In the avengers movie and the agents of shield series we usually see a variation of this logo for shield,

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However I've also noticed this logo appearing at different points as well, I can't seem to find a picture at the moment though but one example is the first episode of agents of shield where it's seen in a few spots in the shield base where coulson first appears.

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Is there some meaning or reason why there are different logos?

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    I always assumed it was from a different era. The curved eagle (second in your post) was from, say, SHIELD's founding through 2000 or so, and the straight-edged emblem was their newer logo from a recent rebranding. Both symbols appear on SHIELD gear because they haven't gotten around to replacing and refurbishing everything yet. – Nerrolken Jun 22 '15 at 18:43

tl;dr: In-universe, there does not appear to be any significant difference between the various logos; both logos appear on-screen together multiple times, and neither of them seems "more official" than the other. Most likely, one is just a newer logo that hasn't yet fully replaced the old one.

There are definitely several versions of the SHIELD logo in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. The first, which I'm calling the "fancy eagle" logo, strongly resembles the logo from the movies:

MCU Movies SHIELD Logo

This logo only appears in a few episodes -- mostly the pilot, and S01E07, "The Hub". Everything this logo appears on (glass doors, meeting rooms walls, some computer equipment and displays) are found in SHIELD HQ or in The Hub. Thus, it seems likely that this is a previous version of the logo, which is still in use in the better-established locations just out of inertia.

The other, the "stylized" eagle, only appears on the TV show (so far). This is the one we see on most of the SHIELD property, including the uniforms, the office supplies, some of the equipment, and pretty much everything found on "The Bus". Thus, it seems like all of the "newer" stuff uses this logo.

Thus, although the issue is never really mentioned on-screen, I think there are two likely scenarios:

  • SHIELD is "transitioning" from the fancy eagly to the more modern one, and just haven't finished yet. Things that have been overhauled or replaced recently have the new logo, and everything else still has the old.
  • Or, the fancy eagle is a "more formal" logo, used for the higher profile locations, and the other logo is used for the day-to-day stuff.

On a side note, there's actually a third logo that appears briefly in the pilot episode:

SHIELD Airport Logo

This logo appears behind Ward as he's first boarding The Bus, on the wall of a building in what I assume is the SHIELD airport / launch facility. As far as I've seen, we never see this logo again.

Out of universe, my guess is they put the fancier logo in as a way to link SHIELD in the show to SHIELD in the movies, but the newer logo is the one they really wanted, so most of the sets and props going forward just use that one.

  • The latter logo is similar to the comics version, whereas the more stylized one is an invention of the movies. Perhaps in-universe, the stylized one is the updated, current logo, whereas the other is an older logo? It would take a while to update the logo everywhere - this IS a government agency, after all. – Omegacron Jun 22 '15 at 19:10
  • That's my assumption, as well. I'm watching through early episodes to see if there's a pattern. – KutuluMike Jun 22 '15 at 19:30
  • Also, the simple circular one was used by Coulson's SHIELD while a fourth one one was used by Gonzales's SHIELD on the aircraft carrier – Izkata Jun 23 '15 at 1:21
  • Yes, I was ignoring the "real" SHIELD one because that one was intentionally different for story purposes, while the others seem mostly interchangable. – KutuluMike Jun 23 '15 at 1:27
  • +1 I also bet that they're a casual and a dressed up version, the way NASA has the everyday "meatball" insignia and also a formal seal. – MissMonicaE Jun 1 '18 at 13:58

There are also the several different logos on the Wall of Valor in AoS. I was thinking they could be the different types of agents (i.e. Operations, Tech & Science, or Communications). Wall of Valor

As for the fancy v stylized logos, I'd have to agree with the other posts (old v new)

  • 3
    Yeah, but what about the wall of Mystic and Instinct? – Kimberly W Jul 23 '16 at 23:21
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    Looking at this, I count 5 styles. One is solely used on the oldest section (and is less common on the bottom than on the top), suggesting that one was phased out. But the other four are interspersed through the whole history, so division does seem more likely than the OP's two being old/new versions. – Izkata Jun 1 '18 at 13:20
  • You could have this sort of distribution if they've reorganized their divisions over the years. – MissMonicaE Jun 1 '18 at 18:48

protected by Community Feb 6 at 18:34


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