Agents of Atlas appreciation 2019

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Greg Pak is a favorite of mine so its cool you got to meet him Tien. I hope he gets to write a possible Shang-Chi solo one day .

[Tien Long]

Could be, because Sea Hunter called her "bata" ("child"). Also, does anyone get a Mad Max vibe out of her visuals?

I definitely see that. The jet ski and the spear, a little Mad Max in a way.

Greg Pak is a favorite of mine so its cool you got to meet him Tien. I hope he gets to write a possible Shang-Chi solo one day .

Thanks! Yeah, meeting him in person was cool. He didn't just talk about comics, but also touched upon the prose writing and film making processes. Plus, he talked about his past, like that he used to be a boy scout. That sense of righteousness, it shows up a lot on his Twitter feed.

As for him writing Shang-Chi, I think he's getting there. The wisdom mixed with practicality (that's how Pak described Shang last night, as the practical one of the group).

[Woozie]

[Ravin' Ray]

The dialog isn't translated from Korean it seems. So Ami Han is enrolled in a private English-language school then?

[Digifiend]

You missed a page.


And I really think this should've been called Agents of Atlas Origins instead of Future Fight Firsts. Ami didn't debut in Future Fight.

[Tien Long]

Hey, White Fox preview looks great. I'm digging how she has to fight this stigma attached to fox spirits. Reminds me of Naruto in a way. Plus the high school drama that I've seen as a substitute teacher .

As an aside, I just wanted to speak out on Sword Master #4 which came out on Wednesday. After all of the issues now, I'm starting to get the theme. Moreover, I'm starting to warm up to it. Lei is an inheritor of an ancient weapon and part of a legacy that stretches way back into Chinese mythology. I like those types of stories, novices who have to take up a huge mantle of responsibility. I'm intrigued.

As usual, I also liked Shang's appearance here. He shows his wisdom and his skill. It's true, he can't use the magical power that's in the sword like Lei can. But he can still use the sword nonetheless and be pretty badass with it.

It's taking a couple of months, but I'm starting to see the depth of character with these agents.

[Ravin' Ray]

We get a few more panels from White Fox #1 with this week's Pull List.

[Woozie]

A good Kumiho is believable... an evil Samjokgu is a lot less so. Other than that little gripe, it's a fun one and done.

[Frontier]

She's got a winning smile/wink.

[Ravin' Ray]

She's got a winning smile/wink.

That's how they get you to accept them.

[Beetle]

Caught up on Sword Master #4 and the White Fox oneshot

Honestly I enjoyed both of those more than the current AoA mini

[Tien Long]

Really enjoyed this week's White Fox one-shot. Indeed, out of the two stories that were featured in the issue, this was certainly my favorite. High school drama, exclusion, hiding one's identity mixed with Korean gangsters and mythology? Great stuff. (As an aside, really hope that White Fox gets to meet fox spirits from China or Japan). I'll admit, out of the stories AoA solo mini-series that we've gotten so far, I feel the White Fox one is the strongest. Definitely hoped to see more White Fox interaction with the rest of the team.

[Frontier]

That's how they get you to accept them.

I guess that explains the sparkles .

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I was hoping White Fox was centuries-old but her being in her 20s is alright. The issue was alright and the backup was decent.

[Tien Long]

I was hoping White Fox was centuries-old but her being in her 20s is alright. The issue was alright and the backup was decent.

Back up was a little confusing for me. Now, I'm all for a new team out of Japan. Since Big Hero 6 seems to be off limits at Marvel, this Future Avengers team seems a worthwhile replacement. At the same time, I was a little confused. Some of the members of the team seemed caucasian. Now, is this a matter of an anime look, where even blonde hair and blue eyed characters can still be Japanese? Is this a mixed race kind of thing? Wasn't too sure there. At the same time, I was a thrown back a bit reading how this team was trained by Hydra to take down the Avengers. Really? Did they live that much in a bubble? Okay, maybe this all warrants a second read through.

A couple of other thoughts:

- Dug Jimmy's appearance in the one-shot. A master strategist behind the scenes...who talks with a dragon. I like that. It's been a while since we've had a proper Nick Fury character in the MU (Nick Fury Jr. for now still has a long way to go before he becomes top tier super spy like his father). Could Jimmy fill that niche?

- Reread all the back-ups featuring Wave and Sword Master. A couple of things are starting to become apparent. In terms of Wave, I was struck with that misfortune she had early in her life. She could have gone to the Olympics and made her family proud. However, she fought against a rich kid and paid for it. It hurts but it's also relatable. Maybe Ray could speak about this more than I could, but the gap between rich and poor is wide in the Philippines. Getting out of impoverished circumstances is something that a lot of people want to do (indeed, I think about all of the Filipinos who leave the country to become domestic helpers or nurses in America and abroad. Just a little bit in those countries makes a huge difference in some of the provinces of the Philippines). Seeing Pearl work at a Jollibee-esque restaurant, that stung. Especially seeing how much she cares for family, like her lolo. Now she's caught up in schemes involving secret labs and conflicts with the Philippines national super hero team. Man, just hope that she pulls through.

As for Sword Master, what I'm getting now is kinda like Naruto/Kakashi from the Naruto series. Here is this kid with anger and pain and a big magical sword who wants to find his father. He's getting into fights but still hasn't mastered the basics yet. That's where Shang comes in. He's the mentor who is trying to cultivate Lei and shows him that he shouldn't just rely on a magical sword. Shang has some pretty good displays here. I'm still floored that he was able to cut Ares' (the friggin' god of war!) spear with just a regular sword cut. Plus, there are subtle throw backs to Pak's old runs. Indeed, when Ares recounted the tale of his son, interjecting real Greek myth into the stories, that's exactly what Pak did in the Incredible Hercules series back in the day.

So, all in all, taking another look at the back up stories for Aero and Sword Master has been worthwhile. We're slowly getting to know more about these characters. The execution could be better, but it's still satisfying.