I thought the Avengers Academy cadets getting in Captain America's face was pretty amusing, if a little forced (I still think Cap was being surprisingly tactless). That's how it goes in the Marvel Universe these days, isn't it? The top guy does questionable things, starts getting a little too bossy, and pretty soon everyone hates his guts.
Tony Stark's an obvious example, with the Neagtive Zone prison, and the nanites that block powers he tried to use on friends that disagreed with him, and well, his list of jackass behavior is really long, so let's move on.
Gyrich was a jerk to begin with, so maybe it wouldn't have mattered what he did, based solely on how he acted. Still his attempts to hamstring the Avengers, like limiting the roster or forcing them to put the Falcon on the team, plus the crap he was pulling (or being manipulated into) during the first four years of Thunderbolts, didn't win him any points.
Nick Fury brainwashed the heroes he roped into his Secret War garbage, which is how Luke Cage wound up hospitalized from an attack he had no clue he should be expecting, because he didn't know he'd taken part in a secret mission to Latveria that pissed a bunch of people off. And of course Fury told them this from a distance, through an LMD, because when he turned ruthless, he apparently lost the nerve to take what he has coming to him like a man.
Osborn, well, he was crazy and a super-villain to begin with, so it wasn't as though anyone with a brain trusted him to begin with. Unfortunately, the list of people without brains in the Marvel Universe is pretty extensive, including politicians, Ares, and most of the average joes on Earth. The point is, there wasn't any trust for Osborn to break with any individual that actually knew him.
Now here we are with Steve Rogers. I was already concerned last year, when he asked Hawkeye to stick with Mockingbird and her group, because they could be useful if they stay on the right side. It's true, but it's an awfully cold statement for Rogers, and doesn't demonstrate much trust in Bobbi Morse. Then I flip through an Avengers trade, and here's Steve Rogers, joining the Illuminati. That's great, rather than disband the secretive dorks who attempts at secrecy have accomplished nothing, become a secretive dork yourself! Truly, T'Challa is the smartest guy in the Marvel Universe, because he told them it was a bad idea from the start, and wouldn't join.
Now Steve's being insensitive to teenagers and they're trying to punch his lights out. I guess Wonder Man's still ticked at him, too, so add a former Avenger to the list. He's got a ways to go to catch Iron Man, but there's still time before Cable kills him (if Cable's planning to kill all the Avengers, I don't think he has enough bullets), or the Phoenix Force shows up and ruins everyone's day.
Showing posts with label nick fury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nick fury. Show all posts
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Still Talkin' Bout Tasky
OK, so two more thoughts I had in relation to Taskmaster - Unthinkable. Don't look at me like that. I didn't plan it, these didn't occur to me until today.
1) Taskmaster's learned so many things that exist in what he calls his implicit memory that he's lost most of his explicit memories. Can he learn so many things that he starts losing some of the implicit memories? Similar to Mimic from Exiles (and maybe the Mimic in the Marvel Universe, too, I'm just more familiar with the Exiles one). He could only copy the abilities of so many (I think 5 or 6) mutants at a time. If he wanted to add someone else's powers (say optic blasts), he had to lose some other person's copied abilities (teleportation or bone claws, or whatever). So Taskmaster learns some new skill, playing a 1987 DG-20 electric guitar, for example, and forgets some flying kick he stole from Shang-Chi. I suppose that's what his memory palace is for, creating sensory inputs that trigger those skills, but it seems like it'd be easy for him to forget what the particular stimulus he needs for a skill was.
2) If Taskmaster had remembered everything about himself sooner, how would Nick Fury have handled that? Would Taskmaster have been as effective knowing the truth about himself, or would he have wanted to do things differently? It'd still be possible for him to pass himself off as the same old Taskmaster. He told Mercedes he's a master of 'intimate sounding, utterly superficial chit-chat', so he can probably continue to talk in a way that seems normal to whoever he interacts with, even if his mindset is completely different. I think Tasky might decide he wanted to do things differently, to make up for a past mistake, but I worry Fury would try and put him in a situation where he'd forget himself and revert to the Taskmaster we're used to seeing.
1) Taskmaster's learned so many things that exist in what he calls his implicit memory that he's lost most of his explicit memories. Can he learn so many things that he starts losing some of the implicit memories? Similar to Mimic from Exiles (and maybe the Mimic in the Marvel Universe, too, I'm just more familiar with the Exiles one). He could only copy the abilities of so many (I think 5 or 6) mutants at a time. If he wanted to add someone else's powers (say optic blasts), he had to lose some other person's copied abilities (teleportation or bone claws, or whatever). So Taskmaster learns some new skill, playing a 1987 DG-20 electric guitar, for example, and forgets some flying kick he stole from Shang-Chi. I suppose that's what his memory palace is for, creating sensory inputs that trigger those skills, but it seems like it'd be easy for him to forget what the particular stimulus he needs for a skill was.
2) If Taskmaster had remembered everything about himself sooner, how would Nick Fury have handled that? Would Taskmaster have been as effective knowing the truth about himself, or would he have wanted to do things differently? It'd still be possible for him to pass himself off as the same old Taskmaster. He told Mercedes he's a master of 'intimate sounding, utterly superficial chit-chat', so he can probably continue to talk in a way that seems normal to whoever he interacts with, even if his mindset is completely different. I think Tasky might decide he wanted to do things differently, to make up for a past mistake, but I worry Fury would try and put him in a situation where he'd forget himself and revert to the Taskmaster we're used to seeing.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
One Gripe And One Rave
These are two thoughts I had related to Taskmaster - Unthinkable, that didn't really fit with the review I was typing. So we can discuss them now.
There-s a point in the story when Steve Rogers shows up at the diner where Tasky and Mercedes were attacked by hordes of cannon fodder. The detective in command is some gruff old bastard named Rolling who gives Rogers a lot grief, telling Steve if he doesn't respect Rollins' crime scene or if he expects Rollins to salute, he'll get the cop's boot up his ass. Rogers, not being the sort who cares about that stuff, defers and lets Rollins lead the way. Nick Fury's there as well, waiting for Steve. Rollins is completely different around him. Deferential, respectful, calls Fury "Colonel", and doesn't seem to mind Fury's curt 'I'll take it from here Sergeant Rollins. You are dismissed.'
That whole sequence bothers me. That the cop goes out of his way to try and mark his territory when Steve Rogers shows up, but with Nick Fury it's a whole other matter. I know it shouldn't make a difference, but the idea Fury is somehow more deserving of respect than Steve Rogers grates. I have this impression that Marvel Fury's characterization has been drifting towards Ultimate Nick Fury territory for awhile. If you were reading the blog back when I still bought Ultimate Spider-Man, you may remember I rarely cared for Ultimate Nick Fury, with his manipulative ways, and tendency to view everyone as assets he could use as he saw fit, whenever he saw fit. Marvel Nick Fury might not be that far gone, but he's close enough I don't really like seeing him deferred to so strongly.
OK, so that was the thing that bugged me. Let's move to the other thing, the Legion of the Living Lightning. Or is it the Lords of the Living Lightning? The bonus material in the back refers to them both ways. They're one of the criminal groups after Taskmaster. They aren't one of the ones created for this mini-series, as they appeared previously. I thought they were related to the Lightning Lords who menaced Orson Randall in the Immortal Iron Fist Annual of 2007. Orson won a challenge with one of them (with the help of Danny Rand's father), and the loser had to drink poison, which set his brothers on a vengeance path*. Anyway, I figured these guys were devotees, or maybe just the many, many offspring of the various brothers. Mr. Xao, who was one of the enemies in the Brubaker/Fraction Iron Fist seemed to have lightning powers, so why couldn't there be enough of them to form a criminal organization all their own.
Well, until someone comes along and retcons it into place, that isn't the case. The Legion of the Living Lightning's first appearance is from 1967, which is just a little before Immortal Iron Fist. Little disappointing, though perhaps for the best. I have a feeling the Lightning Lords would be horrified to learn their descendants had such poor fashion sense. At least ditch the suspenders. If they were connected, the fact they had a device that created the Avenger Living Lightning would be interesting. Perhaps their power's diluted, because they've inherited the trait, but not the proper training. The device that enabled Miguel Santos to become pure energy was an attempt to put them on the level of their ancestors? After all, three Lightning Lords can combine to for one Super Lightning Lord, which about made Orson Randall soil himself. Imagine dozens of Super Lightning Lords, or if dozens of the group combine, an Ultra-Mega-Super Lightning Lord, towering over cities.
I guess that wouldn't fit with their goal to provide others with weapons that will destroy civilization so the Legion of the Living Lightning can become rulers of the new world. But turning into a giant electricity monster might let them destroy everyone who would oppose their taking over, so it all comes to the same end. They just cut out the middleman.
* Though they were also working for the Bride of 9 Spiders to capture Wendell so he could be executed for his crimes against the 7 Heavenly Cities.
There-s a point in the story when Steve Rogers shows up at the diner where Tasky and Mercedes were attacked by hordes of cannon fodder. The detective in command is some gruff old bastard named Rolling who gives Rogers a lot grief, telling Steve if he doesn't respect Rollins' crime scene or if he expects Rollins to salute, he'll get the cop's boot up his ass. Rogers, not being the sort who cares about that stuff, defers and lets Rollins lead the way. Nick Fury's there as well, waiting for Steve. Rollins is completely different around him. Deferential, respectful, calls Fury "Colonel", and doesn't seem to mind Fury's curt 'I'll take it from here Sergeant Rollins. You are dismissed.'
That whole sequence bothers me. That the cop goes out of his way to try and mark his territory when Steve Rogers shows up, but with Nick Fury it's a whole other matter. I know it shouldn't make a difference, but the idea Fury is somehow more deserving of respect than Steve Rogers grates. I have this impression that Marvel Fury's characterization has been drifting towards Ultimate Nick Fury territory for awhile. If you were reading the blog back when I still bought Ultimate Spider-Man, you may remember I rarely cared for Ultimate Nick Fury, with his manipulative ways, and tendency to view everyone as assets he could use as he saw fit, whenever he saw fit. Marvel Nick Fury might not be that far gone, but he's close enough I don't really like seeing him deferred to so strongly.
OK, so that was the thing that bugged me. Let's move to the other thing, the Legion of the Living Lightning. Or is it the Lords of the Living Lightning? The bonus material in the back refers to them both ways. They're one of the criminal groups after Taskmaster. They aren't one of the ones created for this mini-series, as they appeared previously. I thought they were related to the Lightning Lords who menaced Orson Randall in the Immortal Iron Fist Annual of 2007. Orson won a challenge with one of them (with the help of Danny Rand's father), and the loser had to drink poison, which set his brothers on a vengeance path*. Anyway, I figured these guys were devotees, or maybe just the many, many offspring of the various brothers. Mr. Xao, who was one of the enemies in the Brubaker/Fraction Iron Fist seemed to have lightning powers, so why couldn't there be enough of them to form a criminal organization all their own.
Well, until someone comes along and retcons it into place, that isn't the case. The Legion of the Living Lightning's first appearance is from 1967, which is just a little before Immortal Iron Fist. Little disappointing, though perhaps for the best. I have a feeling the Lightning Lords would be horrified to learn their descendants had such poor fashion sense. At least ditch the suspenders. If they were connected, the fact they had a device that created the Avenger Living Lightning would be interesting. Perhaps their power's diluted, because they've inherited the trait, but not the proper training. The device that enabled Miguel Santos to become pure energy was an attempt to put them on the level of their ancestors? After all, three Lightning Lords can combine to for one Super Lightning Lord, which about made Orson Randall soil himself. Imagine dozens of Super Lightning Lords, or if dozens of the group combine, an Ultra-Mega-Super Lightning Lord, towering over cities.
I guess that wouldn't fit with their goal to provide others with weapons that will destroy civilization so the Legion of the Living Lightning can become rulers of the new world. But turning into a giant electricity monster might let them destroy everyone who would oppose their taking over, so it all comes to the same end. They just cut out the middleman.
* Though they were also working for the Bride of 9 Spiders to capture Wendell so he could be executed for his crimes against the 7 Heavenly Cities.
Monday, March 21, 2011
I'm Overthinking Barber Shops Now
I was watching Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes again last night. This time it was the introduction of Wonder Man, out for Tony Stark's head, a goal I can get behind. There was also a lot of Thor and the Wasp making fun of MODOC's, shall we say, unusual, proportions?
The bit that sent my brain off and running was when Nick Fury brings Captain America to a SHIELD facility set under a barber shop. The ride the chairs down to the facility so Fury can give Cap his motorcycle from WWII back. I'm pretty sure this was a part of SHIELD's set-up back in the '60s comics, and one that carried over to at least the '80s*. This raised some questions for me.
Does it operate as a regular barber shop? When they entered there was only one customer, and he was actually an agent, since after they sat in the chairs, he got up, put on his shades, and went to stand in front of the door. Could I walk in, ask for a haircut, and get one, or would they pretend they were booked solid? Obviously, they can't send any agents down if there are civilians in the store, but how do you keep average folks from randomly walking in cause they need a trim? Does SHIELD hire barbers, or do they train their agents to be able to pass as barbers? Do they just send them to barber college for that, or are there people in SHIELD who teach them? There's weapons training, code-breaking, and how to use a straight razor.
Are all SHIELD agents required to use their barbers for haircuts, or can they go where they please (assuming their haircut meets whatever sort of standards Fury sets). If they use SHIELD barbers, do they have to pay, or is it complimentary? Can retired SHIELD agents still get their hair cut there**, and do they get a discount as well? If the shop has non-agent customers, does the money earned count towards their annual budget? If so, would Fury encourage them to get more customers, so they'd have more funds in case of government cutbacks, or does he want less, so they can request more from said government?
Since I'm sure HYDRA knows where SHIELD keeps its bases, have they ever tried setting up a competitive location across the street, to draw away customers? It lets them keep an eye on SHIELD, if SHIELD does use revenue from the shop towards their work, it hurts that effort, and if HYDRA can avoid doing anything evil, SHIELD can't touch them, so it's a bit of mockery. Naturally, HYDRA wouldn't be able to resist implementing a mind control conditioner scheme, and the next thing you know, Fury smashes through the window blasting stuff with laser pistols, but it'd be nice while it lasted.
* There was an issue of West Coast Avengers where Mockingbird wanted to see Fury and visited such a place. Though it was more of an upscale boutique than a barber shop by that point.
** Assuming any SHIELD agent actually survives to retirement.
The bit that sent my brain off and running was when Nick Fury brings Captain America to a SHIELD facility set under a barber shop. The ride the chairs down to the facility so Fury can give Cap his motorcycle from WWII back. I'm pretty sure this was a part of SHIELD's set-up back in the '60s comics, and one that carried over to at least the '80s*. This raised some questions for me.
Does it operate as a regular barber shop? When they entered there was only one customer, and he was actually an agent, since after they sat in the chairs, he got up, put on his shades, and went to stand in front of the door. Could I walk in, ask for a haircut, and get one, or would they pretend they were booked solid? Obviously, they can't send any agents down if there are civilians in the store, but how do you keep average folks from randomly walking in cause they need a trim? Does SHIELD hire barbers, or do they train their agents to be able to pass as barbers? Do they just send them to barber college for that, or are there people in SHIELD who teach them? There's weapons training, code-breaking, and how to use a straight razor.
Are all SHIELD agents required to use their barbers for haircuts, or can they go where they please (assuming their haircut meets whatever sort of standards Fury sets). If they use SHIELD barbers, do they have to pay, or is it complimentary? Can retired SHIELD agents still get their hair cut there**, and do they get a discount as well? If the shop has non-agent customers, does the money earned count towards their annual budget? If so, would Fury encourage them to get more customers, so they'd have more funds in case of government cutbacks, or does he want less, so they can request more from said government?
Since I'm sure HYDRA knows where SHIELD keeps its bases, have they ever tried setting up a competitive location across the street, to draw away customers? It lets them keep an eye on SHIELD, if SHIELD does use revenue from the shop towards their work, it hurts that effort, and if HYDRA can avoid doing anything evil, SHIELD can't touch them, so it's a bit of mockery. Naturally, HYDRA wouldn't be able to resist implementing a mind control conditioner scheme, and the next thing you know, Fury smashes through the window blasting stuff with laser pistols, but it'd be nice while it lasted.
* There was an issue of West Coast Avengers where Mockingbird wanted to see Fury and visited such a place. Though it was more of an upscale boutique than a barber shop by that point.
** Assuming any SHIELD agent actually survives to retirement.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Nick Fury - Getting Dishonorable With Age?
I finally saw an episode of that Wolverine and the X-Men show on Friday night. It was OK, I guess. Nick Fury made Wolverine track down the Hulk and try and stop him, except it turned out the real problem was a pack of Wendigos that had been created by SHIELD that were run amok.
The thing that annoyed me was that Fury blackmailed Wolverine into taking the mission. Since mutants are having to stay low-profile in that universe, the shool has to stay hidden, and Fury basically threatened to leak the location of the school, and the identity of the mutants therein to certain bigoted, fear-mongering senators if Logan didn't take the job. And when Logan (and Dr. Banner) confronted Fury about making Wendigos and not telling them what they were up against, Fury trotted out the same "you're assets" line Carl Weathers was spouting in Predator. Sigh.
Fury is constantly a manipualtive jackass these days, never actually playing it fair with whomever he's dealing with. He always has to do things by preying on people's weaknesses, or calling in debts*, or making threats. Has Agent of SHIELD Nick Fury always been like this? I know he has been in the Ultimate Universe, but what about the Marvel Unvierse? I know he and Captain America didn't always see eye to eye, but did he pull this sort of junk on Cap back in the '60s?
I don't have any of those comics, though I've read a few Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos from that time period. In those, Fury accepts the orders he's given, whether he likes them or not, and does display a pragmatic attitude at times, such as in one issue where he refuses to try and go to Berlin and rescue the captured Gabe Jones, opting instead to focus on getting the remaining Howlers out of Germany**, much to the cosnternation of Reb Ralston.
So maybe Fury has always been willing to sacrifice people and ideals for the larger mission. Still, it seems like the sort of characterization that would come about as people have grown more cynical about these sorts of things. "The world is less black and white, so even the people who are supposed to be protecting us, fight dirty", that kind of thing. Where people who operate in the shadows, doing shadowy things, can not - or will not - do things honorably, even when dealing with people who do. Where Nick Fury sees Spider-Man's overdeveloped sense of responsibility/guilt complex, and just sees how easy it will be to get Parker to do what he wants***.
Maybe Fury just needs a good swat upside the head.
* And really, I wouldn't be surprised if Fury was responsible for the eprson being in the situation where the debt was incurred. I've read Fury say he frequently says he's saved Wolverine's life several times over, but how many of those times were the result of something Fury dumped him in?
** To be fair, it's generally a poor idea to travel deeper into Germany when pursued by the army. Unless, of course, you need to get a diary that contains information on traps barring your path to the Holy Grail. Then there's really no other choice, is there?
*** That was actually in some secret file thing that was part of the lead-in to Bendis' Secret War mini-series.
The thing that annoyed me was that Fury blackmailed Wolverine into taking the mission. Since mutants are having to stay low-profile in that universe, the shool has to stay hidden, and Fury basically threatened to leak the location of the school, and the identity of the mutants therein to certain bigoted, fear-mongering senators if Logan didn't take the job. And when Logan (and Dr. Banner) confronted Fury about making Wendigos and not telling them what they were up against, Fury trotted out the same "you're assets" line Carl Weathers was spouting in Predator. Sigh.
Fury is constantly a manipualtive jackass these days, never actually playing it fair with whomever he's dealing with. He always has to do things by preying on people's weaknesses, or calling in debts*, or making threats. Has Agent of SHIELD Nick Fury always been like this? I know he has been in the Ultimate Universe, but what about the Marvel Unvierse? I know he and Captain America didn't always see eye to eye, but did he pull this sort of junk on Cap back in the '60s?
I don't have any of those comics, though I've read a few Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos from that time period. In those, Fury accepts the orders he's given, whether he likes them or not, and does display a pragmatic attitude at times, such as in one issue where he refuses to try and go to Berlin and rescue the captured Gabe Jones, opting instead to focus on getting the remaining Howlers out of Germany**, much to the cosnternation of Reb Ralston.
So maybe Fury has always been willing to sacrifice people and ideals for the larger mission. Still, it seems like the sort of characterization that would come about as people have grown more cynical about these sorts of things. "The world is less black and white, so even the people who are supposed to be protecting us, fight dirty", that kind of thing. Where people who operate in the shadows, doing shadowy things, can not - or will not - do things honorably, even when dealing with people who do. Where Nick Fury sees Spider-Man's overdeveloped sense of responsibility/guilt complex, and just sees how easy it will be to get Parker to do what he wants***.
Maybe Fury just needs a good swat upside the head.
* And really, I wouldn't be surprised if Fury was responsible for the eprson being in the situation where the debt was incurred. I've read Fury say he frequently says he's saved Wolverine's life several times over, but how many of those times were the result of something Fury dumped him in?
** To be fair, it's generally a poor idea to travel deeper into Germany when pursued by the army. Unless, of course, you need to get a diary that contains information on traps barring your path to the Holy Grail. Then there's really no other choice, is there?
*** That was actually in some secret file thing that was part of the lead-in to Bendis' Secret War mini-series.
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