Raina, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Photo from liveforfilms

WARNING: SPOILERS


Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is gloriously diverse, but thus far there has only be one black woman as a major (if short-lived) player. Raina "the woman in the flower dress" was mysterious, evasive, deceptive and intriguing. Frequently playing both sides of the fence by using both her charm and her innate (and alien) skills of persuasion, her ultimate goal was always to bring people with gifts to the surface. She was a congregant and her alien blood was the church. She was willing to use whatever means including the unsavory, to reach her ends. Once she touched the obelisk and became an Inhuman, she gained further abilities (she was able to see the future, including her untimely death), but also transformed into a monstrous, spiky creature who could no longer walk freely among humans. She was trapped in this new form, a literal manifestation of "be careful what you wish for." Perhaps it was a fitting end for a person who was willing to aid in evil to get what she wanted, but it struck me as mostly tragic especially since Raina was the most compelling character in the room whenever she was on screen.