#SHIELD100: Spotlight on Chloe Bennet on Agents of SHIELD

Below are a few fan reactions from fans, some who have even been inspired to cosplay as Quake. The internet is full of people who have been very open and enthusiastic about the characters they love (Check out #TheLolaInitiative hashtag curated by multiple fans on the internet as well as @dailybennet on twitter). We wanted to highlight what Chloe means to some of the Agents of SHIELD fans!

“She enriched my life in ways I never expected…”

Kate (@iamwintermute on Twitter)

Chloe Bennet and fans at NYCC — Kate (on right) with Chloe at NYCC 2016

When I first heard that not one, but two Asian women were cast in AoS I thought it couldn’t possibly be. And to have Chloe, the younger of the two, be the co-lead of a prime time superhero series was virtually unheard-of. Chloe and her character Daisy, to me, represents change. I started watching the show because I am a big fan of Clark Gregg, but Chloe’s character and her acting drew me in and made me stay. I felt so connected to the show because for the first time I saw myself as part of the narrative in a genre that had longed fetishized and stereotyped Asian people. Daisy is not a token Asian girl. She is not decorative, or a comedic sidekick. She has agency and a complex personality. Her worth isn’t based on her appearance or her ability to highlight the male lead’s accomplishments. Daisy is someone who is strong and brave, and she always does what she believes is right. She cares not only for people she loves but also the rest of the world when the world had let her down so many times. She is who I’ve been waiting to see on my TV screen all my life. Not only had she shown me that proper representation of Asian characters was possible, she enriched my life in ways I couldn’t have expected. When I first started seriously cosplaying in late 2014, Daisy had been one of my cosplay dreams. I didn’t know that 2 years later I’d don my Quake cosplay for the first time and meet Chloe in person. Most of the first cosplayers I’d known or met were Agents of SHIELD cosplayers. I wouldn’t be where I am today with my cosplays without Daisy.

“She really knows how to make fans feel special…”

Sarah (@CrazyGirlVids on Twitter)

I REALLY found an idol in Chloe Bennet. She mirrors the best I can see in myself and through her inspiration has helped me achieve goals of bringing those parts of me forward. I feel empowered (a phrase I’m not sure I even used before this year) every time I cosplay as Quake because of Chloe and the impact she’s made on me personally. Chloe’s social stances are reason to get behind a person in the first place, but you just have to feel inspired by someone with the charisma and kindness to make every fan she meets special. The best part is her focus on societal issues doesn’t stop her from being her goofy self, she just possesses the tact to know when the time is right to be silly. As someone who likes to dress up as comic book characters for fun, that’s a pretty exciting thing to see in someone you admire.

“She always tries to do the right thing…”

Melania (@kidquake4real on Twitter)

Daisy is my favorite. She’s really cool. She always tries to do the right thing but she isn’t always the best at it. I’m like that too. And I want her powers! Chloe is super funny on instagram. Her dogs are cute and funny. And she’s really nice: she made [a] video for me when [my dad] met her but I couldn’t go. I want to meet her so bad!

“As a fellow WoC myself, I loved seeing a WoC character on a show…”

Sonia

I remember when I first heard about Agents of SHIELD. Colton Haynes from Teen Wolf and Arrow tweeted that one of his friends had just been cast in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. I saw his tweet and remembered how much I absolutely love the Marvel movies so I decided to give the show a try. I loved it from the very first episode and found myself drawn to the slightly mysterious, snarky and sarcastic yet extremely kind character of Skye (now called Daisy) and she soon became my favourite character on the show.

As a fellow WoC myself, I loved seeing a WoC character on a show that wasn’t treated as a “token” or made out to be a cliché. I think one of the biggest reasons why the AoS writers never wrote Skye/Daisy (and other WoC characters) as “token” WoC is because one of the showrunners on AoS is a WoC herself. Because of this, they wrote these characters as WOMEN first AND THEN cast WoC for the role. It’s still utterly baffling to me that other TV Shows, movies and showrunners haven’t done the same. I’m also baffled that AoS, the showrunners, Chloe Bennet and Skye/Daisy/Quake doesn’t get the attention they rightfully deserve. Daisy is the first WoC who has superpowers in the MCU and that is something that should be celebrated, not ignored.

When I look at Daisy Johnson, I see an outsider trying to find her place in the world and finding it as a SHIELD agent and later as an Inhuman. What I see is a woman who has been through trauma, abuse, neglect, loneliness and pain and still, through all of this suffering, wants to make the world a better place. Daisy Johnson is and always will be a hero to me. #StandWithQuake

“Watching Daisy’s story was like watching a supernatural reflection of my own life…”

Riley Doenges

Thank you all for bringing the life and the depth you’ve brought to these characters over the past 100 episodes. I have so loved seeing the family you’ve grown both on and off screen. Daisy has been particularly significant to me. I’ve spent my early adulthood totally on my own since my mom passed in 2012 when I was 20. Watching Daisy’s story was like watching a supernatural reflection of my own life. I saw in Daisy someone who was searching for a family and a place to belong and searching for herself in the process. I felt super connected to her because I knew what it was like to long for a family, especially at an age when you’re trying to figure out who you are and where you fit in the world.Seeing Daisy then wrestle with losing her parents all over again hit me hard, but also made me feel so much less alone in my own struggles. I found strength in Daisy’s journey of self-discovery and in her team’s unwavering love for her. I love Daisy’s relationship with Coulson, especially. He has protected her, fought for her, loved her well, and given her space to be whomever she needed to be. Watching Daisy develop as a person, find her power, and find a family has given me so much hope. I am pretty solid in who I am now, but AOS came into my life at a time when I really needed guidance and that hope. I still don’t have a family of my own, but I know that even a weird, quirky, loner like myself will find that somewhere, like Daisy and the others found in SHIELD. The family you all have created on screen is strong and beautiful and inspiring. That dynamic is one of my favorite parts of the show and I hope you can keep bringing it to our screens for 100 more episodes.

Make sure to check out Chloe and the rest of the cast in the 100th episode of Agents of SHIELD on Friday at 9 PM on ABC!