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Marketing was an after-thought when Marvel made the simple announcement that the studio鈥檚 universe would be coming to television in the form of under writer/director Joss Whedon鈥檚 guidance. With a billion-dollar team-up in the bag and a host of 鈥楶hase Two鈥� films in production, the TV series would turn its gaze upon the men and women of S.H.I.E.L.D. with (Clark Gregg) in the leading role.

Creating an ABC series based on Marvel鈥檚 movie universe was never going to be flawless, even with creators at the helm, but Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. certainly looks to be heading somewhere worthwhile.

It was no surprise when a TV series became part of Whedon鈥檚 appointment as , trading cancelled shows like Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse for a heavily-marketed tie-in to The Avengers fiction. But for fans hoping to see some of Whedon鈥檚 risk-taking, or the darker themes set to appear in Marvel鈥檚 鈥楶hase Two鈥� films, neither will be found here.

What audiences will get is a look at S.H.I.E.L.D. in the wake of the Battle of New York, working to track down unidentified superhumans, and . A still very-much-alive Agent Coulson joins forces with to welcome the chip-on-his-shoulder onto the agency鈥檚 upper echelon. Rounding out the team is along with tech experts Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Jenna Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge)

The team鈥檚 investigations bring them face to face with a world now aware of their existence, embodied in the Internet sleuth/blogger/activist Skye (Chloe Bennet). Fighting to prove that human beings can still matter in a world populated with god-like heroes and super-soldiers, the team work to keep super-humans on the side of good 鈥� or stop before they can do any harm. At least, that鈥檚 the pitch; the first episode has enough on its plate without having to show how an alien invasion would actually affect people, avoiding the issue for now.

Although the show鈥檚 filming style is almost indiscernible from any of ABC鈥檚 higher-budget programming, and many of the characters fall cleanly into generic stereotypes to begin with, the actors bring enough to their roles to get by. There are some exceptions that might pull fans out of the story 鈥� Cobie Smulders seems more at home as Nick Fury鈥檚 second-in-command than an administrator 鈥� but with the plot driving events for the most part, more development is needed to see how the pieces fit together.

In hindsight, bringing viewers into the inner working of S.H.I.E.L.D. through the eyes of a new recruit could have allowed Coulson to retain his usual position in the story, but with Ward far too generic a caricature to pull off that responsibility (thus far), no character truly sets themselves apart as the 鈥榣ead.鈥� Fan sentiment would imply Coulson will step up, but it seems the cast will be righting themselves on one massive see-saw in the show鈥檚 first episodes.

The core issue that diehard fans of Marvel鈥檚 Avengers universe will be unable to overlook is the fact that, to this point, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been depicted as the most secretive, most elite (and potentially morally ambiguous) government organization around. As Coulson explains in the first episode, even the Avengers aren鈥檛 granted access to 鈥楲evel 7鈥� information; a clever means of removing them from the show, but implying that the no-nonsense team will be dealing with threats too explosive for outside assistance.

Yet in the first episode, that isn鈥檛 what audiences get. Instead of stone-faced, elite secret agents whom viewers would trust to do the Avengers鈥� legwork, the cast is filled with quirky, quippy, and shockingly youthful agents. The cast still proves their value in their respective fields 鈥� with Ming Na and Brett Dalton鈥檚 characters promising seriousness in future proceedings 鈥� but the overall tone (and the show鈥檚 closing moments in particular) oscillates as much as any Marvel film so far.

It鈥檚 not hard to understand that decision, since the chuckle-per-scene humor and levity is a clear . The downside is that the lighter tone makes the brief instances of violence 鈥� one of which comes early in the episode 鈥� may be jarring to younger viewers, with widespread humor diminishing the singular humor that made Agent Coulson a hit in the first place.

As we鈥檝e reiterated, the first episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had more foundation to lay than most feature films, so it鈥檚 not surprising that the overall product is somewhat uneven. Still, Joss Whedon鈥檚 talent for constructing ensemble casts out of distinct personalities is here in full force, promising a worthwhile story in each character鈥檚 future. At the end of the day, there鈥檚 enough comic book mythology to pique Marvel fans鈥� curiosity; enough of Coulson鈥檚 humor to keep his (and Firefly) fans happy; enough scientific quirk and minutia to give elements of Dollhouse a second life, and an overall Disney feeling that will send the show to the top of any family鈥檚 weekly viewing.

Andrew Dyce blogs at .