SHIELD TV Pilot ‘Not Based As Much On The Comics’?

What's it like to join SHIELD? Apparently, very easy, at least according to Ming-Na Wen, who also reveals that the ABC show may not resemble the comic book version of the spy agency as much as some fans would like if it makes it to series.In this October interview from AMC Theaters, Ming-Na answered some questions about the pilot Joss Whedon is co-writing (with Dr. Horrible partners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen) and directing and suggests that there won't be that many clues to the show's direction found in the Marvel Comic Book Universe:

Now, while it does seem as if Ming-Na wasn't entirely prepared for the questions and may have been trying to bluff her way out of saying "I've never read the comics but Joss Whedon's just made this massively successful movie based on them so I'm not going to make the fans angry by admitting that," it's also worth pointing out that a SHIELD TV show was never that likely to have been that faithful to its comic book origins. For one thing, the Marvel movie universe is far more grounded than the Marvel comic universe, so we're sadly unlikely to see the super-spy hi-jinks of the classic Jim Steranko issues of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, and for another: Has there ever ever really been a SHIELD book that wasn't really a "Nick Fury and his flunkies" book...? The TV pilot is entirely lacking Fury, after all, and features a cast of characters created entirely for the show...

SHIELD is currently in pre-production, and rumored to be up for a fall 2013 slot on ABC. Consider it something to hope for from the New Year.