The Asset

"The Asset" is the third episode of the first season of the American television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D., it follows Phil Coulson and his team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as they investigate the kidnapping of Dr. Franklin Hall. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and acknowledges the franchise's films. The episode was written by co-showrunners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, and directed by Milan Cheylov. Clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the film series, starring alongside Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, and Elizabeth Henstridge. The episode adapts the character of Hall from the comics, portrayed by guest star Ian Hart. It features Hall's gravitational technology, powered by the fictional element gravitonium that was created for the episode by visual effects vendor FuseFX. The episode also introduces David Conrad as recurring villain Ian Quinn, with his own villainous musical theme; a variation of this theme is played on ethnic instruments to support the episode's Malta setting. "The Asset" originally aired on ABC on October 8, 2013, and was watched by 12.01 million viewers within a week. The episode received a mostly positive critical response, especially for Hart's portrayal of Hall, but the development of the main cast seen to be lacking. Plot Carrying a S.H.I.E.L.D. "asset" between classified bases, a convoy is attacked by a seemingly invisible force, with the vehicles being hurled impossibly into the air. Soldiers break into the main transport and find the asset, Dr. Franklin Hall. Aboard the Bus, the aerial headquarters for S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson and his team, Agent Grant Ward is struggling to supervise the training of the unmotivated civilian-recruit Skye. Learning of Hall's kidnapping, Coulson and his team investigate the convoy wreckage. Agents Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons discover a device, fueled by the rare element gravitonium, that alters gravity fields. The team tracks down the former owner of an excavator used by the soldiers in the attack, and trace the gold bars he was paid with back to Ian Quinn, a wealthy industrialist and philanthropist.