Melinda May

*"You two have been through a lot. But now it's been a year, and if last year has taught me anything, it's that life isn't meant to be lived alone."*
―Melinda May to Yo-Yo Rodriguez[src]

Agent **Melinda Qiaolian May** is a highly-skilled S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, nicknamed **The Cavalry**. A veteran pilot and soldier with years of experience and a good friend of Phil Coulson, she withdrew from field duty after an incident in Manama, Bahrain which left her mentally damaged. However, she returned to the field when Nick Fury asked to her to secretly assemble a team for Coulson and to monitor his recovery process. She worked with the team on all their missions. When the HYDRA Uprising began, her true role on the team, to be Fury's eyes and ears on Coulson, was discovered, leading to a rift between her and the team. Feeling unwanted, she left, searching to find out the truth behind Coulson's resurrection. She found the truth and brought it back to Coulson. She helped the team stop John Garrett and went with the team to the Playground to help restart S.H.I.E.L.D., under newly promoted Coulson.

As Coulson's unofficial deputy, May helped Coulson in fighting the forces of HYDRA led by Daniel Whitehall and dealing with Coulson's growing obsession with the alien writing. After the Battle for the Kree City in which HYDRA was dealt a heavy blow and resulted in Skye gaining superhuman abilities, May helped them all to deal with the situation the best they could. When another S.H.I.E.L.D. faction led by Robert Gonzales emerged and occupied their base, May helped Coulson to escape, but later accepted a position on Gonzales' board. When the two factions united, May became a member of Coulson's council of advisors. Following the War Against the Inhumans and the Kidnapping of Bobbi Morse, she retired from S.H.I.E.L.D. for a short time to be with Andrew Garner.

However, she returned to the field to kill Grant Ward once and for all with Lance Hunter. May struggled with the revelation that Lash was actually her husband; she continued to work in S.H.I.E.L.D. as the agency attempted to bring down Gideon Malick and later Hive, losing Garner in this battle.

Following the relegalization of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the appointment of Jeffrey Mace, May was given the task of rebuilding and training the new STRIKE team. During one of her missions, she was touched by Lucy Bauer, a person with ghost-like powers, causing her a mental breakdown. Jemma Simmons and Holden Radcliffe managed to save her life at the last moment. Prior to S.H.I.E.L.D. victory on Eli Morrow, May was incapacitated and kidnapped by Aida and was replaced by an LMD of herself. After several escape attempts, May's mind was trapped inside the Framework, a virtual reality where she lived as a HYDRA agent. With the help of Daisy Johnson and Simmons, May finally escaped the Framework, only to face the threat of the now living Aida. S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to kill her, but May and the others were sent to the year 2091 afterwards by Enoch.

May and the others found themselves in the Lighthouse, a bunker used to contain the rest of humanity following Earth's destruction. May was captured by the Kree who ruled over the station and sent to Earth's surface. There she met Robin Hinton who apparently had been raised by May in her past. Discovering the way to return to the present, May and the others returned to the Lighthouse and managed to go back. They immediately worked to prevent the Destruction of Earth, came into conflict with General Hale's HYDRA and later with the Confederacy. Following their victory over Glenn Talbot, thus saving Earth, May retired from S.H.I.E.L.D. and stayed with Coulson in his last few days.

Since Phil Coulson passed away, May returned to her service within S.H.I.E.L.D. under Alphonso Mackenzie's directorship who assigned her to new STRIKE team. Later, S.H.I.E.L.D. encountered mercenary group led by Sarge who had an incredible resemblance with Coulson. With May's strong desire to find out about Sarge, S.H.I.E.L.D. apprehended Sarge and temporarily allied with him in the fight against Izel. Eventually, May found out that Sarge is an entity from the Fear Dimension that possessed a replica of Coulson's body which corrupted his memory. May, together with Mackenzie and Sarge headed to the Temple of the Forgotten to stop Izel from unleashing the Fear Dimension's powers on Earth, however, Sarge took Izel's side and killed May, throwing her body to the Fear Dimension. Due to the nature of the Dimension, May survived and managed to kill Izel in the fight before Jemma Simmons put May in the cryo-stasis to save her later.