This contains spoilers for S.H.I.E.L.D. volume 1 #1-6 and S.H.I.E.L.D. vol 2 #1-4. Story and all dialogue by Jonathan Hickman, lettered by Todd Keith. All line art by Dustin Weaver, with colors by Christina Strain, Justin Ponsor, Sonia Oback, and Rachelle Rosenberg.

The Basics: This ain’t your Daddy’s SHIELD. No, really. Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver’s twin SHIELD miniseries fully reimagined the concept of Marvel’s superspy agency, adding millennia of history and tying it not only to some of Marvel’s most important characters, but also to some of the most influential minds to ever live. The first series was released in 2010, while the second volume began in 2011, but had its final two issues postponed.

The Cast:

Leonardo da Vinci

Isaac Newton

Michelangelo

Nostradamus

Nikola Tesla

Howard Stark

Nathaniel Richards

Leonid

Mina

• The Story So Far:

Initially formed in ancient Egypt to repel an attack by the alien Brood, the Brotherhood of the SHIELD existed to keep the end of humanity at bay. Proclaiming that “this is not how the world ends,” they faced astonishing challenges in their mission.

In 2nd century AD China, Zhang Heng convinces a pregnant Celestial not to feed her fetus the Earth, but to, instead, birth her child in the Sun, which will be able to give it the power it needs without destroying it or the planet.

In 750 AD, the Brotherhood suffers devastating losses when the Umayyad Caliphate tries and fails to create a second Earth as a backup. The loss of the generation’s greatest minds leads to the Dark Ages.

In 1490, Leonardo da Vinci and his assistants discover the Celestial Baby in the Sun. Da Vinci attempts to recruit Michelangelo into the Brotherhood, only to discover that Michelangelo is the Forever Man, who will serve the Shield many times across the coming centuries. Michelangelo expands da Vinci’s mind, and instructs him to build an Immortal city with a special doorway, the Iter, and a one-of-a-kind key. Then he gives da Vinci something called “the Human Machine.”

Da Vinci builds a Life Model Decoy to act as him for the rest of his life, then takes off in a time-traveling flying machine to the future, the Human Machine in hand.

Less than a century later, Galactus attacks. Galileo, with guidance from Michelangelo, recreates the Umayyad Caliphate’s experiment, creating the energy to feed Galactus and send him off, at considerable, but less catastrophic, cost. Galileo leads the Brotherhood to prosperity, but a new inductee, Isaac Newton, will spell disaster for the Brother and Master of Shield.

Newton is a fast learner, absorbing all that the Brotherhood has to teach him. Sensing his thirst for knowledge, Galileo sends Newton on a quest for more. It takes him to Ashomia, a city inhabited by the Deviants, grotesque offshoots of mankind created by the Celestials. The Deviants are fascinated by something in Newton’s DNA and force him to breed with a Deviant woman. Allowed to live with the Deviants, Newton learned of, and stole, sacred alien texts, which he came to call “the Hidden Knowledge.” This theft made the Deviants turn on the Deviant woman, Morda, who had given birth to Newton’s child. Michelangelo saved the child from certain death, but couldn’t save his mother or promise her that the child would be kept from his biological father. Michelangelo took him to a place called the Sinkhole. There, the baby, named Leonid, turned an ethereal bird there into Mina, a woman who would raise the child.

Newton became obsessed with the 5-Fold Understanding: “the Greater Science” of the Brotherhood and “the Hidden Knowledge” of the Deviants were the first two. The third was the discovery of “the Secret Alchemy,” the Infinity Formula, granting eternal life. This is followed by “the Quiet Math,” a means to predict when the world ends, in the year 2060. The last, “the Silent Truth,” is that the ending of the world, if predictable, means a fatalistic embrace of predestination. The path is set. “This is not how the world ends,” because that is a known quantity, not because the Brotherhood refuses to accept any end.

With this, and his penchant for murdering any who stand in his way--including Galileo--Newton ascends to the rank of Master of the Brotherhood. Michelangelo witnesses his murder of Galileo, showing his displeasure but disappearing before Newton can lash out at him.

Newton then sets his sights on Nostradamus, who he believes will have a prediction that will be pertinent to his “Silent Truth.” But Michelangelo visits him first and convinces him to stay strong and keep the faith, that his sacrifice will help save the world. Newton, after growing tired of the pretext of a respectful arrangement with Nostradamus, kidnaps the prophet and locks him up in the Immortal City. Newton gets Nostradamus hooked on the Infinity Formula and uses the addiction to further control him.

Also extending his own life with the Infinity Formula and using his control of it to influence the rest of the leadership, Newton subverted the core values of the Brotherhood and ruled, largely unchallenged, for centuries.

Click here for part 2