Commentary On the Up Coming Agents of Shield Episode 'Yes Men' For Your Old School Super Hero Campaign

So on the upcoming episode of Agents of Shield,
 Lady Sif is dropping in and I'm curious. I never get curious about Agents of Shield but this might an episode is making me curious.
Lady Sif has been a favorite character of mine ever since I was a kid. Maybe its the suffering romantic in me or the fact that she was so well played in the last Thor movie.



We've got her in full armor with agents tagging along on a lone bounty hunting mission from Odin.

"While the men of "Agents of SHIELD" will be enraptured with sorceress Lorelei, it's Lady Sif who catches Melinda May's eye. "She is a woman warrior and she's godlike and she has to wear these kicka** boots and I was so happy I wasn't the only one who had to walk around this awful floor and fight in high heel boots," Ming-Na Wen told Zap2it with a laugh while on set. "It was just nice to have someone else on set to empathize with."

Though Sif is on Earth for business, she's not without her (unintentional) comedic relief. "The language barriers, it was really fun to write," Whedon told Zap2it of conversations between the SHIELD team and Lady Sif. Fellow showrunner Maurissa Tancharoen added, "And seeing how she will take something literally. If Coulson will throw a line at her, she actually does the literal version of that physically."
 From what I've seen the fans are going to eat this episode up with a spoon. There are a ton of Marvel references in it and some really interesting interactions. It features Lorelei whose perhaps one of my all time favorite Asgardain characters. If they bring in the Executor then that's all right with me. 

We start throwing around Asgardian Super Science and 'gods' then we're entering the deep end of the Marvel Super Heroes universe. Here even the minor characters can wield power cosmic level problems. Then there's the fall out that is still echoing in from the 'Thor Dark World' Affair. Seriously, Shield cleaned all that debacle up and sent it off into space?

Could some of the Dark Elf technology land in your OD&D campaign only to cause even more problems and issues for those who handle it?
Short answer 'yes'. 


Umm sure it did and there's no room for your PC's to help deal with the blow back from it still going on. I'd say its time to download a copy of the Avenger's source book from HERE 
Get back into the super hero game figuring out why one of the most dangerous wizards of Asgard is on Earth and what she's hidden upon planet. There are a metric ton of ideas still waiting around from the 60's and Cold War let alone this Episode!
All in all it wasn't a bad episode and I enjoyed it but this series needs to be 'great'! With a capital 'G' and this episode is a step in the right direction folks.

1d10 Random Finds From Dark Elf Invasions

1. 1d6 dark elf pieces of armor filled with weird circuitry and still functioning with minimum power. 
2. A burnt out shuttle craft and power source is gone. One wing cracked and energy weapons gone. 
3. A fungus spawn of dark elf technology nanites spreads out from a crashed vehicle.
4. 1d4 Dark Elf jewel pieces with strange technology just looking for a living host. 
5. A Dark Elf energy weapon waiting for a warrior to wield it. The thing is partially alive and has a horrid intelligence. 20% chance of this thing blowing up in your face for 1d6 damage. 
6.  1d8 broken masks with living flesh inside of them just waiting for someone to put them on. This thing will do 1d4 points of damage anyone putting this thing on. 
7. A broken energy source is just waiting for a  fool to touch it and it will explode for 1d8 points of damage. 
8. There is a broken dimensional gate and its charged. This thing will send anyone who touches it to the Dark Elf home plane. 
9. A group of 1d20 Dark Elf warriors is just waiting for a group of adventurers to stumble upon them. 
10. An Asgardian Strike team in suspension is waiting to be activated! 

Review and Commentary On The Agents of Shield Episode 'Tracks' For Your Old School Super Hero Campaign

Finally an enjoyable Agents of Shield episode! 'Tracks' was everything that we've been seen building up for months and months on the show. We finally get a 'Stan 'the man' Lee' cameo on top it.
Basically we ended up with a mission going very wrong in some respects for Coulson's team last night with all kinds of tangles with Cybertek and one of the minor villains that the team has been dealing with for several episodes.
 Oh and Skye was shot, she's in a medical induced coma and there's a mission involved in next week's episode. Coulson is upset. But back to Cybertek.
 Cyebertek has been stalking the halls of  the Agents of Shield comic and Marvel dating all the way back to the late 70's and into the 90's.
You can find more out right over HERE

Much of the implications in last night's episode is that we're only beginning to see the journey that the team is going to be taking. Why the hell weren't the other episodes done with this much action, plot, and ideas. 

Did I mention a Deathlok appearance?

Deathlok has always had a bit of a schizo appearance in the Marvel universes. This version has been odd in many ways. From weird technology to an origin involving a villain called the Clairvoyant . This one's journey seems like its only starting to begin. Deathlok has deep connections to Roxxon Oil and the Brand Corporation.
When we get into Deathlok , we begin to open a Pandora's box of alternative Earth strangeness, the strange Illuminati style technology of the 70's Deathlok the Demolisher, and the high weirdness of the Deathlok character going all the way back to the 70's & 90's. Will there be an appearance by Luther Manning?
I honestly don't know but Roxxon always gets my juices going.


 Deathlok is one of my favorite characters and you can find a bunch of his history HERE 



If you really want to see some of the 70's weirdness from Deathlok's alternative go right over HERE



When we talk about Deathlok, we're starting to talk about one of the most malevolent, dangerous, and dirty organizations in the Marvel universe.
Hydra? A.I.M.? Rexxon Oil?  Baron Strucker's other outfit? Nope.
I'm speaking of the grand daddy of all of the above.
The Brand Corporation! The money, power, nastiness, evil, etc. of all of the above and with connections to all of the above as well. Brand is possibly one of the most advanced technology corporations on the planet and with ties running deep into the Marvel universe and some of its alternates.



These guys have been running a ton of material through the Marvel universe going all the way back to the days of the original Iron Man. They've had their hand in cybernetic operations since the Korean conflict or at least their predecessors have.
They've had a hand in the creation of the following:
Mad Dog, The Serpent Society, The Grapplers, Orca The Killer Whale, Deathlok The Demolisher, Manticore, etc.
They've had a hand with heroes as well - Hellcat, Captain America, The Falcon, etc. have all had dealings with em.



You can find a ton more on em right over HERE
 All in all I enjoyed the episode but this episode has me thinking about my Marvel ODD&D cross over I did close to two years ago.
More next week as it develops.
 You can find a ton of information on Deathlok, Luther Manning, Cybertek for the Marvel Super Heroes Rpg right over here in the Marvel Handbooks for the game for free download.
Right over
HERE

Quick Review and Commentary On Agents of Shield Episode Six F.Z.Z.T.

 Its 12:30 am  and I've just gotten home from watching Agents of Shield.
The episode really was interesting and had some solid twists. We got more alien tech tie ins and vivid deaths via electro static shock and a solid tie in with the Chitari invasion of New York with Avengers. 

The show had kinda of a comdedic edge until the first of the deaths from the Chitari helmet and the weird alien virus that killed off a bunch of  First Responder ( The echoes of Nine Eleven were a bit eerie ). And we also see another side to Coulson in this one.
We got to see another side of him and I'm not sure if tonight's episode was a red herring or he was brought back after Avengers using some Asgardian gizmo but there were some interesting moments as he realizes that some thing is seriously off. 

Things turn deadly serious when one of the team is exposed to a very deadly alien pathogen. The show headed down some dark turf when one of the resident scientists of the team becomes infected.



 The show had kinda of an Andromeda Strain lite in the last fifteen minutes and could have ended seriously dark.
The show has danced around these two characters and I'm not sure if they were romantically linked or not.
Tonight we do know that feelings run very deep between the two.



Tonight it was all about Fitz and Simmons
.There were lots of implications and hints here tonight.

The Coulson Agenda 

Playing in the background of tonight's episode was Coulson's agenda with Shield. Something is going on here. He and Agent May certainly had a moment where they discuss his death and such. Then there was Shield's agenda with the alien technology and its effects on his team. Coulson genuinely cares about his team and Heaven help anyone who dicks with him or them.
 Are we being set up for a future show down between Coulson and the 'Old Guard' of Shield? I believe its very possible. With next week's episode called Level Seven and directed by Commander Riker himself for a cross over with Thor The Dark World I'll keep watching for now. 

Review, Yet More Wild Speculation, Agents of Shield Episode Five 'The Girl In The Flower Dress' For Your Old School Super Hero Campaign

Don't go anywhere with this woman!
Agents are to approach her with extreme caution. 

In “Girl In The Flower Dress,” an elusive girl in a flower dress may hold the key to the mystery that brings Coulson and team to Asia to rescue a young man with an unusual and dangerous power. Meanwhile, Skye has a secret that jeopardizes her relationship with the team right when they need her most.

Sky really wasn't the lady to watch in tonight's episode. Instead, we get a glimpse into the world of a possible Hydra, A.I.M. or Centipede outfit who are trying to produce super soldiers. The Earth/Alien hybrid technology used by this outfit is given center stage and Skye is revealed to have secrets all of her own. 

“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” stars Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, Ming-Na Wen as Agent Melinda May, Brett Dalton as Agent Grant Ward, Chloe Bennet as Skye, Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz and Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Jemma Simmons.

Guest starring are Louis Ozawa Changchien as Chan Ho Yin; Ruth Negga as Raina; Austin Nichols as Miles Lydon, Shannon Lucio as Debbie, Tzi Ma as Agent Kwan, Cullen Douglas as Po.

“Girl In The Flower Dress” was written by Brent Fletcher and directed by Jesse Bochco. The “Girl In The Flower Dress” episode of “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” airs on Tuesday, October 22, 2013 from 8:00-9:00 PM ET on ABC.

Chan Ho Yin was the real star of the show subtly floating through the episode kidnapping, studying, and offing anyone who got in her way. Very nice performance for an over the top sexy lady in a flower dress. I'd swear that this lady had some sort of telepathic or empathic abilities because no one in their right mind would have shown this girl anything but the door. 
This is the same organization that came up with the centipede technology in episode one and now they've found a way of stabilizing it.
Remember the centipede technology from the very first episode  of Agents of Shield?

The Centipede is an item that gives the user theExtremis powers. The Centipede may give a person superhuman abilities, but it also causes them to slowly lose their minds and eventually burst in anger due to a volatile substance known as Extremis. Other components include the injection methods of the Super Soldier Serum, technology from the Chitauri for injection, and Gamma Radiation. Described by Jemma Simmons as "all of the ways of getting superpowers put in a blender".

Well it looks like A.I.M. is behind it all!

When You Wish Upon An Extremis Star 

A lot's happened, Tony, but I'm close. Extremis is practically stable."

"I'm telling you it isn't! I'm on the street, people are going 'bang', they're painting the walls. Maya, you're kidding yourself."

"Then help me fix it."

―Maya Hansen and Tony Stark

Way back in 1999 as shown in Iron Man three the foundation for Extremis was laid down 
According To The Marvel Movie Wiki: 

Extremis was created by Maya Hansen in 1999. Maya and Aldrich Killian upgraded it thanks to Advanced Idea Mechanics providing funding for it to begin experimental testing. A.I.M. recruited amputees and other disabled people as test subjects, most notably the victims of military ops. Extremis cured their disabilities after which they were convinced to work for A.I.M. as assassins and soldiers.

 

I think that what we're looking at is the rise of a new branch of A.I.M. coupled with possible Hydra connections. 

 What we're possibly looking at is the return or off shoot of this man.

Aldrich Killian

Major spoilers if you haven't seen Iron Man Three! 

Which bounces the ball squarely in the court of both the Iron man three movie and all of the Marvel Movies back yards once again. 

In the non-canonical Iron Man 3 video game it is revealed that Killian's consciousness had been 'downloaded' by A.I.M. prior to his physical death and uploaded into a new, enhanced form: M.O.D.O.K

I have evolved far beyond what I once was. Suffice it to say, you took everything from me. I shall do the same to you."

―M.O.D.O.K. to Iron Man

Using The 'Girl In The Flower Dress' For Your Old School Super Heroes Campaign

Tonight's episode was solid in a way. It showed the ins and outs of the dirty little way in which shadow organizations are willing to use anyone who even shows the slightest hint of super powers.
The fact is tonight's episode was never about 'Scorch' and more about the creation of a dangerous new bio weapon/drug. A drug capable of creating hordes of super soldiers who can not only take orders but whose judgement is impaired to the point of becoming those wonderful second stringer super villains which Marvel And DC loves to sick on the heroes.
There's one book that has all of the secrets and allows a DM to create a campaign with a black background of deceit and depravity.
 This one!

 Every dirty little secret is right in this book along with write ups for A.I.M., The Mandarin, and Hydra.
 Grab it Right Over
HERE