Someone had to die in The Avengers. With Joss Whedon at the helm, we were expecting it and it was probably a bit early (and self-defeatist of the studios with mega-bucks-sequels awaiting) to kill off one the headline superheroes. Second time round, we're not so confident for Iron Man, Captain America et al but at least they'll make it to their encounter with Ultron. While a death was expected, Agent Phil Coulson's demise was also shocking and tragic. A firm favourite since he appeared in Iron Man, we should have known something was up as soon he began discussing his cello-playing love interest with Pepper Potts. (It's a SPOILER by the way!) His death was also spectacular; taking on the god Loki with a big-ass gun, it's something we've come to expect with Agents Of Shield on a weekly basis. But here, it was the sign of greater things to come. Talking of Agents Of Shield - a post-Avengers TV series with Coulson as the lead? How could this be possible? Well it's all down to a mysterious and horrific resurrection that audiences finally learned about in pivotal episodes 'The Magical Place' and 'T.A.H.I.T.I'. Using the DNA of a mysterious blue-skinned alien and some rather nightmarish brain scrambling machinery, Coulson was resurrected a number of days after his death. What was so ingenious about this reveal was that the essential question wasnt how he returned from his death, but why. This was one of the major steps towards the darker side of SHEILD, something Captain America: The Winter Soldier has expanded on. Why did Nick Fury resurrect a colleague who had been dead for days? Thats the question series villain the Clairvoyant and audiences are eager to learn in equal measure.