by Brett White

Mutants just can't get any respect.

Or, in reality, Marvel just can't get their rights back from Fox, meaning that any character first and foremost identified as an X-Man or X-villain won't be appearing on "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." anytime soon, as explicitly stated by show-runners Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

"We can't ever say 'mutant,'" revealed Tancharoen. We've known this would be the case ever since Marvel started building their Cinematic Universe while Fox simultaneously began repairing their X-Franchise a few years ago, but the inclusion of mutant Avengers Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in the upcoming "Avengers: Age of Ultron" might have given fans an ounce of hope that a certain clawed Canadian and his super-powered buds could pop up on the show. But that's not going to happen, and Jed Whedon revealed the creators behind "S.H.I.E.L.D." have a very specific list of characters they're allowed to use.

"There's a database that's tailored to our show with the properties we can use as well as the properties that are owned by other studios and things that are flagged for major franchises," revealed Whedon. "There are certain areas we can't go because we don't want to step on the toes of the movies." As a fan of both Marvel Comics and databases, this particular spreadsheet sounds like my Holy Grail. I am fascinated by it, and I want to see it.

This also reminds me of a memo that Marvel historian Sean Howe found; the memo ranked pretty much every Marvel Comics character in rotation back in 1972 in order of importance, with—surprise, surprise—Quicksilver voted as one of the least important characters.

Don't feel bad for Quicksilver, though, because dude's going to be in two movies. One can only imagine what information the "S.H.I.E.L.D." database contains...

The interview also touched upon a recent rumor that Joss Whedon had been brought on to do rewrites on "S.H.I.E.L.D." at the last minute.

"That is not true," said Tancharoen. "If he has been doing it," continued Jed Whedon, "then he's changed the lines to what they were before."

"Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." debuts tonight at 8 pm on ABC.

What X-Men would you want to see on "S.H.I.E.L.D."? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Twitter!