Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S02 E05: "A Hen in the Wolf House"

What I have always said about "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," even during the dark days when no one was watching it, was that it was great espionage television, and it's been a long time since we've had such a thing. This week's episode was full of all the things the genre cool - enemy agents, independent agents, and double agents.

Palicki in the costume that debuts tonight.

And speaking of double agents, this episode features the debut of Bobbi Morse, as played by Adrianne Palicki, who was previously Wonder Woman in the unaired pilot by David E. Kelley. In the comics she's better known as Mockingbird. If you're looking for a blonde double agent with an attraction to archers, and you can't afford the Black Widow, and don't own Black Canary, Mockingbird is the next best thing.

Her codename is never mentioned, her hair is not blonde (although it's later referenced that it once was), and her outfit looks like she raided the leftover Cylon reject wardrobe of "Battlestar Galactica," but she is still kicking ass and taking names with her trademark battle staves. There's no mention of on again/off again husband Hawkeye, but she's mercenary Lance Hunter's ex-wife.

Bobbi saves Jemma Simmons from the clutches of Hydra when her cover is blown. Hopefully her time with the enemy will provide valuable information, and her presence help balance her old partner Fitz. I'm also glad to see Bobbi join the team, but hope her super-badassery will not dilute Agent May's only human badassery.

Skye almost gets to meet her dad, and it seems as we've been told, he's an alien monster in human form, killing indiscriminately. Kyle MacLachlan plays this to the hilt with appropriate weirdness. The bad news is that he's aligned himself with Kraken and Hydra. Dear old Dad also says the Obelisk is called The Diviner in its native language.

Speaking of which, Skye also has made progress translating the alien language. She says it's a map. A map perhaps to the Kree homeworld Hala? Time will tell.

In the meantime, please don't forget to check out my friend and fellow Biff Bam Pop! columnist J.P. Fallavollita for his review of this episode along with a few of his theories on the alien language, and my regular reviews of the "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." series here. Thanks again, J.P.!

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Well now, this was a surprise. I don't recall being all that impressed with the first G.I. Joe movie. And my connection to Joe is more 1970s Adventure Team than the 1980s Yo Joe anti-terrorists. I felt that the first movie was meant only for folks into the 80s toys and didn't care if it left everyone else behind. I expected more of the same with G.I. Joe: Retaliation. I was pleasantly surprised.

In the aftermath of that first movie the big bads, Cobra, swore revenge. Not only did they get it, but as this film begins, they have already won. The President has been compromised, he is held prisoner as Cobra operative Zartan masquerades as PotUS. An air strike takes out all of the Joes except for a handful who must rebuild and take back a country that now finances and iodizes Cobra as heroes and hates the Joes as villains.

I'm not a fan of Channing Tatum. He's never impressed me much, but here, in the precious little time he's on screen, his chemistry with The Rock is enough so that you miss him and you really almost feel the pain when he dies. Yeah, it's that good. The Rock, as Roadblock, brings his comrades home to the hood to regroup. The Rock equally is good.

The leftovers go to the original G.I. Joe, Bruce Willis, for help. He's fun as the tough old crotchety know-it-all with the heart of gold and a wisecrack for every occasion. The cast is rounded out by David E. Kelley pilot Wonder Woman Adrianne Palicki (who has also just been cast as Mockingbird in "Agents of SHIELD," wow, somebody wants to be a superhero bad) and D.J. Cotrona who is basically Channing Tatum lite.

In between the interesting scenes with The Rock, Bruno and company, there are ninja interludes featuring characters with names like Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, and Jinx. I didn't have any emotional connection or even knowledge of them, so I just enjoyed them for the James Bond/Shaw Brothers wannabes they were. Fun but hollow.

All in all, while a bit dark in places, G.I. Joe: Retaliation was a fun action flick with more warmth and depth than I ever would have expected. If you're looking for a better than average actioner, this is it. You might be just as surprised as I was.