Agents of SHIELD, Undefined Villainous Goals, and Bad Heroes
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Up to Episode 5 - Scorch, so spoilers ahoy. Also, thoughts on supervillains, particularly examples in AoS, and one from Buffy.
Good show!
I'm loving the dorky duo of Fitz-Simmons, though I'm waiting for the time Ward makes them join him for the gym time because having non-combatants on this tiny team could end up being several sorts of disasters. I mean, look what's happened thus far! They don't need to be Calvary badasses, but learning a couple of moves wouldn't be out of order, nay?
Ward - Started out looking like the tooliest tool who ever tooled, but has mellowed out considerably. Thank goodness, because otherwise he would have been insufferable. But what he's doing now? Works.
Melinda May - Still wondering why she was behind a desk, but I am loving her relationship with Coulson. She's sort of the team mom/disciplinarian/colleague all in one.
Coulson - My current theory is that he's a LMD (Life Model Decoy - android). He's pulled a few moves that don't seem quite right. First episode he did some Matrix-esque moves to avoid shrapnel, and a couple times we've seen him down people with a single punch, people tougher than your average guy. Also there's the loss of "muscle memory" when he fumbled his gun a couple episodes ago. And the comments from people who've known him mentioning that he's "off." Highly interesting possibilities ahoy!
Skye - I was glad to see that SHIELD has been doing pretty severe research on her instead of just welcoming her in without much of a qualm. That caution was justified as we've seen, and I'm pleased to see Skye taking her punishment like an adult by taking the bracelets. Also glad to see her expanding her skill set with Ward, because she's seen enough to know how dangerous this world is.
Now, on to the latest episode, Scorch. And the guy Michael from the first episode too, while we're at it. Oh hey, and the lady from The Eye.
I don't get supervillains. Or heroes sometimes.
You get Mr. Scorch here, with limited power, limited money, who only wanted to be famous and show the world what he could do. Once he has gotten that power, does he even think about, say, filming himself on YouTube to promote his new "Fire Magic" show? Going out in public and doing a really balls-to-the-wall street performance?
Okay, yeah, Centipede screwed him over, but before he was focused purely on revenge, he was still babbling vague things about gifts and greatness and blah blah blah. I heard not one practical suggestion come out of his mouth, not one single little thing that would help him financially or promote his fame.
At least Michael from the pilot did have some small measure of sanity going for him in that he tried to get his job back to provide for his boy.
However, both of them quickly fell into (with very strong provocation, mind) the bizarre villain standard of monologuing about vague goals of greatness and power. Guys, give me something real to latch onto. Spouting off about power and "showing the world" and going on about what the world owes you mostly just puts me to sleep.
I'd also like to mention the lady from The Eye. Now, from the history revealed, it seemed she had had several raw deals even before she was left in the bottom of a mine shaft for four years. However, when it became apparent she was being asked to kill, steal, and otherwise cause mayhem for unknown masters, I have to ask where a person draws the line. How many lives is your life worth? With these mysterious masters seeing everything you do, and able to pull the plug at any time, that severely limits your ability to research them back. If you can't figure out who's doing things to you, and every day of your life means someone else won't survive, or that you'll end up aiding people whose goals are ultimately bad (death, loss of freedom, etc.), when do you say, "Screw you Magic Eye Guys!" When do you say no? When do you realize that for every day you fight to stay alive, you're making the world a worse place?
This was also an issue I had in Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Angel went bad. Buffy refused to kill him a couple of times, and while I never made a strict count, Angel must have dropped several dozen bodies, minimum, between the first time she refused to kill him and when she sent him to hell. She tried to keep some level of personal integrity and several dozen families were left mourning their loved ones.
Interesting lover's crisis. But bad hero work.
What is my point here? Not sure I have one, but if you're going to be a bad guy, have some defined goals. And if you're going to be a hero, careful your own lust for life doesn't leave those you're defending in the lurch.
Good show!
I'm loving the dorky duo of Fitz-Simmons, though I'm waiting for the time Ward makes them join him for the gym time because having non-combatants on this tiny team could end up being several sorts of disasters. I mean, look what's happened thus far! They don't need to be Calvary badasses, but learning a couple of moves wouldn't be out of order, nay?
Ward - Started out looking like the tooliest tool who ever tooled, but has mellowed out considerably. Thank goodness, because otherwise he would have been insufferable. But what he's doing now? Works.
Melinda May - Still wondering why she was behind a desk, but I am loving her relationship with Coulson. She's sort of the team mom/disciplinarian/colleague all in one.
Coulson - My current theory is that he's a LMD (Life Model Decoy - android). He's pulled a few moves that don't seem quite right. First episode he did some Matrix-esque moves to avoid shrapnel, and a couple times we've seen him down people with a single punch, people tougher than your average guy. Also there's the loss of "muscle memory" when he fumbled his gun a couple episodes ago. And the comments from people who've known him mentioning that he's "off." Highly interesting possibilities ahoy!
Skye - I was glad to see that SHIELD has been doing pretty severe research on her instead of just welcoming her in without much of a qualm. That caution was justified as we've seen, and I'm pleased to see Skye taking her punishment like an adult by taking the bracelets. Also glad to see her expanding her skill set with Ward, because she's seen enough to know how dangerous this world is.
Now, on to the latest episode, Scorch. And the guy Michael from the first episode too, while we're at it. Oh hey, and the lady from The Eye.
I don't get supervillains. Or heroes sometimes.
You get Mr. Scorch here, with limited power, limited money, who only wanted to be famous and show the world what he could do. Once he has gotten that power, does he even think about, say, filming himself on YouTube to promote his new "Fire Magic" show? Going out in public and doing a really balls-to-the-wall street performance?
Okay, yeah, Centipede screwed him over, but before he was focused purely on revenge, he was still babbling vague things about gifts and greatness and blah blah blah. I heard not one practical suggestion come out of his mouth, not one single little thing that would help him financially or promote his fame.
At least Michael from the pilot did have some small measure of sanity going for him in that he tried to get his job back to provide for his boy.
However, both of them quickly fell into (with very strong provocation, mind) the bizarre villain standard of monologuing about vague goals of greatness and power. Guys, give me something real to latch onto. Spouting off about power and "showing the world" and going on about what the world owes you mostly just puts me to sleep.
I'd also like to mention the lady from The Eye. Now, from the history revealed, it seemed she had had several raw deals even before she was left in the bottom of a mine shaft for four years. However, when it became apparent she was being asked to kill, steal, and otherwise cause mayhem for unknown masters, I have to ask where a person draws the line. How many lives is your life worth? With these mysterious masters seeing everything you do, and able to pull the plug at any time, that severely limits your ability to research them back. If you can't figure out who's doing things to you, and every day of your life means someone else won't survive, or that you'll end up aiding people whose goals are ultimately bad (death, loss of freedom, etc.), when do you say, "Screw you Magic Eye Guys!" When do you say no? When do you realize that for every day you fight to stay alive, you're making the world a worse place?
This was also an issue I had in Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Angel went bad. Buffy refused to kill him a couple of times, and while I never made a strict count, Angel must have dropped several dozen bodies, minimum, between the first time she refused to kill him and when she sent him to hell. She tried to keep some level of personal integrity and several dozen families were left mourning their loved ones.
Interesting lover's crisis. But bad hero work.
What is my point here? Not sure I have one, but if you're going to be a bad guy, have some defined goals. And if you're going to be a hero, careful your own lust for life doesn't leave those you're defending in the lurch.