Joss Whedon’s formula to bring the Marvel Universe to television in his Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series on ABC might just involve the curtailing of some of the more fantastic elements of superhero comics.  Reports across the internet indicate that the unwritten rule of thumb in the writer’s room is that every superpower employed on the series must have a scientific explanation.
 
Evidence to support this "restrained" approach to the world of superheroes, which has it parallels to the "No Tights, No Flights" policy adopted by the producers of Smallville in the show’s early years, can be found in the recent announcement that Whedon is adding a second science officer to the S.H.I.E.L.D. team.  Ian Hart who portrayed the purple turbaned Professor Quirinus Quirrell in the first Harry Potter movie, will join David Conrad, who played the lead (male character) on The Ghost Whisperer TV series, as science officers on the new Marvel show.
 
The question of just how restrained and scientific Whedon’s approach to superheroics will be on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t be answered definitively until the show debuts on ABC on September 24th, but there are signs that the show will employ enough scientific "truthiness" to keep the proceedings relatable to mainstream audiences, at least at first.