S.H.I.E.L.D.:
SLINGSHOT.

A PARTING GIFT AT THE MIDSEASON BREAK

SIX EPISODES, RELEASED ALL AT ONCE ON ABC.COM

On 6 December 2016 Slingshot was announced as a digital series arriving on ABC.com the following week. Its six episodes, each between three and six minutes, premiered together on 13 December exclusively online, on the ABC apps and ABC.com. Marvel.com and YouTube also carried the series.

The timing was deliberate. The series filled the gap while Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. took its winter hiatus after the Season 4 midseason finale, and the main show returned on 10 January 2017.

ELENA, THE ACCORDS AND A PERSONAL MISSION

WHAT YO-YO IS DOING BEFORE SEASON 4

According to the official description, Slingshot takes place shortly before the beginning of Season 4. It follows Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez, an Inhuman with super-speed, who has to sign the Sokovia Accords from Captain America: Civil War. The description sets the Accords against “a personal mission she’s desperate to fulfill,” which creates tension with S.H.I.E.L.D. team members.

Elena pursues Victor Ramon, a Colombian arms dealer responsible for her cousin’s death, and while seeking approval through proper channels she uses unauthorised methods, working under the new Director, Jeffrey Mace. The story begins with her registration, and Daisy Johnson ultimately helps her cover up her involvement at the crime scene.

A CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER BEHIND THE CAMERA

JOE QUESADA DIRECTS THE OPENER, AND EACH EPISODE HAS A DIFFERENT DIRECTOR

Marvel’s chief creative officer Joe Quesada made his directorial debut on Slingshot. Natalia Cordova-Buckley had never heard of him and was told who he was only during filming. Clark Gregg, by contrast, admired him, calling Quesada one of the:

“legendary Shaolin ninja priests”

Clark Gregg, on Joe Quesada, December 2016

Quesada directed the first episode. The series was created by ABC Studios and Marvel Television, and visual effects supervisor Mark Kolpack directed the finale. The format also served as a training ground for new directors.

A SPOTLIGHT FOR A SUPPORTING CHARACTER

NATALIA CORDOVA-BUCKLEY LEADS, WITH THE TEAM IN SUPPORT

Cordova-Buckley joined Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Season 3 as a Colombian citizen who gains super-speed through Terrigenesis, and she led Slingshot. Clark Gregg, Chloe Bennet, Jason O’Mara, Ming-Na Wen, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge and Henry Simmons also appear.

The Multiverse of Color review said Cordova-Buckley had had a few chances to shine over the series, but never as brightly as here, and that the series shows recurring and main cast members interacting in ways the main show does not. Cordova-Buckley was promoted to series regular for Season 5, announced on 5 October 2017. Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen and Jeffrey Bell said in a joint statement that she was “instantly a part of the S.H.I.E.L.D. family.”

THE REWATCH

TWO WEBBYS, AN EMMY NOMINATION AND A QUICK WATCH

Slingshot won two 2017 Webby Awards, one of them for Drama: Long Form or Series, and earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series. The Game of Nerds called it “a fun little series” and said its only problem was that it was too short.

Because it is set before Season 4 but came out at the midseason break, it works either as a prequel to that season or as a detour once the winter break arrives. In the Marvel Marathon it is catalogued as Marvel Television rather than MCU, so it appears only in the Marvel TV shows in order guide, between Luke Cage Season 1 and Legion Season 1.