The Consultant (2011)
Set after the events of Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk,[1] Phil Coulson informs Jasper Sitwell that the World Security Council wishes for Emil Blonsky to be released from prison to join the Avengers Initiative. They see him as a war hero and blame the devastation in Harlem on Bruce Banner. The Council orders them to ask General Thaddeus Ross to release Blonsky into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. As Nick Fury does not want to release Blonsky, the two agents decide to send a patsy to sabotage the meeting. Coulson reluctantly sends "The Consultant", Tony Stark, and (as partially depicted in the post-credits scene of The Incredible Hulk) Stark approaches the disgraced Ross while he is drinking in a bar. Stark annoys Ross so much that he tries to have Stark removed from the bar, until Stark buys the bar and has it scheduled for demolition. The next day, Coulson informs Sitwell that their plan worked and Blonsky will remain in prison.
At the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel announced that The Consultant would appear exclusively on the Thor Blu-ray release on September 13, 2011. It was directed by Leythum and written by Eric Pearson, with music by Paul Oakenfold.[1] The short was filmed over 2–3 days. Clark Gregg and Maximiliano Hernández return to portray Agent Phil Coulson and Agent Jasper Sitwell, respectively, from the films.[1] They are joined via archive footage by Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / The Consultant, William Hurt as General Thaddeus Ross, and Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky in his Abomination form. Co-producer Brad Winderbaum said the producers "wanted to paint a picture of S.H.I.E.L.D. pulling the strings and being responsible for some of the events seen in the films. What better character to represent this idea than Agent Coulson, the first S.H.I.E.L.D. agent we were introduced to in the first Iron Man film?"[1] Gregg said he was told about the short film program in the same phone call that warned him Coulson would die in The Avengers. The actor noticed that the One-Shots could then provide more information on Coulson, to "build the audience's relationship [with] him" and make his death in the film more impactful. The Consultant was written after A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, due to the latter taking up 80% of the budget Marvel reserved for the two shorts, leaving a remaining budget "for two guys talking". To help with this, Pearson included Sitwell in the short, who had a minor role in Thor, and had him and Coulson "brainstorming a way to deal with this red tape bureaucratic politics of the Avengers Initiative".
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (2011)
Set before the events of Thor,[1] Phil Coulson stops at a gas station on his way to Albuquerque, New Mexico. While Coulson shops for snacks in the back of the station, two robbers enter and demand the money from the register. When the robbers ask whose car is outside, Coulson reveals himself, surrenders his keys, and offers to surrender his pistol as well. As he turns over the gun, Coulson distracts the robbers and subdues both men in seconds. He then nonchalantly pays for his snacks while advising the clerk not to mention his involvement to the police.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer was included on the Captain America: The First Avenger Blu-ray release on October 25, 2011. It was directed by Leythum and written by Eric Pearson, with music by Paul Oakenfold.[1] It was filmed over 2–3 days. The short stars Clark Gregg reprising his role as Agent Phil Coulson,[1] and served to showcase Coulson as "more than just an annoying bureaucrat" of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Item 47 (2012)
Bennie and Claire, a down-on-their-luck couple, find a discarded Chitauri gun ("Item 47") left over from the attack on New York City in The Avengers. The couple use it to rob a few banks, drawing the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D., which assigns agents Sitwell and Blake to retrieve the weapon and "neutralize" the couple. Agent Sitwell tracks the couple down to a motel room that gets wrecked in the subsequent confrontation, and the stolen money gets destroyed. Instead of killing the couple, Sitwell invites them to join S.H.I.E.L.D., with Bennie assigned to the R&D 'think-tank' to reverse engineer the Chitauri technology, and Claire becoming Blake's assistant.
Item 47 was released on The Avengers Blu-ray on September 25, 2012. The film stars Jesse Bradford and Lizzy Caplan as Bennie and Claire, respectively. The film also sees the return of Agent Sitwell, played by Maximiliano Hernández, and introduced Agent Blake, portrayed by Titus Welliver.[2] It was directed by Marvel Studios co-president Louis D'Esposito, written by Eric Pearson,[2] and features music by Christopher Lennertz. The short film, which was filmed over four days, has a runtime of 12 minutes, longer than the previous films, which were no longer than 4 minutes.[2]
Agent Carter (2013)
One year after the events of Captain America: The First Avenger,[3] Strategic Scientific Reserve Agent Peggy Carter is stuck compiling data instead of working field cases. One night, while alone in the office, the case line informs Carter of the location of the mysterious Zodiac. She is able to retrieve the Zodiac serum single-handedly. The next day, Agent John Flynn reprimands Carter for not going through the proper procedures to complete the mission. Carter explains that the mission was time-sensitive, but Flynn is unmoved, dismissing the indignant Carter as an "old flame" of Captain America's who was given her current job out of pity for her bereavement. The case line rings again, this time with Howard Stark on the other end, who tells Flynn to inform Carter that she will co-head the newly created S.H.I.E.L.D. In a mid-credit scene, Dum Dum Dugan is seen poolside with Stark, marveling at two women wearing the newly created bikinis.
Agent Carter, released on the Iron Man 3 Blu-ray release on September 24, 2013, as well as part of the digital download release on September 3, 2013, was seen as a bridge between that film and the then-upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Marvel had considered adding it to previous home media releases as well. Hayley Atwell reprises her role as Peggy Carter, along with Dominic Cooper and Neal McDonough reprising their respective roles as Howard Stark and Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan. Chris Evans appears as Steve Rogers / Captain America via archive footage. The short introduces Bradley Whitford
All Hail the King (2014)
Trevor Slattery was arrested at the end of Iron Man 3 and is now held in Seagate Prison where he is living luxuriously, with his own personal "butler", Herman, as well as a fan club of other inmates who protect him. Looking on at the attention Slattery receives is Justin Hammer, who wonders what makes him so special. Slattery has been talking with documentary filmmaker Jackson Norriss to chronicle the events of the Mandarin situation seen in Iron Man 3. Trying to learn more about him personally, Norriss recounts Slattery's past from his first casting as a child to his starring in a failed CBS pilot. Norriss eventually informs Slattery that his portrayal has angered some people, including the actual Ten Rings terrorist group, which Slattery did not know existed. Norriss tells him the history of the Mandarin and the terrorist group, before revealing that he is a member of the group. The real reason for the interview is to break Slattery out of prison so he can meet the actual Mandarin. Hearing this, Slattery still has no idea of the full ramifications of his posing as the Mandarin.
In October 2013, Ben Kingsley said he was working on a secret project with Marvel involving "many members of the crew that were involved in Iron Man 3", later revealed to be the Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King,[4] which was released on the digital download release of Thor: The Dark World on February 4, 2014, and on February 25, 2014 for the Blu-ray release. The film stars Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, reprising his role from Iron Man 3; Scoot McNairy as Jackson Norriss, a member of the Ten Rings terrorist organization posing as a documentary filmmaker;
Team Thor series (2016–18)
Team Thor is a series of direct-to-video mockumentary short films that were released from 2016 to 2018, consisting of Team Thor, Team Thor: Part 2, and Team Darryl, all written and directed by Taika Waititi. The three short films are included as special features in the MCU films' Blu-ray and digital distribution releases. The first two films follow Thor as he moves in with a new roommate, Darryl Jacobson, during the events of Captain America: Civil War, while Team Darryl sees Darryl move to Los Angeles and move in with the Grandmaster. The shorts were designed to introduce MCU fans to the irreverent tone of Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok.
