plays up the Satanic iconography to a T, arming himself with a Hellish pitchfork and dressing in a lot of reds, yellows and oranges. Hellstrom has never been a major player, usually sticking to teams like the Defenders or the Midnight Sons, and generally jumping from good guy to bad guy depending on the story. I think he may have even inherited Hell at one point. That was probably cool.

On the show: Having Thor in the Marvel Movieverse establishes that gods exist to a certain degree, as well as mysticism and magic. So why not introduce some Christian mythology into the mix? S.H.I.E.L.D. could do an episode where the agents investigate a guy claiming to be the Son of Satan and exhibiting some strange powers. On the one hand, law enforcement would usually write him off as a crazy person, but the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would know better, and would investigate to see if his claims are legitimate. No doubt some of the characters would be skeptics, and a good writer would spend the whole episode teasing whether Hellstrom really is the son of the devil or if he just has some strange powers. Either way, I’m picturing Hellstrom as this smooth-talking ladies man who may or may not prove the existence of Hell.

5. Squirrel Girl

Who is she: Doreen Green is a happy-go-lucky teenage girl who can talk to squirrels. She’s got a few other squirrel-based powers, including a tail, and she uses them to fight crime. She’s a plucky, cheerful sort of optimist who always wants to help out and do the right thing. Squirrel Girl debuted in an issue of Iron Man in the early 90s as a joke character, but she became a fan-favorite, and these days is sort of a reserve member of the Avengers.

On the show: I think, to some extent, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to be similar to The X-Files. I imagine the agents will have to investigate strange phenomenon on an episode-by-episode basis. And what could be stranger than rumors of a teenage girl in Central Park who can talk to squirrels? Strip away the costume, the superheroics, the code name and all of the usual trappings of a comic book character, and just make Doreen a young girl who can talk to squirrels who likes to spend time in Central Park. ‘Squirrel Girl’ could be a nickname the agents give her, and maybe they have to protect her from a super-villain or something. Or maybe she’s a runaway and they help her find her family. I think Squirrel Girl would be a perfectly adorable addition to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

4. Captain Universe

Who is he: Captain Universe isn’t a ‘who’, it’s a ‘what’. The name ‘Captain Universe’ is a name that the people of Earth have given to the Uni-Power, this all-powerful universal force that travels around the galaxy helping people. The Uni-Power jumps into a person in trouble, gives them the super-powers necessary to save themselves, then jumps out to look for another person in trouble. For example, if you’re crossing the road and a truck comes barreling towards you, the Uni-Power would jump inside of you, give you the power to stop the truck, and then it would disappear, leaving you no the worse for wear. And everybody who gets the Uni-Power gets a pretty snazzy-looking costume to boot.

On the show: Captain Universe may be special effects-heavy, but considering all of the main characters are human, it’s the perfect excuse to give one of them super-powers for an episode. Maybe the agents have to investigate a series of odd claims about people surviving completely unscathed from imminent death. Could you imagine a better cold open than Captain Universe saving someone from death, then for everyone to stand around wondering what the heck just happened? And then once the agents find the Uni-Power, and once it possesses one of them, it would open them up to the entire universe. It would be an easier way to tie the show into the alien invasion from The Avengers and into the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy without actually sending them into space. Thematically, it would be like meeting God. This big, powerful, universal cosmic force takes a moment out of its day to touch the hearts and minds of the people of Earth, and one agent specifically. Imagine what that must feel like. Sounds like the perfect sort of TV drama to me!

3. Stingray

Who is he: Walter Newell is an oceongrapher who took a cue from the superhero set and designed himself a colorful costume, because who doesn’t want to make their jobs a little more fun? Newell’s Stingray suit is designed to withstand the immense pressure of the ocean depths, and allows him to swim quickly and freely through the waters. But he doesn’t just fight crime on the open seas, Stingray still works as an oceanographer, doing whatever it is they do. Stingray has been an ally of the Avengers for years, and even let them use his underwater research station as a base when they needed a place to crash.

On the show: Just like the Justice League keeps Aquaman around, an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D. could probably definitely use an underwater expert. It makes perfect sense that S.H.I.E.L.D. would have some kind of Navy, and Walter Newell could be in charge. Or maybe he could just pilot the S.H.I.E.L.D. submarine. Or maybe like Black Widow and Hawkeye, Stingray would be a full superheroic agent, one who specializes in aquatic missions.

The great thing about Stingray is that never has to be in costume. On a show like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., he could just be Walter Newell, the guy who pilots the sub, or the guy in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s aquatic division. And if that’s all he is, maybe as a running gag he could always be trying to convince S.H.I.E.L.D. brass to let him be a superhero. Maybe he’s always doodling sketches of his Stingray costume, and insisting that they give him the codename ‘Stingray’. A character like Stingray is never going to appear in the movies, so why not put him to good use as one of those reoccurring background characters who always wins the audience’s heart?

2. The Beetle

Who is he: Abner “Abe” Jenkins is a classic super-villain who designed his own suit of hi-tech armor similar to Iron Man. But Abner had a thing for bugs, so he gave his armor wings and called himself The Beetle. For years, Beetle menaced Spider-Man and many other heroes, and was always building newer, better versions of his green and purple armor. But eventually, Abner turned over a new leaf and became a superhero. He ditched the bug-theme, built a new suit of armor and started calling himself Mach I. Nowadays, Abe is still on the side of the angels, and has upgraded himself all the way up to Mach V.

On the show: Obviously, anyone in the Marvel Movieverse who makes their own suit of armor would have to be inspired by Iron Man. And that’s the perfect opening for The Beetle. Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. is trying to create their own Iron Man armor, and Abner is the lead engineer. Then there’s the fact that creepy scientist-type characters who are fascinated by bugs are a staple of genre television. So make Abner Jenkins a creepy scientist with a penchant for insects who is helping S.H.I.E.L.D. design their own Iron Man armor. But Abner is a selfish sort of guy, so he steals the armor for himself and starts committing crimes, only to be eventually thwarted by the stars of the show. There’s your episode.

Plus, if you want a multi-seasonal character arc, Abe could always eventually become a good guy and actually design a working suit of armor for S.H.I.E.L.D., calling it Mach I.

1. Daredevil

Who is he: Matt Murdock is the acrobatic, street-level vigilante known as Daredevil. Matt was blinded as a child in an accident, but that same accident heightened the rest of his senses. Now he has enhanced hearing, smell, touch and taste, and he uses them to fight muggers and other hoodlums while dressed all in red. Perhaps you’ve seen the Ben Affleck movie? Daredevil is like Batman, but redder.

In the show: The big problem facing Marvel Studios these days is that they don’t actually own the movie rights to some of their most popular characters. Marvel owns everyone in the Avengers franchise, but Fox owns the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, while Sony owns Spider-Man. That’s why we’re probably never going to see Spider-Man or Wolverine cameo in The Avengers movies. Back when Marvel got into the movie business in the late 1990s, they were just coming out of bankruptcy, so they were selling their characters’ movie rights to whichever studios wanted to buy. Then when the Spider-Man and X-Men films struck it big for Sony and Fox, Marvel quickly clamped down on the characters they had left and started making their own movies, which has paid off exceedingly well – so much so, that Fox and Sony aren’t about to give back the rights to their superheroes because they’re still huge moneymakers.

Except, apparently, for Daredevil.

The 2003 film starring Ben Affleck was produced by Fox, and is routinely viewed as one of the worst superhero films of the past 10+ years. (Not by me, I actually like it. And the director’s cut is even better). As such, Fox never made a sequel and never went through with a reboot, so the rights to Daredevil recently reverted back to Marvel. Now the executives at Marvel Studios have to figure out what they want to do with Daredevil. Should they make their own movie? Maybe give Daredevil his own TV series?

I think they should add Daredevil to the world of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I think it’s going to be a pretty safe bet that the characters on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are not going to be repelling Chitauri invasions every episode. They’re probably going to deal with street-level superhero and super-villain stuff. And Marvel has no better street-level superhero than Spider-Man, BUT, like I just said, Marvel doesn’t have the rights to Spider-Man anymore. So Daredevil is actually the next best choice, perhaps an even better choice. With Spider-Man, you’ve got a certain expectation of comedy and humor. And while I’m sure Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will have a fair amount of both, it looks to me like they’re going to take themselves mostly seriously.

Daredevil can be a dark, mysterious vigilante who is always able to stay one step ahead of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. They know he’s on their side, but maybe the S.H.I.E.L.D. brass still want the agents to take Daredevil into custody for whatever reason. Daredevil would want nothing to do with that, so he stays just out of arm’s reach. Daredevil could fill the role of reoccurring superhero, always around to lend a hand, but still making things more difficult for the stars of the show.I think Daredevil could be a strong presence on the show, and maybe even a main character in time.

Unless, somehow, they can put Spider-Man in the show. Then definitely use Spider-Man.

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I love making lists like this one. I love being creative and sharing my ideas with my readers. It’s the next best thing to actually writing for the show – though I would trade all of it in a heartbeat if I could write for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. That’s a dream job. But since that’s not about to happen, I like playing around with these kinds of creative ideas. And I’d love to hear from you guys and girls. What Marvel characters would you like to see cameo or guest star on Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D.? Who do you think could fit into that universe?