What Is Zodiac? Marvel's Forgotten Super-Team, Explained
All the info you need about the MCU's mysterious new spy thriller show.
At this point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are a lot of heroes. That’s not a complaint — it’s through this massive roster that we got all those epic team-up moments in Avengers: Endgame and a five-hour livestream announcing the cast of Avengers: Doomsday. But not everyone can be an official member of the Avengers. What do you do with the rest? The MCU may have found an answer with Zodiac, an upcoming spy thriller announced at New York Comic-Con.
While we may not know much about this show so far, the term has a long history in Marvel comics that may be the perfect answer.
A Brief Comics History of Zodiac
There have actually been multiple versions of the Zodiac, originally called the “Zodiac Cartel,” in Marvel comics. The first, debuting in 1970, were a group of humans founded by Cornelius Van Lunt, and while none of the characters had superpowers, they sought the Zodiac Key, which gave the owner the ability to fire energy blasts and teleport. They actually managed to capture the Avengers, but their plans were foiled when Scorpio revealed he was actually Nick Fury in disguise, and the first, original Scorpio was actually his brother, Jake Fury, in disguise.
The second iteration of Zodiac is where things really go off the rails. Scorpio is revived using the Zodiac Key, and he replicates the rest of the team as androids, who are they conquered by yet another version of Zodiac androids. These androids wreak havoc both for the Avengers and the few remaining androids, but are able to be defeated eventually. The third version appeared only briefly a few years later, as a victim of Weapon X.
The latest version is known as the Great Wheel, a short-lived group of spymasters assembled in 1961 by a time-traveling Leonardo Da Vinci. These characters would perform mission Da Vinci assigned, and would in return get advantages in their own personal struggles. There were representatives from all across the Marvel universe, including Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, and Jonathan Garrett from S.H.I.E.L.D. but also representatives from Hydra and Leviathan.
The time-traveling Leonardo da Vinci was actually a mechanical decoy with all of the real da Vinci’s memories.
What Could The Show Be About?
It may be the silliest iteration, but it does seem like the last version has the most promise as a Marvel show. Heroes we’ve already seen could be redirected to this spy group, giving their characters a new lease on life. Maybe that’s why we’ve seen Clark Gregg post about this new show — perhaps it has some ties to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
With the sheer amount of characters appearing in Doomsday, it would make sense to have more heroes appear on TV. In fact, in the same panel where Zodiac was announced, it was also announced that the Defenders would be reunited in Daredevil: Born Again Season 3, so clearly ensemble TV is a priority in this era of Marvel. But after the middling performance of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the flop that was Secret Invasion, will the third crack at the MCU spy thriller actually find its footing?
