Category Archives: Television

by

Agents of SHIELD – S1E6 – F.Z.Z.T. – REVIEW

Spoilers abound! Read this only if you’ve already watched F.Z.Z.T!

Episode 6 of Agents of SHIELD, “F.Z.Z.T,” starts out normally. There’s a new super-powered mystery to be solved. This time, it’s a scout leader whose dead body is both electrically charged and hovering in the air. The good news is that it takes the team only half the episode to solve this one. The source of turns out a be a Chitauri helmet carrying some kind of space virus.

FZZT floaty

 

It was cool that the Agents of SHIELD TV show went beyond just passively referencing the Avengers movie here and brought in an actual prop that kickstarted this episode. It definitely helps the show feel like it’s securely grounded in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What was also cool about this plot was that there was no sinister villain hungry for power. The people who died thanks to the Chitauri helmet weren’t murdered. It was just wrong place, wrong time. Of course, it at first looks like one person is out to kill his friends, but when he dies and the SHIELD team recovers the helmet, everything is resolved and there’s no villain lurking in the shadows.

Chitauri Helmet

What follows is without a doubt the most intense half an episode we’ve had so far this season. I honestly had no idea if Simmons was going to make it out of this one alive. When she and Fitz failed in their final attempt at creating a cure, I was ready to yell at my TV, “You can’t kill Simmons!” But this is Whedon we’re talking about. He totally could.

Part of the reason that I love this episode so much is for the amount of screen time that Fitz and Simmons get. There is definitely chemistry between the two of them. We’re treated to their back story, which is great,except that it’s given to us in this frame that Simmons is about to die. If this was Lost, she’d definitely be dead for all the back story we got on the two of them.

When it’s revealed that the EM pulse from Simmons as she dies will blow the whole plane out of the sky, killing the entire SHIELD team, I breathed a sigh of relief. They can’t kill the whole team. There’d be no show. Then Simmons jumped from the plane…just as Fitz realizes they figured out a cure. It’s like a nerd version of Romeo and Juliet.

IAIN DE CAESTECKER, ELIZABETH HENSTRIDGE

If Simmons dies, we riot!

I literally cheered when Fitz tried to get that parachute on and Ward jumped out of the plane to save Simmons. This episode was INTENSE. At the end of the day, Ward saves Simmons and I don’t throw my remote at my TV over her death. Whedon, you played with my emotions like an episode of Parenthood here, and I thank you for it.

In Agent Coulson news, we get a BIG reveal tonight. Coulson undoes his shirt and shows off the massive scar where Loki blasted him in The Avengers. Someone told me that this is proof that Coulson is not a Life Model Decoy. I still think he’s a LMD, and that whoever designed the Coulson LMD went into very good detail. I’m guessing we won’t find out until the end of this season at the earliest.

Coulson Scar

Agents of SHIELD is crossing over with Thor: The Dark World in two weeks. In other words, make sure you see Thor: The Dark World. See you next week!

by

Arrow S2E2: “Identity”

I shall call myself Arrow.

I shall call myself Arrow.

We left off last episode with Oliver pondering a new identify while staring at an Arrow (CW, you’re so good at being deep). And this episode follows up with the title “Identity.”

Ok before we go on here I kind of want to take note of DC Entertainment’s super-hero naming conventions in media other than comics. In Smallville they did everything the could to not call Clark Kent Superman or Superboy. He was called the Blur or the Red Blue Blur. The Red Blue Blur? Really? That sounds cooler that Superboy? Selina Kyle was never called Catwoman in the Dark Knight Rises. Oliver Queen stars in a show called Arrow where he called the Hood. There was even a joke how dumb the name Green Arrow would be in the first season of the show. Now it looks like he will take the name Arrow. To me it feels like DC is slightly embarrassed by the names of their heroes. This Amazon show that is now on hold will feature Wonder Woman as the protagonist  probably won’t call her Wonder Woman. She’ll probably be called the Amazon. Anyway, I hope Oliver takes the name Green Arrow before the last episode of the show.

This episode revolves mostly around FEMA trucks not being able to get supplies to hospitals in the Glades after the quake because they are being hijacked. This places Roy as the scene first. It doesn’t go to well for him. This provides the spark for more tension between him and Thea, and for Ollie and his crew to get involved.

Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 2.15.09 PM

Now that Oliver is all about being more proactive, not killing, his trick arrows, and figuring out what his new heroic identify will be he decides to reorganize “Team Arrow.” Felicity Smoak who was created for the television show and plays the tech support character gets “promoted” to Ollie’s personal secretary. This helps them stay in close personal contact but pisses Felicity off. Not too great for the resume but great for humor. Case in point, this leads to one of the two best lines in the show, both by John Diggle. In response to Felicity’s freak out,  “It could be worse. My secret identity is ‘his black driver.” Boom. Hands down this guy is one of the best parts of the show. He follows with another great line later in the episode in response to one of Ollie’s “deep” statements talking about his two different identities, “You know I’ve been meaning to tell you it really weirds me out to no end the way you refer to yourself in the third person like that.” Could he be the Han Solo of the Arrow series? It is no wonder this made-for-TV character is jumping to the comic book pages.

Once Team Arrow sets up an operation to intercept the people stopping FEMA, shit hits the fan. They find out that last season’s villain China White and a new character from DC Comics the Bronze Tiger are behind it. Ahem, I mean we can’t use the name from the comic books. I mean Tiger. Hey does Tiger look familiar to anyone? That’s Michael Jai White who played Gambol, the thug that was not to happy with the Joker in The Dark Knight. In any case we find out that Tiger took the job just to challenge the Hood. They fight the fight is broken up. They’ll fight again later and hint, hint… Arrow wins.

Hey Michael Jai White apparently loves sharp objects and DC Comics.

Michael Jai White apparently loves sharp objects and DC Comics.

Things aren’t so neatly wrapped up. A new player is introduced as an advocate for the Glades, Alderman Sebastian Blood. He is an activist for the victims of the quake and being set up for as an antagonist for Oliver. He has comic book connections (see below).  In the island flashbacks Oliver copes with his first kill with Shado and Slade. They find a cave containing World War II Japanese soliders. Here Oliver finds a stone that he gives to Thea when he comes home. She gives it to Roy when she breaks up with him and asks him to get his life on track. Speaking of which the Hood tracks down Roy and convinces him to stop fighting in the Glades, but instead become his “eyes and ears” in the Glades. The episode leaves off with Laurel setting a trap to catch the Hood. We leave with Oliver surrounded by Police.

 

SPOILERS/NOTES/COMIC BOOK CONNECTIONS

Below I’m going to go into some source material things so SPOILERS ahead.

From left to right: Green Arrow: Year One writer Andy Diggle, and actor David Ramsey who plays John Diggle, with Jeff Lemire who is bringing John Diggle from the TV screen to comic book panels.

From left to right: Green Arrow: Year One writer Andy Diggle, actor David Ramsey (who plays John Diggle) with Jeff Lemire who is bringing John Diggle from the TV screen to comic book panels.

John Diggle. He was created for the TV sereis. His last name is a nod to Andy Diggle, who wrote my favorite Green Arrow story, Green Arrow: Year One. It gorgeous stylized art from the artist known as Jock. Diggle’s character has entered DC Comics this past month in Green Arrow #24 written by Jeff Lemire.

China White: She first appeared as the main villain in Green Arrow: Year One (so good) by Andy Diggle.

Bronze Tiger: Ben Turner is is a character that first appeared in a prose novel called Dragon’s Fists, written by Dennis O’Neil and Jim Berry. He first appeared in comic books in Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #1. Turner started out as an anti-hero and became brainwashed and forced to commit criminal. Later in his career he is deprogrammed more of a straight on hero. I hope to see him take more of a hero role in future issues.

Alderman Sebastian Blood: He is a character in DC Comics known as Brother Blood. He was created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez and first appeared in New Teen Titans vol. 1 #21 – 22. He is currently appearing in Animal Man written by current Green Arrow scribe Jeff Lemire.

Roy Harper: Roy Harper’s first appeared at the same time as Oliver Queen the Green Arrow did, in More Fun Comics #73 way back in 1941. After Roy’s father, a park ranger, died in a fire, he was raised by Brave Bow, a Navajo medicine chief. During this time Roy became a remarkable archer. After Brave Bow’s death, Roy was adopted by Oliver Queen and became his sidekick Speedy. Roy went on to join the a group of sidekicks called the Teen Titans lead by Batman’s sidekick Robin. During the 1970s he went down a troubled path when he became addicted to heroin in Green Lantern #85 – 86. He had an affair with a super-villain Cheshire, which resulted in him becoming a single father at a young age. He eventually changes his code name to Arsenal and eventually Red Arrow and then back again to Arsenal. Don’t ask. He seems to have as much trouble with names as DC Entertainment. If you’re looking for some good Roy Harper reading I would suggest the one-shot Batman plus Arsenal #1 and the  1998 mini-series Arsenal. Both are written by Devin Grayson and take place during a time where Oliver Queen is dead. Currently Roy is appearing in Red Hood and the Outlaws.

Written by Dave Tomko. Check out Dave’s site, newearth2.com.

by

Arrow S2E1: “City of Heroes” – REVIEW

City of Heroes

The last season of Arrow finished with a bang or more like a quake. Part of a devious plan, “The Undertaking” put into place by Malcolm Merlyn/The Dark Archer and a group of businessmen to level the Glades section of Starling City. The plan was partially successful despite Oliver Queen/The Hood/Arrow, Felicity Smoak, Detective Quentin Lance, and John Diggle’s efforts. It left Moira Queen incarcerated, the Glades in shambles, and Malcolm and his son Tommy dead along with over 500 civilians.

Within the first couple minutes we find out that Oliver Queen has blamed himself for not saving his best friend Tommy or the 500 other some odd dead people in the glades. And so like any emo 14 year-old who just broke up with his girlfriend or full grown super-hero, he exiles himself to his room to listen to Morrissey. Or in this case the island where he originally found himself spiritually and emotionally, Lian-Yu. And like any best friend or sidekick would, Felicity and Diggle venture to the island to shake him out of his funk. They’re all like dude everything sux now without you around. And they’re right. But Ollie is all like, hey I’m coming back but only as Oliver Queen guys not the Hood!

So non-Hood-Ollie returns to Starling City to find the Glades a mess. A new player, Isabel Rochev has purchased 40% of Queen Consolidated and is looking to purchase the last 10% to gain control of the company. A group called the Hoods co-opted Oliver’s look and are running around killing rich people. His mother, Moira is locked up in Iron Heights. Laurel Lance has taken a job at the DAs office and she has a new . Her father Quentin Lance has been demoted to a beat cop. Oliver’s sister Thea has been running his nightclub with Roy Harper which is above his “Arrow Cave” unbeknownst to them. Also, Roy is running around playing Hood Jr. in the Glades, which doesn’t make Thea very happy.

So Ollie comes back and takes care of all this stuff and by becoming the Hood again. The one difference is he won’t kill anymore. The show highlights this theme nicely with the fashbacks to the island that lead up to the first time he takes a life. The Hoods aptly illustrate how his mission can be skewed and taken off course. He decides he needs a new identiy and he stares at the Arrow.

It’s an okay jumping on point for new viewers. Definitely a strong start to the new season.

SPOILERS/NOTES/EASTER EGGS/COMIC CONNECTIONS

Below are notes and Easter eggs that will provide insight and connections to the comics that may spoil some future twists if you are not a comic book reader.

The news story on the TV screen when Ollie returns to Starling City gives us a hint of the character  who will be coming to Arrow. The line, “In Central City, S.T.A.R. Labs’s particle accelerator will be finished by Christmas, ” is a nice way to set the stage for The Flash. S.T.A.R. Labs is a research facility that first appeared in Superman vol. 1 #246 (December 1971). It stands for Scientific and Technological Advanced Research. Barry Allen (The Flash) is a forensic scientist from Central City that gets struck by lighting while being dowsed in chemicals. This accident gives him the the power of super-speed. It think changing the chemicals to a particle accelerator is a good way to update the origin of Barry Allen. Barry first appeared in Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956),

It’s also funny that Channel 52 where the news stories are being played is the name of the two page teaser comic in the back of DC Comics teasing what is to come in their new books.

Isabel_Rochev,_Oliver_Queen_and_Felicity_Smoak_at_Queen_Consolidated

Isabel Rochev played by the sexy Summer Glau comes straight from Green Arrow comic books. She was created by J.T. Krul and Diogenes Neves and first appears in Green Arrow vol. 4 #1 (August 2010). She is an adversary to Ollie’s that goes by the name of Queen. Born in Siberia, she lived a life of servitude in a diamond mine. When Oliver Queen’s father came to her village, she was inspired by the man, who she saw as a symbol of one’s inner power. She found him a great source of inspiration and vowed to make something of herself and rise from her humble status as a slave girl. She achieved this goal years later by purchasing stocks of Queen Industries and taking control of the company. This should be interesting.

In the last scene of the episode, Roy is fighting some street thugs in the Glades. He says he just ate a Big Belly Burger. This is a fast food restaurant in DC Comics that first Adventures of Superman#441 (June, 1988). He is helped out by a surprise vigilante. She is supposed to be the Black Canary. This is a big twist. The only Black Canary characters in the comic are Laurel and her mother. This must be a new take on the character. I’m looking forward to seeing more of her.

Written by Dave Tomko. Check out Dave’s site, newearth2.com.

by

Agents of SHIELD S1E5 – The Girl in the Flower Dress

agents-of-shield-logo-590x331

Big things happen in the fifth episode of Agents of SHIELD. Centipede returns! Skye’s loyalty is seriously questioned!

Centipede has returned! You knew it was only a matter of time. Centipede not only returns, it also makes substantial progress in its Extremis-based super serum. Debbie, the Centipede scientist from the pilot episode is here in this episode. She definitely comes across as being lower in rank in Centipede than I originally thought, and I don’t think we’ll be seeing her character again in the future. Being engulfed in flames with do that to you.

scorch

“Okay, fine! You don’t have to call me Scorch!”

We’re introduced to two new important Centipede members this episode. Ruth Negga plays Raina, the episode’s titular character, the girl in the flower dress. Seriously, that’s all she ever wears. She seems to have gotten a bulk discount on the same dress in different colors. Raina definitely exhibits sociopathic tendencies in her emotionless handling of Scorch and Debbie. In the scene after the credits, Raina meets with a jailed Centipede member. At first it seemed like he was a higher up, but by the way Raina was talking to him, I get the feeling is mid-level at best. I don’t expect him to be in jail for long.

RUTH NEGGA

Someone likes floral prints.

Skye’s loyalty is called into question this episode, and for good reason. She lets a fellow Rising Tide hacker friend know that SHIELD is coming for him. She’s then caught in a compromising position by SHIELD in his apartment. Her betrayal hits both Coulson and Ward very hard. It’s hard to tell who it hits harder. Coulson gave her a fresh start by inviting her into SHIELD, despite Ward and May telling him it was a bad idea. And while Ward didn’t originally like or trust Skye, that’s definitely changed over the course of the season, with the two of them spending their downtime together playing Battleship at the beginning of this episode.

Battleship? Really, Coulson? Such a high tech plane and you couldn’t get some Catan or Ticket to Ride up in there?

There was no cameo by Nick Fury, Maria Hill or any of the Avengers this week, but viewers were presented with a just under a full two minutes of Skye in her bra and panties. I was surprised by how long she was shirtless in this scene. But if your goal is get people to keep their eyes on the screen and get returning views on Hulu and abc.com, this is one way to do it. Showing a bit of gender equality, Miles, Skye’s hacker friend/fuck buddy is shirtless for this entire scene as well. Random thought: Bearded Austin Nichols looks a lot like bearded Henry Cavill.

skye underwear

The special effects in this episode were top notch. I think the production values here were the highest they’ve been so far this season. With ABC now signed on for a full season, maybe the budget will be increased. If so, I expect the show’s effects will continue to improve.

What I really liked about this episode is that we’re shown that there are people out there with powers who SHIELD is keeping track of. It’s not all just weird artifacts and the Avengers.

The SHIELD agents are getting a week off next week. There’s no new episode until November 5th. Looks like I’m watching Brooklyn 99 live this coming week.

by

Agents of SHIELD S1E4 – Eye Spy

The episode begins with a group of men all wearing matching suits and red masks and all carrying steel briefcases boarding a train. A woman observes them and follows. This was a nice set-up. I feel like we, as an audience, are more likely to be suspicious of the men in the red masks. They definitely set off my inner “If you see something, say something.” But as it turns out, it was the lone, silent woman who we should have been on the look out for. Well played, SHIELD screenwriters.

I do question the sanity of the passengers who boarded the train with those masked men. Is there anything more suspicious than a group of men in asks carrying steel briefcases? I would definitely wait for the next train. Actually, I think I would go upstairs and hail a cab.

agents of shield red masks

For the love of God, if you see something, say something!

Once SHIELD is assigned to the case, Agent Melinda May is given another compliment that further increases her bad ass quotient (She seems to average about one of these per episode). Coulson says he knew it had to be Akela behind these robberies. When May asks how he knew, he says he can think of only two people who can pull this off, and other one is on the plane with him. I’m really hoping we get to see May in full-on ass-kicking mode soon. I’m talking Wolverine in Uncanny X-Men #133.

xmen 132 final panel

I want Agent May to recreate the final panel of Uncanny X-Men #132 on an upcoming episode.

It’s interesting how adamant almost everyone on the SHIELD team is that telepathy and ESP don’t exist. I know Marvel’s merry mutant movies aren’t handled by Marvel Studios, but you would think even in a world where the X-Men don’t exist, the existence of beings like Thor and Loki would cause people to have an open mind about what powers are possible.

akela-amador-marvels-agents-of-shield

Pascale Armand has mastered “The Michonne Stare Down” for her portrayal of Akela Amador on Agents of SHIELD.

We get more in the “How did they resurrect Coulson?” mystery. Akela asks Agent May, “What did they do to him?” and going by her tone of voice, she’s not talking about Coulson’s personality. Akela’s surgically replaced eye has a back scatter function that basically allows it to function as an x-ray camera. Did she something not quite human in Coulson’s insides? My guess is yes.

Skye and Ward look like they’re developing feelings for each other that extend beyond being coworkers. There’s a lot of subtext and subtle flirting in their dialogue. Whatever. Give me more FitzSimmons!

The list of the SHIELD team’s enemies continues to grow. Whoever the mysterious bad guys are behind this series of break-ins, could they be part of the same group supplying the power brokers in the first episode? If so, I think we’re going to see the emergence of Hydra or AIM by the end of this season.

Agents of SHIELD continues to be a solid show. I think this might be my favorite episode since the season opener.

by

Agents of SHIELD S1E3: The Asset – Review

There are six members on Coulson’s Agents of SHIELD team, but with each passing episode, it seems like there are three distinct teams of two. Yes, they all worked together in episode two after the Bus had been commandeered, but with this episode we are back to smaller group dynamics. I think this works well, as the characters in each pairing play well off each other.

Skye and Agent Ward are once again paired up in this episode. Ward trains Skye, a hacker with no military experience, tricks that she’ll need to learn to stay alive in the field. Following the maxim that if a gun is shown in Act I, it must be fired by Act III, the means Skye learns to disarm a gunman in the opening of the episode is employed at the end of the episode. Though if I were Skye, I think I think I’d have less issue with pulling a trigger than I would sprinting off a balcony hoping that I land in the pool.

DAVID CONRAD, CHLOE BENNET

There’s nothing suspicious about playing with your compact as the villain reveals his master plan.

During Ward’s training of Skye, we find out that Ward’s brothers used to beat him up when he was a kid. We later find out he’s from Massachusetts. Of course he is. In movies and television, if you had brothers who liked to beat on you growing up, you’re either from Boston or Brooklyn. No one ever says “My brothers constantly beat me up when we were growing up…in Rhode Island.”

FitzSimmons continue to be my favorite characters on the show. I was hoping for more FitzSimmons in this episode, as they have a connection to Dr. Hall, the titular asset. Finally, Agent Coulson and Agent May round out the teams of two. Coulson and May, the two most experienced members of the group, often come across as the parent figures of the team. They’re in charge and the other characters definitely defer to them. Taking this analogy further, Skye and Ward are the surly teens of the family and FitzSimmons are the whiz-kid younger siblings.

Mr. Tim, of the Our Valued Customers webcomic, had a great one-panel comic that summed up exactly how I felt by the end of this episode:

ovc

Courtesy of Our Valued Customers

Well played, Joss.

I love that the creators are baiting us with Coulson’s mysterious resurrection. We gettwo really good lines of dialog here. Early on,  Coulson tells May, “I saw plenty of action with the Avengers,” to which she replies when he’s out of earshot, “And you died.” Later, someone tells Coulson he’s “a little rusty.” Rusty? Maybe because he’s a robot? At New York Comic Con this weekend, the most popular theory among the fans I talked to is that Agent Coulson is an LMD and doesn’t know it. I’m guessing we won’t find out the answer until the last scene of the season finale.

The final scene at the very end of this episode is huge. No Nick Fury or Maria Hill cameo, but this episode’s ending should have a big effect on the series going forward. It looks like we’ll definitely see the return of Dr. Hall. Many are saying, myself included, that we just saw the birth of the classic Marvel villain Graviton in that swirling ball of liquid metal that looked like a cast-off from The Abyss. I like that the show is setting itself up for returning issues to be dealt with (Graviton, The Power Broker). I’m really hoping that with Thor: The Dark World being released soon, we’ll get a Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston or at least a  Stellan Skarsgard cameo at the end of an episode soon.

gravaton

 

by

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD: Episode 102: "0-8-4" – Review

4/5 – But the last 5 minutes makes me want to give it 5/5.

The second episode of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD aired last night. During the preview at the end of the first episode, we were teased with the phrase “Oh-eight-four.” In last night’s episode, we found out what an 0-8-4 is. It’s the code for an object of unidentified origin. The last 0-8-4 Coulson dealt with was Thor’s hammer in the dessert. This 0-8-4 takes the team out of the country to a South American jungle.

The episode began excitedly, with a gaping hole in the SHIELD plane’s hull mid-flight. We then immediately flashback to the start of the mission. I know this cold open with the plane in distress was used to lure in viewers, but I think I would have preferred finding out about the hull breach when it actually happened. This opening telegraphed Camilla’s betrayal too much.

Speaking of Camilla, when she first started flirting with Coulson, I started to think that Coulson was like Will Ferrell’s character Detective Gamble in The Other Guys. Hot women are just throwing themselves at him. We find out later Camilla had other plans.

Another thing about Coulson: he bleeds. After he gets punched in the face, Coulson is clearly bleeding from the mouth. If Coulson is some kind of Life Model Decoy, he’s an advanced one, with blood pumping through his veins…or tubes.

If Coulson is a LMD, I hope we get a scene that involves a decapitated head with wires sticking out.

FitzSimmons continues to delight. They are easily my favorite part of the show.They remind of  equal parts Doctor Who companions and Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter. I would watch a FitzSimmons spin-off.

Fitz (left) and Simmons (right)

Ming-Na Wen’s character Agent May is my other favorite. She’s just so bad ass. I like that  the mysterious bad ass agent with a past on Agents of SHIELD is a woman. It seems like a refreshing change of pace from most shows. But I honestly wouldn’t expect any less from Joss Whedon.

Melinda May is the Wolverine of Agents of SHIELD.

The only downside to this episode is that it felt a bit uneven. While the episode served to bring this team of disparate individuals together as a unit, the build-up in the first half of the episode was on the slow side. The focus shifted a bit too often, but I guess that’s a problem when you’re still introducing a cast this big to the audience. I’m hoping future episodes, once we know everyone, will be a bit more streamlined. But the episode still has all the wit and charm you’d expect from a Joss Whedon show and I don’t see that stopping, so I can’t complain too much.

This episode’s fanboy service comes to you courtesy of the SHIELD team’s airborne mobile command center, whose call sign is SHIELD 616. In the Marvel Universe, 616 refers to the Earth where all the classic Marvel superheroes live. Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, if you grew up reading Marvel comics, chances are you were reading the 616 universe. This term originates from a Captain Britain comic from the 1980s, in which Captain Britain discovers he’s a member of an interdimensional group of Captain Britains. He’s the Captain Britain of Earth-616.

Did you catch the blueprint of the SHIELD 616 behind Coulson’s desk?
Marvel will be selling this blueprint at NYCC 2013.

How awesome was Nick Fury’s appearance at the end of the episode? It felt like an after the credit scene in a Marvel movie! The fact that we got Samuel L. Jackson in this episode makes me hopeful that we’ll get some of the other bigger names from the Marvel Cinematic Universe showing up in future episodes, even if it’s just for a cameo. Maybe a debriefing with Thor after the team handles a problem of Asgardian origin, or an appearance by Jon Favreau as Tony Stark’s head of security Happy Hogan if the team needs to secure something on Stark property.

“Does the SHIELD 616 look like a bitch? Then stop treating it like one!”
Two episodes in and the only complaint I really have with Agents of SHIELD is that it conflicts with Brooklyn 99, my other favorite new show of the season.

by

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD S1E1: "Pilot" – Review

Without a doubt, the new series that I was most excited for this fall was Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. In September, I was counting down the days until the show premiered. I pre-ordered the SHIELD agent badge and ID for New York Comic Con. September 24 could not get here soon enough.

My expectations were high. I started to worry that they might be too high. What if this Agents of SHIELD series turned out to be a train wreck like the 1999 David Hasselhoff Nick Fury made-for-TV movie?

Never forget.
On second thought, forget. For the love of all that is good, forget!

Tuesday, 9/24, 20:00 hours arrived. I was bolted to my seat at 19:57.

This was the pilot episode? Aren’t pilot episodes supposed to suck? This was awesome! Marvel/Disney is definitely giving them the budget they need. Thanks to the budget, the show fits into the Marvel Cinematic Universe not just in story, but in style too.

While the SHIELD agents don’t have superpowers, I’m very happy that the show will feature people with powers. I’m sure I’m not the only one who hoped that the super strong character that turned out to be Michael Peterson was in fact Luke Cage. Michael Peterson on the show and Luke Cage in the comics come to their powers through similar means. Maybe since Skye wiped Michael from every database we’ll see him reemerge with Luke Cage as his new alias.

Not Luke Cage…yet.

Let’s talk about Coulson for a minute. There’s definitely more to his return from death than it being all a set up by Fury to fool the Avengers into forming and that Coulson was cooling his jets in Tahiti. Dr. Streiten (Ron Glass! Shepherd! Yes!) and Maria Hill basically say as much when Coulson leaves them. Streiten is surprised Coulson still believes the Tahiti story and Hill counters that Coulson can never find out the truth. I think Coulson has definitely been completely lied to. I don’t think his death in Avengers was planned in advance. Life Model Decoys were mentioned in the Avengers movie, making me believe that this Coulson we’re seeing today is a Life Model Decoy that’s been programmed with the original Phil Coulson’s brain patterns. For those of you unfamiliar with the Marvel comics from which Agents of SHIELD is based, a Life Model Decoy, or LMD for short, is basically a very advanced android that looks, sounds and feels like the real person, but is in fact a robot. Think of it as half clone-half robotic decoy. For you Battlestar Galactica fans, Coulson is basically a toaster now. Or at least, that’s my theory. Whatever the explanation turns out to be, I’m glad Clark Gregg is a part of this show.

Everyone who is still human, take a seat. Not so fast, Coulson!

One quick thought on Maria Hill: With How I Met Your Mother wrapping up this season, I wonder if Cobie Smulders will have a much bigger role on Agents of SHIELD starting in season 2.

Cobie Smulders stars in How I Met Your Hydra

The pilot episode’s script had the right amount of both suspense, action and humor that you’d expect from a Joss Whedon show. I loved the porcupine/poop-with-knives-sticking-out-of-it bit, as well as Agent Ward’s “Gramsy” line when he’s being interrogated by Skye. The best though might have been Simmons announcing that she’s not Hermione. Aw yeah, Harry Potter reference.

Agents of SHIELD tied very well into both Iron Man 3 and Avengers. I like that Extremis heavily factored into this episode and that gamma rays played a part in powering Michael. I also like that SHIELD has been given a shadowy enemy to hunt down with this new power broker business. I just hope the show doesn’t turn into a “monster of the week” show like the first season Smallville.

I think Joss Whedon has done a great job of making a show that is accessible to both long time Marvel fans, fans of the Marvel movies, and people who are just walking in cold and who want a dose of sci-fi with their police procedural.

Other random thoughts on the episode: I think they’re setting us up for Skye-Agent Ward romance, but I’m more interested in Fitz and Simmons. Having Lola’s wheels turn down and fly at the end was the best form of fan service imaginable, though using the phrase “journey into mystery” in a line of dialog was a close second.

Flying car! Okay, this is SHIELD!

I loved the first episode of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. I’m in for the long haul. Expect to see a review here for every new episode. Next week we find out the answer to the question of just what is an Oh-8-4.

by

NYCC Exclusive Agents of SHIELD Phil Coulson Badge and ID Pre-Order!

One of the coolest looking exclusives at the upcoming 2013 New York Comic Con is eFX Inc’s Agent Phil Coulson Badge and ID. Cast from the master molds used in ABC’s Agents of SHIELD TV series, these prop replicas look like the same badges carried by SHIELD agents on the show. The badge and ID come in a genuine leather wallet embossed with the SHIELD logo.

What’s more is the NYCC version includes a personalized ID card with YOUR photo and information! Going by the reaction I’ve seen so far on Twitter, I expect this to be one of the most sought after NYCC collectibles this year. The NYCC exclusive badge and personalized ID set is limited to 1500 pieces and costs $50.

Beginning tomorrow, Tuesday 9/17/13 at 9 AM Pacific (12 Noon Eastern), you’ll be able to pre-order your badge directly from eFX for pick-up at NYCC. You’ll even be able to upload a photo of yourself so that your badge and custom ID will be ready for you at NYCC, allowing you to skip the sure to be long line for this collectible. I wouldn’t be surprised if eFX completely sells out from just the pre-order.

It’s time to break out your black suit, white shirt and black tie!

Information on how to pre-order the badge tomorrow can be found on the eFX website.