Phil Coulson

Phil Coulson
Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Comics character
Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson in the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
First appearance	Iron Man (2008)
Last appearance	"What We're Fighting For" Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2020)
Created by	Mark Fergus Hawk Ostby Art Marcum Matt Holloway
Portrayed by	Clark Gregg
In-universe information
Full name	Phillip J. Coulson[1]
Species	Human Life Model Decoy
Title	Ghost Rider
Occupation	S.H.I.E.L.D. agent S.H.I.E.L.D. director
Affiliation	S.H.I.E.L.D.
Significant others	Audrey Nathan Camilla Reyes Rosalind Price Melinda May
Nationality	American

Agent Phillip J. Coulson (/ˈkoʊlsən/ KOHL-sən) is a fictional character portrayed and voiced by Clark Gregg in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise. Coulson is depicted as a high-ranking member of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and longtime partner of Nick Fury.

During an attack on a S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier, Coulson is stabbed through the heart by Loki and the Avengers form to avenge his death. Fury later has Coulson resurrected with Kree blood to continue serving S.H.I.E.L.D., putting together a small team of agents supervised by Melinda May and coming to view one agent, Daisy Johnson, as a surrogate daughter. After rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. following its infiltration and destruction by Hydra, saving the planet, and making a deal with a demon to briefly become Ghost Rider, Coulson retires to Tahiti with May, where he dies once again.

Following the destruction of Sarge, a biological duplicate of Coulson created by a monolith and inhabited by the Inca god Pachakutiq, a Life Model Decoy (L.M.D.) of Coulson is made from a copy of his consciousness saved to a virtual reality, and Sarge's and May's genetic memories, resurrecting him again. After preventing an alternate timeline from being conquered by Chronicoms, Coulson decides to travel the world in his flying car, Lola.

Coulson was a central figure in the "Infinity Saga", appearing in five films, two television series, one digital series, and two Marvel One-Shots, most notably in The Avengers (2012) and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020). Several versions of Coulson from within the MCU multiverse also appear, notably in the live-action series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the animated series What If...? (2021), with Gregg reprising the role.

Coulson has additionally appeared in several forms of non-MCU media, being integrated into the mainstream Marvel Universe, initially modelled after Gregg and depicted as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and supporting character of Deadpool, before being redeveloped as a supervillain servant of the demon Mephisto and commander of the Squadron Supreme of America following his death and resurrection, and the main antagonist of "Heroes Reborn".