Daisy Johnson

Daisy Louise Johnson, also known as Quake and Skye, is a fictional superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Gabriele Dell'Otto, the character first appeared in Secret War #2 (July 2004). The daughter of the supervillain Mister Hyde, she is a secret agent of the intelligence organization S.H.I.E.L.D. with the power to generate earthquakes. In the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Chloe Bennet portrays the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the character, reimagining her as an Inhuman originally known as Skye. Aspects of this interpretation were later integrated back into the comics.

Publication history

A member of the international espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., she was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Gabriele Dell'Otto, and first appeared in Secret War #2 (July 2004). During Secret Invasion, she joins Nick Fury's Secret Warriors under the codename Quake.

Her look was modeled after actress Angelina Jolie in the film Hackers.^[4]

Daisy Johnson appeared as a supporting character in the 2010-2013 Avengers series, from issue #19 (January 2012) through its final issue #34 (January 2013).

Fictional character biography

Johnson, a superhuman with seismic (earthquake-producing) powers, is the illegitimate daughter of Calvin Zabo, the supervillain known as Mister Hyde. Taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D., she is under the careful eye of its longtime executive director, Nick Fury, even after the latter's defection from the agency during the events of the Secret War series. Daisy herself was a participant in this incident, where Fury used trickery, lies and outright brainwashing in order to secure a superhero team to overthrow the legitimate government of Latveria. This later resulted in a terror attack on American soil; Daisy destroys the cyborg leader.^[5] She possesses a "Level 10" security clearance, the only known agent aside from Fury and the Black Widow (Natasha Romanova) to do so.

In her most visible action, Johnson has helped to defeat the powerful mutant leader Magneto by inducing a vibration in his brain that made him lose consciousness. This was during a three-way confrontation with the X-Men, Avengers and the "Collective" - a powered being carrying thousands of mutant energy signatures. Daisy states in this appearance that if she were to join the superhero team the Avengers, she would adopt the moniker "Quake".^[6]

The Avengers had splintered due to the events of Civil War, and she is later seen reunited with Nick Fury, in disguise, who gives her new orders to recruit the descendants of various villains and heroes in order to assist him with the threat against the Skrulls in their Secret Invasion.^[7] Taking on the name Quake, she and her teammates attack the Skrulls during their invasion of Manhattan.^[8] The team becomes a part of Fury's Secret Warriors, with Daisy acting as field leader of the Caterpillars.

While investigating Norman Osborn's escape from the Raft, Johnson is drafted by Captain America into the Avengers under her superhero name Quake. She is tasked with tracking down how Osborn appeared via hologram in the middle of a supposedly secure press conference.^[9] Daisy takes over as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. when Nick Fury fully retires and his son joins as an agent.^[10] Maria Hill is the Acting Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.,^[11][12] while Johnson is still considered Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.^[13] Johnson was indefinitely suspended after launching an unsanctioned operation to assassinate Andrew Forson, the Scientist Supreme, leader of the supposedly legitimate A.I.M. Island. Hill is promoted to Director in her place.^[14]

In the S.H.I.E.L.D. series, Daisy later reveals to her father that she has uncovered the origin of her abilities: she is an Inhuman whose genetic abilities were activated by her father's unstable DNA. The nickname "Skye", Daisy's original name from the show, is also introduced to comics as Coulson's affectionate name for her.^[15]

Powers and abilities

Daisy generates powerful waves of vibrations which can produce effects resembling those of earthquakes. She is immune to any harmful effects of the vibrations. She also has or was given a form of psychic shielding.

She's also a superb hand-to-hand combatant, skilled all-around athlete, and excellent marksman. She was a leading espionage agent, adept at undercover assignments.

Her training under Fury enables her to target her seismic waves with pinpoint accuracy, causing targeted objects to vibrate themselves apart, from the inside out. This is shown in her being able to prevent the detonation of an antimatter bomb implanted in the body of Lucia von Bardas by destroying its power supply, and exploding the heart of Wolverine while in his chest, to halt an enraged attack on S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury.

Other versions

During the "Age of Ultron" storyline (which took place in an alternate reality where Ultron nearly annihilated the human race), Daisy Johnson is among the superheroes in the resistance against Ultron.^[16]

Quake has appeared alongside Tigra, Wonder Man, and The Vision in the Ultimate line of comics.^[17] It is later revealed that prior to becoming Quake, Daisy Johnson was a S.H.I.E.L.D. cadet who was discharged from the organization after fighting back against an attempted sexual assault from a superior. She was then approached by Nick Fury, who offered her superpowers in exchange for joining his West Coast Ultimates. The project was shut down and later reactivated by a corrupt California governor who sent them after the Ultimates.^[18] Quake decided to surrender for the greater good and tell President Steve Rogers the whole plan, who managed to put an end to it along with the rest of the Ultimates.^[19]

In other media

Chloe Bennet as Daisy "Skye" Johnson from the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Television

• Daisy Johnson appears in the animated series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes,^[20] voiced by Lacey Chabert. The character works for Nick Fury, and appears in the episodes "Who Do You Trust?" and "Avengers Assemble".
• Chloe Bennet appears as a series regular in the live-action series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. playing a character called Skye, a computer hacker recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. by Phil Coulson. In the show's second season, the character's birth name is revealed to be Daisy Johnson. Executive producer Maurissa Tancharoen confirmed the character is an adaptation of Daisy Johnson, as well as an Inhuman.^[21] On making Daisy an Inhuman for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, executive producer Jed Whedon said, "We’ve created a different origin for her... We merged those two ideas together also because there are such rabid fans out there that if we stick to original story points from the comics, they will smell story points from miles away. Those two factors led us to coming up with a different notion of how she got her powers."^[22]

Video games

• Quake is a playable character in the online Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
• Quake is a playable character in Marvel: Future Fight; her Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D look is included as an alternate costume.^[23]

See also

• List of S.H.I.E.L.D. members

References

External links

• Daisy Johnson at Marvel.com