Yesterday, I was checking out the Avengers Experience at SM North EDSA when an evil thought occured to me: These plebians taking selfies with the life-size displays shouldn't be here. I literally heard someone exclaim "Pa-picture tayo dito. Sino ba yan?" (Translation: "Let's take a photo with this guy even if we don't know who it is") Then rushed over to the gigantic statue of Ultron!
In that instant, I got mad. You pedestrians don't deserve this.
Behind the Ultron statue was the banner featuring the characters. I didn't expect it but I got emotional the moment I saw it. I've seen the images online more than once but seeing them printed and displayed is something else. Here in front of me were the characters I've been a fanboy of for 15 years. It's ridiculous really but in that instant I was happy again.
If you don't know this guy, you are not worthy!
Then the muggles started taking selfies in front of the banner. Not only did these inconsiderate pricks see me trying to snap a photo of the banner but proceeded to do their thing anyway, these people also didn't know these characters like I do.
I guess that's my problem. There is a part of me that was happy that the Avengers is getting the kind of attention it never would've received ten years ago but at the same time, I feel like none of it was for big fans like me who stuck with the team back in the days when X-men and Spider-man were all the rage.
For the first time in a long while, I finally feel like something with an "Avengers" branding was trying to appeal to me. And it succeeded in every possible it can. Here were nine Avengers and their most lethal arch-nemesis yet. Here were the Avengers doing exactly what I want to see them do: Be super heroes. None of that real world allegorical drama bullshit that so often permeates modern super hero movies to give them added "depth".
Of course, there were several creative liberties that had to be taken for the transfer from panel to celluloid but that's to be expected and they were necessary. Everything worked so all is forgiven on that front.
I should also point out that since seeing the movie last night, I've read several reviews already, most of them negative. They derided the movie for not making sense in the bigger narrative of the MCU. They also questioned the necessity of the new characters. Screw that! As far as I'm concerned, I saw MY AVENGERS kicking ass on screen and that's all that matters. Besides, only two movies really matter to me anyway: This one and the first, nothing before or in between. Taken in that context, then the movie makes narrative sense.
Honestly, there is no way I can convince anyone else that Age of Ultron is the best thing ever. And I don't intend to. You had to see the movie with my tear-filled eye. Watching the movie evoked in me the same feeling of happiness I associate with watching Earth's Mightiest Heroes. It felt to me like the first time I saw Ultimate Avengers. It felt like the first time I read Operation: Galactic Storm and Kang Dynasty, which are my favorite Avengers epics of all time. Heck, watching the movie felt again like reading the very issue that got me hooked into earth's mightiest to begin with.
In short: Age of Ultron may not have been a great MCU movie but it's a great Avengers movie! What's more is that it's an Avengers movie that felt like it was made FOR ME! There's no way I can be objective about it and I don't want to be. The Avengers is mine again!
I've done a lot of revisiting and reminiscing this past week - mainly spurred by the release of Days of Future Past. Let me just get my feelings about the movie out of the way before I descend into my usual existentialist rambling.
1) The first trailer made me want to cry. The entire movie got me bawling. None of the MCU films have yet to affect me as much.
I will say this, though: DofP was a comic book/superhero movie I really WANTED to watch, whereas the MCU movies (with the exception of The Avengers) were something I just NEEDED to see.
2) I didn't think that I still cared about these characters but I apparently still do. The battle scenes are epic and all, but it was the emotional tugs and nods to the comics and previous movies that really made it for me.
Additionally, Comixology had an X-men sale so I bought Schism with my complimentary $5 coupon, which was about to expire. I also thought it would be perfect timing to pick up my copy of the Uncanny Avengers Annual and X-Men: No More Mutants en route to seeing the movie - on opening day!
It's my first X-book in almost a decade and I'm just glad most of them are there.
With the new movie and the comics, my head was definitely swimming in mutant nostalgia this entire week. And, of course, thoughts and feelings happened.
I'd like to think that the fable of the X-men - empowering the disenfranchised, minority, outcasts, and all - were really what bonded me to the mutant universe growing up because that's exactly how I saw myself. Looking back, however, I realize that it was because they were, more than anything, easily accessible then . I collected the cards, followed the show, the works; but I didn't really get my first X-men comic until later - during the Phalanx Covenant saga when Blink first appeared (hence my excitement for her inclusion in DofP).
This is how much of a fan I was then: I drew fan art, wrote fan fiction, and contributed issue synopses on fan sites, none of which I have ever done for The Avengers. So when my mutant hysteria waned sometime in 2000, months after the first movie and before my first Avengers issue, I thought it was because:
a) The X-men had become too popular and I wanted a fandom that was just mine;
b) I don't want drama in my comics anymore - I just want action and super-heroics;
c) There are just too many X-books. I can't keep up.
What I realize now is that this change in super-team also coincided with a shift in my personality. Following a period of personal drama and identity issues, I entered a period of assertiveness where I decided what kind of person I wanted to be (forgive the pretension - I was 19 and about to enter college). No more drama, I thought then. I was gonna focus on being awesome. And so I did. Mission accomplished.
That's probably why I gravitated towards The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver early on. They got the job done and did away with all the drama associated with carrying the mutant banner.
Sad but true.
I also understand where Havok was coming from in that controversial speech. I also don't like labels as they have a way of boxing me and forcing expectations from other people that I have no intention of meeting, which is also where I stand with religion.
Coincidentally, he's been Wanda and Pietro's teammate on different squads.
Unlike the mutants, I've never really had to fight for my survival (like I said my only issues growing up, which seems silly now, were about identity). That, coupled with my disregard for other people's expectations, meant that I was also prone to fits of mediocrity, which further adds to the notion that I seem to lack ambition.
Aside from bringing out old issues (Get it? Issues? Coz comics?), this nostalgic week also seemingly brought back a bad behavior I've worked so hard to control: Impulse buying. I did set aside budget for the new comics I got this week, both of which I've been really waiting for, so that's okay. But as I dove back into the mutant world, I found myself looking for more digital comics to buy. I was even tempted to get the Origin of Generation X trade paperback, which reprints the entire Phalanx Covenant saga, from the downgraded Fully Booked Gateway branch. Granted, the book was at 50% off but I already have the individual issues, missing only a couple.
I also found myself looking at new Android devices even if I don't really need it. I suppose I was spoiled by reading Invincible on Rocky's 10-inch Asus Transformer, which I had just returned. So I just ended up re-reading old issues and the X-men chapters of the complete Avengers vs. X-men saga, which was about as close as I got to re-connecting with the mutants until now.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say my future self sent his consciousness back in time to stop me.
I think this blog has started to control my life. Thinking about content for this week's edition has driven me out of bed to actually accomplish stuff (hence, everything on this blog) and that's great.
On the downside, the blog also makes me consider some previously non-existent issues - like last week's rambling. Admittedly, recognizing my flaws would actually help me grow as a person, but I don't wanna be that little bitch who whines about my so-called life on a weekly basis, especially if it's unwarranted.
So instead of forcing myself to reveal my inner thoughts, how about some pop cultural experiences, eh?
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2
Maybe because I wasn't really looking forward to this movie, I didn't really care much about this character, and my expectations were low, but I ended up really enjoying it. Here's the thing: I have now developed this tendency to go into a cinema expecting to come out with something to criticize the movie for. I hate that part of my brain but it's there. However, if a movie does its job correctly, that part of my brain shuts off and I leave the cinema happy. It happened with The Lego Movie, The Winter Soldier, and it happened with this movie. Heck! It happened with the Daredevil and the Fantastic Four movies!
You know when I didn't leave the cinema happy? Green Lantern and Man of Steel. But those are to be expected, right? Well, get this: I wasn't happy with Iron Man 2, Thor 2, or even Frozen. Boom! Shocker! Rally the mob! Call the church elders! Alert the police!
I still don't believe that The Amazing Spider-Man franchise is a necessary reboot. I'd still be fine if it didn't exist. It hasn't so far erased the foul taste that Spider-Man 3 left in my mouth the way that First Class somehow redeemed the X-men movies for me. But, for what it's worth, Marc Webb's amazing take on the web-crawler has (so far) entertained me and that's good enough for now.
INVINCIBLE
I mentioned before that Rocky lent me his tablet so I can read the 110 issues that he bought from the Comixology sale. I finished reading all of it (wow, that took, like, 3 weeks?) yesterday and I enjoyed every minute of it. This is just how I like my superhero comic: fun, colorful, action-packed, and none of that real world allegory crap (I still hate Civil War).
Speaking of art, I love how the artists Cory Walkey and Ryan Ottley kept the style consistent.
Not everything is consistent, though. In the first half of the run, the creators made a point of not showing any sex scenes at all because it was "a family book". Later in the series, the sex was much more pronounced, and so was the violence, and I think an f-bomb was even dropped. Not that I mind - I just wish they were more consistent.
Regardless, I enjoyed the series. The energy of the book reminded me so much of The Initiative back in the day, so I spent some time rereading my old issues. Good times, those.
AGENTS OF SHIELD
The first season finale aired this past week and it's a good one as any. I liked the nod to Coulson's weapon in the Avengers movie ("I know what it does" is just brilliant) and loved how they brought so many items back from the entire season (May's Asgardian stick, the alien weapon ray thing, gravitonium, etc). And, yes, of course, Samuel L. Jackson's appearance as Nick Fury (that confrontation with John Garrett towards the end was just too funny).
But here's the thing with Agents of SHIELD as a whole: I'm only ever really watching it because of its connection to the MCU. Secret agents aren't exactly the most exciting thing to watch and I'm still disappointed that there aren't many Easter eggs that comic book fans can latch on to. Bring in Jimmy Woo, Barbara Morse, JESSICA DREW, any of the high profile SHIELD agents from the comics - or bring in any of the super-powered characters (Blackout, Blizzard, and Lorelei can't be it) from the comics - and then I'll be more invested in the show.
I did appreciate how well they handed one of my favorite characters from the comics though. I hope they find a way to work her back into the show.
DUST: AN ELYSIAN TAIL
I made it to the final level a couple of weeks ago and I was almost done! But then I loaded an older saved game and then saved over the more updated game. Anyway, my overall experience of Dust: An Elysian Tail is that it's fantastic platformer with gorgeous art and a compelling story to boot! I have no complaints with the gameplay since this is actually one of the very few platformers I have ever played. Although I loved that I can just mash buttons together, not really think about much of anything, and just watch as chaos unfolds - beautifully, I might add.
I think the art is just really the best thing about the experience. I was pleasantly surprised that my laptop's system can handle the graphic requirements at all. At least three of the other games I bought along with this one suffered graphically. I had a smooth playing experience the entire time - until I reached the final level when everything just slowed down and stuttered. I'm not sure if it's my system or the game but I'll contact GOG.com anyway and see if other users experienced the same problem.
Other than that, everything was flawless! Kudos to the voice actors and everyone involved in crafting the story, writing the dialog, building the world, etc. Everything was just fantastic - down to the rousing soundtrack! It really felt like the game was a spectacular animated movie!
I enjoyed the game so much that I bought a gamepad for it but sadly the game only works with an Xbox controller. Oh well, I can use it for other games (Yeah, I'm diversifying, getting into more platformers and not just strategies and simulations).
SEPTIMUS HEAP 1: MAGYK
The story is standard fantasy fair but it changed the formula a lot! Although the series is named after him, Septimus Heap is not the most important character in the first book. He's not the one with a glorious destiny waiting for him. He's not the one that the villains are trying to capture and the heroes are trying to protect. His true identity wasn't even revealed until the very end, and even then, it was just a little more than an afterthought.
I also love that author Angie Sage managed to tie up the story all in one book. I'm now curious what stories the remaining books tell - but I need to start on another book or series first.
Funny thing about the Septimus Heap series is that I only got interested because of the cover of the books, which I've seen in various bookstores, and because I got a bargain copy of the official guide book from one of those National Bookstore sale bins. I didn't realize I'd enjoy it so much - certainly more so than the first Artemis Fowl book.
Speaking of National Bookstore, I went to the Cubao branch earlier today and didn't get a thing from the warehouse sale. However, I did get this lovely little thing from the aforementioned regular bargain bin.
I've always been fascinated by classic world history and the cultures of ancient peoples and I was hoping to find a handy reference book at the warehouse sale but didn't find any. Good thing I stayed and looked around the rest of the store. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found this book. Obviously, Norse runes satiate my interests in both fantasy/mythology and ancient cultures.
As my social media activities can attest, this past weekend was incredibly tiring and busy but overall awesome for me. It was, after all, Free Comic Book Day last Saturday and Star Wars Day last Sunday - both internationally observed annual geek events, so my weekend was bound to be really hectic - and really geeky! The stuff that The Big Bang Theory is made of!
Though, now that I think about it, my entire week has been across-the-board geeky, more so than any other week (I think).
First, let's begin with this little gem of a YouTube channel.
More than providing me with background sound while I work on designs for a client's project, the channel provides some quick, bite-sized information on a variety of topics - from psychology to literature. I actually discovered and subscribed to the channel some time ago but I got through their entire series on US History and got started on World History just the past week. I'm not much of a history nut but it's nice to have even just a bit of knowledge about events, especially when they are referenced in conversations, and this show makes learning history far more entertaining than the crap I endured in college.
In the realm of comics, I already went through 30+ issues of Invincible last week alone - and I loved every minute of it! It's a fun superhero book that doesn't take itself very seriously.
One of the funniest scenes I've read in comics!
My only gripe, though this applies to comics in general these days, is that there really isn't much to read in a single issue. Gone are the days where I spend 15 to 20 minutes on a single book. These days, I'll be lucky if I make it to 10 minutes.
Another surprisingly short read is the first book in the Artemis Fowl series. I finished it late last week and I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. The world-building just doesn't work for me and I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters. There's a dwarf that burrows by eating and pooping dirt.
Or maybe I'm just not down with having criminals as protagonists. Though Eoin Coifer did try to make readers empathize with his main character, but I just can't bring myself to do so. Here's hoping the next books hook me in.
And now, to gaming. My friends and I were supposed to spend last Thursday's Labor Day break playing board games but our host, Mark Poa, had to cancel because MR had a family emergency and she couldn't fly out. We tried to make other plans but I ended up staying home and playing my own games - most notably Dust: An Elysian Tail (yeah, I'm still there).
At this point, I was already consulting walkthroughs online because I couldn't figure some levels out and I wanted to be done with them so I can move on to the next. I ended the week on the final level of the game. I'm probably gonna finish it sometime this week.
Final level! Things are bound to get nasty from here!
I also bought a couple of Kemco and Kairosoft games on Android because they were on sale. I haven't fully delved into either games, so I can't really say much about them yet, but I did sample them a bit.
Friday night was Geek Fight at Boho. We had a modest turn out with only four teams competing, two of which were composed of me and my friends, but Kenneth the substitute host (Carlo Casas wasn't available for some reason) really livened up the evening with silly retorts like asking the groups to draw boobs, pubes, or even V-cuts on their board if they don't have the answer. I've actually seen Kenneth before - as a member of the Silly People Improv Troupe and as one of the doomed students on Battalia Royale.
Neither of our two groups won that evening but it was fun nonetheless, so it's all good.
Finally, the weekend. To be honest, there really wasn't much about FCBD that excites me anymore. After all, I'm not much of an avid collector anymore, I've gone every year since Comic Odyssey spearheaded the event locally, and I wasn't thrilled about basking in the searing heat while waiting in line for this year's free comic offerings, none of which I'm particularly interested in. Since I'm also in the business of cutting back and saving, I was also not interested in the sale. I only really went just to say that I've had a complete geek week and to have enough fodder for this blog.
I had this medium-sized shirt altered for the occasion.
To be fair, though, this year's event was less taxing than last year. I was in line by 8:30 am and was done by around 9:30 am. Boy, was I glad they got the line moving early and quickly. I could've gone home then but I had to wait for Mark P. and Chiqui. Actually, one of the things I always enjoy about FCBD is meeting up with friends and the local fandom, so I'm glad I still took the time and effort to be there.
As for my stash, I got Transformers vs. GI Joe, Archie, and Power Rangers comics (yeah, I totally skipped the Marvel title) plus some other random issues that Comic Odyssey gave away to early birds. I ended up giving away my copy of Archie to Jay-r and Power Rangers to Alec. They didn't make it to the quality stuff but I wanted them to come away with something since they're hardly ever at these events and, like I said, I wasn't particularly interested in the comics anyway, so it just made sense. Mark P. also wanted the Bongo FCBD anthology but they already ran out of copies when he arrived. Had I known, I would've gotten a copy and given it to him.
My initial apprehension about attending this year's FCBD almost made me lose my slot to figure into this year's Star Wars Day celebration at Resorts World as part of the Philippine Outpost contingent. The call went out to troopers and handlers weeks ago for a two-day weekend trooping but there were limited slots, so I let the troopers sign up first. I also had to gauge whether my presence would be required for either or both days. It wasn't until early last week when I decided I would attend FCBD that I finally confirmed my participation for Sunday only but was told the slots had already been filled. I didn't really mind - I was perfectly fine with just supporting the event and taking photos and videos of them, which I always enjoy. However, I did volunteer to handle the small group who would be making an appearance on ASAP earlier in the day though.
I also had this shirt altered last week just for the weekend.
The trooping at ASAP was actually the second time I handled the troopers for a variety show performance. The first time was on Party Pilipinas about a couple of years ago. The experience was almost similar - down to Iza Calzado being present on both shows - except that, during rehearsals, I didn't know many of the performers on Party Pilipinas but I knew most of those on ASAP. And I don't watch either shows! Except for the rain that made crossing from the green room to the studio less than ideal, the trooping went swimmingly. I had my camera with me to take photos of the appearance but unfortunately: a. My position on the side of the stage wasn't a good angle; and b. My camera's battery ran out.
Bummer!
Thankfully I had a spare that I got to use for the event at Resorts World. It turned out that there were more troopers and a couple of Jedi than I initially expected (including Nabs and some new troopers who came all the way from Cebu!), so an extra handler came in really - well, handy! I found out I was officially enlisted, after all, which gave me backstage privileges, among other perks, in exchange for helping the legion out with putting their armor on, marching, and everything else they may need. My fellow handlers.and I shuffled between the dressing room and the activity area or going around the mall, wherever there's a trooper. And I still got to follow them around or RUN AHEAD OF THEM and take photos and video (that reminds me - I still need to edit)!
The final photo I took before my camera's spare battery conked out.
Yet this event was less exhausting for me than FCBD was. I was already crashing last Saturday afternoon while we were playing Cards Against Humanity at Krispy Kreme but I was pumped all the way through the trooping. Then again, I didn't get much sleep the night before FCBD because Geek Fight. And I pretty much slept the entire evening when I got home from FCBD, which foiled my plan of capping my Saturday with a comic book movie, ie the Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Anyway, back to Star Wars Day Sunday. Jovan, Aids, and I hitched a ride out of Resorts World with Jon, who also wanted to check out the VaderBoy custom toy exhibit at Ronac Art Center, so we tagged along. Turns out some of the troopers who were just at Resorts World at the event also came to support one of the troopers who couldn't participate at Resorts World because he was one of the exhibit organizers. I was actually blown away by the concept of the exhibit since I wasn't aware such a sub-culture exists. It's now become something I want to look into in the future. After all, it's art that I can easily appreciate.
Just imagine if Ewoks were this creative.
And so May the 4th and my "geek week" ended for me there. Funny enough, I've never been to any of the places I ended up going to on Star Wars Day, which is great for adding to my fount of experience. Actually, the whole of last week has been awesome on so many levels and I'm forever grateful that this is the kind of life I get to live.
My birthday is this weekend plus a couple of important Avengers issues also comes out this week (today, in fact):
Avengers Vol. 4 No. 31
It's beginning of the end for the Brian Michael Bendis era - a moment long-time Avengers fans have been waiting for. In fact: I know of some folks over at the Avengers Forever fan group who have vowed never to touch an Avengers book by Bendis, and I don't blame them.
Month after month, his issues were among the most premium-priced at P200 each and I barely get 5 minutes of enjoyment and hardly any satisfaction from them. None of his 4 to 6-issue story arcs felt like they needed to last that long. It's clear to me that he's stretching his stories with the intent of compiling them into collected editions, which is fine by me, but I wish he had given me more bang for my buck. He's already said that that's the prescribed format and some people are just better at it. Unfortunately, he's not one of them. Dan Slott and Ed Brubaker did the same during their runs on Mighty Avengers and Secret Avengers, respectively, and yet I enjoyed every issue! To his credit, he has written some brilliant single issue stories: the FCBD 2009 Avengers, and New Avengers Vol. 2 Nos. 7 and 8. So I don't understand how he can't just restrain himself. If there was a story arc that I genuinely liked, it would be the one I started with: The Collective.
His Avengers act like amateurs who have never faced universe-devastating crises before.
They have no semblance of teamwork or leadership at all (let's all hit the same foe at the same time)
His character management is a mess! For example: Spider-woman was a more interesting character back when she was a Skrull!
I have been burned several times yet I kept coming back for more. It's the most abusive relationship this side of Chris Brown and Rihanna. Why did I put up with it for seven years?
Because of the characters. Which is also a problem because his work shows no respect for the characters and the fans that loved them. While I was initially incensed when I first heard about Disassembled and the New Avengers, I was curious about the new direction. I understand the need to bring in new fans, but why turn away old ones? Shake up the status quo - it's been done before - but why kill off characters or make them crazy and destroy an integral part of the Avengers mythos?
Of course, all that is moot now that most of those changes have been reversed.
Which brings me to today's second important issue:
When I first heard about this, I was like "NO SALE!". And I don't feel any differently NOW!
Sure, Wanda is back in action and they'll be using the Mansion as their HQ, but this is hardly my Avengers. In fact none of the Avengers titles/teams NOW! appeal to me. For crying out loud, I got into the Avengers to escape the mutants. NOW! they're all over the place! Yes, I understand that the creative teams they have assembled for all the titles are amazing, but like I previously mentioned, I'm in it for the characters and
I unfortunately don't recognize these Avengers anymore.
So yes, I don't believe I'll be supporting Marvel NOW! and its plethora of Avengers titles, including the just-announced Young Avengers. In fact: I'll hazard to say that my time of collecting new Avengers comics has come to an end. I'll just finish the current story lines of Academy, Assemble (both fold this month), and Secret, and that's it.
A shame really. With my least liked writer finally leaving, I would've liked to see what they might turn up next but this is not what I had in mind. Sadly, I blame the movie for the Avengers' popularity and why every other Marvel NOW! title has the Avengers branding on it (Avengers Arena, SERIOUSLY?).
[UPDATE 10-14-2012: Marvel NOW! Secret Avengers relaunched with a movie-centric cast, which annoys me even more. So I'll just finish the current run of the Secret team.]
That's not to say that I'm no longer a fan. There's still 30 to 40 years worth of classic stories I have yet to discover (I'm waiting for the new Kree-Skrull War paperback to come out) and there's still the adventures of the West Coast team.
Which brings me to my last piece of thought:
When first announced, I thought this was a contrived, unnecessary event and given the way it eventually unfolded, my feelings about it haven't changed. Yes, I'm giving in to the Bendis abuse again (he did bookend the series) but being smarter about it - I only want to get the collected paperback edition (at a discounted price, if possible). After all, the event did involve many of my favorite classic Avengers, including the Black Panther, Hank Pym, the Vision, and of course Wanda, even interacting with the new Avengers. Who knows? I might even consider getting the paperbacks of the tie-ins.
And as far as Bendis and collected editions go, I'm also looking to snag copies of his Shattered Heroes stories (if only for Daredevil and Storm), which comes out before the end of the year, and of course his End Times saga, which would probably come out sometime next year. I figured I'd cut my losses since he writes for trades anyway.
But after that? Sadly I don't see myself diving back into the comics in the near future. I no longer feel like Marvel is doing anything for fans like me (I've been labeled a "purist", which is a title I proudly carry). I also used to treat each issue as special but I don't feel that way anymore because I have hundreds! With the way things are, I wouldn't be surprised if I reach thousands by next year! With the movie's sequel in development, I expect things are going to be the same way for the next couple more years at least.
I've always known that it has to end at some point, and Marvel NOW! just gave me the perfect reason to jump ship.
Of course, this bold announcement from the self-confessed biggest Pinoy fan of the Avengers couldn't have come at a better time: This weekend would've also marked my 12th anniversary as a fan (I got my first issue as a birthday gift to myself). It's the end times for my comic-collecting days but I know I will always be a fan of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
I suppose when you're a group of super powers with your headquarters located on a block of New York City, the world or at least the US government would have just reasons to keep you in check and make sure your interests are aligned with their interests. After all, unless your base
of operations is a roving satellite off-planet or a lighthouse on the moon, you're still operating on sovereign soil and certain laws have to be observed.
Avengers Headquarters
That's where the government liaisons come in - they're the middle men who mitigates your operations and make sure you're in the straight and narrow... at least by government standards. In addition to alerting you on new missions, they're also in charge of securing government permits and taking care of other legal affairs so you won't have to (because, you know, saving the world should be your tip-top priority)! But sometimes, they do overstep their bounds and dictate the system by which you operate.
And when you're a liaison assigned to the Avengers, you would have to be an equally colorful character to share comic panels with the likes of a billionaire industrialist in a suit of armor, an Asgardian god with a hammer that summons thunder, a super soldier out of time in a star spangled garb carrying a mighty shield, and the rest of these self-styled "Earth's Mightiest Heroes".
I only bring this up because while watching the movie, I couldn't help think that this guy:
Many who have seen the movie are quite smitten with Agent Coulson while many who have followed the comics harbor a special fondness for Mr. Freeman - the first and last liaison of the Busiek era (a personal favorite). Both men were fanboys, both were loved by the fans, and both shared a common fate.
Coulson in Battle Scars.
No fair! He's got more hair than Clark Gregg!
Yes, Mr. Freeman was a government-appointed liaison to the Avengers but Coulson is not. I think he'd make a great one though. If a tad overqualified - the guy can kick serious ass! There are certain obstacles to make that happen in the movieverse but with his emergence in the comics, that may not be a far possibility. After all, the current roster of the Avengers no longer have government liaisons. They now have SHIELD liaisons instead!
For a long while, liaisons like Mr. Freeman have served as a colorful addition to the Avengers' cast as the other civilian aside from Jarvis who is deeply involved in the Avengers' business. After Disassembled, we haven't had much in the ways of government liaisons, and after Civil War, we've pretty much established that anyone who leads SHIELD also leads the Avengers. That's pretty much absolute power right there.
'Nuff said.
This is why I found it baffling that they returned to the liaison system at the onset of the Heroic Age. The Avengers and SHIELD, both under Commander Steve Rogers' command, are at the very top of the security food chain. But I suppose that having liaisons around was a means to make sure that there is no such thing as "absolute power" in the first place - that there is still some level of accountability on both ends. Or maybe there were just too many squads running around that they cannot be left unchecked.
The great thing about these women was that they were completely different from pencil-pushing men straight out of Washington whose background was more on politics than actually ensuring the safety of the world. Hill and Carter have both accompanied their respective teams on missions while Hand had, more often than not, found herself in the thick of things whether she wants to or not but she's proven herself more than capable of holding her own regardless. Even when confronted with the return of her former boss.
Both Hill and Hand are creations of my least favorite scribe and I should be morose that one of his pet characters got the big screen treatment when the Wasp, an original Avenger and a personal favorite, doesn't even get a cameo! But I digress. If anything, he made the character truly memorable and deserving of her place in the periphery of the Avengers mythos. Her love/hate attitude towards superheroes truly helped in that direction - much like another memorable character who has made a career out of his unfavorable relationship with the Avengers.
I actually like this character because his less than welcome presence adds internal conflict and drama to stories involving him! He's every bit the pencil-pushing arrogant government type I described above.
We haven't seen much of him in recent comics but then again with his past dealings with the team, it's no wonder that Commander Rogers don't have any place for him in his new world order. Although he's the least liked of all the liaisons, his is the image that pops in my head when they say "Avengers liaison". I enjoyed reading about him during Geoff Johns' run and his time at the Initiative and I hope he shows up in the comics again soon.
Maybe make it hard for the Secret Avengers to function since Agent Carter is no longer with them?
He already appeared on Earth's Mightiest Heroes!
Now that I think about it, I think he's also appeared on the other animated series but was under the name of another government liaison in the comics who wasn't as prolific as Gyrich!
Of course, Raymond Sikorski was instrumental in the formation of the West Coast team and was the liaison to both squads during that era. He wasn't a fanboy or anything but he did make it easier for the team to cover both coasts. Maybe the reason they used his name for the show was because he was the most recent liaison and therefore the name that followers of the comics were familiar with at the time at the time of the show's production. But his likeness and sour demeanor towards the team was definitely Gyrich! Just another one of the show's many absurdities I suppose.
The Gyrich-Sikorski hyrbrid from United they Stand also reminds me of Stephen Colbert!
All this is why Coulson will so work as the Avengers liaison! He's pretty much a suit just like Gyrich and an ass kicker like Hill (Hey, they're both agents!) plus he's got Duane's fanboy spirit (those who've seen the movie will know what I mean)! And he can probably manage multiple A-teams like Sikorski! Definitely a winner combo!
It's a long shot that it's gonna happen in the movie but maybe in the TV show?
There is an opportunity there since, for the time being at least, they're keeping the Avengers and SHIELD entities completely exclusive. The character hasn't appeared on the show yet but he has already appeared in the comic tie-in so there's hope of seeing more of him!
"I won't believe that this is happening until my ass is firmly planted in the cinema!"
I remember saying that when I shared the first wave of promotional images on Facebook and Google+.
Well, I've already seen it twice since the movie came out here last Wednesday and I still can't believe that it happened.
Not only did they make a movie about my favorite comic book title ever but they made a great movie period. I'm not gonna go into details as to how and why because that's what Rotten Tomatoes is for.
What I want to answer is: How does somebody whose online persona has the word "avenger" in it and who celebrated 10 years of being a fan feel about THE MOVIE?
Frankly, I was disappointed.
I didn't expect it to be brilliant. I didn't expect it to be mindblowing. I certainly expected a movie that only an Avengers fan would love. None of those expectations were met. And I'm glad that they weren't because as a huge fan, I feel a sense of entitlement to this franchise. The fandom is not the loudest and not the biggest in the world, to be sure, so this is a make or break moment for us. The Spider-man, X-men, Batman, and Superman fandoms can live their bad movies down on the strength of everything else they got going for them. While the Justice League fans will always have their TV shows, us Avengers fans will only have this one shot at a blip in the radar of pop culture.
Who better to steer us towards that direction than a geek god like Joss Whedon! I remember jolting up from my early morning stupor two years ago when they formally announced at SDCC that he'll be helming the movie. Of course, that event also finalized Mark Ruffalo's replacement of Edward Norton in the role of Bruce Banner as well as the movie roster, which did not include Ant-man and the Wasp.
Did I mind Norton's departure? Not really, though I would've preferred he reprised his role if only for the additional star power to match Robert Downey, Jr. To be honest, they could've cast a completely new set of actors because I don't really care about the individual movies or characters. I only care about the team.Same reason I didn't mind that Captain America's ears weren't exposed or that Thor didn't have his helmet on. Regardless of casting and costume differences, everybody in the end did right by their roles including Cobie Smulders. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get Robin Scherbatsky or, worse, Robin Sparkles out of my head but she did right as Maria Hill!
As for Pym and Jan, if they couldn't get their movies out in time, it didn't really make sense for them to be included here because we'd have to spend time detailing their powers and origins instead of moving the story forward. Hawkeye and the Black Widow made sense because as SHIELD Agents, they're already right smack dab in the middle of it all and their powers don't really require much defining. Their scenes are actually the ones I looked forward to the most in the movie.
Yes, Hawkeye is from SHIELD and not from the circus, Nick Fury is black, and the Avengers were forcibly rather than coincidentally assembled. I suppose we owe much to Mark Millar and the Ultimates for paving the way to make this movie happen, but I do wonder what the treatment would've been if it was based more on the 616 timeline.
We'd probably still have Loki but would he still have been allied with that alien race? We'd probably have Skrulls instead, which I've been very vocal not liking the idea of. If not Loki, I would've preferred Ultron (with or without Pym) or Kang or both. That would be fanboy heaven for me!
Speaking of, the identity of the alien invaders and the cameo at the mid-credits were spoiled to me before I watched it. The only solace I find from that is that neither were all that surprising revelations - the former has already appeared in a previous adaptation and the latter has long been rumored.
I already miss those days of rumor-, speculation- and news-mongering. That's almost four years of my life since the first Iron Man movie. I can look forward to a sequel but if this doesn't get one, I'd be perfectly fine with it. How can we possibly top this? We have to do it right or not at all.
I feel strongly about this because as a vocal fan, this movie definitely pushed my personal branding. Everyone I know probably remembers me when they watched it so I also feel a certain level of responsibility. Case in point: My friends applauded ME when we watched the movie together! People I know have been letting me know how much they enjoyed it! I'm just glad they had a good time and that I'm somehow a part of it.
So thank you, Joss Whedon and Marvel, for this gift to the fans of Earth's Mightiest Heroes to hold over the heads of everybody else.
