JEMMA SIMMONS
(Earth-616)

Real Name: Jemma Simmons

Identity/Class: Human cyborg, citizen of United Kingdom

Occupation: S.H.I.E.L.D. technician, medical doctor, xenobiologist

Group Membership: S.H.I.E.L.D. (Director Maria Hill, Special Ops Supreme Commander Phil Coulson, Agent Leo Fitz, Agent Melinda May, Deathlok/Henry Hayes, Mockingbird/Bobbi Morse, Quake/Daisy Johnson, numerous others)

Affiliations: Black Knight (Dane Whitman), Invisible Woman (Susan Richards), Magister Karnak, Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Valkyrie (Brunnhilde), Avengers (Captain America/Sam Wilson, Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, Hulk/Amadeus Cho, Iron Man/Tony Stark, She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters, Spider-Man/Peter Parker)

Enemies: Abu Mussan, A.I.M., Dormammu, Doughboys, Hydra (Baron Strucker/Wolfgang von Strucker, Grant Ward, Gorgon/Tomi Shishido), I.D.I.C., Mister Hyde (Calvin Zabo), various interdimensional anomalies
   formerly Elektra Natchios, Whisperer (Rick Jones), Sunspot's New Avengers (Pod/Aikku Jokinen, Power Man/Victor Alvarez, Songbird/Melissa Gold, White Tiger/Ava Ayala)

Known Relatives: Unidentified father, unidentified mother, unidentified brother, unidentified sister, unidentified niece

Aliases: Deathlok
   formerly Ms. Steranko

Base of Operations: S.H.I.E.L.D. Battlecarrier Pericles
   formerly S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier Iliad

First Appearance: S.H.I.E.L.D. III#1 (December 31, 2014)

Powers/Abilities: Jemma Simmons is a medical doctor with a PhD. She is also a skilled xenobiologist with qualifications in genetic modifications and biotechnology.

    When temporarily transformed into a Mindless One, she gained their characteristic optic blast ability.

    As a Deathlok, she possesses superhuman strength. Due to the modified version of the Protocols to which she was subjected, her level of implants is less severe than it is for most other Deathloks.

Height: (Unrevealed (possibly 5'4"; see comments)
Weight: 115 lbs. (approximation)
Eyes: Brown, red cybernetic left eye
Hair: Brown

History:
(S.H.I.E.L.D. III#2 (fb) - BTS) - Jemma Simmons was born and raised in England, in the family of a high-ranking Roxxon Oil executive, along with her brother and sister. Her parents sent her to an expensive University where Jemma excelled and was recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. She moved to United States but because of the secrecy of her work had to lie to her parents, telling them that she worked as a party planner.

(S.H.I.E.L.D. III#1 (fb) - BTS) - Simmons became an expert in xenobiology, achieving S.H.I.E.L.D. access level five, and paired with Leo Fitz, a gadgeteer of the same level.

(S.H.I.E.L.D. III#1) - The new S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Ops Supreme Commander Phil Coulson recruited Simmons into his new response team alongside her partner Leo Fitz and Melinda "The Cavalry" May. On her first mission on her first day, she traveled with her new team, as well as Valkyrie and Black Knight, to the middle eastern nation of Sharzhad. Staying out of combat, Simmons watched Black Knight and Valkyrie defeat rebel leader Abu Mussan while she and May helped free the Asgardian Heimdall from the chains that were binding him. After Heimdall was freed from a possession by the Black Dechantment, Fitz and Simmons took rock fragments of it back to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier Iliad for study.

(S.H.I.E.L.D. III#2 (fb)) - While she and her fellow agents were engaged in a firefight at the A.I.M. Southeast Facility 3, Jemma received a phone call from her father. He was cross at Jemma for ignoring a job interview at Biochemco that he had arranged up for her, but Jemma could only apologize and hang up.

(S.H.I.E.L.D. III#2) - The next day, Coulson sent Simmons undercover as a substitute teacher to Coles Academic High School where a student Grayson Blair was dealing in stolen criminal technology. Simmons and Coulson apprehended Blair, but material used by Arnim Zola to create Doughboys was mistakenly fed to students in the cafeteria. Ms. Marvel, who was a student at the school, collected the Doughboy material which the students vomited up, and Simmons rendered it inert. During the cleanup operation, Simmons bonded with Ms. Marvel over having to keep a secret from their families and gave Kamala her business card in case she wanted to talk.

(S.H.I.E.L.D. III#4) - Needing to extract mining C.F.O. Athol Kussar from a bottom of an irradiated mine shaft, Coulson picked Invisible Woman for the mission, a choice that Simmons commented upon. Kussar turned out to have a Hydra-implanted bomb in his chest, and Simmons had to remotely walk Invisible Woman through an open-heart surgery using nothing but her force fields as tools.

(S.H.I.E.L.D. III#5) - Simmons participated in analyzing a series of assaults that left magic-users across the globe near death, executed by Mys-Tech assassin Ethan Slaughter with a special gun and bullets made of Dechantment's material.

(S.H.I.E.L.D. III#6) - The Black Dechantment was used by Dormammu to transform magic-users into a conduit, spreading a plague across the globe that transformed people into Mindless Ones, beginning with the smartest individuals down. Simmons was among the first affected and was secured by S.H.I.E.L.D. in a holding cell. Coulson, May, Maria Hill, and Jeremiah Warrick traveled into the Dark Dimension with Absorbing Man/Carl Creel and got him to destroy the Black Dechantment throne, ending the plague and returning Simmons and the others to normal.

(S.H.I.E.L.D. III#7) - Fitz and Simmons developed a serum with a deployment apparatus to transform Mister Hyde back into his Calvin Zabo form, so that he could cure his daughter Daisy Johnson from the new ill effects of her vibrational powers. Quake secured her father, whom Fitz and Simmons met at a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house in Spain that used to be a genetic laboratory. Zabo was changed both mentally by forming a connection with his daughter, and physically by the formula that Fitz and Simmons developed to take away his powers permanently. After a few days Zabo briefed them on a cure for Johnson, which Fitz and Simmons vetted and approved. The procedure to treat Johnson's condition worked, but Zabo then transformed back into Hyde, revealing that while the antidote had worked, he had found his way around it under the nose of Fitz and Simmons by briefly overwriting his own DNA with his daughter's. Coulson then injected Hyde formula into himself, after which he fought Zabo until Quake recovered from her procedure and pounded Zabo into the ground with her seismic powers.

(S.H.I.E.L.D. III#9/1) - When Coulson learned of an impending assassination of Director Maria Hill, he ordered Simmons and the rest of his team to converge at Hill's location at S.H.I.E.L.D Safe House Seven, where they stopped the hit from taking place.

(S.H.I.E.L.D. III#10) - In the aftermath of the war between Spider-people and Inheritors, a series of anomalies from other realities emerged on the streets of New York City. Simmons was tackling the problem hands-on, using a large rifle to keep the hostile intruders at bay, while Coulson watched her back.

(S.H.I.E.L.D. III#12) - Time-traveling Silver Centurion assassinated Odin the All-Father, provoking the Asgardians into attacking Earth in retaliation and slaughtering the Avengers and billions of others. Coulson called on Heimdall to pay the debt for saving him in Sharzhad, and Heimdall obliged by transporting his team to Asgard in the recent past so that they could prevent the All-Father's demise. Simmons came equipped with Spider-Man's web-shooters, while her teammates likewise were armed with weapons of the fallen Avengers. The agents prevented the slaying of Odin, diverging their reality into Earth-16112. Simmons and the rest found themselves back on Earth-616 before the war with Asgard, but still possessing the memories of their Earth-16112 counterparts.

(Karnak I#1) - Coulson and Simmons were dealing with the kidnapping of Adam Roderick, an Inhuman who recently underwent terrigenesis, by I.D.I.C. Because of the legal restrictions on dealing with Homo sapiens inhumanus, Coulson requested assistance from Magister Karnak of the Tower of Wisdom. To avoid being shadowed by I.D.I.C., Coulson and Simmons met Karnak at an older S.H.I.E.L.D. station in Svalbard, Norway. They introduced him to the missing boy's parents, and Karnak offered his terms for rescuing him, but then ordered one of the agents present to disarm and stand away. Revealing himself to be an I.D.I.C. plant, the agent fired at Karnak, who shattered the bullet in two and began torturing the man by first puncturing his liver and then breaking his leg. Simmons brought in the paramedics to stabilize the man's life and commented on his revelation of I.D.I.C. having a clandestine cell system.

(Karnak I#1 - BTS) - Coulson and Simmons delivered Karnak to Berlin, the location of the I.D.I.C. cell revealed by the shooter.

(Karnak I#3) - After Karnak had finished his business there, Coulson and Simmons collected him in a Berlin cafe and were picked up by a Quinjet. Karnak told them to deliver him to his next objective, the Chapel of the Single Shadow, which Simmons began researching. The Chapel was found to be located in Transia, where they traveled aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Hellicarrier.

(Karnak I#4) - Emerging from the Chapel of the Single Shadow after a meeting with Adam Roderick, Karnak informed Coulson and Simmons that he had uncovered an existential threat to life on Earth and formally requested S.H.I.E.L.D.'s involved assistance in the matter.

(Karnak I#5) - Coulson and Simmons watched Karnak interrogate the Painter/Russoff, one of Adam Roderick's followers. Their conversation was entirely mental, and so the two men appeared entirely motionless from the outside, until Karnak reached a breaking point and with a single strike of his hand exploded the Painter, sending chunks of his body flying everywhere. With a look of shock on her face, Simmons was sent by Coulson to find and bring a cleaning crew.

(Karnak I#6) - Simmons and Coulson were present when Karnak returned Adam Roderick to his parents, wheelchair-bound and suffering from brain damage that was secretly inflicted by Karnak himself.

(All-New, All-Different Point One I#1/4) - When Coulson impersonated Batroc the Leaper for an audience with Baron Strucker in Himalayas, Fitz and Simmons shadowed him to provide the retinal scan data of the real Batroc, who at the same time was fighting their teammates on the other side the world. Despite the close call, they were able to obtain the scan and upload it in time, and Coulson purchased the map to a DNA-targeting bioweapon without Strucker ever realizing the deception.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#1) - The bioweapon was tracked to a defunct Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Facility that became a base for an A.I.M. splinter group. Coulson headed there in person to confirm the intel, while the rest split into three strike teams. Simmons was assigned to team "Heinlein" with the mission-critical job of actually neutralizing the bioweapon. Deathlok escorted her to the DNA-bomb, but they were ambushed by an A.I.M. soldier who opened fire and broke the bomb's casing. Simmons neutralized the bioweapon, but not before herself being exposed to it. She kept it a secret from the others, and after developing the first symptoms ran tests on herself to confirm that she had less than a month to live.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#2) - Coulson gathered Simmons and the rest to reveal to them that Axiom protocols, containing vulnerabilities and tactics for taking down every major superhero on the planet, had been stolen from the Pentagon by an unrevealed party. The origin of the protocols was Coulson himself, with them being secretly extracted from his mind by his ex-girlfriend Lola Daniels.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#3) - Coulson revealed to Simmons, Deathlok and Quake the existence of the Kobik program, recently leaked by Rick Jones, and asked them to bring Jones in for questioning. They flew a quinjet to Jones' last known apartment in Manhattan, where Simmons scanned for traces of skin oil and discovered a hidden wall compartment. Inside was a USB stick containing Jones' escape plans, which led S.H.I.E.L.D. to the Morlock tunnels. Rick Jones was able to get away from Deathlok and Quake by using U.S. Agent's Shield and Ringmaster's Hat against them, but underestimated Simmons who shot him point-blank with a rubber bullet. Jones was taken to S.H.I.E.L.D. Battlecarrier Pericles, but before they could get anything out of him, the flying vessel was attacked by Sunspot's New Avengers.

(New Avengers IV#8) - While Deathlok and Quake engaged Pod, Songbird and White Tiger, Simmons ran to get help, but Power Man caught up with her. With a gentle finger tap to the head he disrupted her chi, knocking Simmons unconscious. Power Man also noticed that Simmons had a major problem, which he told Deathlok about. Deathlok and Quake were knocked out as well, and by the time everyone got up, the New Avenges and Rick Jones were gone.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#4) - Following up on Power Man's words, Deathlok asked Simmons whether she was okay. Quake then revealed that Songbird was a double agent for S.H.I.E.L.D., presumably working for Director Maria Hill.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#5) - Deathlok approached Simmons in her laboratory and, as a friend, asked her about how she was. Simmons revealed to him the extent of her cellular necrosis infection and that she had less than a week to live, asking him not to tell anyone else.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#6) - The Axiom Protocols were activated by Hydra, targeting superheroes across the globe. Simmons was giving a status update to Quake and Fitz when Pericles was attacked by an operative wearing knock-off Iron Man Armor. While he was fighting Quake, Simmons hit him on the head with her tablet, which only served to draw his attention. She was saved by the arrival of the real Iron Man, who effortlessly defeated the impostor. The impostor's armor enabled S.H.I.E.L.D. to trace Hydra leaders' location to the Mount in Nevada, which they stormed alongside the Avengers. Gorgon and his army were defeated and taken in custody, but not before Grant Ward killed Coulson's ex-girlfriend Lola Daniels.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#7) - Simmons' condition deteriorated to the point where she collapsed in the middle of giving a report to Coulson.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#7 - BTS) - Simmons managed to tell Coulson that only Deathlok knew about her condition before slipping into a coma.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#8 (fb) - BTS) - Still comatose, Simmons had been transferred to a S.H.I.E.L.D. Medical Facility.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#8) - Simmons remained in critical condition while Henry Hayes continued to run tests on her. Seeing no other way to save her life, he resorted to turning Simmons into a Deathlok.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#9 - BTS) - Filled with guilt for his actions, Henry Hayes subjected Simmons to the Deathlok Protocols, which he had extensively modified to minimize the number of implants.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#10 (fb) - BTS) - Simmons' body accepted the Deathlok implants without issue, and her cellular degradation has been completely reversed. She remained comatose however, and Hayes had her transferred back to the Pericles.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#10 (fb) - Running out of other options to wake her, Hayes decided to subject Simmons to experimental neuro-somatic stimulation, which had a chance of killing her.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#10 (fb) - BTS) - Working with Mockingbird, Hayes was able wake Simmons up. With her being disoriented, the Deathlok programming took over. Simmons broke out of her restraints and began attacking those within her sight.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#10 (fb)) - Simmons shook off an attempt to restrain her by Elektra (who was working for S.H.I.E.L.D. at the time) but was held at gunpoint by Director Hill and a squad of armed agents when Phil Coulson appealed to her humanity. Recognizing him, Jemma experienced shock at her new state before collapsing in Coulson's arms. Some time later, she thanked Henry Hayes for saving her life and hugged him.

(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#10) - Jemma Simmons continued her service in S.H.I.E.L.D. as part of Coulson's team.

Comments: Created by Mark Waid and Carlos Pacheco.

    Earth-616 version of Jemma Simmons is based on her Earth-199999 counterpart, one of the main characters on "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." television series throughout its run. Her height is taken from the actress Elizabeth Henstridge who portrayed Simmons in the show.

   When closing the Omniversal Zipper on the Liverer, Leo Fitz glimpsed an alternate Jemma Simmons who was in a romantic relationship with him. Although it is possible for that to be an Earth-616-divergent Jemma, I prefer to treat her as the Earth-199999 one, as she and Fitz got married and had a child in that reality.

   The Karnak series ran concurrently with the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series for its entire publication run. As Simmons displays no symptoms in the presence of Karnak who would be able to see any flaw, I am placing the events of the Karnak's mission prior to Simmons being infected.

   When only considering the events involving Simmons, New Avengers IV#8 and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#4 depict the same dialogue and scenes in the same order, with the latter being only slightly extended. Therefore, the break between the two issues in this profile is arbitrary.

Profile by HBK123.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Jemma Simmons-616 should not be confused with:

images: (without ads)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I#10, p16, pan1 (main image)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I#4, p14, pan4 (headshot)
S.H.I.E.L.D. III#6, p2, pan1 (as a Mindless One)
S.H.I.E.L.D. III#12, p9, pan1 (using Earth-16112 Spider-Man's web-shooters)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I#5, p6, pan6 (cellular infection)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I#4, p3, pan2 (fighting New Avenges alongside Quake)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I#10, p13, pan1 (as a Deathlok)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I#1, p16, pan4 (Doctor Jemma Simmons at work)

Appearances:
S.H.I.E.L.D. III#1 (December 31, 2014) - Mark Waid (writer), Carlos Pacheco (pencils), Mariano Taibo, Jason Paz (inks), Tom Brevoort, Ellie Pyle (editors)
S.H.I.E.L.D. III#2 (January 14, 2015) - Mark Waid (writer), Humberto Ramos (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), Tom Brevoort, Ellie Pyle (editors)
S.H.I.E.L.D. III#4 (April 8, 2015) - Mark Waid (writer), Chris Sprouse (pencils), Karl Story (inks), Tom Brevoort, Ellie Pyle (editors)
S.H.I.E.L.D. III#5 (April 29, 2015) - Mark Waid (writer), Mike Choi (pencils, inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
S.H.I.E.L.D. III#6 (May 27, 2015) - Mark Waid (writer), Paul Renaud (pencils, inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
S.H.I.E.L.D. III#7 (June 24, 2015) - Mark Waid (writer), Greg Smallwood (pencils, inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
S.H.I.E.L.D. III#9 (August 26, 2015) - "The Man Called D.E.A.T.H." - Mark Waid (writer), Lee Ferguson (pencils, inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
S.H.I.E.L.D. III#10 (September 30, 2015) - Mark Waid (writer), Evan Shaner (pencils, inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
All-New, All-Different Point One I#1 (October 7, 2015) - "The Coulson Protocols" - Marc Guggenheim (writer), German Peralta (pencils, inks), Katie Kubert, Jon Moisan (editor)
Karnak I#1 (October 21, 2015) - Warren Ellis (writer), Gerardo Zaffino (pencils, inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
S.H.I.E.L.D. III#12 (November 25, 2015) - Mark Waid (writer), Joe Bennett (pencils), Alejandro Sicat, Ed Tadeo, Walden Wong (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#1 (January 13, 2016) - Marc Guggenheim (writer), German Peralta (pencils, inks), Katie Kubert (editor)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#2 (February 10, 2016) - Marc Guggenheim (writer), German Peralta (pencils, inks), Katie Kubert (editor)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#3 (March 9, 2016) - Marc Guggenheim (writer), German Peralta (pencils, inks), Katie Kubert (editor)
New Avengers IV#8 (March 23, 2016) - Al Ewing (writer), Marcus To (pencils, inks), Tom Brevoort, Wil Moss (editors)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#4 (April 13, 2016) - Marc Guggenheim (writer), German Peralta (pencils, inks), Katie Kubert (editor)
Karnak I#3 (April 20, 2016) - Warren Ellis (writer), Roland Boschi (pencils, inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#5 (May 11, 2016) - Marc Guggenheim (writer), German Peralta (pencils, inks), Katie Kubert (editor)
Karnak I#4 (May 18, 2016) - Warren Ellis (writer), Roland Boschi (pencils, inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#6 (June 8, 2016) - Marc Guggenheim (writer), German Peralta (pencils, inks), Katie Kubert (editor)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#7 (July 13, 2016) - Marc Guggenheim (writer), German Peralta (pencils, inks), Katie Kubert (editor)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I#8 (August 10, 2016) - Marc Guggenheim (writer), German Peralta (pencils, inks), Katie Kubert (editor)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#9 (September 21, 2016) - Marc Guggenheim (writer), German Peralta (pencils, inks), Katie Kubert (editor)
Karnak I#5 (September 21, 2016) - Warren Ellis (writer), Roland Boschi (pencils, inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#10 (October 26, 2016) - Marc Guggenheim (writer), Ario Anindito (pencils, inks), Katie Kubert (editor)
Karnak I#6 (February 1, 2017) - Warren Ellis (writer), Roland Boschi (pencils, inks), Nick Lowe (editor)

First Posted: 08/12/2024
Last updated: 08/12/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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