What Hydra Really Is

Those of you who follow my work know how I feel about the current comics situation with Captain America and Secret Empire. If you don't, my thoughts on Captain America as a Hydra agent can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here, and the new crossover event Secret Empire here and here. Suffice it to say, reality was warped and Captain America is, and always has been an agent of Hydra, and in Secret Empire he makes his move as a major super-villain and takes over the planet in the name of Hydra.

Much has been made of what Hydra is and isn't, with many folks equating this organization with the Third Reich and Nazism. When the group was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for Strange Tales #135 in 1965, they were essentially a modern day group of adversaries designed for Captain America who could take the place of the Nazis he routinely trounced in World War II.

Later, in a series by Jonathan Hickman that retconned much of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s history as well as that of Hydra, the organization was described as ancient, East Asian, and having origins going back centuries before the Third Reich. Those of you who have watched "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." are aware of this retcon when the team fought the extraterrestrial creature called Hive. Hydra moved even farther from its Nazi origins when the Marvel Cinematic Universe made a point of referring to them as the science branch of the Third Reich which broke off into its own thing.

But even if you want to play this retroactive continuity game, here are the facts. Baron Zemo, Arnim Zola, Baron Von Strucker, and the Red Skull were all Nazis. They are all fascists, anti-Semites, genocidal maniacs, bent on world domination. They have all worn swastikas. Is it a coincidence they are also all founders of Hydra? If it quacks like a duck, folks...

So, anyone who knows what a metaphor knows what I'm talking about. Hydra equals Nazis, no matter what anyone says, and Marvel should be ashamed to have their symbol of freedom, the superheroic icon who began his career by punching Hitler in the mouth, become one of them. His creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby would be sick over this, and Marvel should do what is right - apologize, and sweep this whole demented Secret Empire concept away and forget it ever happened. And pray that your readers forget it ever happened.

Free Comic Book Day 2017

Having recently moved to Florida from New Jersey and not getting that many comics any more, I was at a loss as to what to do for Free Comic Book Day this year. I dearly miss All Things Fun! up in my home state, along with Ed, Dina, and Allison, who I did the All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast with (which you can still see here), but it's just too far a drive these days.

The Bride and I decided to drop in at a newer comic shop here in downtown Lakeland, Uncanny Heroes. They had Darth Vader, Chewbacca, George Lowe from "Space Ghost Coast to Coast," and a DeLorean parked out front, I was sold, let's stay a while. Having Max 98.3 FM broadcasting live and barbequed hot dogs and burgers was just a bonus as far as I was concerned – Uncanny knows how to celebrate Free Comic Book Day. I picked up a handful of the free comics, a cool Krypto shirt, and Batman/Shadow #1. Here's what I thought of some of the books:

Batman/Shadow ~ I was wary of this one as my friend and podcast partner Ray thought I might like it. Anyone who listens to The GAR! Podcast knows that's never a good sign. I can't say I hated this, but I didn't like it either. The Shadow is the antagonist here, not the way I want it, and Scott Snyder and Steve Orlando get it right except which side of the law the Shadow is on, and I did love the Maniaks reference. This book earned a second issue and a second chance, but a tentative one.

From the free comics I picked up Riverdale, which was very readable but in the long run not as enjoyable as Archie Comics of the past. Very hooked into the CW show of the same name these two tales are set in that continuity. And if you dig the show, there's a cool character guide in the back of this one.

In anticipation of the upcoming live-action The Tick series on Amazon (I loved the pilot) I picked up that comic, fun but not as good as it used to be. Hmmm, seems to be a pattern. Underdog, from American Mythology, the company that currently publishes Eagle, was fun, with both a new story and an old one. I just may pick up the new Underdog comic based on this. And then there's Wonder Woman. I was not a fan of Greg Rucka when he wrote the character before and I remain unimpressed.

The Bride picked up a few of her own as well. The nice thing about Uncanny Heroes is they had no limit on how many free comics you could get. It's important to note that even though the comics are free to customers, the stores till pay for them, so remember that every Free Comic Book Day and buy as well as get free stuff. Jenn picked up four books from the FCBD selection.

The first was Avatar, which didn't do much for me, but I am excited for the film sequels and the new park in Disney's Animal Kingdom. The next one was also Disney-related, a manga version of Descendants from Tokyopop that was interesting, but I prefer the movie. Next was Doctor Who from Titan Comics with a fun tale of four Doctors that I dug quite a bit.

The Bride's final choice was All-New Guardians of the Galaxy as a dessert to seeing the movie the night before. The comic wasn't bad, pretty much in line with the real series of the same name, but what really irked me was the second story of this Marvel FCBD book - Defenders. So Bendis is writing a book called Defenders featuring the Netflix version of that team, nothing I can do about that, I guess, it's typical Bendis, but do they have to use the original logo? To me that logo means the real Defenders – Doctor Strange, Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Nighthawk, Valkyrie, Hellcat, etc., not these guys. How about a new logo, huh?

Marvel had two other offering for the day, one a reading chronology for the "All-New, All-Different Marvel" that is basically a glossy and pretty book of ads for Marvel's trade paperbacks – in correct reading order to be sure – but still a book of ads. And then there's Secret Empire, a heart crushing addition to the Captain America as Hydra agent saga where the villain (Cap, as hard as that is to believe) defeats the Avengers by wielding the hammer of Thor. Yes, it defies logic, like all of this story. Thankfully it's followed by a sneak peek at Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man featuring Spidey, the Vulture, and the new Trapster. That's kinda fun at least.

For the most part, a fun Free Comic Book Day, thanks to Uncanny Heroes.

Daredevil S02 E03: New York's Finest

The first episode of "Daredevil" Season Two ended with our hero shot in the head, and the second with his radar sense failing and the Punisher closing in. When the police arrive seconds later, both combatants are gone. So far, the cliffhangers are hot. But where did Daredevil and the Punisher go? Something tells me I don't want to know.

As we open in the pre-credits scene, Matt is hallucinating from his Catholic upbringing, until he slowly awakens in chains on a rooftop with the Punisher. This apparently right from the comics, from Garth Ennis' Punisher #3, but I can't comment much, having never read the issue before, but it's been praised for the philosophical discussion between these two protagonists. Daredevil's compromised position forcing him to engage his foe verbally as opposed to with his fists.

So I dug up the comic in question, and found it to be much what I expected, and worse. Garth Ennis is an extremely talented writer, but with one serious flaw, especially when working in the world of comic books - he hates superheroes. Unlike other comic book writers who hate superheroes, like Frank Miller, Ennis doesn't usually write superheroes, unless they're twisted parodies like The Boys or dark anti-heroes like Preacher, John Constantine, or, the Punisher.

In this dark and dreary world of Ennis' Punisher, no one is happy, as masterfully illustrated by the late Steve Dillon, rest in peace. Punisher lives in a skewed vision of our world where misery reigns, where he is the twisted mirror of heroism, and Daredevil is a clown that must be shown the error of his ways. On the rooftop chains of the comic book source material, the Punisher must remake Daredevil in his own image. If it wasn't so ridiculous, it would be horrifying.

I read comic books for escape from the real world, to see heroism as it should be, to be inspired to be a better person. Superhero comic books are supposed to make you want to be the hero and change the world. Reading Punisher #3 made me depressed, and most of all, it made me hate the Punisher more than I had before I opened that damned miserable comic. I do appreciate the talent and skill it takes to evoke such a reaction from a reader, but trust me, it will be a very long time before I ever read another Punisher comic.

But that was the comic, I hope the Netflix episode that is aping it can do better. Here it is also, as I described, a philosophical discussion between the two protagonists, but a far more sensible one. While the Punisher goes about his business, Daredevil (or Red as he calls him) remains in chains talking the shades of gray in what they do. It's a difficult chat, each exchange like pulling teeth, and even though they vehemently disagree with the other's method, there is a hint of hatred-tinged bromance at work. I get the feeling that under different circumstances Frank and Red could be friends.

There is some prime acting here, and while Charlie Cox's Daredevil plays a very good counter to Jon Bernthal's Punisher, but the latter is the star here. His performance is spellbinding, saying volumes with an economy of words and gestures. I wasn't impressed when I'd heard Shane from "The Walking Dead" was going to play the Punisher, but he is amazing in the role. The only thing Shane and Frank have in common are we love to hate them both. Serious props.

The bottom line of the debate is killing. Frank will and Red won't. The difference is when Daredevil hits a bad guy they get back up, maybe come back, and when the Punisher hits 'em, they don't. Simple as that. Daredevil's reluctance to kill makes him a "half-measure," a coward who won't finish the job he started. And then it all turns to sh!t, as the ghost of Garth Ennis ruins everything.

The Punisher duct tapes a gun into Daredevil's hand then produces Grotto, beating the man senseless until he confesses to the murder of an innocent. The terms of this ridiculous trap - Daredevil must 'man up' and kill the Punisher before he kills Grotto, and at this moment is when I really started to hate this show. Where are the Owl, Gladiator, and the Stilt-Man when you need them? I really hate what comics and their related media have become...

In a world where Captain America knows that the Winter Soldier murdered Tony Stark's parents, I guess it shouldn't surprise anyone that Daredevil is too late to save Grotto. The nearly six-minute fight sequence that follows as Daredevil battles his way down several flights of stairs against the Dogs of Hell motorcycle gang with a gun taped to one hand and a chain around the other is phenomenal and spectacular - topping the hallway fight from last season even - but it in no way makes up for how this turn of events made me feel.

Meanwhile back in the real world, Karen and Foggy bring the only real light and hope to this dismal situation. As Karen fights the very different evil of District Attorney Reyes and learns more about the Punisher's past, Foggy has a heart-to-heart with Night Nurse and breaks up a gang fight in an already insane emergency room. Both are more heroic than the two 'superheroes' we watched for most of the episode.

I always love seeing Rosario Dawson, and Jon Bernthal deserves serious accolades for his performance, and that stairway fight sequence is one of the most amazing I've seen - but I still hated this episode. I may have to take a break before I come back to the second season of "Daredevil." This was rough.

Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War ~ I will say it up front, this is quite possibly the best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies so far in my opinion. Marvel's The Avengers, Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Captain America: Winter Soldier all run a tie for a very close second. And it's notable to mention that Ant-Man and Avengers are probably only in that running because of my love for those characters more than the movie itself, but still I would rank them top five easily. But Civil War, thematically an Avengers film and an official sequel in the Captain America franchise is still the best of the dozen or so MCU flicks.

The film is very loosely based on the Mark Millar and Steve McNiven miniseries from Marvel Comics a decade ago called Civil War where Captain America and Iron Man divided the Avengers and the entire American superhero community to go to war with each other over philosophical issues. It was a real war, and lives were lost and destroyed, and one of Marvel's greatest friendships was splintered for many years.

Backpedaling on Captain America

Yeah, if you think I'm backpedaling on my thoughts and opinions on Captain America, that ain't happening. I still stand by what I said here and here. When I say backpedaling, I'm talking about what Marvel has done with Captain America: Steve Rogers #2.

Glancing at the first few pages setting up the events of the last issue I have to wonder what the original story looked like, because Marvel is definitely backpedaling. The opening pages (and the rest of the comic) are in the narrative of the Red Skull, explaining how he used the Cosmic Cube to manipulate reality to bring about the events of the last issue. It's an interesting tale, but it seems out of place in the story, like having the shocking revealing conclusion in the second chapter of a book.

The stunt stinks of desperation, probably for the reasons I outlined in my last post, Captain America is a Nazi, et al. I would have been so much happier with this story had there been no hype machine muddying the waters. Captain America: Steve Rogers #2 isn't a bad issue all things concerned, just unsatisfactory in its excusatory mode.

Captain America - The Damage Is Done

I have talked at length about this at Biff Bam Pop! in my review of Captain America: Steve Rogers #1, and on episodes of The GAR! Podcast and Nerdfect Strangers here and here. Captain America is an Agent of Hydra, and always has been - or so we have been told.

And that's key. That's what we were told, but apparently we have been lied to. Here's the gist - in the first issue of Captain America: Steve Rogers #1, we see a dual storyline - one where young Steve's mom is tempted into a group that is suspiciously like Hydra (or the Nazis), and one where Captain America kills fellow hero Jack Flag and then says, "Hail Hydra." I have to hand it to writer Nick Spencer, because while I wasn't happy with the story, it was good and I enjoyed it, to the point of wanting to see what happened next. This was accompanied by some great art by Jesus Saiz, not a bad comic, all things considered, and one hell of a cliffhanger.

But. That's not the problem. The problem is that the day before the comic was released, Marvel Comics Senior Vice-President of Publishing, and former editor and Executive Editor, Tom Brevoort, went on several high profile media circuits and made certain pronouncements. From Time to Newsweek, from Entertainment Weekly to CNN, he announced that this was not mind control, not a hoax, not 'an imaginary story,' not a double or clone, and not a double agent thing. He basically closed off any possible escape for this horror, and then he said what clinched the noose around the character and much of the American public. "Captain America is, and has always been, a Hydra agent."

None of this was in the comic book, mind you, only from his mouth. And that's what drove me crazy, the hype machine, not the comic itself. Now we comic readers know that editors lie, and we know that (hopefully) Captain America would be back to status quo in six months to a year. That's just how comics roll. The problem is, that's not how the non-comic-buying public rolls. They don't know that's how it works.

They also don't know the intricacies of comic book continuity and logic. Many people who are into comics equate Hydra with the Nazis. They are not technically the same thing as the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gone to great lengths to demonstrate, but let's face it, Hydra was founded originally (don't talk to me about Jonathan Hickman's retconned ancient origin) by Nazis, doesn't that at its core, make them Nazis? Both groups hate, both groups seek world domination, and both groups will kill to get their way. At the very least, Hydra is evil in a very Nazi way.

But the public doesn't differentiate, and the shorthand has become - Captain America is a Nazi. Have you ever been called a Nazi sympathizer in a public place? I have. Twice. In the last month. That was because of my iPhone with the cover of Captain America #100 on the case. After that, I have not even dared to wear any of my Captain America t-shirts. In discussions of the topics, many non-comics folks I chat with just call the character 'Captain Nazi.' Yes, it's that bad.

I have to wonder about all those folks I saw at the premiere showing of Captain America: Civil War wearing Cap shirts, along with Avengers, and a handful of Iron Man as well, are faring at this moment. Do they still wear their Cap shirts? Speaking of movies, that brings up another point about public perception. When you don't follow comics, and only the destructive changing events are publicized, and not the fixing or returning events, your only point of reference is what you know from the news.

Case in point. When I first saw trailers for Superman Returns (2006), Man of Steel (2013), and Batman V Superman (2016), I heard several folks in the theaters repeatedly ask, "Isn't Superman dead?" For those not in the know, Superman died in the comics in 1993, and returned from the dead a little over a year later. Guess which story the media covered? People only remember what is drilled into their head. Mark my words, in ten years, Captain America will still be a Nazi in the eyes of the non-comics-reading public. The damage is already done.

DC Universe Rebirth

This was supposed to be the book of the week, the big comic book event, but Marvel Comics trumped it by making Captain America a Hydra agent. Yeah, it sounds like a headline from the Bizarro World doesn't it? I guess that clinches it. Marvel Comics hates superheroes more than Fredric Wertham. But while Marvel is stumbling backward into darkness, DC Comics is forging forward… to rebuild their broken universe, their broken characters, and reach out to readers old and new, rather than drive them away.

On point with this endeavor is writer Geoff Johns, who after fifteen pages of DC Universe Rebirth had me smiling. I don't smile at DC Comics, not in a long time now. The story follows Kid Flash, the real Kid Flash, Wally West from the old days, as he tries to find his way out of the Speed Force, and contact his old friends to warn them. Yeah, warn them of a danger that may have caused the New 52 Universe, and apparently no, it wasn't Flashpoint.

And about that, for those who haven't read it, here come the spoilers, so act appropriately. While I loved Watchmen, even the movie, the videogame, and a few of the prequels even, I have never been one of those fans that held it up as holy and untouchable. Alan Moore has written a few good comics, yes, but he is not a god. So the core thrust behind what caused the New 52 Universe and stole a decade from my favorite heroes and sliced and diced their memories is okay with me. I actually kinda dig the idea, and can't wait to see it further explored.

Now that that is out of the way, I can talk about how much I enjoyed this book. I loved seeing Wally again, and his tour of the New 52 Universe made things even better as we got to see Batman, Johnny Thunder, the Atoms, the Blue Beetles, maybe Saturn Girl, and so many others. I loved seeing Wally's origin relived through new artists' eyes, and the mystery of the three Jokers, the sadness of a Green Arrow and Black Canary who don't know each other, Aquaman's proposal to Mera, and really, who didn't cry when Wally encountered Linda Park, and then Barry Allen.

I honestly don't know which, if any, of the new DC Comics I will be picking up, but I will say this - they have my interest, and I sure as hell enjoyed this issue, and want to see what comes next! What did you folks think?

What I Liked in 2014

There was a lot to like this year and a lot to dislike, but I'll try to keep this positive.

In television this year we probably witnessed some of the best TV ever made in HBO's "True Detective," a show that also did the impossible, and made me like Woody Harrelson. Probably the best take on a comic book superhero happened late in the year in "The Flash," which in turn spun out of "Arrow." Also in the comics realm and improving with every episode is "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Please click on the links for my regular reviews of those shows.

This year I also dug "The Affair, " "Black Sails," "Power," "Penny Dreadful," "The Newsroom," "The Comeback," and the sadly canceled and much-maligned "Selfie"

As far as movies go, I loved Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, proof positive that the superhero genre in film has grown up and proved it can be more than it's been in the past. A close tie with those films would be the small and powerful horror flick The Babadook that I really loved. Also on my good list this year would be The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden, Jodorowsky's Dune, and Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel. On the bad side would be This Is the End, which of course would be my main reason for not wanting to see The Interview.

I haven't read all that many comics this year, but I would have to give serious props to Grant Morrison's Multiversity comics, which I not only read, but also enjoyed immensely. As far as real books, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Marie Gilbert's Roof Oasis and the newest South Jersey Writers' Group anthology Reading Glasses, and the two best books I've read this year are Wrapped in Plastic: Twin Peaks by Andy Burns and Murder on Edisto by C. Hope Clark.

For more of my views and those of the staff of Biff Bam Pop!, check out the newest Biff Bam Popcast on the best and worst of 2014 right here.

Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer ~ As far as word of mouth, and 2014's must see film, this was it. Everyone was talking about Snowpiercer. A future dystopic tale, where the world has been frozen over by an attempt to halt global warming and what's left of Earth's population has been loaded onto a constantly globe circling train divided by class into cars, just sounds insane, or at the least, very Terry Gilliam. In fact, and homage, John Hurt's character is even named Gilliam. Yes, it's a mental idea, but once you wrap your mind around it, it gets rather predictable, sadly.

Director Bong Joon-ho, probably best known for the wonderful new age kaiju eiga The Host, really wants to be Terry Gilliam here, and for the most part he succeeds. The amazing cast is caked in Gilliam grime, except for those who are clean and just plain odd. Captain America Chris Evans, The Help's Octavia Spencer, Alison Pill from "The Newsroom," Jamie Bell, Song Kang-ho, Ed Harris, and supremely odd Tilda Swinton are among the all star cast that make this flick.

The film is based on a French graphic novel called Le Transperceneige, and was Bong Joon-ho's first English language work. The class struggle turned into a rolling revolution is peppered with enough bizarro futurism and dystopian madness to keep things interesting. It's a science fiction ride that crosses The Poseidon Adventure with Les Miserables that has to be seen to be believed, and well worth watching.

Marvel's Iron Man & Captain America: Heroes United

Picking up where Marvel's Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United left off, this adventure sees the Red Skull sending the slightly and unnecessarily redesigned Taskmaster after Captain America and Iron Man. And whereas in the earlier feature I disliked the blocky computer animation, it is much improved and smoother in this feature. The Red Skull is downright terrifying here. Although some of the lip movements are just a few steps above "Clutch Cargo."

Again I also like the opening credits sequence. It's very basic, and with nice design. I wouldn't mind seeing maybe a short done in this style. I couldn't help wondering however if these graphics didn't possibly give away the entire plot of the feature however. And I wish the hordes of Hydra had had their green comics uniforms seen here rather than the generic stormtrooper armor and lame costumes that even Janet Van Dyne would reject that they wear throughout the feature. Boo hiss.

We sadly open on the same old same old. Iron Man and Captain America are training and beating that same old dead horse discussion of tech vs skill. I just some of these under thirty writers would read a comic book earlier than Civil War or Brian Michael Bendis' Avengers. Take a peek at some Silver Age Tales of Suspense or Bronze Age Avengers and you'll find that these two friends and teammates (yeah, they're not rivals) have had much more to talk about. I'm just asking for a little research, sheesh.

The battle between Captain America and Taskmaster on the helicarrier (again, somebody please explain to me how Stark has his own helicarrier, especially with SHIELD markings, even if it barely looks like a helicarrier) is quite good. I liked how Taskmaster cleverly won and I also liked the Iron Fist name drop. I would've appreciated the same for the Swordsman or the Black Knight to explain Taskmaster's sword skills though.

The bad guys' plans involve taking Captain America's blood to synthesize a new super soldier formula and build a superhuman Hydra army for the Red Skull, and swiping Iron Man's stealth armor for Taskmaster. The first the same old boring stuff, but the latter is intriguing and thought provoking. The old adage of 'no honor among thieves' does add a bit of predictability to the situation however.

The fight between Iron Man and the transformed Captain Hydra is pretty cool, especially when you know what's really up. The fight against the mutated super soldier troops was kinda odd and uneven. They looked like a cross between the Hulk and the Juggernaut, yet they moved like Boris Karloff's Mummy. Good thing the good guys had help. Still, I did enjoy this feature more than I anticipated I would.

Adrian Pasdar, from his "Avengers Assemble," the Japanese anime series, and these features, is pretty much becoming the voice of Tony Stark and Iron Man. He's also a pretty good actor. I wonder if he's been considered for the film franchise when Robert Downey Jr. gets too old to play the armored Avenger? I think he'd be just fine. And speaking of the Avengers, I wouldn't mind seeing an Avengers feature like this, how about it?

The Make Mine Magic Podcast

For a little over half a year now, The GAR! Podcast family has grown by one. The Make Mine Magic Podcast, unlike its sister production, is focused, planned and rehearsed and features myself and The Bride talking about all things Disney.

This week we’re talking about the Disney animated film Beauty and the Beast, but not in the traditional way. There have been many articles on BuzzFeed about what's wrong with the movie - unanswered questions, illogical plot holes and the like - so we decided to take on those questions ourselves. We even invoke Spider-Man and Sweeney Todd in our discussion. You can hear Episode 30 here, and find out what all the Beauty and the Beast hubbub is about.

Previous episodes include discussions of the Disney Princesses, the NJ DIS Meet Weekend, memories of Pleasure Island, special episodes on Pixar, the Pixar Theory, and even reviews of Muppets Most Wanted and Captain America The Winter Soldier.

You can find The Make Mine Magic Podcast on its own website here, on Facebook, and can also contact me or my co-host Jennifer Walker on Twitter.

Marvel's Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United

Marvel's Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United ~ This was a nice surprise to find on Netflix, a new Marvel animated film. I was even more excited by the opening credits sequence filled with Silver Age-y art and design. When the feature actually started however, I was disappointed. It is very blocky ugly computer animation, the type of which would make the MTV "Spider-Man: The New Animated Series" or Nick's teenage "Iron Man: Armored Adventures" show look positively pretty. No wonder I hadn't heard of this. Even Marvel must be ashamed of it.

I'm really not sure what to make of the neon version of the movie Abomination, it's just bizarre. Is he wearing armor, or is that his skin? Speaking of armor, the Hulkbuster armor is featured early, possibly to cash in on its brief cameo in Iron Man Three or rumored appearance in Avengers Age of Ultron. Speaking of Avengers, both Adrian Pasdar and Fred Tatasciore (sadly with some sort of new voice modulation) reprise their voices as Iron Man and Hulk from "Avengers Assemble."

After Hulk and Abomination tag team for a bit, get captured by Hydra scientists who create a living energy weapon, Iron Man shows up and, shades of the Silver Age, picks a fight with the Hulk. It's weird, especially after it's established they're friends. The energy weapon unites the two as it attacks them. It doesn't have a humanoid form at first, but my first thought was Zzzax, and I was right.

I had to wonder about the redesign of Zzzax. Why not put this ugly CGI they're using to good use? With computer animation they could bring to life a character that in the two-dimensional comic book medium was usually just a human shaped lightning bolt. It could look great, but they chose differently, and sadly.

With Hulk blinded and Iron Man's armor non-functional, the two have to depend on each other. I suppose it's a lesson in cooperation for the kids this animated feature seems to have been made for. Besides Zzzax they also have to contend with shadowy Wendigos. Hmmm, I thought they were white and there was only one, but what do I know?

Another thing is did Tony Stark make a killing at a SHIELD yard sale post-Captain America The Winter Soldier? Suddenly he's got his own helicarrier, a fleet of jets, and a battalion of mandroids. What's up with that? I also really dislike the idea of Hulk needing armor. I guess we know, despite the overabundance of Hulk villains, who the real star of this cartoon is.

Don't let Netflix cut off the end credits or you'll miss the lead-in to what I assume is the next CGI feature starring Iron Man and Captain America vs. the Red Skull. This was an okay distraction. I would have rather had traditional animation and maybe more thought in the plot and dialogue.

Avengers Chat This Weekend

'reaperradio' presents... AVENGERS CHAT!

Covering the new movie: Captain America The Winter Soldier among other topics.

When: Saturday, April 12, 8:00 PM EST

Where: http://avengersinternational.weebly.com/awr-chat-room.html [Note the change of location for the chatroom. This is a brand new website for the chat group's group's use.]

And introducing:

A Second Round Chat Wave for Late Comers @ 9:30 PM EST

How to use the chat room: You will show up in the chatroom with a random name. To change the random name to your name or ID, just click on the random name and a box will pop up allowing you to change your name and choose an avatar for the show. Type your name in choose your avatar and click the okay button and you're all set!

Hope to see you there.

Captain America Vs. SHIELD

This has been a very big week for the Marvel Cinematic and Television Universes as they merged with the events of Captain America The Winter Soldier having a shattering effect on "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

If you're having trouble keeping up, here's a nifty guide from Biff Bam Pop! to what's been going on.

My weekly episode-by-episode reviews of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." can be found here.

Last week's episode of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." is here.

That leads into the events of Captain America The Winter Soldier, which is reviewed here.

And is continued in this week's episode of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." here

I also wrote an article about the ramifications of the movie on the TV series here called "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Dark Secret."

This week's episode of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." will be repeated on Tuesday night, before the next new episode, and Captain America The Winter Soldier is currently the number one movie in the world, in theaters everywhere.

And if you can't get enough talk about the Captain America movie, it's also the main topic of conversion on this week's episode of The Bride's and my Disney-focused podcast Make Mine Magic, which you can hear here.

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast for the Week of 11-21-2012

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast features co-hosts Allison Eckel, and Glenn Walker, with a special guest cameo appearance by Ed Evans, as they discuss the new comics out this week! You can see the show here, or check it out below.

Discussion featured in this week's special Black Friday episode includes: the Black Friday sale, Indestructible Hulk #1, Captain America #1, more Marvel NOW!, Allison and Glenn split up Ed's X-Men books, Avengers #34, Hawkeye #4, Captain Marvel #7, Amazing Spider-Man #698, Sword of Sorcery #2, Justice League #14, Kyle Rayner Green Lantern as the new Avatar, Legion of Super-Heroes #14, The Batcave, how to pronounce H'el and other comics names, Supergirl #14, Black and Blue, Hellblazer controversy, Indies first issues, The Shadow #8, Bigfoot in Bionic Man #14, Zenescope, Allison's kids comics, Valiant, Oz, Bravest Warriors #2, and the week's trades.


Be sure to check out the All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, written by Allison and Glenn, featuring The Vidcast Drinking Game so you can play along at home, and watch ATF! on YouTube (don't forget to subscribe to the channel while you're there, and leave a comment or two on the Vidcast as well!).

And be back here every Wednesday (or Tuesdays at midnight) to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live every week at All Things Fun! - the South Jersey/Philadelphia area's best comics, toys and gaming store, located in West Berlin, NJ. Don't forget to visit us at Facebook!