Phil Coulson

"'What kind of agent would I be? if I put my own wellbeing over the formation of a team that, according to your own testimony, saves the world.""The Avengers... That’s a legacy I can live with. Or I guess a legacy I could die for, in this case.' (Larger Than Life)"Phil Coulson is a high-ranking Agent of SHIELD, an Avenger, and a founding member of the Order of the Phoenix. He was granted the divine might of an Asgardian by the enchanted hammer Mjolnir.

Pre-2011
Phil Coulson grew up on the stories of Captain America and Peggy Carter. He was recruited into SHIELD directly out of college by Nick Fury, and attended the SHIELD Academy.

As an Agent, he worked alongside and befriended Melinda May. When May was traumatized during a mission in Bahrain in 2008, Phil helped her recover to the best of his ability.

Phil Coulson was placed in a supervisory role over Project T.A.H.I.T.I.. After initial testing, he decided the Project was inhumane, and shut it down.

He was later sent to investigate the mysterious escape of Tony Stark from the Ten Rings. He found Stark innocent of any collusion with the terrorists. But eventually, with Pepper Potts' assistance, gathered enough evidence to incriminate Obadiah Stane.

Stane was killed after resisting arrest, and Coulson helped to cover up the incident. He was present later when Tony Stark revealed his identity as Iron Man on live television.

Supervising Xavier
Coulson was once again sent to keep an eye on Stark, but was quickly called away when a mysterious object crash landed near Puente Antiguo, New Mexico. He supervised the initial studying of the object, and confiscated the resources of a group of scientists, including Jane Foster.

He was confronted by a woman named Xavier Bronze, who revealed that she had access to confidential information. He took the woman into custody, and called Maria Hill to come and assist him. The woman revealed the extrauniversal source of her knowledge.

When four aliens claiming to be figures of Norse mythology appeared, he attempted to question them. But they insisted upon meeting the woman he had taken into custody. He allowed the meeting, and watched from afar. Later, he advocated to get Xavier redesignated as a consultant. He suggested Xavier as an option for someone to send to talk to General Ross.

When he met Audrey Nathan, he remembered something Xavier had claimed previously. He confronted her, and she told him his original fate as the catalyst of the Avengers' formation. He soon had her relocated to H.O.M.E., where he read her report on her expedition to the Spirit World.

On Independence Day, he joined Xavier for a picnic to watch the Metropolis fireworks display. Xavier told him and Clint Barton of the continued existence of Hydra. Coulson was initially skeptical, as his hero Captain America had seemingly died to defeat Hydra. But Xavier persisted, and convinced him of the threat. The three founded the Order of the Phoenix, to work towards defeating Hydra and remaking SHIELD "from its own ashes".

Over the next several weeks, he recruited Maria Hill and Melinda May to the Order. He strategized with Hill several times, but never determined a reliable course of action against Hydra. They later gathered the whole Order, except Nick Fury, and Xavier gave them further information regarding the original course of events and more potential allies.

The Thunderer
When the Avengers Initiative was approved for proactive development, Coulson helped to determine the lineup, including advocating for Xavier once again. In turn, Xavier's suggestions led to Phil receiving the power of Mjolnir, the Asgardian artifact that had landed near New Mexico months prior. Now with the power to be an Avenger himself, Phil attended a party where he met Several of his potential future teammates, including Superman and John Constantine.

He practiced heavily with his new powers, and the hammer which had given them to him. When Xavier was abducted by the Ten Rings, Coulson attacked several of their bases alongside James Rhodes. After they rescued her and she told them that it wasn't the real Ten Rings, Coulson went into the field again to apprehend Aldrich Killian.

Coulson later approved an operation to fake a mugging of Thomas and Martha Wayne in order to save their lives. He also pushed Fury to approve a meeting between Xavier and the Hulk.

Abilties & Equipment
Phil Coulson is a trained SHIELD operative, and also the Asgardian God of Thunder.

Relationships
Melinda May

Audrey Nathan

Nick Fury

Xavier Bronze's SI

Thor

Captain America

See Also:
Phil Coulson, on Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki