[Highly speculative and possible SPOILERy guesswork at a major plotline for Season 2 of "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" follows.]
I think Skye is an Inhuman. And so is Raina.
Some background: the Inhumans (in Marvel comics) are a mutated version of humanity, created in antiquity as forced-evolution experiments by the Kree, a blue-skinned alien race of conquerers, for their own nefarious purposes. The Inhumans have genetic enhancements that put them ahead of normal Homo sapiens early days, and with their advanced (if tiny) civilization they further developed the Terrigen Mist. Inhumans are exposed to this mist at maturity (Terrigenesis), and it changes them into something much more powerful, sometimes horrifying, sometimes beautiful, but definitely "inhuman."
So …
1. Skye is classified as an "0-8-4" (object of unknown origin) by SHIELD. In fact, her mother and father, characterized as "monsters," destroyed a Chinese village and a bunch of SHIELD agents in order to try to get to her.
2. Attilan, the Inhumans' hidden city, was classically hidden in the Himalayas. That's not right next door to Hunan province (where that Chinese village was), but it's within reasonable distance for a change in continuity or for someone to have fled to.
3. Our brief glimpse of Skye's father (who does not look exactly normal) takes place in front of a window that could arguably be said to be decorated in an Asian fashion. (Yeah that one's a bit weak, but still plausible.) (Okay, aside from Skye's father not looking normal, I guess that's not much of a clue.)
4. Skye's DNA is apparently distinctive (per Raina), but not "She's an alien!" weird. Which would make sense if she were an Inhuman, since they are of Human stock.
5. Raina says she and Skye have something in common, and that Skye has a dark side she doesn't know about.
6. Raina is fascinated by "evolution." The Inhumans are the product of forced evolution, and undergo further mutation via Terrigenesis.
7. Raina's big question for the Clairvoyant (esp. once he becomes in touch with the universe) is "What will I become?" If she is a pre-Terrigenesis Inhuman, that's an important question with a possible tragic answer.
8. Skye seems to have benefited from an infusion of GH325 / Kree fluids without any of the side effects that the TAHITI project had. (The blue body was confirmed as Kree http://goo.gl/tevJvi). If the development of the Inhumans in the MCU involved a mingling of Human and Kree genetics, that might well be expected.
9. To be a bit meta, Marvel has recently been emphasizing the Inhumans in the comics. Speculation has been that this might allow them to serve as surrogates as Mutants (which they have a lot in common with), but which Marvel/Disney doesn't have the rights to use on TV or in movies (due to Fox paying money for use of the whole Mutant / X-Men thang). Just as the Kree are appearing in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy, a race of Mutants Inhumans created by the Kree might show up on TV in a live action show (like AoS) or in (ch-ching) cartoons.
So. Skye and Raina are both Inhumans. Raina is aware of this, and worried about what Terrigenesis will do to her. And that's going to be the Big Thing for Season 2, as Skye's origin (and its ties to the Kree in the MCU) are explored.
Even vaguer speculation: in the end, Skye will reject exposure to the Terrigen Mists (choosing to be "Human"). Raina will take it. But that then moves us to Season 3 …
So are they "Inhumans" in the sense that they have Inhuman DNA, like all the people who were cocooned in the comics when the Terrigen mist was loosed? Or are they from Attilan (Skye's parents having left when she was a baby)? Were her parents "monsters if and when they left Attilan?
If the Kree are here, can the Skrulls be far behind?
+Scott Randel In answer to your last question, no, because they're owned by whichever studio has rights to the FF.
Wow, that all fits together perfectly. Well done, +Dave Hill .
It's so well thought out and makes so much sense that it's sure to never happen, unfortunately.
It would be very cool if it did, though.
I will be tickled if it turns out to be true.
If it isn't, but is at least as interestingly crafted, I will be just as happy.
I will say that getting "Inhumans" into the mix would add a bit of Marvelishness that I think the show could really use. You can only flog Hydra for so long (esp. when the Hydra folk involved aren't really loyal Hydra folk).
+Scott Randel Actually, it occurs to me that the Chitauri are the Ultimate Universe Skrulls (for some reason), so that's about as close to the Skrulls as you're going to get in the MCU.
I’d say there’s as good a chance Skye is the Mandarin’s daughter. The real one from All Hail the King.
@Randy – Hmmm. That’s interesting. I could even see how you would go there. But … (1) I would have expected rings on the fingers, and (2) the depiction of Skye’s father _and_ mother as “monsters” seems a bit off. It also (3) doesn’t explain the compatibility to GH325.
But I;m not going to say you’re wrong, either.
Bleh.
Yep, we’ve been thinking inhumans around these parts, too. Guardians of the Galaxy (and to some extent Deathlok) shows that they aren’t afraid to tackle characters that only comic nerds know about.
@Solonor – More importantly, those are corners of the Marvelverse where they _can_ go — they certainly can’t do much with any of the big characters being involved in the movies without careful coordination (and, generally, the movie folks will win any arguments). In part I suspect that’s why they’ve been very coy about the Kree — any reveals as to who the Kree are have to come from the GotG movie first, just as any mention of Hydra had to wait for CAtWS.