Wednesday, February 5, 2014

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

3 comments:

  1. Now it's an overdone schtick, but Brand Corporation was one of the first (if not the first) Corporate Villain in Marvel comics. They first appeared as bad guys in the Avengers during the 70s, I believe, and there are some great scenes from their first arc vs the Avengers where they extol the limitless resources of a corporation vis a vis your standard bad guy villain. There is a great scene where the Avengers are sneaking around in a warehouse and find the suit of the short-lived superheroine The Cat. Captain America asks where they could have gotten that, and Iron Man replies "Brand and Roxxon probably bought it, like they buy everything else" (skip the irony of this coming from billionaire Tony Stark/Iron Man). Of course now it's an overused trope....

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  2. I've used the 'Brand Corporation' numerous times along with its sub companies such as Roxxon so many times its not funny. I've had some run ins with 'the Cat' a few times but Brand has history with a few of my players in numerous old school games. They're a corporation to run in various old school games, they were always getting their hands dirty in one form or another during Marvel's Silver Age. Tony Stark was always good for laugh and as a resource to get adventurers in over their heads.
    I've had players doing 'house clearance' with some Brand resources a couple of times and it always seems their not quite as gone as folks would like to believe. Brand has deep ties in the Marvel universe and I'm not above exploiting those on PC's.
    Thanks for the heads up Bad Mike and I'll have more to come on these guys!

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  3. They've been moving the story line of the show so slowly that its been several weeks since I've watched the series. However my friends have been wanting me to get back into it. I don't hold it against folks who aren't into comic book stuff or the thirty years of Marvel or DC back story.
    Stan's cameo's are fun but the Marvel movies have been hit and miss over the years. They aren't going to be everyone's cup of tea. Everyone has their own opinion and they are valid in context to the show. So there we are.
    Cheers and thank for sharing your thoughts.

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