Michael Peterson

## Character

"*Coulson said to bring you in."
"You can access my hardware and watch my every move. Go ahead. I will only be making amends for my actions."
"Whatever you did, you did it for Ace."
"And what I do now, that will be for him too.*"
—Skye and Deathlok[src]

**Michael "Mike" Peterson**, better known as **Deathlok**, is a character on Marvel's *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.*. He first appears in the first episode of the first season of *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.*. He is portrayed by guest star J. August Richards.

## Biography

### Early Life

Michael Peterson was a family man who lived with his wife and his son Ace while working in a factory. After a back injury that made him lose his job, his wife abandoned him and left him alone with his son.

#### The Centipede

During his rehabilitation he was approached by Raina, who represented an organization that created a treatment that could restore his health and put him back to work.

Raina introduced Peterson to a doctor known as Debbie. Debbie treated Peterson with the Centipede Serum, which utilized, among other things, unstable Extremis technology. A side-effect of the treatment was Peterson's development of super-powers, including strength and durability.

Peterson was out with his son Ace, looking at Avengers toys when Debbie's lab was destroyed by the detonation of another Centipede user. Peterson left Ace with a friend and ran to help. Using his incredible strength he was able to climb up the outside of the burning building. He made his way into the lab where he found Debbie unconscious and leapt out of the building with her in his arms. The fall did not damage his body and he managed to save Debbie before escaping and reuniting with Ace. This action was observed and recorded by Skye, who was investigating Centipede for the Rising Tide. Skye posted her video online, giving Peterson an unwanted celebrity status, as he only desired to find work and raise his son in peace.

Peterson was later tracked down by Skye who met him in at Ruthie's Skillet while Peterson looked for a job, at first he was confused by her appearance until she revealed she knew he was the "Hooded Hero". She led him to believe that he was in danger from S.H.I.E.L.D. and tried to convince him that she could help him by revealing his identity online and become a true superhero. He was unconvinced and left, unaware that Skye had stolen his I.D.. Soon afterwards, Peterson's condition began to deteriorate, both mentally and physically, due to the Extremis in his veins.

In desperation, Peterson returned to his former workplace, hoping to regain his old position. After being rebuffed, he attacked his old manager, putting him in the hospital. He then visited Debbie in the hospital, who pretended to be pleased to see her rescuer until the nurse left the room. Debbie then confronted him over exposing the organisation and convinced him that he needed to disappear, as the people behind Centipede did not want to be exposed. As Peterson left the room, he told her that he was having his origin story before jumping out the window.

Peterson's condition from the Centipede soon grew critical. However, he was still convinced that he needed to try to rebuild his life. He took his son and broke into Skye's Van, ordering her to take him to the nearest train station. After Skye deleted all record of his existence, Peterson soon discovered that she was working with S.H.I.E.L.D., and escaped into the station. He was confronted by Agent Phil Coulson who tried to talk him down, before being shot by Agent Grant Ward with the Night-Night Gun, which tranquilized him with a curative agent created by Agent Jemma Simmons, saving his life.

He was then taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. protective custody for rehabilitation, and his son taken to live with Mike's sister Mindy during his recovery.

#### Fighting Back

After recovering, Peterson decided to make up for his actions by working for S.H.I.E.L.D. He was trained along with the other cadets, but his superior strength gave him a massive advantage. He trained by pushing entire fork-lift-trucks across football fields, his main aim being to beat Captain America's record time.

Eventually Agent Phil Coulson asked for his help to help bring down the organization that gave him his powers: the Centipede Project. He happily agreed and joined the team on the Bus, expressing his desire to make up for his earlier run-in with the team and assuring them that his Extremis rage was subdued and he was no longer a danger. While on the Bus, there were some hostile feelings towards him from some members of the team, mainly Grant Ward and Melinda May, both of whom he had attacked when they tried to subdue him.

However after being outfitted with a Tactical Suit by Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons and helping Coulson and the team attack one of Centipede's bases he earned the group's trust. During the mission Peterson was seriously injured when a Centipede Soldier stabbed him in the side, he was able to survive the attack and returned to the Bus with the rest of the team. While back on the Bus, Peterson thought about joining S.H.I.E.L.D. full time, afraid to return to his son after he had seen his rage at the train station, but Phil Coulson assured him his son would think no different of him and told him to think on his decision.

#### The Bridge

Peterson took on Coulson's advice and phoned his son Ace to tell him he was busy working but would return home soon, only to have Raina, who had somehow found Ace's location, threaten to kill him if Peterson did not trade Phil Coulson for Ace; however, she did not explain why they wanted Coulson. With no choice, Peterson was forced to trick Coulson's Team into thinking Centipede wanted him.

Peterson and Phil Coulson arrived at a bridge and spoke to Raina, with Coulson's Team standing back ready. It was quickly revealed that the deal was for Coulson and not Peterson. When the exchange started, Peterson attempted to break off the deal by threatening Raina's life but she assured him that her employer did not care if she lived or died, and if she was killed then his son would die a horrific death. Coulson told Peterson it was okay, understanding that he had no other choice. Peterson tried to question how he could ever look his son in the eye again, but Coulson continued to reassure him, with Coulson agreeing to the transfer, Ace was freed from Centipede and reunited with Peterson.

After ensuring his son was okay and getting him to safety by leaving him with Skye, Peterson told him that he loved him and made a desperate attempt to redeem himself by going back to rescue Coulson alone. However before he could get to them, Raina and her men had the bridge explode with Peterson caught in the middle of the fireball, brutally burning him and destroying his right leg, leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. and his son believing that he had been killed, despite his body not being found.

### Deathlok

Peterson managed to survive the blast, and was ultimately recovered by Centipede Project agents, badly burned, missing his right leg, and implanted with a monitoring ocular implant similar to Akela Amador's Backscatter X-Ray Eye Implant. He woke up in a mysterious room alone, seeing his terrible injuries. He called out for help. When he looked in the mirror a message appeared from the Clairvoyant telling him to wait for further instructions; Peterson stared in horror realizing his fate.

Now under the thrall of the Clairvoyant, Peterson was ordered into the service of Ian Quinn, who arranged to have Peterson's destroyed right leg replaced with a Cybertek Prosthetic Leg (labeled "**Project: Deathlok**") designed by Cybertek Industries at a cost of $10 million. Peterson was kept in a Hyperbaric Chamber until he was discovered by Skye. Before Skye could rescue him, she was captured by Quinn's men. Peterson was awakened and given his new Cybernetic Leg. Although Skye tried to speak to him and convince him to leave, he ignored her, knowing he could not leave without endangering Ace. Quinn asked Peterson if he would kill Skye for him, to which Peterson told him those were not his orders; he had other people to kill, and promptly left.

The Clairvoyant ordered Peterson to kill the Cybertek representatives as he blamed them for leading S.H.I.E.L.D. to his location. When Peterson stepped into the room where the representatives were, he first grabbed Sofia by the neck, telling her that the Clairvoyant was unhappy that they had led S.H.I.E.L.D. to their location; the guards drew their guns ready for a fight. Peterson then broke her neck before killing the others with ease, breaking their necks and throwing them out of the windows. After he had killed them all, he was ordered to exit the scene without engaging the just-arriving S.H.I.E.L.D. team, who had come to arrest Quinn after he had shot Skye. Peterson left Ian Quinn's Villa without S.H.I.E.L.D.'s knowledge.

Having escaped the facility before being captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., Peterson made his way to a children's park and hid in the bushes to hide his burnt face, watching the children play and thinking back to his own family. He wrote a note on a piece of paper asking his handlers if it were possible for him to see his son, and received a message telling him "Not yet". Devastated by the rejection, Peterson crushed the piece of paper and dropped it beside his new Cybertek Prosthetic Leg and continued to watch the children.

#### Serving The Clairvoyant

After receiving further cybernetic enhancements, the Clairvoyant later ordered Peterson to feign an attack on John Garrett and his partner Antoine Triplett in Sydney, Australia. Peterson stormed into the safehouse and was able to absorb the power of two shots from a Taser Projectile Launcher as well as a shot to his head with an I.C.E.R.. However as both agents aimed their guns at him, Peterson jumped through the roof and made his escape, leaving his targets in a state of shock.

Following that encounter, Peterson returned to the his secret base and examined the wound on his forehead caused by a shot from the I.C.E.R. fired by Antoine Triplett, which exposed a metal plate under Peterson's skin. As he looked at the wound, Peterson heard a knock at the door and was then given the Forearm Rocket Launcher from the Clairvoyant. As he put it on his arm it caused him great pain as it drilled and fused itself onto his body. Peterson then recieved a message on his eyepiece and was told that it was time for him to meet the Clairvoyant.

Peterson was then sent to the Tranquility Bridge Assisted Living home in Macon, Georgia to convince Agents Melinda May and Felix Blake that Thomas Nash was the Clairvoyant. Peterson snuck up on Blake and threw him across the room; Blake recovered from the impact and fired six shots at Peterson, which he survived due to his armour. During his fight, Agent Blake tried to convince Peterson to stop, reminding him that he had a son, Ace. Peterson told Blake that Mike Peterson was dead and threw Blake onto the ground before crushing his chest with his prosthetic leg, putting Blake in critical condition. He then attempted to take out May by firing a rocket at her; however, he was forced to leave and eventually lead Coulson and the others to Nash due to the Tag Rounds that were planted on him by Blake.

All along, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent John Garrett was the true Clairvoyant. After he established a base in Havana, Cuba, he sent Grant Ward to retrieve the necessary pass codes to access a hard drive with the research that had been done on GH.325 that Skye had encrypted. Deathlok tailed Ward and was forced to assist him when Skye attempted to escape in Los Angeles. As Skye got into a car to drive away, Deathlok leapt into the air and landed on the car, forcing her to stop.

#### Questioning Skye

Deathlok and Grant Ward took Skye back to the Bus and demanded to know how to unlock the hard-drive. When it became clear that Skye would never answer when Ward asked as she was still furious about his betrayal, the Clairvoyant ordered Deathlok to try a different tactic and used a device to give Ward a heart attack. He gave Skye a choice, either unlock the drive or watch Ward suffer a slow a painful death. Skye chose to save Ward and agreed to unlock the drive by having to Bus fly to a certain altitude. Deathlok restarted Ward's heart and continued the mission.

Later when Phil Coulson infiltrated the Bus to rescue Skye, he was unaware that Deathlok was also aboard. They made a desperate attempt to escape by jumping into Lola. Deathlok and Ward fired upon them as they jumped into Lola. Coulson was able to use Lola's machine guns to defend them and drove the car off the Bus just as Deathlok fired a missile at them, they escaped and managed to survive the fall.

#### Motivation

When Ian Quinn needed a demonstration to show the effectiveness of the Deathlok Soldiers, Deathlok was sent to Bogotá, Colombia to kill drug lord Alejandro Castillo. He decapitated him.

Later, Peterson approached Raina and confronted over her motives for working with John Garrett and kidnapping his son. He explaining to her that he feared for his life and that of his son, Ace, whose pictures were being used by Garrett as a reward for Peterson's continued cooperation. Raina told him she was simply following orders like him, Peterson then questioned if she also had a bomb in her head ready to kill her if she disobeyed. She explained she was there for enhanced people, looking to study them, including Skye with whom she believed she shared DNA.

#### Redemption

Deathlok stayed constantly by John Garrett's side as Garrett killed General Jacobs in the Cybertek Manufacturing Facility. When Coulson's team attacked the base, Deathlok swore he would not leave Garrett's side, to which Garrett mockingly said loved him too. Phil Coulson eventually reached Garrett and attacked. Coulson and Nick Fury fired shots at Garrett and his Centipede Soldiers, to no true avail. Garrett ordered Deathlok to take aim at Coulson and Fury.

Unknown to Garrett, Skye had become Peterson's new handler, having captured Kyle Zeller and overriding the computer systems. Ultimately, Skye found and freed Ace and assured Peterson that the Backscatter X-Ray Eye Implant would not be used against him. Deathlok responded by shooting Garrett with his Forearm Rocket Launcher. Despite Garrett's desperate pleas for Deathlok to stop, Peterson ignored him and stomped him to death with his prosthetic leg.

As the last of Garrett's HYDRA Soldiers were arrested and Ace was reunited with his aunt Mindy, Peterson watched from afar with Skye, too ashamed to approach. When Skye asked him to join Coulson's Team, he declined, deciding that he wanted redemption before developing a relationship with anyone. He told her that they were welcome to hack into his cybernetic implants and track his every move, because all he would be doing would be making amends for his past actions. With this he left.

### The Second S.H.I.E.L.D.

#### Upgrades

Peterson was given upgrades to his arsenal designed by Jemma Simmons, including his EMP Launcher.

#### Chasing List

Peterson accepted Phil Coulson's invitation to join S.H.I.E.L.D. as an agent with Coulson as its director. Coulson then sent Peterson overseas in pursuit of the HYDRA scientist, List, which Peterson did for six months. During this time, he discovered List's intent of hunting down powered people and experimenting on them.

#### Backup

Phil Coulson, with an intent to capture a Quinjet, called Peterson to meet him at the Retreat. While waiting, Coulson alerted Robert Gonzales' faction of S.H.I.E.L.D. to his presence there, and they responded with several teams of agents. However, Peterson was unable to arrive before Coulson and his ally, Lance Hunter, were captured. Before they could be taken to the Playground, Peterson intercepted them and freed Coulson and Hunter, disabling a Quinjet and taking over another. Peterson piloted the Quinjet to Coulson's intended destination: Grant Ward.

#### Building the Team

Alongside Coulson and Hunter, Peterson set up a plan to rescue Leo Fitz in San Francisco with their Quinjet. When Fitz knew he being followed by Robert Gonzales' soldiers, Fitz ran as fast as possible onto a roof where Peterson was waiting in the Quinjet. The Quinjet was cloaked so it appeared invisible to the enemy soldiers who proceeded to run straight into it. As they took off, Peterson greeted his old friend who asked about Peterson's upgrades before Coulson informed Fitz of their plan to recruit Grant Ward.

The team then travelled to Tijuana to recruit Ward and Agent 33. Peterson went in first and held 33 hostage, Coulson then took her phone and ordered Ward to come for a meeting. While they waited, Peterson asked 33 about the Photostatic Veil she wore to hide her own facial scars. When Ward arrived, Peterson greeted him and using his x-ray vision, located all the weapons he was carrying and ordered him to set down the knives and guns. Ward then had a meeting with Phil Coulson while Peterson kept watch, Coulson offered to erase Ward's memories to help him build a new life if he helped them on this mission to infiltrate HYDRA and locate Skye, Ward agreed.

Ward revealed that he and Agent 33 had successfully brainwashed Sunil Bakshi, and they would use him to gain access to the high ranking members of HYDRA. Peterson was able to pose as Bakshi's bodyguard to attend a meeting between Bakshi and Dr. List. During List and Bakshi's conversation, Peterson quietly listened while his eye-piece allowed Coulson and the team to watch closely. Eventually Bakshi revealed that he intended to trade Peterson to List to be used for his experiments, in exchange for a meeting with Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, Peterson readied his weapons for a fight for freedom, but was ordered by Coulson to play along.

List was informed of the location of a group of powered individuals, and before they went to meet Strucker, List sent Bakshi, Deathlok and a team of HYDRA soldiers to capture the individuals. While the soldiers fought Calvin Zabo and Skye, Phil Coulson, Lance Hunter, Agent 33 and Grant Ward attacked the base at the same time. While still attacking as though he was working for HYDRA, Peterson encountered Lincoln Campbell, who used electricity powers to shock Peterson, using the power to levitate Peterson. While they lay injured together, Coulson and Ward came to their aid but Peterson ordered them to go after Skye. Peterson and Campbell were then captured by HYDRA.

#### Captured by HYDRA

Peterson awoke in a cell which all his weapons deactivated. When Lincoln Campbell awoke in the cell next to him, Peterson explained the situation to him and introduced himself. Campbell asked if Peterson could use his weapons to help them escape but Peterson assured him that his weapons had been deactivated, leaving them helpless. Peterson asked if Campbell's friend the teleporter could help them escape, but Campbell told him it would be far too dangerous and could endanger his people. Seeing that the two were more or less helpless, Campbell introduced himself. Shortly afterward the pair were gassed and knocked out, ready for experimentation.

After being taken away by the HYDRA scientist Doctor List, Peterson was forced to endure terrible torture during HYDRA's experiments, beginning with removing his eye and dismantling his cybernetic leg. After hours of experiments, Peterson was returned to his cell, only to be found by Phil Coulson's team including Skye and Jemma Simmons. Peterson sent Skye to save Lincoln Campbell while Simmons and Grant Ward tended to his injuries. He was taken back to the Playground where he, Leo Fitz and Simmons discussed repairing his destroyed cybernetic parts.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Artificially Enhanced Physiology**: Due to use of the Centipede Device, a blood-filtering device made of Chitauri metal that delivers a combination of Extremis, Gamma Radiation, and elements of the Super Soldier Serum into his system, Michael Peterson has come to possess various superhuman abilities.
	+ **Superhuman Strength**: Peterson possesses strength that is greater than a normal human. He can lift much heavier objects that cannot be moved otherwise without use of machinery and overpower normal humans and send them flying about tens of feet away. With his strength, he can tear apart any solid objects like concrete with ease. In addition, his strength extends into his leg muscles as he is able to leap great distances, improved even more with a cybernetic leg.
	+ **Superhuman Speed**: Peterson is able to move at great speeds thanks to both his physiological improvements and his cybernetic leg. He managed to outrun from a full S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical team, leading them to Thomas Nash under orders of the real Clairvoyant.
	+ **Superhuman Durability**: Before his transformation into a cyborg, Peterson could withstand physical damage much greater than a normal human, withstanding a fall from a building and the fall from the higher level of Union Station down to the ground level. Once he was outfitted with internal prosthesis, he managed to fully withstand shots from different weapons, including common and heavy firearms, a Taser Projectile Launcher and an I.C.E.R.
	+ **Regenerative Healing Factor**: Peterson was able to heal his injuries much faster than a normal human being, as evidenced when he took a shot from a shotgun but showed no significant damage upon getting up. However, he was unable to regenerate the missing leg that he lost in an explosion or the facial scars he suffered from burning, needing treatment inside an Hyperbaric Chamber to heal those wounds.
* **Enhanced Vision**: Thanks to the Backscatter X-Ray Eye Implant he possesses, Deathlok is capable of seeing through solid objects, which also allowed him to see in the darkness as a form of night-vision. His vision was later upgraded to include a targeting system, thermal vision, and a visual output to his audio scanner. It can also see through a Photostatic Veil.

### Abilities

* **Combatant**: During his months as a S.H.I.E.L.D. trainee, Peterson was taught basic combat skills to take advantage of his strength, and he managed to overpower skilled Centipede Soldier Brian Hayward despite having been injured. As Deathlok, his fighting style changed to take advantage of his immense strength and durability, often breaking his enemies' necks or stomping them with his bionic leg.
* **Pilot**: Upon rescuing Phil Coulson and Lance Hunter from Gonzales' S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Deathlok captured and flew a Quinjet after downloading instructions and the plane's schematics.

## Appearances

	+ *Season One*
		- *Pilot*
		- *Repairs* (mentioned)
		- *The Bridge*
		- *The Magical Place*
		- *T.R.A.C.K.S.*
		- *Yes Men* (mentioned)
		- *End of the Beginning*
		- *Turn, Turn, Turn* (mentioned)
		- *Nothing Personal*
		- *Ragtag*
		- *Beginning of the End*
	+ *Season Two*
		- *One of Us* (mentioned)
		- *Afterlife*
		- *Melinda* (computerscreen/mentioned)
		- *The Frenemy of My Enemy*
		- *The Dirty Half Dozen*
		- *Scars* (mentioned)

## Trivia

* In the comics, Mike Peterson is an unrelated character that was the best friend of Slapstick.
* Michael Peterson shares the first name and many traits with the Michael Collins version of Deathlok in the comics. On the other hand, the Henry Hayes version of Deathlok was inspired by Michael Peterson.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.01: Pilot*
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.10: The Bridge*
3. ↑ *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.11: The Magical Place*
4. ↑ *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.13: T.R.A.C.K.S.*
5. ↑ *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.16: End of the Beginning*
6. ↑ *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.17: Turn, Turn, Turn*
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.20: Nothing Personal*
8. ↑ *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.21: Ragtag*
9. ↑ *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.22: Beginning of the End*
10. ↑ *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.17: Melinda*
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.16: Afterlife*
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.18: The Frenemy of My Enemy*
13. ↑ *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.19: The Dirty Half Dozen*
14. ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Jeffrey Bell Talks Mike Peterson, Iron Man Connections & Coulson’s Cellist