Author: Jim Steranko

ABC/Justin Lubin

“Agents of SHIELD”

Jim Steranko, one of the creators of the Nick Fury character, recaps Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for THR’s Heat Vision every week. Read more about the Marvel Comics artist in a Q&A here.

There’s bitter irony unfolding when Agents of SHIELD’s top episode — last week’s “Turn, Turn, Turn” — apparently turned in the lowest ratings since the series debut last fall. It was obviously the producers’ strategy — and certainly that of Marvel and Disney — that the box office success of Captain America: The Winter Soldier would bump up SHIELD’s narcoleptic numbers.

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So, ABC showcased Plan B: Replay last week’s episode, give the faltering audience another chance to catch up, then drop this week’s offering in the following time slot. A SHIELD double-header!

Good plan. No cigar!

Unfortunately, the promise forecast by last week’s adventure — head and shoulders the best of the lot — was nothing more than that. While the lighting, cinematography and editing were more fluid than that of most others, and the dialogue generally smarter and tighter, with “Providence” the show dropped back to being not driven by the mission, but honed to set up future situations — a rehash policy I find intolerably corrupting to the series’ entertainment value.

What the hell is wrong with telling a solid, entertaining, complete story with ongoing characters that grow exponentially during each offering, such as Law & Order or Dexter or The X-Files? Instead of maintaining the dramatic plateau it captured in the previous couple of weeks, Agents of SHIELD was back to its old tricks last night.

Certainly there was an attempt to un-wimp Coulson (more attitude, less stiff upper lip, minor cursing), but his previous miscall of trusting in May’s allegiance to the group and recent breakdown rant in the frosty Canadian environment only served to weaken his character. “I’m sorry,” he sputters to his underlings, voice cracking with overstated emotion. Yeah, I’m sorry, too.

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The most irritating moment, however, unfolded when the carefully established and shocking dead-Fury premise was blown by Patton Oswalt (as agent Eric Koenig), who dropped the news in a throwaway line that it simply ain’t so, Serpico. Of course, we know Fury didn’t bite the bullet, but to blow off the possibility of an explosive, onscreen return is unforgivably cavalier and wasteful.

And SHIELD‘s ratings can’t afford that kind of waste.

ABC/Justin Lubin; Courtesy of Subject

“Agents of SHIELD”; Jim Steranko

Jim Steranko, one of the creators of the Nick Fury character, recaps Agents of SHIELD for THR’s Heat Vision every week. Read more about the Marvel Comics artist in a Q&A here.

Scorch (who gets this year’s Emmy for the Worst Super Character Moniker of the Season) called it when he said, “It’s growing on me!”

Not to suggest Agents of SHIELD is breaking down my entertainment standards or even my level of tolerance, but we may be discovering a compromise between what I imagined the series could be and what I’ll settle for. That said, this week’s entry hit most of the appropriate beats and even sweetened the experience with a few surprises: Chan’s burned hands, Dr. Debbie’s explosive exit, and May’s sudden appearance at the lover’s tryst — not to mention the justifiable resolution of Scorch’s short, unhappy career. (If only somewhere along the way, he’d have shouted: “Scorch THIS!”)

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While some ongoing irritations continue (dark scenes that obscure vital action, SHIELD’s impossibly Lilliputian staff, the lack of Marvel super-guest cameos), the show seems to have found its mutant-hunting groove (reminding us somewhat of the original Outer Limits, in which one special effect dominated every week’s visuals). The sometimes-manic, sometimes-plodding quality of the previous eps has settled into a pragmatic, if sometimes predictable comfort zone.

So, after five weeks of weighing SHIELD pros and cons, it may be time to take a strong, subjective look at the series’ fundamental elements, starting at the top. I’ve never understood why viewers championed Clark Gregg’s portrayal of Coulson, which always seemed more milquetoast than macho, not exactly a battlecry for America’s top-secret, bottom-line organization. Get my drift?

Why, for example, must Coulson wear a tie to define his character? Can’t he be the chief by simply brandishing his attitude — or, better yet, do it just with his eyes? Obviously, Gregg’s Coulson has the bearing of a funeral director, and one about as dangerous as a Cabbage Patch doll. I never believe him in action scenes, throwing punches and brandishing weapons, just because the script calls for it. Behind the desk, maybe. Behind the lines, no.

When I charted Marvel’s course for SHIELD, I gave Fury my attitude and my tailor, but I scribed his dialogue hearing the menacing timbre and voice patterns of Charles McGraw (Narrow Margin), a writer’s shortcut that put the two-fisted WW2 vet on what I hoped was a recognizable level of pseudo-cinematic authenticity.

Gregg reminds me somewhat of Robert Vaughn, the man in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV series. His well-tailored, coldfish approach played well against the warm charm of David McCallum’s Illya Kuryakin, aka the “fifth Beatle.” Gregg, however, has no Beatle to play off, and his limited byplay off the other SHIELD agents is too casually lightweight to hit the bullseye. Everybody just “Yes, sir’s” him because the script demands it, not his demeanor or authority. And that undercuts his — and the series’ — effectiveness.

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Maybe I’ve just viewed too many Burt Lancaster flicks, but I expect a degree of physicality in my action heroes — and Gregg falls as far from the William Smith/Charles Bronson/Leo Gordon/Danny Trejo/Lee Van Cleef tree as can be imagined. OK, he doesn’t look the part. But he’s an actor, and what vexes me is that he doesn’t act the part of a man with a dangerous edge. (For an example of what I’m getting at, check out Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire.) Just because he’s no tough guy, doesn’t mean he shouldn’t act like one. If Edward G. Robinson could do it, so can Gregg. And while I’m at it, I vote for a couple of battle scars across his jawline — or maybe just a Kirk Douglas cleft in his chin.

“The Girl in the Flower Dress” delivered enough premise, pace, and patter to get its audience through a mellow hour — and set the bar higher for the rest of the season. The international settings provided the illusion of scope, and the subtitles used during the foreign-language sequences were another nifty touch. Now, if only someone had the vision to subtitle the Fitz and Simmons dialogue!

Twitter: @iamsteranko

ABC/Justin Lubin; Courtesy of Subject

Jim Steranko inset in Marvel’s “Agents of SHIELD”

Jim Steranko, one of the creators of the Nick Fury character, will be recapping Agents of SHIELD for THR’s Heat Vision every week. Read more about the Marvel Comics’ artist in a Q&A here. 

When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created S.H.I.E.L.D. in the pages of 1965’s Strange Tales, about the last thing on their minds was a 2013 TV series. Their goal was to initiate a comicbook version of 007, in the manly tradition of Our Man Flint, Danger Man and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The concept was to recruit former WW2 sergeant Nick Fury (of Howling Commandos fame) into the super-spy groove. Even though he was put into the best Marvel hands, they simply didn’t know how to make him compete with Spider-Man, the FF, and Thor, until (in possible desperation) they turned the concept over to a kid who was new to the biz. Before you could say “DON’T YIELD, BACK SHIELD,” the series morphed into a high-tech extravaganza with more twists than a barrel of pretzels. The Man with the Eyepatch found himself countering a host of anti-American adversaries, from super scientists to the supernatural, all articulated in Op Art/Pop Art style that confounded — and often rivaled — the prevailing Brotherhood of Costumed Crusaders.

TV REVIEW: Agents of SHIELD

So, it comes as no surprise that Agents of SHIELD has emerged under the guidance of comicbook-vet-turned-producer Jeph Loeb and Avengers writer-director Joss Whedon aka mega-creative muscle and high ambition. And for us, high expectation — maybe too high. The pilot assumes the audience is cognizant of the Marvel Universe, as it regales viewers with a salvo of references established previously in big-screen efforts. Granted Avengers may be the third-highest grossing flick of all time, but recalling the details of last year’s favorite may be too much to expect above the fanboy level.

One of the pitfalls of multi-character epics with multiple storylines is juggling each to dramatic satisfaction, and Whedon has been successful at it. But AOS‘s four major focuses — the Coulson story, the Agent Grant Ward story, the Skye story, the Hooded Hero story — result in a lack of unified focus that seriously undercuts the series’ opener. Any of them could have shouldered the hour effectively, yet, in this case, giving each equal gravitas serves only to diffuse viewer involvement. (Who in hell am I supposed to root for?) Certainly, the storylines all converge at the climax (in standard Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ style), but, by that time, viewer involvement may be too minimal to matter.

In its comicbook and cinematic incarnations, S.H.I.E.L.D. is staffed by skilled personnel, but helmed by the ultra-charismatic — and ultra-dangerous — Nick Fury, and for good reason. The game is one of epic heroes and villains, of larger-than-life characters who compete with outrageous, godlike force — not to mention Kirby Krackle! Although Fury, like Batman and Bond, has no superpowers, he is clearly suprahuman: irresistible, indomitable, invincible. And Agent Coulson, with his Rudy Giuliani aplomb, is no Fury. (Actually, he could take a few attitude lessons from Samuel L. Jackson.)

And speaking of Jackson, the SHIELD opener would have benefitted immensely from a 15-second cameo or even a damn phone call from Jackson’s Fury. (Hell, I would have bought everybody drinks for a quickie Paste-Pot Pete appearance or even a walk-on by Stan Lee!) Even more disappointing was that the show had no menace, no tension. A month or so ago, during a conversation with Loeb, he categorized the series as “S.H.I.E.L.D. meets the X-FILES.” Great premise, but barely in evidence. SHIELD needs to be much tougher, much stranger, much edgier to reach its potential!

The show’s creators have gone on record to point out the series is about ordinary people, somewhat echoing the Hitchcock approach (ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances). Perhaps, in this case, ordinary may not be enough to warrant audience interest and loyalty.

Additionally, the pilot was riddled with inscrutable, distracting moments. Did anyone notice all the women were cookie-cuttered, dressed the same, looked the same, had the same kind of edge (possibly more than their male counterparts)? In the first-act apartment fight scene (orchestrated in the Bourne manner), could anyone determine who was doing what to whom (all those black suits)? Anyone wonder how the super-powered Hooded Hero could be so easily tailed (perhaps for days) by hot-babe Skye? And why didn’t the S.H.I.E.L.D. interrogators at least get her last name, not to mention her phone number?

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Could anyone understand the dialogue delivered by the S.H.I.E.L.D. lab team? Did anyone feel punted into PCville by the Hooded Hero being black? And did we really need the rampant, dueling ideologies at the pilot’s denouement? We all understand melodrama has its conveniences, contrivances and coincidences, but it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect a certain transcendence with the kind of creative talent behind the series.

If only, at the episode’s close, a well-meaning security guard who worked in the subway terminal would have shot and killed the Hooded Hero to really punch up the philosophical dichotomy between what he termed the “bad guy” and the “hero.” Or would that kind of poetic irony been too over the top for a comic book-inspired TV series?

Follow Steranko on Twitter at @iamsteranko