Joe Quesada, who was Marvel's editor-in-chief during her first appearance, describes the character thus: "[Hill] is such a strong personality, she's like a force of nature and quite frankly, while perhaps not immediately loved by all involved, she's certainly as strong and imposing a figure as Nick Fury. Right now I feel that people view her as the outsider but [while] I don't think she's any harsher than Fury has ever been, what's different is that we aren't quite clear about her motives."[dead link][2]
She appeared as a supporting character in the 2010–2013 Avengers series, from issue #1 (July 2010) through its final issue, #34 (January 2013), but only appeared sporadically after the first half of its run.
The Avengers suspect Hill of being complicit in various crimes, but lack evidence to prove it. At the same time, Hill suspects the group's latest incarnation are harboring an illicit agenda in connection with the "House of M" affair. She abducts Spider-Man and the Vision to question the two about the situation.[6] She earns Iron Man's respect when she ignores the President of the United States's orders to nuke an island while the Avengers are on it.[7]
"Civil War"
In the 2006–2007 storyline "Civil War", Captain America refuses to assist Commander Hill in preparations to arrest any superheroes who refuse to comply with the Superhuman Registration Act due to seeing such activity as politically motivated. Hill argued that the will of the American people must be obeyed, attempting to arrest Captain America who fights out of the Helicarrier and escapes.[8] After the Superhuman Registration Act passes into law, Hill is one of the leading enforcers. She blackmails Wonder Man into actively supporting the S.H.I.E.L.D. crusade to hunt down the superheroes opposed to the Superhuman Registration Act. She sends Kree supersoldier Noh-Varr (already brainwashed) to capture the Runaways. She directs the Thunderbolts to capture Spider-Man; the Thunderbolts' two members sent out, Jester and Jack O'Lantern, are slain by the Punisher.[9][volume & issue needed] After foiling an attack on Stark Tower, Hill thinks that she does not want her job as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and thinks she should not have been offered the position in the first place.[10] At the conclusion, the President appoints Tony Stark as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., with Hill (displeased) as acting deputy director.[11]
Deputy Director
After being made Deputy Director, Hill becomes a core member of the S.H.I.E.L.D. cabinet and assists Stark in dealing with a sudden rise in various terrorist groups who have gained access to hyper-advanced biological weapons. Unlike the rest of the cabinet (including Sal Kennedy whom she loathed personally), Hill remains skeptical of a single conspiracy behind all these attacks.[12] When the Mandarin's neoplastic tumor began infecting the Helicarrier, Hill organizes the evacuation; she (wrongly) believed the infection is the main objective of the attack.[13] Subsequently, however, Hill becomes much more trusting in Stark's leadership, a trusted agent in her role as Deputy Director and far less bound by conventional process, particularly after a confrontation with Dum Dum Dugan, in which she's forced to confront the fact that she was apparently willing to take actions that would allow innocent people to die while still sticking to "the book" because the alternative was to disobey orders.[14] She eventually risks her career by locking down the United Nations under S.H.I.E.L.D. martial law so Stark can escape a tribunal and track down the Mandarin.[15]
2008–2010 storylines
During the 2008 "Secret Invasion" storyline, Hill is left in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. and confronts a number of Skrulls.[16] They execute her but she is revealed to be a Life Model Decoy. Hill then activates the Helicarrier's self-destruct system, killing all the Skrull infiltrators on board, escaping via jet pack.[17]
During the "Dark Reign" storyline, S.H.I.E.L.D is disbanded by the President, Hill and Stark lose their jobs, and are replaced by Norman Osborn who then reforms the fallen remains into H.A.M.M.E.R.[18] In the Iron Man monthly series, Hill tries to go about having a normal life but Osborn dispatches H.A.M.M.E.R. to arrest her for theft. She joins her former boss as a fugitive after Iron Man stole the Superhuman Registration Database. The night before Stark leaves, the two have a sexual tryst.[19] Hill is sent on a mission by Stark to retrieve a hard drive. Hill finds the Controller holed up in the basement of Futurepharm, hooked into a large machine holding many people in containers. She barely manages to escape him, before downloading the data Tony sent her for. The skirmish with the Controller would leave her in a state of paranoia for a while. She then enlists the Black Widow to deliver the data to Captain America, all the while evading H.A.M.M.E.R. agents. However, they are captured when H.A.M.M.E.R. intercepts an e-mail from Stark. They are rescued by Pepper Potts.[20]
During the 2010 "Siege" storyline, Hill comes to the aid of Thor after Osborn launches an attack on Asgard.[21] Hill becomes a supporting cast member in the Iron Man series, protecting her friends from multiple threats.[22] In the 2010 "Heroic Age" storyline, which followed "Siege", Hill is appointed by Captain Steve Rogers to work with a new team of Avengers.[23]
2010 to the present
Following the apparent death of Fury, she was appointed commander, then acting director, and finally director of S.H.I.E.L.D. following Daisy Johnson's actions that involved the Secret Avengers invading A.I.M. Island.[24]
During the "Avengers: Standoff!" storyline, Hill and S.H.I.E.L.D. have established Pleasant Hill, a super villain prison designed to resemble a gated community. While working at Pleasant Hill, Hill operates as the Mayor of Pleasant Hills. A training video for the S.H.I.E.L.D. cadets working there showed that she and the S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists have used reality-warping technology derived from the Cosmic Cube called "Kobik" as a demonstration was used where Graviton is turned into the mild-mannered Pleasant Hill chef Howie Howardson.[25] Rogers is brought before Hill, telling her of the knowledge that the Kobik project was not disposed of. Hill presented the inhabitants of Pleasant Hill to Rogers: she mentions that the citizens are reformed supervillains. When Rogers demanded to know where were the Cosmic Cube fragments used for Kobik, she revealed the eerie little girl who was the fragments of the Cosmic Cube that have taken the form of a near-omnipotent child.[26]
Following the "Civil War II" storyline, Hill was later seen being kidnapped by Diablo who attempted to extract the security code clearances for all the active helicarriers and the Triskelion, when she was rescued by Victor Von Doom.[27]
Powers and abilities
Maria Hill is an extremely effective commander, leader, tactician, and military strategist. She is a highly skilled martial artist and hand-to-hand fighter, as well as being a proficient marksman and armed combatant.
Reception
Accolades
In 2015, Entertainment Weekly ranked Maria Hill 37th in their "Let's rank every Avenger ever" list.[28]
In 2019, Comic Book Resources (CBR) ranked Maria Hill 2nd in their "10 Best S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents Of All Time" list.[29]
In 2020, Scary Mommy included Maria Hill in their "Looking For A Role Model? These 195+ Marvel Female Characters Are Truly Heroic" list.[30]
In 2020, CBR ranked Maria Hill 2nd in their "10 Best Directors To Lead S.H.I.E.L.D." list.[31]
In 2021, CBR ranked Maria Hill 4th in their "10 Best Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D." list.[32]
In 2022, The A.V. Club ranked Maria Hill 83rd in their "100 best Marvel characters" list.[33]
Other versions
MC2
An alternate universe variant of Maria Hill from Earth-982 appears in MC2. This version is a member of the National Security Force.[34]
Ultimate Marvel
An alternate universe variant of Maria Hill from Earth-1610 appears in the Ultimate Marvel universe. This version is an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and a homicide detective currently working for the NYPD.[35]
Old Woman Laura
An alternate universe variant of Maria Hill from Earth-18366 appears in Old Woman Laura. This version is a cyborg and head of the joint Chiefs of Staff under President Kamala Khan before being killed by a Doombot.[36]
^ abcdefghij"Maria Hill Voices (Marvel Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 31, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
^Gierhart, Billy (director); Paul Zbyszewski & DJ Doyle (writer) (April 29, 2014). "Nothing Personal". Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1. Episode 20. ABC.
^Tancharoen, Kevin (director); Brent Fletcher & Drew Z. Greenberg (writer) (April 28, 2015). "The Dirty Half Dozen". Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2. Episode 19. ABC.
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