January 7, 2015 by Billy Henehan

Best Comics of 2014

2014 was a great year for comic books. The hosts of the Tuesday Night Comic podcast were asked to list their top 5 favorite comics of 2014. Whittling the lists down to just 5 comics each was tough, but here they are!

Billy:

5. Andre the Giant

As soon as I started reading Box Brown’s biography of Andre the Giant, I could not put it down. Besides being incredibly well researched, it’s also a very good read. Box Brown really shows off his skills as a cartoonist on a subject that comes across as very dear to him. This might be the best biographical comic book I’ve ever read.

4. Copra

At the tail end of 2014, fans of Michel Fiffe’s Copra worried that his deal with Marvel might mean Copra would be put on hiatus. Thankfully, Fiffe’s love letter to the Suicide Squad continued in 2014 with 6 new issues. The series shifted for Round 3, with each issue focusing on a specific character. As of this writing, Michel has exactly 8 subscriptions available for the next 6 issues of Copra available at his Etsy shop. Trust me, you will not regret treating yourself to this.

3. Silver Surfer

Dan Slott is writing the best Doctor Who comic on the stands, and it is Silver Surfer.

2. Ms. Marvel

Month in, and month out, this comic book is so good! I can’t rave about it enough, and I know I’m not the only one. It was great seeing fans coplaying as Kamala Khan at NYCC this past year, and any panel attended by Ms. Marvel writer G. Willow Wilson was a packed one.

1. The Multiversity

There’s a reason Dave and I go into lengthy conversations on the Tuesday Night Comics podcast about every new issue of The Multiversity. It’s because it’s that damn good!

Dave:

5. The New 52: Futures End

This has really been a fun read.

4. The Multiversity

Can Grant Morrison write these series of books forever?

3. Wonder Woman

Great series and a great end to the series.

2. American Vampire

I just loved this series. I purchased this series during a sale and I’m all caught up. The world the Scott Snyder builds here is great. I can’t wait to jump on board the new series.

1. Locke & Key

Read this series this year and I couldn’t stop reading it. The speed at which I ripped through these books reminded me of binging on the Harry Potter novels.

Nick:

5. Batgirl

…by Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, Babs Tarr, and Maris Wicks: I was a little hesitant to add this one, since we’ve only gotten three issues so far, but what can I say: good comics are good comics! And Batgirl is a great comic. Other than Snyder and Capullo’s run on Batman (another contender for best-of-the-year, by the way,) I’ve pretty much stayed away from DC since the New 52 started, but I love everything about this take on the character. The team got a lot of press with the redesign of Barbara’s costume, but, just like Silver Surfer, the emphasis is on fun, and the art (Stewart does the layouts, Tarr does the drawing) is rad. I’ll be picking this up as long as they’re making it.

4. Silver Surfer

…by Dan Slott, Mike Allred, and Laura Allred: Look, I’m as surprised about this as you are; I don’t care about the Silver Surfer, I’ve never cared about the Silver Surfer – not even in the issues of Fantastic Four where he was first introduced. But this book is fantastic! It’s charming and fun, which shouldn’t surprise me, since it’s Mike Allred, but still. Much like Mark Waid’s Daredevil run, Slott and the Allreds have taken a character I had zero affinity for and put together one of my favorite books. Who’s going to do that next year?!?

3. Saga

…by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples: this was on my list in 2012, but like I said before: “good comics are good comics!” This year saw both the conclusion of the 3rd arc of the book and the whole of the 4th, which jumps ahead in time a few years. After pulling us in with the Romeo & Juliet-style love-affair between Marco and Alana in the first 18 issues, Vaughan and Staples then proceed to yank the rug right out from under us over the next 6. I’m not going to spoil things for you, but I will say this: we never did have to see Romeo & Juliet actually have to learn to live with one another.

2. Sex Criminals

…by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky: Another repeat, this time from last year’s list, the second volume of Sex Criminals hits the same note as Saga: in a relationship, what happens when the honeymoon ends? This arc is definitely darker than the first, although Zdarsky tosses in enough background jokes to keep everything fun. The end of the second volume hasn’t come out yet, but I have faith that Fraction and Zdarsky will not let us down. Also – if you’re trade-waiting this series, don’t! The letters page is the best!

1. Seconds

…by Bryan Lee O’Malley and Nathan Fairbairn: Scott Pilgrim is one of my all-time favorite comics, so I was anxiously awaiting O’Malley’s follow-up ever since it was announced a couple of years ago. When the book finally arrived in July, I spent a morning reading the entire thing…then read it again that afternoon. Even though it probably gets the most attention for its video game references, Scott Pilgrim was essentially about figuring yourself out in your early/mid 20’s. Seconds follows the same path, only this time it’s about realizing you’re in your 30’s, and looking back on the decisions you’ve made and how they’ve brought you to where you are. The book replaces Pilgrim’s video game metaphors with a more supernatural flavor, which fits the subject matter perfectly. On the art side, O’Malley has grown as a comic artist by leaps and bounds – the book is stunning. I already knew going in that the colors would be great (Fairbairn has been doing an amazing job with the Scott Pilgrim color editions) but I was blown away when I read the final product – throw in lettering by my second favorite letterer, Dustin Harbin, and Seconds was not just the best comic I read this year, it might be the best book I read this year, period.

Alli:

5. Annihilator

Grant Morrison’s Legendary comics debut with Annihilator this year really blew me away. With fantastic art from Frazer Irving and the story being written by one of industry’s best writers, this book had everything going for it and it did not disappoint. Ray Spass is a writer who has to team up with his own fictional character to save his sanity and the world in the process, Annihilator was a real welcome new book from this past year.

4. Black Science

Take one part Sliders, one part Lost in Space, and add some of the best action in comics and you have Rick Remender’s Black Science. Parallel worlds and dangerous alien races with a cast of characters who are as expendable as the cast of Game of thrones. The action is intense and this book grabbed me from issue one and never let go.

3. East of West

Jonathan Hickman is writing one of the most gripping post apocalyptic westerns ever and I just can’t stop reading it. I love this book and got the first 2 trades as gifts and have added it to my monthly pick ups. East of West is a harsh and uncompromising vision of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse and the Horsemen Death’s quest for revenge and redemption.

2. Saga

Saga is still good and still worth reading every single issue. Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples spent 2014 continuing the exploits of Alana and Marko and just keep offering the best story and dialogue in the business, hands down.

1. Rat Queens

Kurtis J. Wiebe was at a signing this year and I missed him by 10 minutes. If i had met him I would have said “Thank you so much for writing one of the most important comic books in my social adult life.” Rat Queens was the book I gave to my girlfriend and she gave to her friends, and I gave to my friends, who in turn gave to their friends. Rat Queens is not a book made just for girls or women but it is a book about girls and women that is so important and necessary in our day and age. It takes archetype Dungeons and Dragons style characters and breaks down all of the tropes, stereotypes, and replaces them with characters who are incredibly deep and also kick ass and can be incredibly funny. Rat Queens is a book that is loud and crude and at the same time violent and depressing. It’s about mythical creatures who have real world problems and relationship woes.

Okay, these are our lists. Now it’s your turn. What are your top 5 comics of 2014?

January 6, 2015 by Billy Henehan

Tuesday Night Comics Podcast #53 – Our picks for new comic book day! What we learned from a year of podcasting! #shrinkantmansprice

Welcome to episode 53 of the Tuesday Comics Podcast, the first episode of our second year! Happy one year anniversary to us! To celebrate, we’re going to preview new comics coming out tomorrow, January 7, 2015, and give you our top picks, which may include both Lady Killer #1 and Ant-Man #1.

We also look back on our first year of podcasting about comics and talk about the lessons we’ve learned this past year as far as collecting comics in the 21st century is concerned. Plus, the guys review what they read this past week, including Mark Waid and Carlos Pacheco’s SHIELD #1.

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January 5, 2015 by Nick Doyle

Gotham – S1E7 – Penguin’s Umbrella – Recap

Ok, ok, where the crap have I been? I apologize that I’ve fallen behind on these recaps – I was out of town for work, then the holidays happened, then I decided I wanted to watch some better shows in my free time (have you guys seen The Flash? Holy cow you guys, it’s great! You should definitely watch that instead!) but all good things must come to and end: I promise that before next week’s episode airs we will be all caught up; we’re in this together, and I’m never letting you down again.

When we last left Detectives Gordon and Bullock, the Penguin had shown up in the precinct, alive, just as Bullock and Gordon were about to become best friends forever!

The episode starts with Penguin waddling down the street, smirking while his goons prevent regular people from getting in his way. We jump cut to Fish Mooney’s bar, where she is flipping out over the fact that Gordon did not in fact kill Penguin the way everyone had thought. She orders that he be brought to her alive.

We find Gordon in the locker room at the precinct, leaving a voice mail for Barbara ordering her to run. As he shuts the door, Bullock straight-up pops him in the jaw and pulls a gun on him! Gordon pleads with him to let him live and to help him do…something. At the perfect moment, two Gotham City cops wander into the room, and Bullock tells them to “walk away,” which they do, because all of the cops here are horrible (except for one, maybe two, duh!) but Gordon takes that opportunity to grab Bullock’s gun and knock him to the ground. Gordon asks for his help again, and Bullock tells him “you better hope you never see me again.”

Cut to Barbara’s apartment, where she’s staring at her (vibrating) phone, with a look of terror on her face – it’s because she’s surrounded by Fish Mooney’s guys! She asks the toughs what they want, and they are kind enough to recap the series (so far) for us! Now, whenever a TV show/movie/comic/book/life/etc. wants to show that a guy is “super bad,” the easiest (and laziest!) way is with an implied rape threat, so of course we get that here, but luckily Gordon comes stomping into his house with his gun drawn and puts a stop to it – shooting one of the toughs and pistol whipping the other! Whew! Gordon takes Barbara to a bus station, makes her leave, and tells her that if he does not come to join her that she should never return to Gotham. I bet she’ll be back in no time!

We cut over to Falcone doing something with a chicken while Mooney tells him that he has to have Gordon/Penguin/everyone killed. He tells her that Penguin is a “nobody” which, in case you didn’t catch it, is definitely some kind of foreshadowing, and tells Fish he will send one of his guys (“Victor”) to the police station to get Gordon.

At the station, we find Gordon telling Captain Essen that he’s going to arrest the mayor, Falcone, and a whole heap of other people in connection with the Penguin’s (non)murder, which prompts her to call him crazy – and rightfully so! Doesn’t he know that one man can’t make a difference in a city as corrupt as Gotham?! To prove this point, she tells him that no one will help her (including her!) and that he needs to leave town – he, of course, refuses. At that moment, Falcone’s guy Victor shows up with two gothy-spiky girls and starts to cause a ruckus in the station. He steps up on a desk and announces himself – his name is “Victor Zsasz” (because of course it is; why not throw him on the show, too?) and orders Gordon to come with him. In a hilarious scene, Gordon tells Mr. Zsasz to try to take him in when the room is filled with cops – Zsasz tells everyone to leave and totally do! It’s ridiculous! Gordon and Zsasz and the two ladies have a shoot-out – Gordon’s hit and runs down the stairs to the garage, bleeding. He’s hiding between cars, and is about to be caught, except a random uniform cop walks up – the girls shoot her, which gives Gordon a chance to run, except Zsasz sees him and shoots Gordon. He makes his way towards Gordon but at that exact moment Detectives Allen and Montoya pull up and rescue him. They leave the other cop, though, and Zsasz shoots her and carves a mark into his skin (it’s what he does!)

After some commercials, Gordon wakes up in some sort of medical place surrounded by rats in cages. A doctor tells him that he’s in a dissection lab, and he leaves, even though he shouldn’t because he was just shot a bunch of times. But he’s tough.

We cut to Fish telling Maroni that he has to give up Penguin, and rather than doing that, he has Penguin come out and apologize to her – which she disregards. Out on the sidewalk, we see Fish’s guy (I need to learn his name, but it’s the same guy that Gordon beat up earlier) pull up next to a group of nuns. He handcuffs them together, puts them in the middle of the street, and uses this as a distraction to stop one of Maroni’s moving trucks (I guess that’s something he does? Owns a moving company?) to give Maroni the message that he needs to hand over Penguin.

After some more commercials, we join Gordon and Montoya in a forest, where whe tells Gordon that she probably didn’t believe that he was telling the truth before because she used to make out with his girlfriend, which makes sense, y’know? Out of nowhere, Alfred jumps out, holding Allen and I swear that I had completely fogotten that this was a Batman show for a second. But of course the random forest they’re hiding in is near Wayne Manor. Alfred does a great Christian Bale Batman voice, by the way. Inside the mansion, Gordon introduces Allen and Montoya to Bruce, because, sure, why not, and tells him that he may not be able to find who killed the Waynes. Bruce tells him to stop treating him “like a child” except for he’s totally a little kid and hasn’t hit puberty yet so whatever. Gordon tells Bruce that if something happens to him, Montoya and Allen will take over the case. So now we’ve got all sorts of people hanging out with this little kid. Bruce hugs Gordon, which is…y’know, what? No. No. No. Next scene.

Next up, there’s some more gang shenaigans, this time from Maroni/Penguin’s side, except we find that Penguin is now taking some of Maroni’s guys under his wing (sorry/not sorry) for when he inevitably makes his move for his territory.

We cut to Maroni and Falcone (and Fish and Penguin and other people) meeting to call a cease fire, Falcone agrees to let Maroni keep Penguin, and Maroni gives Falcone a piece of land in Arkham, which doesn’t sit well with Mooney.

Back in Gordon’s apartment, he’s getting some guns together, like you do, when Bullock drops by, with a “lady of the night.” Bullock tells Gordon that he’s a “douchebag” but that he has “the moral high ground” and he’s decided that he’s going to “be on his team” (you guys you guys Bullock has a heart of gold you guys.) Gordon tells him of his plan to arrest the mayor and Falcone. Bullock then goes to “take care of something” which means that he’s going to pay a lady to have sex with him.

The next morning, Gordon busts up into the mayor’s limo and arrests him. Just like that! They go (in the mayor’s car because why not) to Falcone’s house, and arrest him, too! Seriously, that’s what happens: Bullock and Gordon go into a house full of armed thugs with no trouble! Falcone has the upper hand, though: he tells Gordon that Zsasz has Barbara (dun dun dun) because she came back to town. Gordon caves and Zsasz brings Barbara to them, and lets them go, with no one actually getting arrested or killed, because this is only the 7th episode.

After they leave, Falcone goes out to check on his chickens, and the Penguin walks up, prompting Falcone to reminisce on their first meeting, where it turns out that Penguin told Falcone he would just pretend to be on Maroni’s side! And that Fish and the Russian guy are doing it! A double cross!

Ok, we’re back into it. See you in a couple of days!

December 31, 2014 by Billy Henehan

Tuesday Night Comics Podcast Episode 52! Happy New Year! Miracleman! SHIELD!

Happy New Year everyone! It’s a shorter episode than normal this week, as there are very few comics coming out this week to preview. But some of the books coming out this week look great, like SHIELD #1 by Mark Waid and Carlos Pacheco and All-New Miracleman Annual #1 featuring a Grant Morrison Miracleman story decades in the making.

Plus, where’s Carlos Pacheco been? And do people feel embarrassed when they buy a Zenescope comic?

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December 23, 2014 by Billy Henehan

Tuesday Night Comics Podcast Episode 51 – Multiversity: Thunderworld Reviewed! New Comic Previews!

Merry Christmas everyone! The Tuesday Night Comics podcast is here to spread joy and holiday cheer…and preview new comics coming out on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, 12/24/14. Dave and Billy also play everyone’s favorite game, “How Do I Spend My 20 Bucks This Week?” with a special variation (You’ll have to listen to find out). Plus, the guys review Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart’s The Multiversity: Thunderworld #1 and go in-depth on the finale of Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang’s run on Wonder Woman. It’s a comics Christmas miracle!

In the podcast, Billy talks about how the seven sins imprisoned by the wizard Shazam have changed over the years. Here’s the original line-up followed by the ones that appeared in JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice.

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December 17, 2014 by Billy Henehan

Free Tickets to the World Premiere of Justice League: Throne of Atlantis in Los Angeles!

The WORLD PREMIERE of Justice League: Throne of Atlantis will take place on 1/12/15 at the Paley Center in Los Angeles. The movie’s cast will be hand for an exclusive Q&A session with the audience after the screening.

Interested in going? Tuesday Night Movies can get you in for FREE! To claim your ticket, simply send an email to JLAtlantisLA@gmail.com with the following three lines of information: 1) Your name, 2) Your email address 3) tuesdaynightmovies.com. Tickets will be distributed on a first come, first served basis, so send your email today!

December 16, 2014 by Billy Henehan

Tuesday Night Comics Podcast 50th Episode Spectacular! Multiversity Preview! DC Cancellations! Wonder Woman and Swamp Thing Reviews!

50 episodes! Yay! This episode should be covered in embossed gold foil and have holograms of Billy and Dave. But it does not. What it does have is a preview of The Multiversity: Thunderworld #1! Billy and Dave give you their advice on what comics to pick up this week, and what they would each buy if they only had $20 to spend on new comics.

And did you hear? DC is cancelling a bunch of titles, Archie is getting a new creative team and a major makeover. All that and reviews of recent and not so recent comics! Enjoy the latest episode!

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December 16, 2014 by Billy Henehan

Free Ticket Alert! Justice League: Throne of Atlantis World Premiere in NYC!

Want to attend the NYC premiere of Justice League: Throne of Atlantis on 1/26/15 at the Paley Center in NYC? Tuesday Night Movies will send you there!

Members of the cast will be in attendance and a Q&A with them will follow the screening.

Here’s what you need to do. Send an email to JLAtlantisNY@gmail.com with the following three lines of information in the body of the email: 1) Your name 2) Your email address 3) tuesdaynightmovies.com. That’s it! Tickets will be distributed first come, first serve, so email today!

December 11, 2014 by Billy Henehan

Agents of SHIELD – Season 2, Episode 10 – What They Become – Recap

The episode starts with the Quinjets surrounding the Bus departing with Ward, Skye and Raina. I guess the Hydra pilots didn’t get Agent 33’s message to shoot the Bus down? Or maybe we’re starting off a minute or two before the end of the last episode? May orders Trip to find some cloud cover. I think she knows what’s coming. One of the Koenigs wants to cloak, maybe they both do, they both dress alike and I can’t tell who is who. May shoots down that idea. Sorry, poor choice of words. The Quinjets are in pursuit as May takes the the Bus into a deep dive. She dumps some hot cargo and cloaks just as Hydra fires on them. Hydra thinks they’ve blown the plane out of the sky. Speaking of Skye, May tells Trip to take them to San Juan. Coulson needs to know about Ward taking Skye.

Outside of San Juan, Coulson and May’s teams reunite. Coulson’s #1 priority is preventing Hydra from accessing those crazy tunnels from last week. Rescusing Mac is sadly lower on the list. Bobbie isn’t happy about it, but she understand. One of the Koenigs is talking to Trip. They’re going over their new plan for the secret city. It involves collapsing itself on itself with some heavy explosives. As a bit of fan service, the Koenig tells Trip, “Dum Dum Dugan would be proud.” In the comics, Dum Dum Dugan is Nick Fury’s right hand man and one of the main Agents of SHIELD.

FitzSimmons are trying to figure out the city mysterious powers, and whether or not Mac is alive. It’s not looking good for Mac’s prospects, as he was infected by the city and kicked 100 feet down a hole. Fitz thinks the city was reacting in self-defense to Mac’s presence. They compare the city’s effect on Mac to zombie ants. For those of us not familiar with zombie ants, FitzSimmons explains it. Basically a fungus takes over the ant and the ant acts in the fungus’s interest instead of the ant’s.

Hunter walks in on Bobbie going through Mac’s things in his garage. Hunter doesn’t see her finger a thumb drive. Bobbie thinks Mac is dead, mainly because of the whole falling down the hundred foot hole thing. Good point, Bobbie. Hunter and Bobbie both really like Mac. Sorry Skye/Ward and FitzSimmons, but these two are becoming the cutest couple on the show. Bobbie gets a text from Diego, who you might remember from such roles as their contact in San Juan. She suggest Hunter be her back up when she rendezvouses with Diego. Hunter agrees to go, but calls her out on the thumb drive she just pocketed. He feels that when she hides things from him, he can’t trust her completely, but chooses to trust her anyway.

May and Coulson are going over the standoff with Ward on the Bus at the end of the last episode. May wishes she shot Ward in the head. Coulson counters that if she did, she, Skye and everyone else would have been shot out of the sky. Six agents are alive because of her actions; Coulson thinks she did the right thing.

Ward is leading a handcuffed Skye through a Hydra house. Ward reunites Skye and her dad, TV’s Kyle McLaughlin. Skye is shocked into silence. That would be my reaction too if I found out that guy who “Alrighty” proposed to Charlotte was my dad too. Kyle is the most awkward super powered psychotic father ever. He almost breaks down in tears. His name is Cal…or is it Kal?!? Wait, is he Superman?!? He thanks Skye for meeting with him. She points out that she was kidnapped at gunpoint.

Father Cal says to her, “I don’t know what you know about me.” Skye’s response is, “You’re a monster, a murderer. You leave a trail of death wherever you go.” And here I thought my family get-togethers could be awkward at times. Cal, quick tip, yelling every third word doesn’t break the tension…or make you look sane. Cal starts to tell Skye about himself and her mother, but just trails off. He says he wishes he could have taught her about the stars. I don’t think he means elementary school science. I think he’s talking about the Kree.

Hunter and Bobbie are about to meet up with Diego, when Bobbie pulls Hunter back and says, “This is bad. Diego is early and he’s wearing a suit.” When Hunter doesn’t understand what’s bad about that, Bobbie explains that Diego is never early and he never wears a suit. Two Hydra goons show up, shake Diego’s hand and all three of them walk directly in Bobbie and Hunter’s direction. Hunter and Bobbie can’t figure out if Diego is selling them out or selling Hydra out. To avoid the Hydra goons spotting them, Bobbie starts making out with Hunter. How does this work? WheneverI see people making out in public, they’re the least conspicuous people around. But the Hydra guys walk right on by and Diego slips Bobbie a note while she’s slipping Hunter her tongue. I was really hoping one of the Hyrdra guys would have paused, made a lewd gesture and told them to get a room.

Skye wants out. She opens the door, but there are two Hydra agents guarding it. Cal tells them not to be alarmed and shuts the door. He tells Skye that the Hydra agents don’t matter, and that after today, none of them will matter. Skye says they do matter, that he works for Whitehall and Hydra. They’re bad guys, she says, making him a bad guy. Cal goes a little bit crazy, saying he could never work for Whitehall. Cal, you really need to work on the going crazy while explaining things. It doesn’t help get your point across. He tells Skye that he used Whitehall to find her. Cal explains to Skye that her mother came from a line of gifted people (mutants? Haha, maybe is this was 1994, not 2014. That word verboten in Marvel Studios!). He brought Skye here so that she could receive her gift. He describes a transformation that she’s going to go through. Wait, is he talking about Terrigan Mists?!? He must be. In the comics, the Terrigan Mists are what give the Inhumans their powers. The mists affect each Inhuman differently, kind of like the way the x-gene expresses itself differently in each mutant. There I go using the m-word again. Sorry.

Skye interrupts Cal, wanting to know what happened to her mom. Cal tells her that people claiming to be SHIELD took her. Cal tracked them,but by the time he caught up with them, it was too late. Whitehall had cut her mom to pieces. Whitehall took her organs and blood and dumped her in a ditch. After Cal finishes, he apologizes and starts humming. This scene could not be any weirder. Skye recognizes the tune he’s humming. It’s the song Skye’s mom sang to her as a baby. A Hydra guy shows up saying that Whitehall wants Cal. Cal waves him off, so that he could finish humming. After the Hydra guy leaves, Cal says he’s off to kill Whitehall, and calls it the best day ever. Skye looks shocked. That’s fair. Shouldn’t her birth and the day he met her mom make the top 2. Killing Whitehall might be the third best day, if that.

Coulson’s team is on the bus, en route to San Juan. Trip asks Sam where Billy is. Sam says that the stress over fried Sam’s circuits and he’s recharging. Oh, an LMD joke! Trip doesn’t laugh. I do. Coulson tells Sam that he wants him and his brother Billy to head back to base. If things go south, he needs them to initiate the Theta Protocols. Going by the look on Sam’s face, this is some heavy stuff.

Bobbie calls with Hydra’s location. They’re practically on top of the city. This changes Coulson’s plans. He and May need to head out and back up Bobbie and Hunter now before Hydra can plasma drill their way to the secret city. Raina is overseeing the plasma drill. A Hydra guy gets her and brings her to Ward, Cal and Whitehall. Whitehall wants to know why Skye is here. He has a theory. Agent 33 pulls out the obelisk. Whitehall wants Skye to pick up the obelisk. She responds, “You first.” Guns are drawn. Cal nods at her. He has a scalpel in his hand with Whitehall’s name on it. Not really with Whitehall’s name on it. But I’m getting the feeling it will soon really have Whitehall’s blood on it. Skye picks up what Cal is putting down. She grabs the obelisk. It glows. She immediately dies.

Just kidding! It doesn’t do anything to her, it just lights up. She plunges it into the neck of a Hydra goon. He dies. For real, this time. Cal stabs another one. Ward draws his gun on other Hydra agents, but good guys are still outnumbered. Maybe good guys isn’t the best term with this crew. More like the team we’re rooting for is still outnumbered. Or the not-as-bad-as-Whitehall-and-Hydra guys are still outnumbered. The other Hydra goons and Agent 33 have their guns drawn on them. Whitehall approaches Skye and says, “I hope you’re as special as your mother.” So Whitehall knew who Cal was all this time? He was playing the guy playing him? Ooooo.

Whitehall is trying to figure out how Ward figures into all this here. Raina calls Ward out, saying that Ward loves Skye. A Hydra guy clocks Cal, knocking him out. They lead Skye and Ward away.

The Bus, still cloaked, lands on the roof of the building Skye is in. Bobbie and Hunter increase their cuteness quotient when it’s revealed that say to each other “Don’t die out there” before every mission, because as Hunter puts it, “Who doesn’t like to hear it?”

In the cave, Trip and FitzSimmons are all dressed in hazmat suits and are heading down into the hole with a bunch of detonators. Trip is ready to take out Mac if he’s still alive. Mac’s body isn’t at the bottom. That most likely means Mac is still alive, and probably still very zombie ant.

Ward wants to know why Agent 33 looks like May. I want to know if Ming-Na Wen get paid double for these Agent 33 episodes? Cal wakes up. He jumps at Whitehall, but Whitehall has placed some device on him that knocks Cal immobile. Whitehall wants to know what Skye’s gift is. Whitehall tells Call that he killed his wife, and before he kills him, will show Cal what he does to his daughter, you know, just to drive home that he’s the really bad guy here.

TripFitzSimmons (that’s their new name says I) are heading through corridors in the secret city. They get two detonators in place, and have two left. Fitz breaks off from the other two, because they don’t have time to not split up. This kind of thing never ends well. And Fitz doesn’t have the best track record with coming out of these kinds of things unscathed.

Ward gets into the head of the Hydra agent who is guarding him. He distracts him long enough for Cal to break the agent’s neck. Cal heads off to kill Whitehall, leaving Ward and Skye still tied up. When Cal finds Whitehall, Whitehall smiles and raises a gun. Coulson appears and shoots Whitehall in the back. Cal is pissed. Coulson tells him, “You’re welcome?” Coulson you better run, Cal is really pissed!

Whitehall is dead. Cal is yelling at Coulson, that Coulson had no right to kill Whitehall, Whitehall was his! Coulson says Cal is next if he moves. He’s not letting Cal take Skye into those tunnels to trigger whatever armageddon Cal thinks will happen. Cal steps towards Coulson, but before Coulson can shoot him, Agent 33 is shooting both of them. They run off, leaving 33 with Whitehall’s body.

Cal assaults Coulson. Coulson tries calming Cal down saying, “We both want to help your daughter.” Cal says she doesn’t need Coulson and proceeds to pummel him.

Ward frees himself and frees Skye. He’s rewarded by Skye shooting him a bunch of times in the gut.

The Cal vs. Coulson fight is decidedly one sided. Coulson is being beaten to death. Skye stops Cal from killing him by drawing a gun on Cal. She’s not going down the tunnel. And Ca’s leaving, or she’s going to kill him. He agrees to leave, but tells her that after she changes, no one else will understand but him. He calls her Daisy! Daisy! Oh man! Skye is really Daisy Johnson aka Quake! This is huge. Skye tells Coulson she’s going to stop the drill and find the obelisk.

A little on Daisy Johnson. In the comics, she’s a protege of Nick Fury. Her father in the comics, is the villainous Mr. Hyde. Hmm, this is explaining Kyle MacLachlan’s portrayal of his character much better. You might have guessed her powers by her code name Quake. She has the power to cause seismic shifts and earthquakes.

Agent 33 finds Ward. With Whitehall dead, her whole world is shattered. She’s afraid. She doesn’t know what to do. Ward convinces her to help him up, and that he’ll get her out of there. Coming next January, Ward and not Not-May on the road together, living the outlaw life!

Bobbie, Hunter and May kill more Hydra goons.

Skye finds the tunnel entrance. The obelisk is nowhere to to be found. That’s because Raina took it. She’s already down the tunnel. Raina comes across zombie ant Mac. He’s standing still. She tells him, “Take me there.” He leads her forward. Mac’s eyes are completely glazed over.

Coulson and May get to the hole. Where’s Skye? Coulson wants to follow her down. May points out all the bombs their team planted. Coulson isn’t leaving Skye. He tells May that her job is get everyone out if he and Skye aren’t back in time before the bombs go off.

TripFitzSimmons emerge from their hole. May tells them at that Skye and Coulson are down below. Tripp heads back down the hole sans hazmat suit. Trip, what the hell man? Don’t zombie ant yourself!

Mac takes Raina a room with a stone pillar bathed in light. Trip is running Indiana Jones style, not transformed into a zombie ant man like Mac. Trip defuses a bomb. Coulson and Skye are running around too, though not together. May tells Bobbie and Hunter to clear this place. Skye finds Mac. She tries to get him to respond. He’s catatonic. Aw man, I like Mac. Skye finds the room with the pillar. Raina is singing. I think she’s singing Cal’s song. How does she know that? She’s about to put the obelisk down on the pillar. Trip defuses the third bomb. Skye finds Raina. They have a weird Mexican standoff, Skye with a gun, Raina with the obelisk. The obelisk glows and floats from Raina’s hand on its own to the pillar. Trip defuses the last bomb just in time. The walls close in and Raina and Skye are trapped with the obelisk. Mac attacks Coulson, who gets the better of him. Hypno-Mac isn’t the fastest. Trip makes it into the room just as the walls close. Coulson arrives just too late. The obelisk opens. There are crystals inside it, wait is this Superman? Are we in the Fortress of Solitude? I mean, dude named Kal, alien crystals…

Mac has found Coulson. Coulson is not having a good day; he’s about to get beat again. In the room, the crystals glow and Skye, Trip and Raina are all bathed in smoke…or mist, Terrigan Mist! As soon as that happens, Mac drops to his knees. Skye and Raina are both covered in this weird black gel. Tip roundhouse kicks the crystals. They shatter in a wave of more smoke. Skye and Raina look like the victims of Pompeii. Trip screams “No!” Then the black gel starts to cover Trip. Skye starts to crack, or rather the casing around her does. As does Raina’s . Raina looks like she might have porcupine quills on her face now and orange eyes. The covering explodes off Skye. Hello, Quake! She causes a minor cave in with this new earthquake power. Wait,not minor. The whole place is coming down, even the house above the hole. Trip’s casing cracks. No, wait, Trip cracks. He falls apart. Trip is dead!!!!!! No!!!!!!

Someplace else, in some house, a box lights up. A man pulls out another obelisk! He makes a call. “Are you seeing this? There is someone new. Tell the others I’m on it.” The camera pulls back to reveal the man’s face. He has no eyes…or eye sockets even. Ahhhhh!

Agents of SHIELD isn’t back until January. Hopefully that’s enough time to process Trip’s death. Man, I can’t believe Trip is dead. I’m bummed. 🙁

December 9, 2014 by Billy Henehan

Tuesday Night Comics Podcast Episode 49 – Bitch Planet! The Return of Spider-Gwen! Why you need to read Azzarello’s Wonder Woman!

Find out which new comics coming out Wednesday, 12/10/14 we’re excited about *cough* Bitch Planet *cough*! The return of Spider-Gwen! The latest Convergence news! New comic book reviews! Why you need to read Azzarello, Chiang and Akins’s Wonder Woman! It’s the Tuesday Night Comics podcast! Welcome to Tuesday Night!

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