This episode was pretty much to the point and other than some scenes of Fitz and such, didn't really have multiple plot threads going on.
The episode reveals that a painting has been discovered in a burnt down church, that happens to have the same markings that Coulson carves out on the back. Coulson and May go undercover as a couple to a fancy party to try to get it. They notice that Talbot, the military guy that is out to get them, is also there. Coulson decides the plan has been compromised as Talbot can blow their cover at any time and decide to grab the painting. The painting was already stolen by Talbot himself. Talbot meets up with Coulson and wants them to meet in a hotel since Coulson might be able to figure out what the markings mean. May decides to go ahead to make sure it's safe.
At the hotel, May fights it out with Talbot and a HYDRA female agent that used to be one of SHIELD. As she smacks Talbot in the face, she realizes it's a HYDRA agent wearing the same electronic fishnet face mask that the Black Widow was using in the Winter Soldier. The kind that makes your face look like someone else. May is soon knocked out and the HYDRA agent is made to look like her. This HYDRA agent was actually SHIELD Agent 33 that was brainwashed into working for HYDRA in the previous episode.
Coulson finds fake May and takes her back to the plane, where she plants a device that will damage the plane and blow it up. As Coulson and May head out to meet with the fake Talbot, he finally figures out she is an impostor. The real May escapes and fights it out against her doppelganger. Coulson and May manage to escape before more HYDRA agents could be called in for reinforcements.
Elsewhere the SHIELD plane is being destroyed as electronics start shorting out one by one. Fitz knows how to fix it and gets Hunter to help him out since he has steadier hands and calmer nerves. They manage to stop the HYDRA device and save the plane before it would get any worse. As Coulson and May head back to base, he tells her he's worried about one day going crazy like Garrett did and says it's up to her to put him down when that time comes.
Meanwhile Rayna is attacked by HYDRA and has a device planted on her hand that infects it. They tell her that she has 48 hours to return the Obelisk she stole from them earlier.
My Opinions
It was a fun episode. I like how the advertising for it focused mostly on Coulson and May dancing at a fancy party without mentioning exactly why they were there or what the mission was about. It was funny seeing cold and serious May having to smile and mingle with people. She commented that her face hurt from all the smiling, and as the other Agents overheard their conversations, Skye said 'That's the most I ever heard May talk in a year'. I also like how the sound of her actually laughing freaked the other Agents out. And hey, May also flirts in spanish. That was unexpected.
The one thing that comes up in this episode is the same photostatic veil mask that the Black Widow used near the end of Captain America The Winter Soldier. While it was SHIELD tech, it's obvious HYDRA either stole the idea, had some of the brainwashed agents make it for them, or hell, they were probably the ones that invented it while they were undercover as SHIELD agents. Paige liked the fact that not only do we see this little nod the recent film, but this time they actually show how it works. We see the process of how they program it to make Agent 33 look like Melinda May.
yeah yeah I know, not exactly one of Scarlet's most flattering pictures, is it?
As for Agent 33 I feel sorry for her. When you think about it, she's an innocent victim here. She had no idea what she was doing throughout the episode and it's sad to think that Coulson and May most likely believe she just betrayed them of her own choosing. The last episode showed how much of a struggle she put up against the brainwashing the best she could. She'd never side with the bad guys, and now she is forced her, and the good guys don't know the difference. Of course with SHIELD being such a huge organization before it's downfall, it really is hard to tell which agents were HYDRA all along, which ones were easily seduced into HYDRA by money, power or other selfish reasons, or which ones were brainwashed against their will like Agent 33 was. Either way, she's a sad case.
I have to say the fight between May and May 33 was pretty cool and fast paced. They did a good job making it fast and intense enough to overlook the fact that one of them had to be some kind of stunt double whenever both were on screen at the same time. Plus, as kick ass as May is, it's nice to see someone test her abilities once in a while, and this was a pretty decent fight.
As for Talbot, I was pissed when they revealed the HYDRA symbols and such, because I thought that meant he was HYDRA all along. Which would also mean that instead of turning Creel into justice in episode 2, they just handed him right back to HYDRA. But no, he was an impostor. The real Talbot is still following the law, and is still a jerk in his own right.
Finally for the other plot threads, the painting reveals that someone else out there knows the same writing that Coulson and Garrett wrote out. And Coulson also fears he's getting worse and he might go insane someday and May will have to put him down. It seems like this will be a major thing throughout this season. All the work to bring Coulson back to life and all the mystery of just how he came back to life.... and he must be put down if he goes crazy?
Just what is the meaning behind this bizzare alien writing and how does the obelisk relate to it???
We also had Fitz dealing with being an outsider as he feels noone really wants him around anymore. I like how fake Simmons tries to cheer him up and even he knows its a delusion now and shushes her up at times so he doesn't look crazy in front of other people. Hunter invites him to hang with Triplet and Mac for a round of beers to celebrate their victory, which was in part thanks to Fitz, and he finally decides to join in and try to socialize.
And finally we have Rayna following whatever her own plans are, being forced by HYDRA to being back the object she stole. It's gonna heat up next episode as not only do we see Rayna try to take Skye to finally see her father, but it also seems that Simmons' cover is blown. I can't wait to see what happens as it looks like it's gonna be a 'all hell breaks loose' kind of episode.
This episode opens with a big shocker as we find out that Simmons has left SHIELD to work for HYDRA!!! Actually soon enough we find out that she's actually undercover for SHIELD and Coulson and May were in on it. HYDRA is out looking for super powered people to recruit, similar to how they had the Absorbing Man working with them and are now after Donnie Gil, who is now able to freeze things by touching them.
Skye questions Grant about HYDRA's methods and he tells her that they're after super powered people they could use, and if they refuse to serve, they'll be taken out. The Agents head out to get to Gil first, leaving Fitz with Mac. HYDRA also suspects Simmons' loyalty and make her help them take Gil in, since they have met before. Gil meanwhile is sick of being chased by HYDRA agents and has already frozen some to death.
Fitz goes to question Grant further, and nearly had a breakdown upon seeing him, remembering how he almost died rescuing Simmons. Grant tells him he was told by Garrett to shoot them outright, but he sent them on the underwater trap hoping they could escape it. Fitz tells him how he got brain damage from lack of oxygen and shuts the oxygen off in his holding cell to show him how it feels. Grant tells him that everyone is in danger if they're going after Gil.
Simmons gets to Gil, and HYDRA reveals they have brainwashed him when he was locked away and can be made to side with them once they give him the trigger words. The Agents arrive and Hunter sees Simmons, not knowing she's an undercover HYDRA agent and is about to shoot her, but May ices him first. With HYDRA aware that SHIELD is about, they send Gil to kill them all. Simmons tries to talk to Gil, and Skye shoots him into the ocean, freezing everything around him. She then pretends to shoot at the HYDRA agent so that Simmons has enough time to push him out of the way and further prove her 'loyalty' to the bad guys.
Later on Coulson tells Fitz he sees that he's improving, and that Simmons left because she's on a mission, but won't tell him what. HYDRA is pleased with Simmons and want her to move up the ranks, and if she doesn't want to cooperate, they can brainwash her. Just then one of the SHIELD agents that was seen being tortured with brainwashing techniques throughout the episode is shown to be loyal to HYDRA now.
The episode ends with Grant telling Skye that her father is alive and he can help her find him if she lets him go. She leaves him locked up, now full with doubts.
My opinions
Well, the first thing I'd like to say is that I'm glad Simmons really wasn't with HYDRA. I mean, geez, Grant almost killed her as a HYDRA agent, so why the hell would she side with them? She played her part well and was put front and center when she had to confront Gil and try to suede him over to HYDRA without blowing her cover.
Skye continues to hate Grant as much as she likes him. They liked to play up the tension between the two, and despite the betrayal, you can tell she wishes it wasn't true. Grant however is still full of tricks and knowing about her father is the ace up of his sleeve. We can already see that he sees sweet talking Skye as his ticket out of there and we all know eventually she'll cave and let him out. The question is, will Grant redeem himself, go back to HYDRA or go on his own side.
Fitz finally sees that the Simmons hallucination isn't there and wants to know what really happened to her. His scene with Grant was also cool, with his little breakdown as well as his plan to take revenge. Even though they need him alive for inside info on HYDRA, I kinda wish Grant at least got the same brain damage he caused Fitz.
I also liked the little 'payback' that May and Triplet had coming for Hunter after having shot them in the last episode. May had to shoot Hunter to prevent him from unknowingly taking Simmons down. In the end that counted as he revenge shot but she smiles and reminds him that she might be even with him now, but Triplet still owes him one. I do like Hunter and Mac, their interactions with the classic team are humorous and I hope they stick for the rest of the season.
As for Gil, he really got to show his Blizzard powers this time. Not only did Hydra train him with his powers while he was imprisoned, they also brainwashed. Literally a cold blooded killer, he just wants to be left alone and doesn't hesitate to freeze all the agents to death without remorse. It was cool seeing him back, and how his return affected Simmons and Fitz. Even when he wasn't there, Fitz was upset he couldn't go. I wonder if him falling into the ocean was really the end of him.
The show continues to be entertaining with its story arcs, now involving Simmons as an undercover agent, Grant's manipulation of Skye, and these cool new agents joining the fold. And having some characters like Gil come back to keep the Marvel super power action going on, to of course, remind us that this is a Marvel comics show is always good. I can't wait to see what awaits us in upcoming episodes.
Again, here's a brief rundown and my thoughts. The episode actually starts off right where the last one ended, with Creel walking away with the dangerous item and Hunter stuck in an upside down car next to his dead friends. May arrives and continues the chase after Creel, but Hunter is captured by the military. The general wants Hunter to tell them how to get Coulson and and in exchange he wants a proper burial for his friends.
Hunter returns and tells Coulson that he didn't betray him, and he trusts him on the team. Fitz is still trying to work on cloaking technology while suffering hallucinations of Simmons by his side and decides to work on something that will stop Creel. Meanwhile Creel's powers are out of control after touching the item and accidentaly turns people into stone by touching them. He's approached by Raina who wants the item as well, but he's not interested.
Raina calls Coulson and tells him about Creel and the item. The team heads out to catch him before he can deliver the item to his HYDRA contact, but Hunter wants to take down Creel by himself to avenge his friends. He shoots May, Skye and Triplet with icers and tries to take on Creel himself but the commotion causes a panic and a fight breaks out. During the ruckus, the HYDRA agent loses sight of the briefcase he was supposed to get and notices that Raina ran off with it. Coulson saves Hunter from being killed by Creel by slamming a device on his back that turned him to stone. Coulson turns Creel in to the military but they will still continue to chase after SHIELD.
Later we see that every couple of days, Coulson has the urge to write out the same super equation that Garrett was doing after he reviewed the miracle drug. Later on we see Raina use the item but it doesn't kill her this time. Instead it lights up with symbols similar to those of Coulson's equation. It's also revealed Raina is now working for Skye's mystery father... and he wants his daughter back. My Opinions
Another good episode. I wasn't expecting it to continue right where the last one ended, so it was good to see another ep with the Absorbing Man. They do good work on the CGI with him, especially that last scene where he turned into diamond and glass and all sorts of material before Coulson's device turned him to stone. Musta blown most of the budget for the first two eps just with that.
It looks like Hunter and Mac are sticking around. It was good to see that despite being tempted with a lot of money from the military, Hunter didn't betray SHIELD. Seeing Hunter stick around, as well as all the time he mentioned Hartley and her death, it really made me wish Lucy Lawless stuck around instead of dying in the same episode her character was introduced. As for Mac, he's hanging with Fitz now and helping him focus as he tries to regain his sanity.
what the hell Ghost Simmons, stop creepin'!
It's sad to see Simmons around Fitz knowing she's just a hallucination in his head, but wow. To what extent does she function? It's funny seeing her interact with Mac even though he clearly doesn't see her, and she does react when people say she isn't around. The oddest thing is when Fitz nearly walked past Creel's DNA files. He was clearly going to walk past them, not paying them a second mind, but 'Simmons' sees them and tells him about them.....so how does that work?
We're also gonna see how Fitz will deal with reality as Mac is unaware of what he sees and asks him things like how he's doing after Simmons left. And it seems she didn't leave in good terms, since Skye feels pretty angry about it and says 'she abandoned all of us'. Well... it's gonna get more complicated next episode since the advertisements shows that the real Simmons will in fact, return in that episode.... but working for HYDRA! Oh crap, say it ain't so Simmons!
I have to say, flashbacks aside, this is also the first episode of the entire series not NOT have Grant Ward in it. I kinda hope it stays that way for a while. I know he was a major player in the first season, but he betrayed them all, killed fellow SHIELD agents and is locked up. They shouldn't have to find some excuse to put him in every episode. Although with Simmons entering in the next episode, she might be after Grant.
A second season of SHIELD begins and this time I'll be giving more of a brief synopsis of the episode and then my opinions, instead of the entire play-by-play like before.
The episode starts a few days after the first Captain America movie, as the remaining members of HYDRA want to store all the stolen highly technological goods they had shortly after the Red Skull died. Agent Carter and the Howling Commandos bust in and seize the goods, wanting to have them locked up for the safety of the world.
In present day, Coulson is now the new director of SHIELD and he now has a new set of hired mercenaries working alongside Sky, May and Triplet (one of them played by Lucy Lawless) and find out that HYDRA is after that same piece of technology. They soon find out from Grant (under lockdown for potential HYDRA intel) that they have Carl Creel, The Absorbing Man working for them, a guy that can gain the skin structure or whatever material he absorbs.
He goes after a General that's in charge of the hunt against both SHIELD and HYDRA, and Carl is captured and sent to the same base where all the technology is being held. Coulson's team sneak into the base and confront Carl and the soldiers in the base. One of the mercenaries finds the item and grabs it, and the block of strange metal grafts itself to her hand. The mercenaries decided to run and take her to the hospital. The SHIELD agents manage to get a plane with cloaking technology to better continue their missions.
Absorbing Man goes after the mercenaries and turns into stone to overturn their car. He steals the block and escapes. He turns it in to his leader, which looks pretty much like the same guy we saw at the beginning of the episode (during Captain America's WWII era) not looking much older in present day.
Meanwhile the episode ends on a sad note. Throughout the episode we saw that Fitz was trying to work on cloaking technology while suffering some sort of Post-Dramatic Stress Disorder after the events of last season, with Simmons calming him down. It gets worse as Coulson reveals that Fitz suffered brain damage from the underwater escape that saved Simmon's life from the last season, and that Simmons had left the team. The whole time we saw Simmons comforting him, was a delusion, further showing the extent of the brain damage.
My Opinions
Wow. This episode hits the ground running with a great flashback scene happening several days after the first Captain America movie, and it was nice to see Agent Carter (in her prime) and the Howling Commandos for a few moments. Coulson gets busy as the new director of SHIELD and is now even more serious than before. I wonder if he'll be hitting the field though since now he can just stand back and give orders like Fury used to. Sky is more battle ready now, a fighter as well as a hacker. The brief scene with Grant shows she still hates his guts, but she might still care. Grant is hard to read, he might still care for her, or he might be using her as a ticket to escape. May is still watching over Coulson to make sure he can handle his new responsibilities. Triplett is still a wisecracking fighter.
The mercenaries were cool and it was nice to have Xena guest star. Yeah, I would have liked these new guys to stick around, especially Lucy's character, but she was dying due to that metal block thing trying to fuse itself to her hand, and then she had her buddy cut off her hand to survive it.... But then Absorbing Man showed up and she died in the car crash. The other guy just laid low and played possum until Carl walked away, so who know if he'll come back. I just wish Xena stayed as a regular.
Then we have Carl 'The Crusher' Creel, the Absorbing Man, now working for HYDRA. Apparently his execution was covered up by Garrett and Grant knew about it. He's basically like the comics, but with someone with his powers.... where are Hulk or Thor when you really need him? Luckily the agents didn't have to face him too much, he kinda ran off after seeing the item he was trying to steal try to fuse with Xena's hand, and came back to swipe it after the heat died down.
But yeah, we got to see him absorb wood, steel and even diamond in this episode. He even had the chance to use the famous ball and chain from the comics. One thing that came to mind when I saw him was that the first Hulk movie was had in 2003 had the Absorbing Man be the villain, or rather they gave Bruce's father the same kinds of powers....
As you know, the not-sequel The Incredible Hulk would later make like this movie never happened.... and even added a Tony Stark cameo in the after credits to further tie it into the new cinematic universe they were starting up at the time. Since this series is tied to that movie universe, we now officially have Carl Creel as the true Absorbing Man of the series, and we can further believe that the Hulk 2003 movie never happened with this new continuity.
As for Fitz.... damn.... that's just so sad... Throughout the episode he seemed so shaken up and kept losing his train of thought whenever he wanted to finish a sentence (in which Simmons would correct him) and he'd only feel calm and relaxed whenever he 'stared into her eyes'. To know that she was gone the whole time and this was all a hallucination caused by brain damage.... dude... That's hitting the feels kinda hard in the first episode, isn't it??? And to make it more tragic, this was caused by his sacrificial efforts to rescue Simmons from downing in the sinking death trap that Grant put them in. I do wonder, will Simmons come back in real life? Will the show continue to twist the knife by having more scenes of Fitz 'talking to Simmons'? I guess we'll find out next week.
Sadly, Fitz' bold rescue plan from the end of season 1 had horrible consequences.....
I gave myself a little break from Percy to let the story sink in. I also found the movie and checked it out... bottom line... I liked the book a lot better. But yeah, I wanted everything from the first book out of my system before going into the second one. Here's my Out on DVD review episode about the first movie....
And now that I have that out of the way, I returned to the book store to continue on with the second book. Sadly the same girl wasn't there from the first time, cause she really seemed to love the series and was curious about what I would think. I actually met someone where Paige works that absolutely LOVES the series and is eager for the next book of the spin-off series later this year. So now that I got 'The Sea of Monsters'.... here is my review.
The Story
After the first book, Percy, Annabeth and Grover went their ways. Percy went to live with his mom and went back to normal school where there hasn't been an incident for almost a year. Grover went off to search for Pan. Annabeth also returned to her family. All seems well.... until the final days of the school year.
Percy is attacked by giant cannibals in a deadly game of dodgeball. Luckily Annabeth has arrived to seek him out and helps out. Also his new friend Tyson turns out to be a cyclops and is a great help in the fight. After defeating the giants, Annabeth insists that Percy return to Camp Half-Blood since it's really gone to hell since he left.
When they return they find it under attack by giant metal bulls. The main problem is, the camp is supposed to have a forcefield that protects it from outsiders and monsters, but now the bulls are running causing damage like it was nothing. They find out that Thalia, the tree named after the daughter of Zeus is dying from a deadly poison, and when it goes, the camp will be vulnerable to monster attacks forever. Chiron was blamed for this and got expelled from the camp grounds. The only thing that can cure the tree is the legendary golden fleece. The only problem is that instead of Percy going on this quest... the duty of obtaining the golden fleece was given to Clarrisse, the camp bully, and also daughter of Ares that already hated Percy since day one.
Besides that, Percy finds out in dreams, that Grover never made it in finding Pan. Instead he was tricked by a giant cyclops that happens to have the fleece and uses it to lure Satyrs to their deaths. Grover is buying time, taking advantage of the fact that the cyclops is almost blind, but how long can he hold out? Percy, Annabeth and Tyson sneak off to take this quest, even if they risk clashing against Clarrisse. The fleece is located beyond the Sea of Monsters. Will they be able to find it in time, rescue Grover and Camp Half-Blood before the tree dies out? And what will they do when they run into Luke?
My Opinions
Wow, this series only gets better and better. Now that Percy knows that he's the god of Poseidon and all that, this book jumps right into the Greek Mythology. Lots of details and things introduced in the first book return here, like the story of Thalia the tree and Clarrisse having a bigger role. There's so many things to talk about, it's hard to know where to begin.
Grover is missing from most of the book, being held captive by the giant cyclops Polyphemus that loves to eat satyrs. It's kinda funny thinking of Grover in a wedding dress, pretending to be his bride so he can stay alive. I am glad that when he eventually does get rescued, there is still enough page-time left for him to hang with Percy and Annabeth like old times.
Tyson is basically Percy's new best friend in the story. He talks like he's not all that bright, but he has a heart of gold, and as a castaway son of Poseidon, he's basically Percy's brother. Also as a cyclops he's super strong, fire doesn't hurt him and he's very good at building and fixing things. Everyone is against cyclopes in general since they can't be trusted, so Percy has to assure everyone that Tyson is cool. Percy though feels embarrassed to be associated with him at times, but he eventually does win his favor. I liked seeing both of them interact throughout the book as Percy is constantly trying to keep Tyson out of causing trouble... and Tyson is usually saving Percy's life. Tyson was unwanted and abandoned before he met Percy so he cares a lot for his brother now that he has one.
Clarrisse got a bigger role for this story and she's her usual bully self. Despite everything, she still fights for the sake of defending the camp, so it's good to see she's not all that bad. Though I'm sure she likes fighting the bad guys for the sake of fighting. She gets her own pirate ship complete with skeleton pirates and actually helps Percy on getting past the Sea of Monsters. Even I feel sorry for her when Ares was chewing her out since he wanted her to succeed on this quest and get some fame away from Percy. She really is trying hard to please her father and wants him to be proud of her, so there is some goodness in there...somewhere.
Annabeth is pretty much the same. One of the most interesting chapters was when they were sailing close to the sirens and she wanted to hear their songs while Percy tied her up. The book did an amazing job describing how desperately she wanted to break free once she fell under the song's spell. When Percy touched her, he saw what she saw, which was the perfect image of the perfect family she wished she had, with Luke still as a good guy since she had a crush on him before he turned evil.
And yes, spoiler from the last book, Luke was the Lightning Thief and he did it to help revive the god Kronos that wants to destroy everything to get revenge on Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. He returns in this story a few times... and it always seems like it's gonna hit the fan when he does... I mean, damn, this book does a great job of keeping me in suspense! We also see his father Hermes, who gives Percy some items to help in his quest, and he hopes to one day regain Luke as a good guy again.
As for Percy himself, he's still the brave and heroic character from the first book. This time he's really going out there to save the camp and stop Luke's plans without any ulterior motives like in the first book. He's more of a nice guy and especially shows it near the end with Clarrisse. He has trouble dealing with Tyson, being embarrassed of him at first, and also not liking the fact that Poseidon just dumped a brother on him without warning. And he still feels some of the resentment of being abandoned by his father. He does eventually value Tyson's friendship and sees that Poseidon is watching over them, in his own way.
One theme this book kept from the first one, is the gods or goddesses disguising themselves as normal humans in some kind of store or shop to lure them into the trap. The first book had several, including the Las Vegas Casino trap where time literally stood still for everyone inside it. This book had Circe running some kind of spa and offers to give Percy and Annabeth make overs. While she made Annabeth look stunning, her idea of a make-over for Percy, or any men in general, was to turn him into a guinea pig. Another theme this book follows is all the snazzy titles for each chapter with crazy things like 'We meet the sheep of Doom' or 'Clarrisse blows up everything'. And we still get the 'Percy is the narrator' sense of humor.
The book is also full of action and they face all sorts of monster and creatures from sirens to giant metal bulls, to pirahna-ish sheep. And yes, Polyphemus the giant cyclops is probably the main monster they face in this story. I'm glad I got to see how Tyson and Polyphemus got to interact and actually fight it out. The characters are lovable and you care about what happens to them. Like I said, even the jerk characters like Clarrisse have things make you feel sorry for them so you can't hate them outright.
It's a good book, again I enjoyed it cover to cover. I'm really enjoying this series and I know there's a movie out about this one too. I'll be renting and reviewing it soon. But man... THAT ENDING. It made me super eager to pick up book three and find out what happens next! It's a hell of a plot twist and it's based on something that was mentioned in the first book! I'm really anxious to see how Percy and company will deal with this!
The Shredder has had a lot of different henchmen, top men or second-in-commands throughout different versions of the franchise. He had Tatsu in the live-action movies. Hun and Karai in the 2003 series. Karai and Koya in the IDW comics. But we all know the most popular henchmen will always be Bebop and Rocksteady from the classic 80's cartoon show. That incompetent duo that Shredder still keeps around for some reason... back in the day where Shredder didn't punish failure with death. Here, he'd rather send them to their rooms, or even fire them if they failed enough times.
Well, the IDW comics has already shown us a more dangerous and threatening version of the classic duo. They were still dumb as rocks, but so powerful it hardly mattered. Well it seems we're getting Bebop and Rocksteady in the new cartoon too, though I'm surprised since interviews with the Nick cast had them say they already had the roles of mutant henchmen full when we got Dogpound and Fishface. Now we got a whole new version of them coming soon, and like Chris and Xever, we're gonna spend this episode with a guy that is clearly the human version of human Bebop and a guy that might be Rocksteady. And wow, wait til you see just how different they are this time around.
The episode opens with the return of Steranko, the arms dealer Shredder made a deal with in an earlier episode. He has a collection of several weapons and artifacts, but is missing one thing... Shredder's helmet, the legendary Kuro Kabuto. He sends the master thief, Anton Zeck to steal it, and if he succeeds, he'll forgive him for the time he accidentaly shot him in the eye. Anton is wearing a high tech suit that turn him invisible, and he's confident he can steal that helmet. And yes, Anton looks very familiar...
Leo watches as Splinter feels sad over his daughter, Miwa. The others are trying to eat pizza before Mikey gets it all, and Leo tells them they should go rescue Karai. Raph disagrees, and Leo says he'll go alone to Shredder's lair if he has to. The other follow him.
Shredder visits Kara in her cell and tells her she hopes she understands that he took her because he didn't want her to be raised by 'scum' like Splinter. As he leaves, Karai reveals a hidden blade that she's using to cut her way out of prison.
Anton sneaks in and manages to steal Shredder's helmet. Rahzar and some Robo-Foot enter the room, and the mutant wolf can smell the invisible thief. Rahzar smacks him against a wall. Anton quickly gets up and dances around as he tosses laser-boomerangs that look like his purple mohawk that take down the Robo-Foot. He also tosses glue at Rahzar, that sticks his feet to the floor. Anton blows up a window and gets away, but not before tossing his business card into Rahzar's face. Shredder steps in a while later and Rahzar tells him that his helmet was stolen. Shredder is angry and demands to get all his men together.
Meanwhile the Turtles are driving on the Shell Raiser and Don is confused when his heat sensors detect someone, but he can't actually see anyone. Don tells Leo to hit the brakes, but they hit Anton. The Turtles wonder what they hit, and Don tells them it was 'some kind of invisible guy'. Raph finds Anton's pouch and shows everyone Shredder's helmet. Just then they are completely surrounded by Robo-Foot...
The Turtles fight it out with some of the robots and then make a break for it. As they drive off in the Shell Raiser, Anton tosses a homing device at it so he can track it down.
Later on, Shredder gathers all his men and tells them to drop everything until the helmet is found. Fishface asks if he could just get another one, and gets smacked to the ground. Shredder explains that the Kuro Kabuto was forged by all the captured trophies by the most skilled ninja of Japan, and was a symbol for the Foot Clan for 1500 years. He then sends Fishface off with Baxter, and Tiger Claw off with Rahzar to find the helmet.
Fishface runs with Baxter, telling him they have to get the helmet back so they don't have to look at Shredder's face... that looks even worse than Baxter's. Tiger Claw picks up Anton's scent and tell he's using devices. Rahzar says Fishface once told him they wouldn't get along since they're a mutant cat and dog. Tiger Claw says that's ridiculous, but he admits he'd like to eat Xever since he's a fish. Rahzar would eat him just to shut him up.
Leo says they can use the helmet to trade for Karai. As Raph and Leo argue, Anton finds them and tosses another purple mohawk laser boomerang ting that knocks the Shell Raiser on its side. Tiger Claw and Rahzar jump in to attack, and the Turtles get away, only to run into Fishface and Baxter. Baxter chases after Leo, trying to nail him with his acid spit. Even though Leo dodges them all, the acid did affect a nearby billboard, and it falls over the other three Turtles.
Leo stops Xever from stabbing the Turtles, but Raph tells him to go and rescue Karai. As Leo runs, Tiger Claw and Rahzar give chase while Xever and Baxter stay to finish off the Turtles, but Raph helps them escape with a ninja smoke bomb. Leo runs from the bad guys and hides in a nearby dumpster... only to end up with dirty diapers on his head.
After the mutants run, Leo runs into invisible Anton. There's steam coming from the sewer vents which helps Leo see him just enough to kicks him down. Leo then gives Anton his pouch back and runs since now Shredder's crew is after him. Anton runs and says he just needs to lose the pouch and they'll never find him... but his suit's been damaged and won't turn invisible anymore. He gets smacked to the ground, but before the mutants could beat him down, Steranko arrives in a helicopter and helps him escape. Anton shows Steranko the pouch.... but it turns out to be full of dirty diapers.
Leo still has Shredder's helmet and heads off to his lair. Shredder finds him and Leo says he wants to trade it for Karai. One of the Robo-Foot brings her in with a bag over her head. Shredder and Leo fight it out, and the Turtle is no match for him. The other Turtles arrive and they all gang up on Shredder. Shredder is still too much for them all, but Mikey points out they were just keeping him busy long enough to be able to rescue Karai. Don tosses the helmet back at him. Shredder sees that it has a smoke bomb in it, which blows up in his face. After the smoke clears, he notices that the Turtles are gone. He puts the helmet back on and laughs evilly.
Leo thanks the others for coming to help out. When they take the sack off Karai's head, they see that she was a fake dummy with a bomb for a head. The Turtles just barely make it off the rooftop as the bomb explodes.
My Opinions
Wow. What a random episode. First off, most abrupt ending ever. Plus honestly, this would have almost been filler if they used some one-shot character as the master theif. I'm surprised they actually remembered Karai and were out to rescue her the very next episode. But yeah, they're lucky she's alive at all. I'd like to see the look on Raph's face if they found that Shredder killed her the moment Tiger Claw brought her back.
I like how Shredder's helmet has its own backstory and is even considered a legend. In any other version... It was just his helmet. I guess when he decided to become Shredder adding one of the Foot's symbols that has been around for 1500 years is the finishing touch. It's also funny to see how he sometimes sends a few of the Foot after the Turtles in other episodes, but when it comes to his helmet he calls in ALL his minions.
Speaking of which, I like seeing Shredder surpass past versions and have more than two mutants on his side. There is no unwritten where he has to always send one or two guys after four turtles. I liked the short scenes between the bad guys. I mean they work together and I assume live in Shredder's lair together, we should see how they interact. It's noticeable that Baxter didn't talk in this episode, but he does have a few lines in a later episode so I guess Phil Lamar just wasn't available today. Though it's still weird and stands out, or maybe they could have cut his scene with Xever.
I also realize that Xever and Baxter are Shredder's B-team, mostly because Baxter was never a fighter to begin with, and for whatever reason Xever has become a joke and 'the idiot' of the gang in recent episodes. Why? Why do we need a 'funny incompetent one' among the bad guys, especially since Xever was no laughing matter before. Leave that crap in the 80s please.
Now for the main reason we saw this episode. Mr. Anton Zeck who looks like a human Bebop. Quite a big change from a big thug to a wisecrackin master theif. Just like Tiger Claw, there's no explanation for the high-tech Tron suit, he just has it. Paige and I were surprised by his antics, and she was quick to point out his Micheal Jackson/Prince-ish 'hee-hee' and 'hoo-hoo' and such similar sounds.
Honestly for some reason his dancing and other mannerisms reminded me of Fatal Fury's Duck King, if he wore a high-tech Tron suit that is.
Another thing is actually giving the character a name. I mean who names their kids Bebop and Rocksteady, right? While in the 80's cartoon we can only assume they're gang names, the IDW version actually states it. This version finally named them Anton and Steranko. Again, makes sense because those would be weird-ass normal names, though I'm curious how they'll name themselves as such. Or how Mikey comes up with their names. Will Anton throw a Tron-ish boom box at them and Mikey will say 'whoa they're playing cool bebop and rocksteady jams there'. I don't know.
One thing that stands out though is that Anton isn't much of a fighter and relies on the suit's gimmicks and tricks to do everything for him (Paige couldn't help but say 'aw geez' when he threw his laser Mohawk energy thing). I assume that'll change whenever he gets mutated... But who knows?
As for Rocksteady, it looks like Steranko will eventually become the mutant rhino. A lot of his gear matches the stuff Rocksteady is wearing in some photos that were released of the 2014 version of the infamous duo. Of course this means we're going to see a Russian Rocksteady but hey, if it worked for Spider-Man, why not here?
People wonder how they'll end up working for Shredder since they have a very different character dynamic this time.... But I'm thinking who says they'll work for Shredder? He already has his mutant crew and Tiger Claw alone is more than enough.
A great episode overall, but wow what a drastic change for a classic character. Anton is literally a whole new character modeled to look like a classic one.
Stay tuned as we continue with more episodes. Let's see what happens whenever he eventually mutates.
Karai is in the Shredder's hideout looking at a picture of her mother, while having flashbacks of the Turtles telling her that Splinter is her father. Shredder walks into the room and she demands to know the truth about Splinter and her mother. Just then Tiger Claw comes in, much to Karai's surprise as she saw him get eaten by an alien worm and trapped into the 80's TMNT world. Tiger Claw explains that he was able to escape the worm (and defeat the 80's TMNT) and fight his way through Dimension X for months until he could finally return home. Shredder sends Tiger Claw and Karai together to find the Turtles and Splinter, much to her disagreement.
Honestly, with how no-nonsense and downright brutal Tiger Claw can be, the OT TMNT are lucky to be alive. They're kinda... not equipped to handle someone that will skip the bad puns and get right down to actual fighting.... Kinda don't think they can trip up this guy by pulling the rug out from under him, or defeat him by hitting him in the face with a pizza.
The Turtles are hanging at Murakami's, where Don, Mike and Raph fight it out over who will catch one of the blind chef's pizza gyozas. Leo gets involved at the last second and wins the gyoza. Leo's happiness quickly fades as he still worries about Karai working for Shredder despite knowing Splinter is her father. Mikey feels it's not her fault she was raised by Shredder, and Raph just doesn't trust her.
Tiger Claw and Karai run across the rooftops, and he tells her Shredder chose her for this mission because she knows more about them. They soon go to Murakamis to ask him about the Turtles, but he doesn't know where they live. Karai refuses to attack a blind man, but Tiger Claw doesn't have that problem.
April, Casey and Irma walk out of the movies and April was super excited by how awesome it was. Casey was disappointed that Irma had to come along and be a third wheel on their 'date', though April never considered this a date. Suddenly, April feels they're being watched and they decide to split up, leaving Irma alone.
Mikey forgot his doggybag at Murakamis, so they have to go back. When they do so, they see the place has been attacked. Murakami says he was questioned by 'the girl' and 'the growly man', and sadly, he told them about April and Casey. The Turtles figure that Tiger Claw is back, and Raph insists 'the girl' just has to be Karai. Don calls April and receives no answer. Later on at April's apartment, her dad tells them she went to the movies recently.
Tiger Claw runs into Casey and starts to chase him down.Karai is chasing April, but when she catches up to her, she wants to talk rather than fight. Karai says she believes them about telling her that Splinter is her father and is having doubts on Shredder's honor (even April says the G-rated version of 'no shit Sherlock' to that one). Don and Leo find April, and she tells them Karai's story.
Eventually Casey runs out of tricks and unfunny oneliners and decides to fight it out. Tiger Claw easily defeats him and throws him off a roof. Before passing out, Casey manages to activate his T-Phone. Raph and Mike are hanging around the skating rink (not sure if waiting in case Casey showed up... they could have just left after seeing that he wasn't there and continued the search) and get Casey's distress signal. Raph and Mike find Casey and take him back to the lair.
Leo is happy to see Karai come around and is happy to take her back to the lair. Raph is pissed that they were crazy enough to bring Karai to the lair, especially after how Tiger Claw nearly killed Casey. As Leo and Raph argue, Karai activates a device that lets Tiger Claw home in on the lair. Splinter shows up and tells Karai to follow him.
In his room, Karai sees that famous family portrait of Yoshi, Shen and baby Miwa and realizes that they were telling the truth. Karai realizes this out loud and Leo asks why she's 'just now' believing she was Miwa if before she was telling them that she did believe it. Karai regrets her treacherous actions and warns the Turtles that Tiger Claw is on his way. Splinter suspected this and says this was something she had to see with her own eyes. They leave quickly so they can lead him elsewhere, and Mikey knows just the place.
Tiger Claw finally homes in on the gang, but his search leads him to a meat locker. The Turtles fade in and out of the shadows and get some cheap shots in.... but they're still unable to take Tiger Claw down in actual fight (I again feel sorry for the OT Turtles and hoped for the life of them they chose to stay down). Tiger Claw aims his sword at Leo and asks if Karai wants to finish him off. Karai decides to regain her honor and starts to attack the tiger.
Unfortunately, she doesn't fare any better than anyone else did, and she is quickly knocked out. He holds Karai over a bunch of sharp machinery to keep the Turtles at bay and escapes with her. Leo is worried about her and Raph, in probably one of the dickiest things to say ever, says she's raised by Shredder and he's probably welcoming her now. Um... cause Shredder will be glad to welcome home a traitor and will just let bygones be bygone, right? Leo has no time to decide since Mikey is gravely injured and needs medical care (his shell was knocked loose... really?? How would they cure that???).
Karai is taken back to the Shredder, where Tiger Claw informs him of her betrayal. Karai demands to know if Splinter really is her father. Shredder finally admits that yes she is indeed the daughter of Hamato Yoshi... and then has her taken to a cell and locks her up.
My Opinions-
Well, let me get the good stuff out of the way. Tiger Claw is awesome and he is a completely unstoppable threat. He really is Shredder's second in command and it shows. Chris and Xever might be jokes now, but they were more dangerous in their first episodes.... and even then the Turtles defeated them. Even if just barely. Against Tiger Claw it really is a fluke if they win.... or they just have no choice but to escape. He really is a huge threat.
We do have minor plot holes in how Karai somehow knew about Casey Jones, even though they have never shared any screen time. Tiger Claw also seems to know April and Casey, even though he only saw them for half a second when the giant worm swallowed him hole.. and in that instant I assume you're attention is more focused on the giant-ass alien worm than the two random teenagers riding it. Also, Irma sure is incredibly lucky the bad guys didn't decide to chase her as well. Sure she's got nothing to do with anything... but it's not like the bad guys have used innocent friends as bait to capture the main characters before.
Irma is... pretty much useless at this point of the show still. She's just 'that friend' that suspects that April and Casey are into some kind of strange trouble, and also there to showcase that April has more than one friend. And well, also to bring back an 80's character. I wonder when she'll actually do something.
It was nice to see Karai finally see the truth. She was conflicted with honor back and forth throughout the episode. Having her see the famous portrait of the Hamato family. Paige did wonder why Karai (and possibly Shredder) has colored pics of Miwa while Splinter has a black and white one.
Now for my main complaint.... as this show continues to suffer the whole 'well the episode's almost over so let's wrap things up real quick and not care about the consequence' thing. Karai openly betrayed the Shredder's forces... is captured, and is taken back to Shredder. And Raph acts like she's fine. Dude. Shredder, for all you know, could have killed her as soon as he was told of her betrayal. And aside from Leo, zero damns were given. And yes, I know Mikey was in bad shape... but even Paige asked why they just didn't split up. I mean, had Tiger Claw captured April instead of Karai... or hell, one of the other Turtles, they still would have found time to go after him. Or have one of them stay with Mikey while the others followed. It's just sloppy 'who gives a damn' writing just because it's 11:57 and Spongebob is eager to start his ten hour marathon.
Overall, still a good episode, but that kind of rushed ending still bugs the hell out of me. It reminds me of the one where the Turtles had to get the Power Cell back from the Kraang so they wouldn't be able to use their portal to bring stuff from Dimension X... and then had to bail without stealing the crystal back or otherwise destroying the portal machine.... because reasons. Speaking of which, I am finding myself to be a little bored of the show... or at least any episode that isn't about Shredder and the Foot and doesn't further the Karai is Miwa storyline. It's just the best part of the show, and anything else is wasting time or padding out the series so it has X amount of episodes. The show can't be episodic and have long story arcs at the same time. Choose one and stick with it.
Oh and to end the article, here's the link to the trailer for the season finale of this season, and our thoughts about it. Also for more TMNT goodness, we're going to start reviewing all 4 TMNT theatrical releases before the new movie hits theaters.
If you've been keeping track of my blog posts, you've noticed I'm not one for reading actual books. Paige is more of the reader, and she has mentioned a few books here and there, and of course her love for the Pretty Little Liars book series, not just the TV series. I tried to find a good book to actually sit down and read and let my imagination soar, like when I was kid, but nothing really interested me. But then I saw Mark of Athena in the local Wal-Mart and read some of the back. It mentioned people facing creatures of Greek myths but in modern day, and that piqued my curiosity. But then I read the intro saying 'it continues the adventures of...' and I was like 'naw, I gotta read this from the beginning. Going to an actual book store this nice girl told me it was actually a sequel or spin-off of sorts of the Percy Jackson stories, a 5-book tale that I should really read first so that all the references to it would make sense. And so, I started off with the first book.... The Lightning Thief! Written by Rick Riordian.
The Story-
This story follows the life of Percy Jackson, a kid with dyslexia and having a knack for always getting into trouble and being shipped from school to school. On a school field trip to the museum he gets attacked by one of his teachers that was a demon in disguise! Another teacher tosses him a pen, that when the cap is removed, turns into a sword! Percy kills the fiend, and despite the commotion that would have caused, everyone outside acts like nothing happened, and act like that evil teacher never existed!! Shortly after this, Percy was booted out of this school too.
Our 12 year old hero soon returns to his home town in New York and sees his mother again. They decide to head for a trip to their favorite beach. But then in a dangerous rainstorm they are being chased by the Minotaur, from ancient myth!! The mighty beast kills Percy's mom, and the young boy somehow manages to avoid the beast and kill it with its own horn. To make things weirder, his old friend from school, Grover, turns out to be a Satyr, a human with the lower half of a goat!
More is explained as Percy and Grover make it to Half-Blood Hill where it is revealed that he is actually a demi-god, the son of a human and a god. It gets more complicated when it's discovered that he is the son of Poseidon, one of the three main gods that was forbidden from having any more human children! His teacher also turns out to be a centaur named Chiron, and he eventually explains the main quest that sets the story off.
Currently the gods are at the brink of war. It seems Zeus is missing his bolt of lightning, a weapon of incredible destructive power, and he thinks Poseidon is responsible! Worse yet, even though Percy had just recently found out about being a Half-Blood, Zeus thinks Poseidon put him up to stealing it!!! Suspicion also falls on Hades, the god banished to the underworld, that would benefit greatly from a war between Zeus and Poseidon. And there lies the mission. By the summer solstice, Percy, Grover and Annabeth must set forth on their quest to confront Hades and retrieve the bolt of lightning before all hell literally breaks loose.
Annabeth is the daughter of Athena, and due to her mother's rivalry with Poseidon, doesn't get along too well with Percy at first. She trains hard and has lived in Half-Blood Camp most of her life and anxious to prove her skills in the real world. Grover strives for what all satyrs strive for, the chance to search and find the god Pan. To do so he must prove himself worthy by helping Percy on his mission and bringing him back alive. As for Percy, he thinks that maybe his mother is still alive and being held captive by Hades in the underworld. Will his desire to rescue his mother outweigh the importance of him saving the world?
As the heroes have 10 days remaining on their perilous quest, they face monsters, gods and other challenges. Things become more complicated when events cause Percy to believe that maybe Hades wasn't the Lighting Thief....
My Opinions
Wow!!!! Just wow!! This book is super amazing and literally kept my interest from cover to cover. It's always entertaining and the narrator, which is Percy, describes things with his own sense of humor that keeps it interesting. Even the titles on the table of contents are bizzare, funny and interesting that makes you wonder what's it going to be about. Right off the bat the first chapter is called 'I vaporized my teacher'. It already makes you think 'wtf???' and gets you into reading it.
While it takes almost half the book to get to the Lightning Thief part, the book takes its time in developing Percy and his friends, and slowly opening this whole new world he's suddenly entered into. He's a typical New York kid very much from 'our real world' and he's suddenly thrust into the fact that gods of myth do exist and have existed for all these years. We get to see him adapt at Half-Blood Camp, get better along with Annabeth, defeat his new rival Clarrisse and train with Luke. I do like the fact that the main reason there are so many demi-gods running around in modern day was because the gods were known for messing around with humans in tales of myth. They just never stuck around to raise them. LOL
Parts of his past come back to him to explain things he never understood. We find out things like how Percy and Annabeth aren't really dyslexic, they were born with the natural ability to read Greek, and have trouble reading English. Percy's mom never let him fly on a plane since it would involve taking to the skies, where an angry Zeus would strike the plane down. Little hints and clues keep coming back to Percy's mind as he pieces together his new reality.
Despite being a good old fashioned book, not a comic with pictures, this book does an amazing job describing everything. The gods nectar that tastes like whatever your favorite food is, the strange sense of hatred you get whenever you're near Ares, and the excitement of the fights. It's all so crystal clear in my mind, you can easily imagine everything that's going on. The action is pretty intense, especially later on when Percy gets better at using his water powers and his sword Riptide. I especially like the fight between Percy and Ares, and the fact that despite them fighting it out with classic mythical swords, the rest of us regular people saw them as two normal people fighting with shotguns.
And yes, I have to bring up the fact that for a while they were in Las Vegas. I like how they described the hotels without actually naming them... but yeah... I knew what they were. And that casino where kids can play forever, but lose the notion of time and could literally be there for years without knowing.... I think it's based on some trap in a myth story, but it's also a clever knock at how real casinos have no windows and no clocks so you can easily lose track of time and gamble the night away. And when our intrepid trio finally pulled themselves out of there, they realized what seemed like a few hours was actually 5 hours in real time, and they only had one day left to fulfill their quest!!!! When I read that part I was like 'holy crap, they really screwed themselves over!!!! Now what??!!'
I could go on and on, but the main deal is, I just love this book. I heard there are movies based on the first two books. I plan to rent the Lightning Thief and make an Out on DVD episode about it with my thoughts comparing it to the book. I am very happy with this book and I'm glad Percy and his gang has gotten me back into reading. And yes... I already bought Sea of Monsters. I'm gonna start reading it after seeing the first movie.
Doc Ock's final act before dying was switching bodies with Spider-Man, starting a whole new life as a young and energetic Peter Parker, while his foe died in his aging diseased body. Now as the Superior Spider-Man, Otto went out fighting crime his way, murdering people like Massacre and gravely injuring others like the Vulture and Boomerang, which affected his status as a member of the Avengers. He also earned a Doctorate, opened Parker Industries and has a new girlfriend named Anna Maria. But along came the Green Goblin, who's been amassing a massive army underground all along. Not only did he discover that Otto was Spider-Man, he also attacked all the people he cared about. With his beloved Anna Maria's life at stake, Otto admits that Parker was the better Spider-Man and erases his memories, bringing back the original Peter Parker. Now back in the classic red and blue, The Amazing Spider-Man has to save the day.... and also adjust to all the new changes in his life while he was 'away'.
Let's take a look at the end of the Superior Spider-Man series... and the first issue of the return of the Amazing Spider-Man, just in time for the movie!
Superior Spider-Man # 31 opens with Anna Maria being woken up by the Green Goblin, who shows off how he turned New York into his 'Goblin Nation'. Elsewhere, Peter finds out that Carlie was infected by the Goblin Formula, but as Otto managed to cure her. He leaves Sajani to make more while he talks to Carlie alone. Carlie Cooper had already figured out that Otto was in Peter's body and he convinces her that he's back to normal. She explains that was Otto was in control, he covered the city in spider robots to help him fight crime, but the Goblin hacked them to be blind to anything wearing a Goblin mask or logo.
As Spidey swings out throughout the city, he calls Aunt May to make sure that she, and everyone else is alright. Spider-Man arrives at the Empire State University and helps Spider-Man 2099 defeat the last of the Spider-Slayers. Unlike Otto, Pete does recognize Miguel O'Hara and enlists his help. They both arrive at mid-town and help the Avengers take down the Hobgoblin. Captain America appreciates the helps but says he thought Spider-Man quit the Avengers. Spidey considers it nonsense, and goes off with the future Spider-Man. They finally found the place the spider-robots' signal is coming from... Oscorp.
Spidey is confused that Oscorp is now Alchemax, and Spidey 2099 reminds him that it's the evil corporation that runs Nuevo York in his era. Just then another goblin attacks the Spiders. Menace seems sure that Spidey will abandon Spidey 2099 to find the Goblin King, but is surprised when our classic hero sticks around.. and sticks him with the antidote to the Goblin formula. They hear laughter from the other side of a door and check out the room.
They see Normie, looking evil and admiring that the city will be his someday. Liz and Stone are there and Spider-Man tells her not to trust him. Stone activates a jammer that knocks Spider-Man down, and Spidey 2099 socks Stone out. Liz tells them that the building is wired for explosives and that the Goblin is on top of the building. Pete leaves Miguel to watch the others while he goes to save the day.
The Green Goblin arrives and taunts 'Otto' for pretending to be a hero and asks him what he'll have left after he dies trying to save the girl. Spidey says at least he'll have the dignity of never having use a man-purse. With a wisecrack like that, Goblin knows the real Spider-Man is back and flies off, but our hero won't let him get away that easily. Goblin says he would never leave Anna Maria to die, but Spidey points out that she can take care of herself, as she's already using one of the Goblin's blades to cut herself free.
Spidey tries to inject Goblin with the antidote, but the villain slaps his hand away. Spidey yanks off the mask.. and doesn't recognize the guy. Norman Osborn says it IS him, but he had to change his face since he is so well recognized already. He wants to make Alchemax a legacy for his grandson. Spidey asks why he's bombing it, and he says it can't be the only building not attacked by the Goblins, so it will be collateral damage. Spidey points out that without the Goblin mask on, now all the Spider-bots he brought with him are attacking and biting Osborn. Each spider bite is loaded with Goblin cure.
Anna Maria leaps off the building and Spidey manages to catch her in time. He also catches the Goblin who now falls off the glider since he lost his strength. Spidey hands walks back to Liza with 'Mason Banks' on hand, and she 'accidentaly' pressed the spider-jammer again that affects Spider-Man long enough for Norman to get away. Spidey 2099 accuses her, but Spidey knows she's an old friend and didn't mean it... though he will keep an eye on her and her weird kid.
As Norman escapes, he feels his mind clearer than it's been in years. The madness of the Goblin is gone and he can think clearly. He swears to return with a new face and with a new plan, and they'll never see him coming.
Spider-Man makes sure that Anna Maria is alright, and she was very concerned about Peter. Spidey swears Peter is safe and she is so relieved. Spidey sees that she really did love Otto... and feels bad that he had to die for him to come back.
The next story 'Actions have Consequences' deals with the aftermath of the series. Peter hugs his Aunt May and is glad she's alright. He also apologizes for how he treated her (as Otto he yelled at her after she acted awkward around Anna Maria being a little person) and says he quit working for Spider-Man and will devote himself to Parker Industries. MJ tells him she has to live her own life without him, since she's always being dragged into whatever evil plans the villains have for him. Peter sees Jameson on TV and remembers that Otto was blackmailing him, so he goes to set things right.
Carlie overheard the convo with MJ and shows her the Goblin eyes left behind from when she was a Goblin. She's moving out of town while her body fully recovers. MJ says she wants to live her own life, but Carlie reminds her that even if she's seeing Pete or not, the bad guys will still come after her.
The only problem is, despite everything, the bad guys will still come to you to get to Spidey. Live your live if you want... but please stay the hell away from bridges and other high areas....
Spidey tells Jameson he shouldn't have to take the rap for Goblin hacking the Spider-Slayers and using them against the police. He also tells him he won't blackmail him anymore and wasn't going to follow through on his threat anyway. After he leaves, Jameson reveals he had just resigned as Mayor a half hour ago, so he couldn't stay even if he wanted.
Now that Spidey defeated the Goblin and ended the Goblin Nation storyline... let's continue with The Amazing Spider-Man # 1 and see Pete's first official day back on the job as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
The comic starts with..... one of the stupid retcon things that comics always use.... Remember how that radioactive spider bit Peter and died shortly afterwards.... Well it looks like a split second after it bit Pete, it also crawled on some girl's ankle and bit her too... and then it died. It's like 'I'm radioactive and dying anyway, might as well take as many of these humans with me that I can before I go!'. Douchey spider. But also stupid retcon.
"If I'm gonna die, I'm taking you with me!!!"
Present day and we see some rookie villains, the White Rabbit with a Panda and Hippo themed villain as they run through the crowds of people. She bumps into a guy carrying a baby and he's about to fall over and land on his baby... but Spider-Man catches him with a web. Rabbit girl is surprised that Spider-Man is still after them, and he webs her up. The Hippo tries to throw a car at Spidey, while the web-slinger tosses wisecracks. The crowd is happy to see Spider-Man back to his jokey self, but are also surprised that he's basically naked, only wearing his mask and webs around his privates.
Four hours before all of this happened, we see Pete holding a press conference explaining that he will stop all connections with Spider-Man and will focus more on running Parker Industries. Aunt May and her husband are proud, and Pete is happy to see Aunt May walking again due to Otto's technology. Elsewhere, Anna Maria arrives at the apartment, looking for Pete and finds an engagement ring that Otto was planning to surprise her with.
Jameson watches TV as he sees headlines of Electro destroying a prison and the Avengers talking down the last of the Goblin followers and Spider-Slayers. Jameson feels bad after watching himself resign from his position as mayor... and decides he can always return to the Daily Bugle and run it again.
At Parker Industries, Sajani is showing Pete all the specs of 'his' latest creations, and he feels completely lost since Otto was the cybernetics genius... not him. He considers accessing Otto's memories... but stops himself not wanting to risk another mind-swap. Sajani shows him all the Spider-Man costumes that were also being made and she says it all has to go. Pete is also surprised that the Living Brain is his robot butler... and that it keeps calling him 'Doctor'. He tells him to stop that until he sees his Doctorate on the wall and realizes he IS a doctor now.
Probably my favorite line/sceme in this issue.
Pete swings through the city, happy to be Spider-Man again... and notices the citizens hate him now. He's sure he can regain their favor after Otto tarnished his image. He then hears an alarm go off, as the White Rabbit leads Hippo, Pandamania and Gypsy Moth on a crime spree. Spider-Man shows off and Gypsy Moth uses her powers to control threads and fabrics to unravel his costume. Spidey manages to sock her out before he could lose his mask.... but now the crowds are taking pics of him and tweeting it.
The Avengers watch this on TV and Spider-Woman tells the Cap that Parker is back to normal cause stuff like this only happens to him. Spidey tries to cover up for the cameras telling them he doesn't need his friends and family to see this, especially the Human Torch. Too late Pete, Johnny is already laughing his ass off. Mary Jane also watches this on her laptop and calls him an idiot.
Really Spidey.... the Marvel Universe is laughing with you.... not at you.... right?
Spidey ties up Pandamania, and with that wraps up this caper. The audience is far from pleased. One lady asks if kids should be watching 'a half-naked man in a mask trying up a woman in a fuzzy animal suit' and another old lady says he's acting as indecent as Miley Cyrus. Spidey wants to leave a 'courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man' notes but the people just want him to cover up and leave already.
Spidey returns to the apartment and is surprised to see Anna Maria there... since she has a key. She asks him why he never told her he was Spider-Man. Pete says it could be anybody since the guy on the video still has a mask on. Anna Maria recognizes his body and Peter realizes that as Otto, they've seen each other naked. He finds himself at a loss and Anna Maria asks him again.
Totally busted... though this opens a whole line of questions....
The rest of the issue has smaller stories, the main ones are one about Electro and the Black Cat... it seems Otto experimented on him to mess with his powers... and when he tried to free people from a prison, he accidentaly blew it up and killed everyone inside. This ruins his reputation since people would think he killed everyone ruthlessly due to his super villain stature... and he now wants revenge on Spider-Man.
Geez, even his teeth are electric???? The funny thing is, Spidey faces Electro in 'The Amazing Spider-Man # 2.
As for Black Cat, she manages to escape during Electro's attack, and reminds the readers about her little run in with the Superior Spider-Man, which if you read the last article basically had Otto just sock her out and arrest her like a bitch since he was completely unaware of the little Catwoman/Batman thing she has going on with Spidey. Now she wants revenge on him as well... but after she plays with his heart a little....
There was also a more cartoonish and cutesy story about Spidey explaining how his web-shooters and powers work. And we also have a short story about Miguel Morales, now trapped in present day, so yeah, pick up his new series. LOL.
My Opinions: Superior Spider-Man # 31-
Not much to say about this issue except it's good to see Spidey back and clean house. There were a few funny moments, like Pete's family thinking he's a scizo due to the sudden mood swing... and the extra story with Spidey having a talk with Jameson... after he already resigned.... and I love when Miguel grabbed Peter and said 'you left me to fight the Slayers along just so you could change costumes???'
In the end, the Doc's biggest fault was his supreme arrogance in everything he did. He became so obsessed with ending all crime, and making sure that HE took all the credit for it, he almost became Batman. One person he never mistreated was Anna Maria. I guess I kinda see what's going on... he never grew up with Aunt May the way Pete, he's just not as attached to her. She was part of Peter's life not his.... But Anna Maria is someone new he met during his college studies and he loved her so much more because it was someone he on his own and she did not in love with him only because he was Parker or Spider-Man.
This issue was fun, but the real thrills come next issue as Spidey adjusts to his life after Otto tinkered with it.
The Amazing Spider-Man # 1 2014-
It was fun yo see good ol Peter Parker back in the saddle and taking down the bad guys. The White Rabbit and her cheesey goons were perfect for this one. I did like how 'Gypsy Moth wanted to change her name to Skien' and the Rabbit refused because it would ruin the animal theme they want to go for.
Besides everything else that was evident... I want to bring up two major points in this issue. First off we have the case of Anna Maria, in love with Otto... not knowing that he was using the body of Peter Parker and now he's back again. was discussing this with one of the Bent Wookie guys and we agreed that now the shoe is on the other foot. Back when Superior Spider-Man # 2 came out, it was all about Otto trying to seduce MJ. The fans raged hard due to the fact that had MJ slept with Otto-Pete it would count as a form of rape since she was tricked and only consented into doing so because she thought she was sleeping with Peter Parker... not Dr. Octopus. Soooo now that Anna Maria doesn't know that the man she really loved as Doc Ock and he's gone.... Peter can't touch her because it would also count as a form of rape. What's going to happen? Anna Maria is a great supporting character, it would be a shame to see her go, but how long can Pete keep this up before he has to tell the truth?
The second thing is the kind of stupid 'was always there since day one, but we never knew about it' retcon. This like TMNT New Mutation saying there were always 5 Turtles in the Ooze all along... they just lost one.... or the 80's cartoon saying there was a gecko mutating along with them all along. Or saying that Dick Grayson was hand-picked to be a Talon since he was a kid, and that his grandfather was always one. Now we have this comic saying that on that fateful day, the same radioactive spider that bit Pete also bit someone else before it died. So now we have a mysterious female Spider-Man (not Jessica Drew, I do believe her powers work differently despite being called Spider-Woman). Of course the mystery lies in asking who was this woman he bit, and how will this effect present day? It is intriguing but grrr... I still hate those tacked-on day-one retcons that went and made what you saw before untrue.
Anyways...we'll see what happens. Oh and hey, for more Spider-Fun, here's our review of the Amazing Spider-Man 2. guest starring Fatima, a fellow Yotuber I collabed with before. The movie's been out for a while but I still wanr you it will be long and might compare spoilers.
