So...How is Maria Hill Still in Charge?!? (SPOILERS)

[JBH3]

Uncanny X-Men: Under her watch, S.H.I.E.L.D is infiltrated by Mystique - who kidnaps Dazzler, takes over as Dazzler, and begins to dismantle S.H.I.E.L.D as only a Mystique can. Then S.H.I.E.L.D Hellicarriers are taken over by Dark Beast and turned against the X-Men, S.H.I.E.L.D agents, Destroying the X-Mansion in the process. One of the Hellicarriers almost becomes a nuclear bomb, but Hi-Jack saves the day. Maria Hill then has the gall to want Dazzler back for debriefing and tabs on the UXM.

Hulk 1-4: Under Hill's watch S.H.I.E.L.D once again infiltrated by unknown assailant, who shoots Bruce Banner/Hulk in the head. Maria Hill relocates Bruce Banner to a "super-secret location" of a small town in Colorado, which is not small enough, because the people who shot Bruce find where S.H.I.E.L.D is hiding him. The Avengers are called in to clean up the mess and Tony Stark's intellect saves the day, but not before this small/once peaceful Colorado town is leveled via a Hulk/Abomination fight. Hill has the nerve to still want control of Bruce/Hulk and to relocate him somewhere else, but the Avengers are not having it. Anyone who read Indestructible Hulk #1 knows that Bruce Banner had a contingency plan (Matt Murdock) in place if S.H.I.E.L.D ever reneged on the Hulk Destroys/Banner Builds deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. Knowing that Maria Hill is in deep doo-doo, she goes to Daredevil who is pissed to learn that S.H.I.E.L.D has been playing him ever since Banner was shot, using tech to mimic his voice so that the check-ins would still occur. Now Matt Murdock is to carry out the plan Bruce set forth, should S.H.I.E.L.D betray their deal.

EDIT: Forgot about the Cap "Iron Nail" story-arc too... mega fails by Hill and Nick Jr there.


So how, after these two mega fails, does Hill still hold her position? There maybe other stuff that's occurred in the past that makes it even worse. I'm a somewhat new reader having been away from comics for about 10 years before coming back via the Marvel NOW.

So is Maria Hill just a Marvel whipping post? Or are they setting her up to fail, to usher in someone else? Or are these events in their own continuity and then not one big screwed Maria Hill?

[sifighter]

I honestly have started to dislike her, in a lot of what I've read it doesn't feel like she is fighting villainy(although I'm not reading Secret Avengers) it feels more like she is just messing with super heroes, just look at not only Uncanny X-men or Hulk as you stated but also Fantastic Four and Avengers Undercover and it just constantly iterating.

Although I bet that if I read a series with her as a main character, I'd probably like her more, which is the same with me and Captain America who I don't complete like unless it's in his main series or the Uncanny Avengers(I'm not reading Hickman's avengers right now).

[pageturner]

Honestly she has been worse.

But she is in the movies so she stays. Besides Gyrich keeps getting jobs.

[XPac]

Certainly Hill has had her share of problems, but in all honestly that likely would have been anyone. If it wasn't her it would be someone else.

Government in comics typically has to be fairly ineffective, because the heroes need to be the ones to save the day. If the government and military were actually GOOD at protecting people you frankly wouldn't need guys in spandex running around punching out bad guys.

It's certainly possible Hill might be replaced, though odds are PRETTY good whoever replaces her will do just as badly or be flat out worse UNLESS it's one of the Nick Fury's. Or maybe Cousland.

[jphamlore]

New Red Skull with Xavier's brain is controlling everything behind the scenes. He's apparently establishing mutant reeducation camps in Genosha. No doubt he will use them for an even more spectacular apparent mutant attack on humanity which will lead for a call for S.H.I.E.L.D. to unleash the Sentinels. Only Red Skull controls it all and has become Onslaught.

[klinton]

I hadn't really thought about it (I rather like Hill, to be honest), but yeah, she's been floundering since she took office. Has she even had a 'big win' since Secret Invasion? I can't think of one at the moment...

[dragonmp93]

Well, actually Mystique is her since like issue 10.

And no, Maria Hill always has been like that, she is still in charge because the government wanted someone who upholds and follows laws without reason or logic; and she is the perfect candidate for that.

[Sardorim]

Well, Nick Fury doesn't want the position and no one else wants it. Maria knows that SHIELD is a POS but it's the best POS they have and she's the only one that has the patience and tolerance to deal with how much of a POS SHIELD is since sometimes SHIELD does shine when it matters.

That and it's awesome to have Maria in charge and lusting after Cyclops whom she's supposed to be arresting... To her bed post.

[scribbleMind]

Well, Nick Fury doesn't want the position and no one else wants it. Maria knows that SHIELD is a POS but it's the best POS they have and she's the only one that has the patience and tolerance to deal with how much of a POS SHIELD is since sometimes SHIELD does shine when it matters.

That and it's awesome to have Maria in charge and lusting after Cyclops whom she's supposed to be arresting... To her bed post.

*cough*Daisy*cough*

[Habis]

If you read Secret Avengers, it is heavily implied that AIM's friends in high places wanted Daisy Johnson out the way because she was basically Nick Fury's girl in SHIELD, and they wanted SHIELD away from Nick Fury's sticky paws. They maneuvered to have Maria Hill replace Daisy because Hill doesn't get along with Nick Fury, is disliked by heroes and tends to mess with them, so she isn't any real danger to the bad guys.

[MarvelMaster616]

That's not an unreasonable question to ask. Maria Hill has had her share of ineptitude lately, especially with the recent developments in Uncanny X-men. She had such a rage-on for Cyclops that she didn't bother looking closer at all the Sentinels that were being created under her nose. You would think that the events of X-men: Battle of the Atom would get her attention, but no. She just had to keep focusing on arresting Cyclops, a guy she had to know had nothing to do with the Sentinels. Because of her obsession, Dark Beast was able to exploit her and all of SHIELD. That's pretty egregious.

That said, who else would want Hill's job at this point? Given all the attacks and infiltration that has been going on, someone would have to have a death wish to want her job. I get the sense that she still has her job because nobody else wants it. Sometimes there are jobs like that and in the Marvel Universe, I can't think of a job more frustrating and less rewarding than being the director of SHIELD.

[Mark]

Incompetent leadership has been a SHIELD standard for years now.

[XPac]

Incompetent leadership has been a SHIELD standard for years now.

Yeah, but that's sort of the way government has to be written. If the government and military were actually good at their jobs, you frankly wouldn't need the super heroes doing it for them.

That said, I'm sure if SHIELD had their own book they'd come off more effective.

[SuperCooper]

I'm still waiting for Dirk Anger to swoop in and take over the director's chair. SHIELD deserves him at this point.

[klinton]

If you read Secret Avengers, it is heavily implied that AIM's friends in high places wanted Daisy Johnson out the way because she was basically Nick Fury's girl in SHIELD, and they wanted SHIELD away from Nick Fury's sticky paws. They maneuvered to have Maria Hill replace Daisy because Hill doesn't get along with Nick Fury, is disliked by heroes and tends to mess with them, so she isn't any real danger to the bad guys.

That actually makes perfect sense, and fits with what we have seen and are now seeing (MODOK is her bloody advisor, even now).

I imagine, since it's Spencer's plot, we'll see more (overt) revelations about this in Avengers World.