Front Lines - Mini-Reviews (Week of March 9) and Best Superhero Shows on TV

Agents of SHIELD #3 by Marc Guggenheim and German Peralta

Summary: Coulson’s ex-girlfriend Lola is still working for the Department of Defense.  She seems to be trying to manipulate Coulson.  She also knows about the Kobik program, which is still active.

Coulson’s team is hot on the trail of the stolen Quantum Drive which contains plans to take down all superheroes.  Coulson is also really concerned about Rick Jones work as the Whisperer.  

May and Mockingbird head to AIM Island for the auction for the Quantum Drive.  Wolverine (the dead one) seems to be there.

Deathlok, Simmons, and Daisy go to find Rick Jones.  They find a hidden USB drive in his apartment with his escape plan.  They head into the Morlock tunnels.  Rick ambushes them using various artifacts like US Agent’s shield and Ringmaster’s hat.  Daisy manages to knock him out with a rubber bullet.  He’s brought back to Coulson’s HQ.  The New Avengers break into the base to rescue him.

Mike Maillaro: There was a lot going on here, but for the most part, I thought they managed to balance what was going on in Avengers Standoff and in the various storylines running in this series.  I did think it was odd that they just jumped to the conclusion that Whisperer was Rick Jones.  It felt a little like a cheap plot contrivance to move things along.  I did like Rick Jones use of various super-power weapons.  It definitely fit his character.  

Both Agents of SHIELD and Uncanny felt like there were small continuity issues with the main Avengers Standoff issues.  Marvel’s editing on these crossovers always feels so terrible.  

Matt Graham: Marvel’s editing feels bad when it’s their flagship books, while all the secondary wheels shine to me. Comparing this issue to Uncanny Avengers only underlines that for me.

This was a good issue. Guggenheim wove the series and event together well and kept everything moving. I don’t read this title regularly and I didn’t feel lost at all. In fact, it reminded me of the old 80s and 90s X-Men books that were steeped in decades of history and drama but still managed to read like anyone’s first issue while not treating regulars or newcomers like idiots. This book may have accomplished the crossover dream: I’m now interested in checking out the series thanks to this taste. On the other hand, this issue didn’t feel like required reading.

I remember reading Onslaught Omega and declaring that in the future I’d just read the bookend titles and skip all the tie-ins (I never did do that) and the past few Marvel events haven’t helped that outlook. 

I didn’t get the impression the Whisperer’s identity was jumped to. He was outed and pursued in the Alpha, so I buy that information was in SHIELD’s systems for Coulson to get an alert on. He even stated it was a Level-9 item. It was cool to see Rick Jones using an armory of past glories to aid his escape.

Mike: My impression for Alpha was that people didn’t know it was him (they tracked Whisperer to a certain location, not to a specific person), just because Sam kept telling him to hide his face, but I could definitely have read that wrong.  

Matt: No, you’re correct. That happened. They traced Sam to Whisperer’s apartment. Agents of SHIELD establishes it’s been gone over by SHIELD forensics. I’ll buy it.

Uncanny Avengers #7 by Gerry Duggan and Ryan Stegman

Summary: This issue starts dealing with various family issues.  Quicksilver has been keeping a close eye on Scarlet Witch without her knowing.  Brother Voodoo’s dead brother asks him for help in returning to life.  Brother Voodoo refuses.  Meanwhile, Cable is training Synapse in the various tactical ways her powers can be used, including as a lie detector.

The Uncanny Avengers are called to Connecticut.  A supervillian has stolen a government vehicle.  It turns out that it’s Deadpool’s CO, Wrecker.  Wrecker had be arrested and taken to Pleasant Hill, but he escaped.  Wrecker is trying to get arrested and sent back to prison because he has a friends there who he wants to protect.  Voodoo reveals that that friend is already dead.

Wrecker tells the team about Pleasant Hill.  Synapse confirms that he’s telling the truth.  There is someone else in the vehicle.  It’s Maria Hill.  

SHIELD arrives.  The Uncanny Avengers decide to fight back against SHIELD for setting up “villain Guantanamo.” They escape SHIELD are Deadpool sends Wrecker back out to continue tracking leads on Red Skull.  The team heads to Pleasant Hill with Maria Hill.  Only for another Maria Hill in a chopper to go after them.  She blasts them with a massive energy beam.

Mike: Like I was saying in the review of Agents of SHIELD, the continuity here feels odd.  Steve Rogers had called the Uncanny Avengers for backup, but they seem to have no idea what’s going on in Pleasant Hill.  In addition, it’s never clear how Wrecker managed to escape with everything going on in Pleasant Hill. The two Hills brings up some interesting questions, but after two real strong issues to start Avengers Standoff by Nick Spencer, it’s starting to feel like another messy Marvel crossover.

Matt: I’ll play the good cop. Steve Rogers called for backup yet didn’t fill them in. This issue opens with the Avengers en route to respond when they notice the Hummer causing chaos on the highway. It could have been clearer, but that was my read after I flipped back a page. 

I’m willing to work with off-panel plot for this, so I’m hoping Wrecker and Hill’s escape gets a flashback. Synapse was able to pull a mental ping on Hill when she crawled from the car, so I’ll call that the second Hill is an LMD. Hill wasn’t that far vindictive when we last saw her.

Unlike SHIELD, this issue did feel necessary for keeping up.

It keeps coming up in the books, so I’ll comment on it. I understand the rich story veins to be mined from our modern world, but the constant Guantanamo and whistleblowing/Wiki references feel out of sync with the way the Marvel world usually feels. It could be something as simple as throwing back to the Negative Zone Prison from Civil War instead of Guantanamo. I’m not against these references - X-Men is my favourite superhero book because the basic pitch is so versatile and relevant at any time. It just feels odd in this event’s execution and slightly dated. It brought to mind DKIII and how that Batman title manages to comment on the last few years without missing a beat or feeling out of place.

That out of the way, this is another book that may have turned my attention over to the series. I’m not sure why I don’t read this one. Rogue is my favourite X-Men and Marvel character. I have friends who send me hourly updates on art, merchandise, and cosplay to get a reaction out of me. Cable is another favourite.  I wasn’t enthused about another iteration of Uncanny Avengers, but this issue earned some back issue purchases.

Mike: For the most part, I am pretty agnostic when it comes to Uncanny Avengers.  I actually have bought and read every issue of all three series, but it’s never going to be one of my favorite series.  To me, it’s always been a great concept with some questionable execution.  But still just barely good enough for me to never feel inclined to drop the book.  I am not sure it has any value as a flagship book, but as a quirky little comic, it works far more often than it doesn’t.

Grey Scherl: I take an issue with this “flagship” team featuring a member in Deadpool who literally owns bad guys. I mean, we’ve seen this group appear in Black Knight to try and bring him to justice for killing someone, we’ve seen them in Captain America coming at Sam for working with a whistleblower, but nobody seems to give a crap that Deadpool has supervillains working for him on retainer.

Mike: I saw it very much as a “criminal informant” situation.  Yeah, Wrecker is bad, but if they can use him to bring in Red Skull with Professor Xavier’s powers, then it’s worth making that deal.  Besides, it’s not like the Wrecking Crew have ever been all that serious a threat.  I see it as the super villain equivalent of getting a car thief to turn on a crime boss.   Yeah, it makes no sense that Steve Rogers of all people would allow it, but pretty much everyone else on the team is morally compromised enough to turn a blind eye towards that one.  

Matt:  I’m not sure you interpreted it properly if you think Deadpool just owns villains.  I’m with Mike on this one. If they’re after Red Skull, Wrecker is a small fish and one that is routinely handled when out of line. It’s also the sort of move Cable would pull despite any other X-Team leader telling him it sucks, so with that entire roster it’s a good play. Nearly every one of them has been on both sides of the law, and I like an unconventional strike team.

I don’t think Steve Rogers would allow it, as he’s always struck me as an Immediate Good over Greater Good guy. I would say the Avengers branding is what makes it strange over anything else brought up. If it was X-Force or some new branding of an old team (The Challengers challenging authority?) I’d buy it over that iconic Avengers image. It’s like calling Doom Patrol or Checkmate the JLA.

Then again, I don’t understand why most of the current Avengers titles are stabled as such.

Action Comics #50 by Greg Pak, Aaron Kuder, and Various

Summary: Vandal Savage is bringing the comet that gave him his powers back to Earth to further empower himself and his children.  He has most of the Justice League captured to power his plan.  He also stole the Fortress of Solitude.  Superman has been using Kryptonite to power himself, even as it is killing him.  He has called together Wonder Woman, some second stringers, as well as his human allies to fight back against Savage and to rescue civilians.

Savage plans on launching his children at the comet.  They will either get more power or die proving to him that he needs to abort this plan entirely.  Superman and his allies rescue the Justice League.  He has the Justice League evacuating all civilians from the area.  He is determined to face Savage.  Superman is unable to stop the launch.  Savage shoots him in the chest, throwing him off his base.  Superman crashes into the Fortress of Solitude, which is able to restore him to full health and power.  He’s ready to confront Savage.  Savage’s children have returned, powered up by the comet.  Superman and his allies face off against them as the issue ends.

Mike Maillaro: I know, I know.  This ending was kind of rushed after all the build up. And it seems like a bit of a copout that NOW the Fortress was able to restore him to full health and power. BUT, I still thought this was a terrific comic.  I loved seeing all the heroes and civilians taking inspiration from Superman. This is something that has really been missing from New-52.  

I also love that Savage is just so vile. When he admits that he basically send the kids into space because he won either way, it was just great.  Vandal Savage has never done much for me, but they have done a great job making him into a real threat in this arc.  My only gripe is that with all this talk about Vandal Savage’s kids, I was hoping to see Scandal Savage show up.  She actually IS one of my favorite characters.  Secret Six for life!

Grey: Vandal is an absolutely amazing villain, and I’m happy to see DC finally give him the push he has long deserved. Unfortunately, I don’t see it lasting too much longer unless Legends of Tomorrow keeps him as the big bad going into season two.

Superman getting his powers back after two seconds in the Fortress felt like a cop out, but I did really love the moments leading up to it and falling out of it. With no powers, with no secret identity, DC finally got Superman back where he needed to be. The inspiration for every person that believes in doing what’s right. This arc finally made him feel like Superman again.

Mike: I totally agree with all that.  This has been by far the best showing Superman’s had in the New-52.  If Superman is going to be this way in DC Rebirth, I may actually be able to proudly call myself a Superman fan again.  It’s been far too long since I can do that...

Batman and Robin Eternal #23 by James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder, Genevieve Valentine, and Christian Duce

Summary: Across the world, the effects of Mother’s Trauma Beam are starting to be felt. In Gotham, Stephanie suits up as Spoiler.  She warns Cullen to be careful, but he insists on helping.  Red Robin arrives.  He asks Spoiler and Cullen to guard Scarecrow in case Mother goes after him in an attempt to get rid of all the loose ends.

The Robins have gathered all their allies to help, including Midnighter who is able to teleport them all over the world.  They track Mother to the Arctic.  Somnus is transmitting to towers all over the world.  Most the Robins and their allies go to towers.  

Red Hood decides to try and convince Scarecrow to make more trauma toxin to help fight Mother’s signal. It takes some convincing, but Red Hood suggests “you can do something Batman couldn’t...outsmart Mother.”

Grayson gets as close as he can to Mother’s base, but he has no idea what he’s going to find there.  Meanwhile, it seems like the Trauma Beam is pretty much past the point of no return.  To be continued.

Mike: I have really enjoyed Batman and Robin Eternal, though I do think the ending kind of keeps cheating.  “IF THIS TRAUMA BEAM IS ACTIVATED, ALL CHILDREN WILL BE A BLANK SLATE!”  Trauma beam activated.

“IF WE DON’T STOP IT IN AN HOUR, WE WILL BE PAST THE POINT OF RETURN!”  Nightwing doesn’t even get to outside the base until well after an hour has passed.

They keep moving the goal post, which for me kind of feels like cheating.  That hasn’t really taken away from how intense these last few issues have been, but at this point, I just keep feeling like they are lying to the reader.  That said, there were some great scenes in this one, like the Robins gathering their allies, and Red Hood playing on Scarecrow’s ego.

Best Superhero shows on TV

Mike: I can literally watch a superhero show every night Monday to Friday if I spread out Supergirl and Gotham

Grey: I've got Flash at 1, Supergirl at 2, SHIELD at 3, Arrow at 4, Gotham at 5, and Legends at 6. Not judging Agent Carter since I've only seen half of the first season.  And despite Legends at 6, I'm REALLY enjoying that show

Mike: My list is real close, though I would swap Supergirl and Flash. And I feel the same way about Legends.

Grey: they've done more in six eps to define Sarah and Ray than had been done in years of Arrow

Mike: Agent Carter is only part time, but if I was going to rank it, I would say just below AoS.

Grey: I would not be surprised if I go to give you this list in June and Legends and Arrow flip spots

Mike: Arrow pretty much only holds it's spot for me because I love Stephen Amell. If I was being unbiased, it would probably fall lower.

Grey: But I also have been hating a lot of the writing on Arrow this year. Ollie is great, Diggle is great, Darhk and Merlyn are great that's it Thea is inconsistent, Laurel is boring, and Felicity is fucking horrible

Mike: I do like Quentin, but his role gets smaller all the time

Grey: His arc across the series has been fantastic.  he and Ollie are the only characters to truly grow and change

Mike: And then I have DD and Jessica Jones. ARGH wink emoticon

Grey: I don't even count those, totally unfair.  like counting Dead

Mike: They announced Luke Cage for September.

Grey: Cage in September makes me worry, when do we get more Jess?

Mike: I think Jessica Season 2 would probably be between Cage and Iron Fist. Follow the Dardevil model. Dardevil  Season 1, Jessica Jones Season 1, Daredevil Season 2, Cage Seaon 1, Jessica Jones Season 2, Iron Fist Season 1, Cage Season 2

Grey: I look forward to the day when there are four different shows running a year on Netflix

Mike: I would love that, but I am thinking each gets two seasons, except Iron Fist, and then Defenders. This is based on nothing but me pulling it from my ass.

Matt: Do you think Rebirth will bring redesigned characters? Supergirl's show brought the skirt back.

Grey: I think it will redo some designs. Maybe a Flash with less lightning going on than his current incarnation Aquaman with a movie look

Mike: Yeah I definitely think we will get some redesigns. Maybe even a "regression" to more classic looks. Especially for superman and family

Matt: No more JLA piping?

Grey: I don't hate the piping, ever since Lee left JL it's been downplayed across the board