I actually picked this title up on a whim. I'm always looking for new stuff to read but it's especially evident lately because of all the titles that have been falling by the wayside. I know the bat-titles will be coming back out under different names or formats in the near future, but . . there's still a certain amount of books I like to read weekly. Anyways, I know I came into this one a little late, but after seeing the group operate during some of the Skrull Invasion books that I read . . I thought the concept looked intriguing. Plus there was that Marvel Max mini a few years ago about Nick Fury . . I really liked that one, so I thought I'd give this one a chance. Basically, Nick is putting together a team of his own. Or, I guess he did during the whole Skrull invasion debacle. He's hand-picked his team because, well . . essentially he doesn't trust anybody. Apparently he has a caterpillar file . . people with the opportunity, or capabilities of developing a unique talent, but . . they haven't done so yet. Basically he wants his own super-team, but . . he wants people that the 'others' don't even know exist yet. He's wants people that haven't been corrupted . . yet. So, in the first issue, we're introduced to the new team. It consists of Yo-yo, Druid, Stonewall, Hellfire, Quake and some 12 year old Deity named Alexander. Also, their personalities are just as different as their powers. It's really quite an eclectic group. Which I think is what makes it so interesting. We learn a couple of Nicks tenants this issue, "We gather information. We gather information and we do it without being seen. We do this because when you know all there is to know about your enemies, but they know nothing about you, there is no situation you can't control." Also something that I particularly liked, and will probably use in my own life . . "It is certain, only with fortune or discipline can catastrophe be avoided. Of the two, the only one you can never run out of is discipline." That's really very profound. So, after introducing us to everyone, and seeing the group in action fighting HAMMER agents and HYDRA agents at an old SHIELD facility . . the shocker of the first issue is when Nick tells Daisy . . "HYDRA wasn't stealin' anything . . they were takin' back what was already theirs . . . I've been workin' for the bad guys the whole damn time." We
find out in issue #2 just what he meant by that. "HYDRA . . somehow . . over the years, has been secretly controlling SHIELD . . including the entire time you were in charge. And you had no idea?" Apparently Nick had just figured it all out about a month previous. So it would've been just prior, or at the beginning of the Skrull Invasion. "Everything I've done, decades of work . . all of it a lie." He understands, but he has to help Daisy sort it out. "Okay, well first . . I guess it'd be a pretty good way to eliminate the competition . . sic SHIELD on them and whatnot. It could help maintain the appearance of being kept in check. Man, you could keep tabs on the entire superhuman community . . . oh, no . . and every bit of intelligence you gathered over the years they had access to. You're talking about a plan that would take decades to execute. The patience to do something like that . . I can barely wrap my head around it . . what makes you sure that's what HYDRA did?" To which Nick responds, "It's the play I woulda called." Issue #2 also serves to introduce us to the team that Baron Von Strucker has put together. We find out that Strucker is in a similar position as Nick as he also doesn't know who to trust. He'd been operating out of HYDRA's under-water city, Ichor . . but then recently found out that the Skrull's had invaded and infested his ranks. He had no choice but to self-destruct the whole city. A city with 15,000 inhabitants. He begins gathering his 'foot-soldiers' from college campus' other various organizations . . Habitat for Humanity, the Peace-Corps, Greenpeace, etc . . . other organizations with their own fanatical ideals. But his elite group consists of Kraken, Madame Hydra, the Hive, Viper and his final member . . the Gorgon . . whom, he had to bring back from the dead. In issue #3 we finally get to see the team in some real action. After HYDRA's actions in the last couple of months, there's only 2 significant SHIELD bases left. The Dock, which is controlled by HAMMER, and Red Worm. "A psi-agent processing and quarantine facility." So their first mission is to quarantine the facility, secure the agents and destroy the base. Unfortunately, but not entirely unexpected, HYDRA has their own plans for the base, and the agents, and have beaten Nick's soldiers to the punch. When Daisy and team arrive they already find HYDRA there, and the Gorgon assassinating the agents. This is where we learn
Daisy's mettle. She seems to be a good leader, but . . I think she lets her emotions rule her a bit to much. She watches what's going on at first, but then after seeing the Gorgons atrocities she feels compelled to jump in and do something about it. Basically they accomplish nothing, but . . Yo-yo gets seriously hurt by the Gorgon, and . . the Gorgon becomes aware of Alexander. The rest of HYDRA takes off, except for him . . "There's someone here I want to meet." And the teams debacle ends in a stand-off between Alexander and the Gorgon. Finally Daisy calls him off and they leave. But the Gorgon has some parting words for Alexander . . "I have died and been born again. There is nothing I fear . . . . one day I will kill a god." While all of this is happening, Nick has a meeting with the Contessa. The gist of the whole thing is that she lets Nick know that she works for herself now, and no one else. She also, for the first time, calls Nick by the phrase on the cover . . " . . Agent of Nothing . . you've been pushed aside by your organization and abandoned by your country . . you're a poor little boy who's gone and lost his flag." At the end of the issue, after learning what had happened at Red Worm, "I trusted you to run this team . . your team. I cannot do it for you. How you prepare them . . how you lead them . . . is on you. You have to know what they're ready for and what they're not. Then you have to judge the needs against the cost. Their lives are in your hands. You're a man short. Now you find a replacement. And this time, you train the team up right. Until then. You're benched." . . however Nick still has other plans for HYDRA. But he needs someone else to handle it for now. So he contacts someone to put another team together . . "What I'm lookin' for is a couple of nasty old bastards with a bad habit of shooting first and askin' questions later. You know anyone fittin' that description?" To which Dum Dum replies . . "I might be able to round up some guys." Overall, I'd have to say that I'm pretty impressed by the first 3 issues. Actually, I think it's better that I read these 3 together. It really helped me get more into the story, and a better understanding of what's going on here. This is a pretty daunting task that Brian Bendis and Jonathan Hickman have put before themselves here. In order to do it right . . it needs to be a long term project. There will be progress made here and there, but . . the overall goal is a long-term one, not the individual battles. However, at the same time they need to keep it interesting and exciting. If they do it right . . this could be a fantastic series. I just hope they play it out . . or are allowed to . . the way it should be done. As Nick tells the Contessa, "This thing I'm doin' right now . . it may be the most important thing I've ever done." And that's putting it mildly. I was also impressed by Stefano Caselli's art. All 3 issues looked fantastic. He's got the perfect feel for this type of series. I'm glad I took the chance on this one. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and I think this is going to be a great series.
I actually picked this title up on a whim. I'm always looking for new stuff to read but it's especially evident lately because of all the titles that have been falling by the wayside. I know the bat-titles will be coming back out under different names or formats in the near future, but . . there's still a certain amount of books I like to read weekly. Anyways, I know I came into this one a little late, but after seeing the group operate during some of the Skrull Invasion books that I read . . I thought the concept looked intriguing. Plus there was that Marvel Max mini a few years ago about Nick Fury . . I really liked that one, so I thought I'd give this one a chance. Basically, Nick is putting together a team of his own. Or, I guess he did during the whole Skrull invasion debacle. He's hand-picked his team because, well . . essentially he doesn't trust anybody. Apparently he has a caterpillar file . . people with the opportunity, or capabilities of developing a unique talent, but . . they haven't done so yet. Basically he wants his own super-team, but . . he wants people that the 'others' don't even know exist yet. He's wants people that haven't been corrupted . . yet. So, in the first issue, we're introduced to the new team. It consists of Yo-yo, Druid, Stonewall, Hellfire, Quake and some 12 year old Deity named Alexander. Also, their personalities are just as different as their powers. It's really quite an eclectic group. Which I think is what makes it so interesting. We learn a couple of Nicks tenants this issue, "We gather information. We gather information and we do it without being seen. We do this because when you know all there is to know about your enemies, but they know nothing about you, there is no situation you can't control." Also something that I particularly liked, and will probably use in my own life . . "It is certain, only with fortune or discipline can catastrophe be avoided. Of the two, the only one you can never run out of is discipline." That's really very profound. So, after introducing us to everyone, and seeing the group in action fighting HAMMER agents and HYDRA agents at an old SHIELD facility . . the shocker of the first issue is when Nick tells Daisy . . "HYDRA wasn't stealin' anything . . they were takin' back what was already theirs . . . I've been workin' for the bad guys the whole damn time." We 
find out in issue #2 just what he meant by that. "HYDRA . . somehow . . over the years, has been secretly controlling SHIELD . . including the entire time you were in charge. And you had no idea?" Apparently Nick had just figured it all out about a month previous. So it would've been just prior, or at the beginning of the Skrull Invasion. "Everything I've done, decades of work . . all of it a lie." He understands, but he has to help Daisy sort it out. "Okay, well first . . I guess it'd be a pretty good way to eliminate the competition . . sic SHIELD on them and whatnot. It could help maintain the appearance of being kept in check. Man, you could keep tabs on the entire superhuman community . . . oh, no . . and every bit of intelligence you gathered over the years they had access to. You're talking about a plan that would take decades to execute. The patience to do something like that . . I can barely wrap my head around it . . what makes you sure that's what HYDRA did?" To which Nick responds, "It's the play I woulda called." Issue #2 also serves to introduce us to the team that Baron Von Strucker has put together. We find out that Strucker is in a similar position as Nick as he also doesn't know who to trust. He'd been operating out of HYDRA's under-water city, Ichor . . but then recently found out that the Skrull's had invaded and infested his ranks. He had no choice but to self-destruct the whole city. A city with 15,000 inhabitants. He begins gathering his 'foot-soldiers' from college campus' other various organizations . . Habitat for Humanity, the Peace-Corps, Greenpeace, etc . . . other organizations with their own fanatical ideals. But his elite group consists of Kraken, Madame Hydra, the Hive, Viper and his final member . . the Gorgon . . whom, he had to bring back from the dead. In issue #3 we finally get to see the team in some real action. After HYDRA's actions in the last couple of months, there's only 2 significant SHIELD bases left. The Dock, which is controlled by HAMMER, and Red Worm. "A psi-agent processing and quarantine facility." So their first mission is to quarantine the facility, secure the agents and destroy the base. Unfortunately, but not entirely unexpected, HYDRA has their own plans for the base, and the agents, and have beaten Nick's soldiers to the punch. When Daisy and team arrive they already find HYDRA there, and the Gorgon assassinating the agents. This is where we learn 
Daisy's mettle. She seems to be a good leader, but . . I think she lets her emotions rule her a bit to much. She watches what's going on at first, but then after seeing the Gorgons atrocities she feels compelled to jump in and do something about it. Basically they accomplish nothing, but . . Yo-yo gets seriously hurt by the Gorgon, and . . the Gorgon becomes aware of Alexander. The rest of HYDRA takes off, except for him . . "There's someone here I want to meet." And the teams debacle ends in a stand-off between Alexander and the Gorgon. Finally Daisy calls him off and they leave. But the Gorgon has some parting words for Alexander . . "I have died and been born again. There is nothing I fear . . . . one day I will kill a god." While all of this is happening, Nick has a meeting with the Contessa. The gist of the whole thing is that she lets Nick know that she works for herself now, and no one else. She also, for the first time, calls Nick by the phrase on the cover . . " . . Agent of Nothing . . you've been pushed aside by your organization and abandoned by your country . . you're a poor little boy who's gone and lost his flag." At the end of the issue, after learning what had happened at Red Worm, "I trusted you to run this team . . your team. I cannot do it for you. How you prepare them . . how you lead them . . . is on you. You have to know what they're ready for and what they're not. Then you have to judge the needs against the cost. Their lives are in your hands. You're a man short. Now you find a replacement. And this time, you train the team up right. Until then. You're benched." . . however Nick still has other plans for HYDRA. But he needs someone else to handle it for now. So he contacts someone to put another team together . . "What I'm lookin' for is a couple of nasty old bastards with a bad habit of shooting first and askin' questions later. You know anyone fittin' that description?" To which Dum Dum replies . . "I might be able to round up some guys." Overall, I'd have to say that I'm pretty impressed by the first 3 issues. Actually, I think it's better that I read these 3 together. It really helped me get more into the story, and a better understanding of what's going on here. This is a pretty daunting task that Brian Bendis and Jonathan Hickman have put before themselves here. In order to do it right . . it needs to be a long term project. There will be progress made here and there, but . . the overall goal is a long-term one, not the individual battles. However, at the same time they need to keep it interesting and exciting. If they do it right . . this could be a fantastic series. I just hope they play it out . . or are allowed to . . the way it should be done. As Nick tells the Contessa, "This thing I'm doin' right now . . it may be the most important thing I've ever done." And that's putting it mildly. I was also impressed by Stefano Caselli's art. All 3 issues looked fantastic. He's got the perfect feel for this type of series. I'm glad I took the chance on this one. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and I think this is going to be a great series.
No comments:
Post a Comment