#Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Reviews

[mcu-reviews]

Agent Carter (S2 E4) Smoke & Mirrors

Smoke & mirrors tries to tell us the backstory of our hero and villain. It suffers from horrific editing, lackluster events, and showing us to many flashbacks.

We see Peggy's life before Captain America and it is kind of lackluster. The scenes don't show the reasons behind Peggy's current motivations any better, they don't relate to the current events very well, and it isn't Peggy who is remembering them. Whitney's scene are a little better in explaining Whitney's motivations, however it suffers from the same problems as well as not being great at showing how she got where she is now.

The plot barely progresses, Vernon is now suspicious of Peggy, which he already was before. They learn the arena club is bad, which they already knew. The most plot relevant beat is the hint at Dr. Wilkes visions and learning something is seriously wrong with Whitney.

Overall, it is just a filler episode that wastes its backstory. I do kind of wish Agent carter was just Peggy before she met Captain America as the flashbacks hint at something good.

I have plans. :)

[thewidowsledger]

The Call

Chapter 1: First Day | 3.9k

© thewidowsledger 2024 - DO NOT REPUBLISH AND PLAGIARISE

Summary: You were supposed to take her out—the infamous Black Widow—Natasha Romanoff. The S.H.I.E.L.D. has been keeping an eye on her for a while now and for some reason, another high-ranking agent as you was sent to get the mission done. But then, he made a different call leading the mission to be here in front of you, soon to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

Pairings: Ex-Russian Agent Natasha Romanoff x Senior S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Female Reader

Tags | Warnings: 18+, bad writing, slow burn, angst angst angst, violence, triggering Natasha’s trauma if you squint because that's what we do for a living

Author's Note: You are Fury’s adoptive daughter in this series and I wrote Yelena as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, not a Black Widow. So basically Natasha and Yelena doesn't know each other. I tried doing my best researching about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so please spare me with my mistakes.

I dedicate this chapter to @a-spes and @notlhecxzsa because they’ve been nothing but very supportive of this series🤲💗

Navigation | Masterlist | Series Masterlist

⧗

“Natalia Alianovna Romanova”

“Natasha Romanoff”

“Red Room”

“Black Widow”

Your eyes hurt as you look at the screen fiercely, having to put your eyeglasses on your head. Your eyes run over every word and detail gathered by S.H.I.E.L.D. on the assassin's life. You’ve read and reviewed all of this, you’ve studied her for almost half of your life.

She was supposed to be taken out by Clint, a high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent like you. The difference between you and Clint is that Clint is a level 6 agent and you are a level 8 agent who has more access to information and works as a mission controller. While Clint’s level specialized in espionage and combat.

You and Clint have earned your positions through years of service and exceptional performance. In S.H.I.E.L.D., agent rankings ranged from entry-level recruits to senior positions such as Director and Deputy Directors. In the field, agents were typically divided into levels based on their experience and mission success rates, with higher levels earning more autonomy and responsibility. You and Clint were both considered to be in the upper echelons of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s field agent ranks, respected and entrusted with important missions.

You studied Clint's mission report from Budapest as well.

“I made a different call.” You read to yourself.

You remembered that day, your father, the director, Nick Fury, accepted that call without hesitation. However, you found yourself unable to accept it as easily as he did. You knew that Natasha's past made her dangerous and unpredictable, and you couldn't shake the feeling that the assassin had her own agenda. Your concerns were real, but you knew that your father, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. trusted Clint's judgment, and you had no choice but to accept that call.

You turned your attention to the screen of your computer scrolling through the series of surveillance photos, eventually pausing at one particular image that caught your eye. It was a picture of Natasha, her face and arms bloodied. She’s wearing a tight-fitting black tank top that emphasized her toned abs. You’re fixated on the image, your eyes tracing the curve of Natasha's biceps.

“Y/N?”

You jumped in surprise and quickly closed the tabs on your computer. You composed yourself before calling out, “Come in.”

“Deputy Hill.” You nodded, Maria intently eyed you before the both of you bursted into laughter. “What's up, Ri? I missed you.” You immediately circled over your desk and gave her a big hug.

“Fine and you? How's the vacation?” She asked, squeezing your left hand. “Great, so, so great that I wanna sneak out and ditch missions just to go back to Fiji and lay there while I keep my tan up by the beach.”

“That sounds really great, Y/N.”

“Oh yeah, it is.” You replied with a smirk as you walked back towards your desk. “And then I’ll get a call that Hawkie made a “different call” with his last mission.” You raised a hand, gesturing with your two fingers to make an apostrophe sign in the air as you said, “different call.”

Maria just chuckled, her gaze landing on the stack of paper you're fixing on your desk. “I know what those are.” She said, before eyeing you softly.

Of course she does, everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. knows what it is, who’s behind all those thick papers.

It's all about the shot Clint couldn't take, Natasha Romanoff A.K.A. the Black Widow.

You let out a deep sigh as you looked up at Maria, gathering the papers on your desk. "She's coming today, right?"

“Actually Y/N, I’m here to say that they're all in the meeting room now. Clint, your dad and her.”

“Oh.”

⧗

There was a charged energy in the air, the assassin's senses something intimidating coming in, she braced herself and leaned her back straight at her seat—and then here you are, entering the meeting room.

Natasha's eyes widened as she took in your appearance, drinking in every detail. Her gaze slid down on your body, taking in the way your skirt and heels accentuated your legs and the way your cleavage peeked on your top…

“That's my daughter, finally.” Fury said, smiling at you, you peck a kiss on his cheek before standing beside him.

As soon as Fury spoke the word “daughter” Natasha cursed under her breath, realizing that she had just been checking out the director’s daughter. She felt a wave of shame wash over her, embarrassed at her own behavior.

“Agent Y/N Fury.” Fury introduced. You scanned the room taking in the presence of Clint and the infamous Black Widow. You smiled politely at Clint, acknowledging his comeback.

“Barton.”

“Y/N.”

Your gaze swept over the assassin, your eyes meeting for a brief moment. She quickly averted her gaze, clearly uncomfortable with the direct eye contact. You couldn't help but smirk slightly at her reaction, finding it amusing.

You took your seat in front of Clint, eyeing her once again before the meeting began.

You glance at the assassin every now and then and the assassin is very aware of it, you made it obvious that you're staring at her even Clint knows but he did nothing about it.

If looks could kill this assassin would be dead on the spot. Your gaze fixed on every detail that you’ve seen on the tabs of your computer, your eyes finally landed on her arms—they're much bigger in person you thought but you quickly erased the stupid thought when the main topic of discussion was finally brought up.

“Natasha Romanoff will now be a part of S.H.I.E.L.D.” The deputy director, Maria announced.

There was a moment of silence as everyone digested this information. You know this is going to happen, you saw it coming. You huffed trying to keep your expression neutral but it didn't go unnoticed by the people in the room.

Fury leaned forward in his seat, his gaze focused on you as if he's expecting you to show your disagreement to this decision. “If you have any issues with the situation, just report it,” he said firmly.

You tried to downplay your concerns and annoyance, giving a small shrug in response, but you couldn't hide the tension that had settled in the room. You know damn well that the entire team, including the assassin herself, could sense your disagreement and disapproval but of course you didn't give them the satisfaction of having their thoughts right about you.

Their eyes shifted between you and Fury, watching carefully for your reaction. But the assassin kept her head down.

“If that would be all, I'd like to excuse myself.” You quickly stood from your chair without giving anyone a chance to respond and you made your way towards the door.

Just as you reached for the handle, Fury's voice called out to you, stopping you in your tracks. You shut your eyes before turning to face him, your expression emotionless.

“Sir?” You said, acknowledging his authority, he’s still the director after all…and not to mention that he’s also your father who you always had dinner with every weekend.

“Romanoff will be under your wing.” Before you could even react, he spoke again. “You will be responsible for overseeing her in missions, training, and other SHIELD operations, including both field work and theoretical training. You need to evaluate her progress and provide feedback and guidance as necessary.”

Your eyes scanned the room and landed on Natasha, who sat quietly in her seat.

“Doesn't seem like I have a choice, do I?”

Clint pinched his nose to your reply, he already expected this attitude from you. You saw him squeeze the hand of the assassin.

But the assassin once again tried to avoid your gaze, you couldn't help but feel a small sense of satisfaction at her reaction once again. It was clear that your presence and authority intimidated her, which was a good start.

As you turned to leave, you called out to the assassin, “Tomorrow 0800, in my office.”

Before Natasha could even reply, you’re already gone.

“Yes ma’am.” She muttered in the air.

⧗

You were surprised to see the redhead standing in front of your office. You walked past her as if you saw nothing and immediately placed your bag to your desk, you sat back down and saw her figure still standing outside the glassed windows of your office.

You let out an annoyed sigh and stared at the clock on the wall, counting down the minutes. It was still ten minutes before your scheduled meeting time.

You fidgeted with your foot, tapping it against the floor. The seconds seemed to tick by slower than normal, and you just wanted the clock to reach exactly 8 o'clock so you could call the assassin.

“Come in.”

Before she could even close the door you fired off a series of questions.

“Did you report to Deputy Director Hill? Before you come waiting outside my office for what seems like hours?” You asked, cocking your brow at her.

She answered quickly, “Yes.”

You continued, "Did you complete your assigned training?"

Again, her reply was prompt, “Yes.”

Impressed but not fully satisfied, you pressed on, “Weapons training?”

“I thin—”

As soon as Natasha began to respond again, you cut her off. “What? You think you don't need them?” You demanded, your voice sharp as if you know what she's going to say.

Natasha's head jerked back, clearly not expecting the abrupt interruption. She looked up at you, her eyes wide, and replied softly, “No, ma'am.”

You tilt your head, “Then go, meet me after.”

“Deputy Hill told me that I might need some guidance in the traini—”

“Guidance?” You shot back with your shocked mocking tone not letting her finish once again, “With a trained assassin like you? You need my guidance?” You chuckled in irritation and disbelief as you slowly shook your head side by side.

“You’ve got so much red on your ledger, I don't think you need my guidance.”

The assassin flinched at your words, it clearly touched a nerve and you knew you had hit that sensitive spot. In that way you wanted her to know that you weren't going to go easy on her.

But only if you knew how much your words affected her.

⧗

“Clint, what's up? Are you supposed to be here? I thought you're still on leave?” Clint brought Natasha in a big hug that she really needs right now after your shoot-to-kill words.

“Nah, not if my best friend is at her first day of work,” he replied, patting her shoulder reassuringly. They continued walking together and Clint asked, “How was it?”

Natasha shrugged nonchalantly, “It's okay.”

“How's Y/N?” Clint noticed the change in Natasha's mood when he asked about you. She seemed hesitant to talk about you, her answer short and clipped. “She uhm…she's okay.” She spoke again, changing the subject quickly. “I’m heading to the training room right now.”

He picked up on her avoidance and decided to play along, though concern still flickered in his eyes.

“I can see through you, Nat,” he started, “Y/N can be tough, she's not the Furious daughter for nothing.”

Natasha looked at him questioningly, “Furious daughter?”

Clint chuckled, finding the ironic nickname funny. “You know, because she's Fury’s daughter, fe-yu-ri…fe-yu-ri-us—because she can be furious at times,” he explained, adding a little pun to it.

He then grew serious again, looking at the assassin intently. “But seriously, Y/N is not someone to mess around with. She’s tough as nails and can be pretty intense when she wants to be.”

Natasha muttered under her breath, “Yeah, I knew that right after she walked in the meeting room yesterday.”

Clint just chuckled and patted her shoulder reassuringly. He knew that you had made quite an impression on her, and he found it somewhat amusing.

“Seems like she left a lasting impression, huh?” he teased.

Natasha's head dropped slightly as she remembered the words you had shot at her a while ago.

“Guidance?”

“With a trained assassin like you? You need my guidance?”

“You’ve got so much red on your ledger, I don't think you need my guidance.”

“Oh yeah she did.”

⧗

You summoned all the agents under your wing. There are 5, Natasha included.

Natasha intently observed each person in the meeting room, her gaze flitting from one face to another as if trying to glean something from their expressions.

Typical guy with blue eyes and blonde hair, with a muscular body and cocky attitude, but Natasha thought that his muscles were just gym muscles. This one girl who introduced herself to Natasha, her name is Madisynn, though chatty, could sometimes talk a mile a minute. And another girl that had this uncanny ability of appearing lost in her work, her face almost buried in piles of papers and documents as soon as she entered the meeting room.

Natasha, the newbie, of course, had observed each of them closely during the small or almost no interaction at all, making mental notes about their personalities but suddenly a girl with blonde hair entered the room with a big smile and boisterous greeting.

“Hiiiiiiii!” She immediately made her way over to you and enveloped you in a tight hug.

“Hi, Lena.”

Natasha watched this interaction intently. She observed the way your stern demeanor seemed to soften slightly as the small woman embraced you. It piqued her curiosity as she realized it was the first time she had seen you even crack a smile.

Just as Yelena was settling into conversation mode with you, she suddenly turned her attention to the team and started greeting them individually, her cheerful persona on full display. When she got to Natasha, Yelena's eyes widened in recognition.

“You're...the Black Widow?” she exclaimed, excitement evident in her voice. “I’m Yelena! I'm such a huge fan!"

Natasha looked slightly uncomfortable, wincing at the sudden attention. She saw how you glared at Yelena but of course Yelena didn't see. But before she could even respond, Yelena quickly turned her focus back to you.

Yelena bounded over to stand in front of you, her face lit up with her signature grin. You couldn't help but chuckle lightly at her infectious energy.

"Seriously, what are you doing here, Lena?" you asked, your voice laced with both fondness and a little bit of annoyance.

With a shrug, Yelena replied, "I'm a part of your unit, right?"

You chuckled again and clarified, crossing your arms together. "You're in the process of becoming a senior agent."

Not missing a beat, Yelena dropped her smile and adopted a playful pout, giving you a puppy-dog look. "But I still need your guidance. I'm still your baby, right?" she whined, her bottom lip sticking out in an exaggerated manner.

You looked at her now with a serious expression, your gaze narrowing as you asked your question.

"Did Maria ask you to be here?"

The agent shook her head innocently.

You pressed on, your voice was soothing as if you're trying to talk to a kid to have them say the truth. "Did the director ask you to come?"

Again, Yelena replied with a simple, "Nope." Her answer was so childlike popping the p and carefree that it left you no closer to understanding why she was here.

You hummed as you guessed again, “Clint?”

Now she did not reply or give any hint of response, she just fidgeted with her hands.

You sighed, now serious and knowing you were finally getting to the bottom of it. "Did Kate...?"

Yelena's response, "Yeah," was delivered like a kid caught red-handed. Seeing the change in your expression, the agent looked up at you, her eyes widening with realization as she saw just how seriously you were taking this.

"Okay, okay!" she pouted, her mood shifting quickly to defensiveness.

"Well, I guess Clint told her," she muttered, still trying to justify her actions.

You couldn't help but give her a stern look, silently waiting for her to get to the point.

Realizing she was in trouble, Yelena quickly continued, “And you know how Kate is! She told me you're being a 'meanie' to the newbie.”

Yelena's explanation had left you a little taken aback, but you're actually satisfied at the thought of being perceived as mean…to the newbie.

That call hadn't been an easy one for you, so might as well don't go easy on her.

“I'm not being mean,” you denied calmly, immediately defending yourself as you glance towards the direction of the newbie.

Yelena quickly countered, her pout and the respectful tone in her voice contrasting with her defiance, “You did not make me come at 0800 at your office and expect everything done by that time.”

You chuckled at her audacity, a little amused. Just by making her come to your office early everyday made you mean already? How is she supposed to handle all the things you’re about to unleash to her?

“And they thought sending you here will stop me from being mean to the newbie?” you asked, raising your brows at her.

“Nope, they sent me so the newbie will have a frennie.”

“Frennie, huh?” You replied with a huff. “Great, two pains in my ass.”

Yelena shot back, offended at your words, “See? You're being a meanie!”

Hearing her fiery and child-like reply, you couldn't help but chuckle softly, unable to maintain being serious in the face of her petulant pout and defiant attitude.

With a smirk, you gestured ever so slightly with your chin towards the direction of the newbie who has been patiently sitting alone in the meeting room.

“Shoo, go to your frennie now. It seems like she's waiting for you.”

“Now you're being a bully.” Yelena crossed her arms across her chest, her pouty expression never leaving her face.

You tilt your head, slightly leaning towards the agent, “Go now, before I show you how meanie I can be.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

⧗

“Y/N go easy on her.”

“You're the second person to tell me that today,” you replied coldly to your father, a touch of defensiveness in your voice. “What did I do now? Make her come to the office on weekends when the others don't?” you huffed.

Your father just hummed and you immediately snapped back to reality after you just exposed yourself.

“I heard you never let her out of your office. Never sent her to missions, you know she actually can be the same level as Clint.” Your father noted making you bite your inner lip in frustration. She just got in the agency and the thought of her being on the same level as Clint that quickly made you feel threatened. Are you? No. But that's not fair, you spent years getting onto your level.

“Can we just eat, ‘pa? Let's just leave work behind for just one night?” you asked curtly despite the tension growing between you and your father.

“I’m starting to think you might actually be obsessed with her.” Your father casually said, chuckling slightly thinking you wouldn't take it seriously.

But something just snapped in you.

“Shut up!” Your response came out sharper than intended, your frustration seeping into your tone.

Your father flinched slightly as he was shocked by the suddenness of your outburst making him stop cutting the steak he was eating. The sound of the fork and knife rattling against his porcelain plate echoed in the brief and awkward moment of silence that followed.

You breathe heavily, “I studied her for almost half of my life! I was the one who tracked her down!” Your voice started to rise, and you gesticulated wildly as you spoke, feeling the heat of anger rising. He thinks this is funny?You wished he understood how excruciating this is for you. You have kept this to yourself for so long, keeping it under control but at this point, you're starting to crack.

“She was my mission! I know every fiber of her being for fuck’s sake! Soviet Intelligence to KGB, Red Room,” you listed off furiously, “How she thinks, who she killed and how she’s done each kill!”

“You think this is easy on me, Papa?” you looked at him clenching your brows together, trying not to break down in front of him. “Go easy on her? How about go easy on me?”

“Fuck, go easy on me,” you repeated, muttering under your breath. You sobbed and immediately got up your chair to retire for the night.

You never had any major disagreements with him and even now, you were aware that you had crossed a line by yelling and cursing at his own home, it's the rules he strictly maintained especially when you were younger. You have always been so respectful of him. Hell, you look up to him—the man was your hero.

“Your mother was a Hydra agent before I met her.” He suddenly spoke, the mention of your mother made you stop from your tracks. Fury's voice took on a softer tone as he continued. “The level 10 S.H.I.E.L.D. director falling in love with one of the affiliates of a terrorist organization. What would the world think of me?” He chuckled to himself.

Fury stumbled upon your mother when she was still under the control of Hydra. He had managed to rescue her from their clutches, though she was still imprisoned for the reason that she contributed to the Hydra’s hell-bent expenditure.

To secure her freedom, your mother agreed to work as an undercover agent for Fury, infiltrating Hydra's ranks. It was a dangerous task, but she had hoped it would give her the chance to start anew with you and leave Hydra’s ties behind.

She had died of sickness when you were just 13 years old, but even before that, Fury had adopted you.

“Like you, I knew her too. Every experiment she has done with Hydra, every network operative, plans to overthrow the world government…” he had his own list too. “Her birthday, where she was born, that she was an only child and then I learned her favorite flower, her favorite food, and that she gets rashes when she eats eggs…like you.”

You stood with your back to him, silently crying as you clench your fists together. Each tear rolling down on your cheeks whenever Fury listed off everything she knows about your mom.

“And then,” he said quietly, “I found out she had a little version of herself, you. I found out that you were the light of her life, her reason for living. She loved you more than anything in this world. And I did too, Y/N.”

You felt Fury approach you from behind, his footsteps echoing faintly on the floor. As he spoke, you could tell he was now standing right behind you.

“I was losing hope for the world, I was tired of putting everything back in place. Everyone might think that I spared her, gave her another chance. But your mother was the one who gave me a reason to give life another chance, she changed me. You both did.”

“I miss her,” you managed to say between gasps of air. Unable to hold back anymore, you crumble into your father's embrace. Fury wrapped his arms around you, holding you close as you cried into his chest. He gently stroked your back, comforting you as you let your emotions pour out.

“I do too, baby,” he whispered quietly, “I miss her, too.”

The Call: Masterlist

[thewidowsghost]

The Perils of Avenging (Natasha x Civilian!Reader)

Main Masterlist

Natasha Romanoff Masterlist

Not me posting for once, also, English class coming in clutch with this one (?)

Natasha Romanoff had faced countless dangers in her life as an Avenger and a former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., but this particular assignment felt different. It was supposed to be routine reconnaissance — a simple extraction and intelligence gathering operation in a remote part of Eastern Europe. 

Natasha, clad in black tactical gear, reviews the mission parameters one last time with Steve and Sam. The briefing room was starkly lit, seriousness etched on Steve’s face, creating an atmosphere of tense anticipation.

"Remember, our primary objective is to retrieve the data from the Hydra facility without alerting their operatives," Steve reminds them, his voice steady and authoritative. "Natasha, you'll lead the infiltration. Sam and I will provide aerial support and stand by for extraction."

Natasha nods, her mind already calculating possible scenarios and contingencies. She had seen Hydra's resurgence firsthand, remnants of the organization scattered like poisonous tendrils across the globe. This mission is crucial in unraveling their latest operations and preventing further destabilization. 

The team departs from their base under cover of darkness, their Quinjet slicing through the night sky with practiced precision. 

As they approach the drop zone, Natasha's focus intensifies. She’s the first to descend, a shadow slipping silently from the aircraft and disappearing into the dense forest below.

The Hydra facility is nestled deep within the wilderness, its existence hidden from all but the most trained eyes. Natasha moves with grace through the underbrush, her senses attuned to every rustle of leaves and crack of twigs. She approaches the perimeter with caution, utilizing her years of training to evade detection.

Her entrance is swift and silent. Natasha incapacitates the guards with calculated efficiency, swiftly disabling surveillance systems and securing the outer defenses. Each step brings her closer to the heart of the facility, where the encrypted data awaits extraction. The corridors are cold and sterile, lined with doors that lead to rooms filled with ominous machinery and clandestine experiments.

Meanwhile, above the Hydra base, Steve and Sam maintained a vigilant watch from the Quinjet, their eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of trouble.

Inside the facility, Natasha encounters unexpected resistance. Bullets ricocheted off metal walls, and Natasha’s combat skills like a deadly dance amidst the chaos. The mission had escalated beyond reconnaissance — for now it is a battle for survival.

Minutes pass in a blur of adrenaline and danger. Natasha fights her way deeper into the facility, each confrontation testing her resolve and skill. She sustains minor injuries — a graze here, a bruise there — but her focus remains unwavering. 

Back in the Quinjet, tension mounts as Steve and Sam monitor Natasha's progress. They dispatch drones to provide additional reconnaissance and firepower support, their hearts pounding in unison with every transmission from Natasha.

Suddenly, a burst of static disrupted the comms. Steve's voice crackles through moments later, strained but resolute. "Natasha, report."

There was a tense pause before Natasha's voice came through, breathless but determined. "I've secured the data. Heading to the extraction point."

Relief washes over both Steve and Sam. They guided Natasha through the facility, clearing a path for her retreat while monitoring Hydra's response.

Outside, the night air crackles with tension as Natasha sprints towards the extraction point. She can hear the distant shouts of Hydra operatives closing in, their footsteps echoing through the darkness. Adrenaline surges through her veins, every sense heightened as she navigates the treacherous terrain.

Just as Natasha nears the rendezvous point, a sudden explosion rocks the ground beneath her. Debris rains down, and she is thrown off her feet, the force of the blast sending shockwaves through her body. Pain flares in her left arm, and dazed but determined, Natasha staggers to her feet, her vision blurred. The extraction point is within reach, a beacon of hope amidst the chaos. She sprints towards it, every step a battle against exhaustion and pain.

Meanwhile, in the Quinjet, Steve and Sam watch in horror as the explosion erupts on their screens. "Natasha!" Steve shouts, his voice filled with urgency.

Sam's hands fly over the controls, adjusting their position to provide cover fire. "She's almost there, Cap," he says, his voice tight with concern. "Hold on, Romanoff."

Back on the ground, Natasha pushes herself, the extraction point looms ahead, its promise of safety a tantalizing reality. She can hear the whir of the Quinjet's engines, feel the rush of adrenaline as rescue draws nearer.

With a final burst of energy, Natasha reaches the extraction point. The Quinjet hovers above, its hatch open and waiting. Steve and Sam lean out, their arms extending to pull her aboard amidst a hail of gunfire from Hydra operatives.

Natasha dives into the safety of the Quinjet, her breath coming in ragged gasps as Steve and Sam secure the hatch behind her. She collapses against the cold metal floor, relief flooding her weary body. The data secured, the mission accomplished — but at what cost?

As the Quinjet ascends into the night sky, Natasha's thoughts turn to (Y/n). Her anchor, the steady presence that grounded her in a world of chaos and danger. She knows (Y/n) will be waiting for her back at their shared apartment, her worry and love a beacon of light in the darkness that Natasha had been forced to endure through her childhood.

Hours later, the Quinjet touches down at the Compound, the team dispersing with practiced efficiency. Natasha heads straight for the debriefing room, her mind still processing the events of the mission. Steve and Sam followed close behind, their expressions a mixture of exhaustion and relief.

Inside the debriefing room, Natasha recounts the mission. She details the layout of the Hydra facility, the resistance she’d encountered, and the extraction of vital data. Her voice is steady, betraying none of the turmoil that churns beneath the surface.

Steve and Sam listen intently, asking probing questions and offering insights based on their observations from above in the Quinjet. The debriefing is thorough, every detail scrutinized in their quest for understanding and improvement.

Finally, the debriefing concludes, and Natasha is dismissed to MEDBAY so her injuries could be treated. Steve and Sam accompany her, their concern palpable as they watch the medical team tend to Natasha's wounds.

The MEDBAY is a stark contrast to the chaos of the mission — a haven of sterile surfaces and hushed voices. Natasha sits on the exam table, her mind still reeling from the adrenaline-fueled rush of combat. The medical staff works swiftly, cleaning and stitching her injuries with practiced efficiency.

As Natasha waits for the medical team to finish, her thoughts inevitably turn to (Y/n). Her girlfriend was her constant, the one person who understood the weight of her choices and the dangers she faced every day. Natasha longs for her embrace, her touch a soothing balm to her battered soul.

Finally, the medical assessment is complete, and Natasha is cleared to leave the bay. She dresses in fresh clothes provided by the medical staff, the weight of exhaustion settling heavily upon her shoulders. Steve and Sam wait outside, their concern etched on their faces.

"You did good back there, Nat," Steve says quietly, his voice tinged with admiration. "We'll get through this."

Natasha nods, her gratitude evident in her eyes. "Thanks, Steve," she murmurs, her voice hoarse with exhaustion. "And Sam, you too."

Sam grins, though there is a flicker of worry in his gaze. "Anytime, Nat," he replies, his voice steady despite the underlying concern. "Let's get you back to the safehouse."

The journey back to the apartment is quiet, the hum of the car’s engines a comforting backdrop to Natasha's thoughts. She leans against the cool leather of the seat, her mind drifting between the mission's successes and its costs.

Upon returning to the apartment building, Natasha headed straight for her apartment, her steps heavy with fatigue. She pauses at the doorway, steeling herself before entering. Inside, the living room is bathed in soft lamplight, casting shadows across the walls.

And there, sitting on an armchair reading, is (Y/n). Her presence is a welcome sight, a beacon of warmth and love amidst the darkness of Natasha's thoughts. (Y/n) looks up as Natasha enters, her eyes widening at the sight of Natasha’s disheveled appearance.

"Baby!" (Y/n) exclaims, her voice filled with concern as she rushes to Natasha’s side. "You're back. Are you okay?"

Natasha manages a faint smile, though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. "Just a scratch," she reassures her girlfriend, though the weariness in her voice betrays her attempt at nonchalance.

(Y/n) frowns, her hands gently cupping Natasha's face as she studies her injuries. "You're hurt," she murmurs softly, her touch gentle against Natasha’s skin.

Natasha leans into (Y/n)’s touch, the tension in her shoulders easing slightly. "It's nothing serious," she insists, though her voice holds a note of weariness. "Just a part of the job."

(Y/n) shakes her head, her expression a mixture of frustration and affection. "You shouldn't have to go through this alone," she says quietly, their voice tinged with concern.

“I don’t have to come home alone anymore,” Natasha murmurs, stepping into a hug offered by her girlfriend. “I have you now.”

“And you’ll always have me,” (Y/n) replies firmly, and Natasha nods, smiling widely into (Y/n)’s shoulder, despite her exhaustion. “Now,” she takes Natasha’s hand, leading her to the bedroom where their cat, Liho, lies at the foot of the bed, “let's get to bed.”

Word Count: 1581 words

Taglist:

@gayforwomennn

@whoreforlizzieolsen

@dopeyouth

@unexpected-character

@eichenhouseproperty

@kloy344

@confusinggemini612

@sofia-r-1604

@innerstrawberrypolice

@marvelwomen-simp

@marie45019

@p-taryn-dactyl

@supercorpdanbeau

@xxxtwilightaxelxxx

@procrastinatingsapphictrash​

@theofficialzivadavid​

@chickenhavewisdom​

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@rail-me-romanoff

@ssa-sapphic

[agentoffangirling]

Season 1 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is not bad. It really isn't. To both a longtime fan and a complete newcomer to the MCU, it would not be seen as a bad show if they just did more than surface research on it

If you look at the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes for the show overall, it has a 95%. 89% for s1. On IMDB, 7.5/10, with their lowest episode being only 7.1/10. Critics like it, audiences like it

So why is it that it is viewed so negatively by a large majority of Marvel fans? And to that I say: they never stuck around till the end of the season

See, when AoS was coming out, there was massive hype around it. Marketing would have you think that it was some type of Avengers crossover, with people like Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff showing up every other episode (but hey, this is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Not Agents of T.H.O.R.)

This is what led to the massive turnout of 11 million viewers for that first episode, but when it turned out to be a show about S.H.I.E.L.D. featuring new people, like it always was supposed to be, people very quickly tuned out

(Even tho, hey, it's a SPY show and you only watched 1 EPISODE. Give it some time)

But most didn't give it time. They wanted to see Hawkeye and Fury and Maria go on adventures that would stand the test of time, fighting Loki and essentially just being mini Avengers, and when that didn't happen, they left. They wrote early reviews claiming that the show didn't meet expectations and wasn't worth the time. You get a very sharp dip from episode 1 bc marketing claimed this was an Avengers show, and people felt that it fell short

Those reviews are what Marvel fanboys use now, without ever watching the show themselves or pointing out that they're literally 11 years old. They bring the idea that the show is boring and lazy, putting aside the fact that basically everything else from it is called innovating and jaw-dropping. They praise the use of THEIR ideas in other Marvel shows, but call it plain in their home territory. They don't bother

So hey, if you're planning on watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., please ignore literally everything those fanboys say. They haven't watched the show, those early reviews couldn't stand watching past episode 2, just ignore them. Trust the fandom when we say that not only is season 1 perfectly fine, it's truly amazing fun, and so many of the plotlines they executed in that season are incredible

Because if we all stopped at season 1, there wouldn't be any shows

[bad-comic-art]

I don’t know if this is meant to be an homage specifically (actually the background is an homage to Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #4) but that’s 100% a Liefeld cable pose which he was actually called out for tracing by Marvel themselves in Marvel Age 1991 Year in Review lol

[stereogeekspodcast]

[Transcript] Season 5, Episode 6. Agatha All Along Spoiler Review

Down, down, down the road, down the Witches' Road we go! The Stereo Geeks were surprised and awed by Agatha All Along, the spin-off of WandaVision. What did Ron and Mon love about the show? What would they have liked to see? Who were their favourite witches? Tune in to this spoiler-filled review as we travel through many miles of tricks and trials.

Listen to the episode on Spotify.

Intro

Mon: Hello and welcome to a witchy episode of Stereo Geeks. We’re reviewing Marvel’s Agatha All Along. I’m Mon.

Ron: And I’m Ron.

Ron: This episode is full of spoilers. So, please, watch Agatha All Along and come back to listen to our episode.

Mon: We’ll also break up this episode in two parts. The main section is about the first 7 episodes. And then we’ll dig into the two-part finale. 

Background

Ron: Agatha All Along is the 2024 spin-off of Marvel’s hit Disney+ show, WandaVision. Agatha Harkness, played by Kathryn Hahn, was introduced in WandaVision as Wanda and Vision’s quirky neighbour, Agnes. Near the end of the series, Agnes was revealed to be Agatha Harkness, a powerful witch and custodian of the only other copy of the Darkhold. Full disclosure, I had to do some quick research to figure out the Darkhold stuff because I remember we encountered it in the Ghost Rider season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Anyhoo! Back to Agatha. To our immense surprise, the song ‘Agatha All Along’ got so popular that Marvel announced a spin-off series soon after.

Mon: I was shocked and surprised that people were calling for an Agatha show. Partly because I’m not all that into witches and occult lore. But also, I couldn’t figure out what the Agatha show could be about. A prequel set before WandaVision could turn her into a one-dimensional villain. One set after? She’s depowered, what’s the point of that?

I was sceptical about this interest. And even more so when Marvel announced the show was definitely happening. I was least interested in watching Agatha All Along. But, this is Marvel, so I was definitely going to check it out.

Ron: I was listening to something which reminded me that it’s been three years since the show’s announcement. Honestly, I forgot it was even going to happen. The turmoil at Marvel and Disney? Seeing so many promising projects cancelled for no reason? There was no reason to think this show was going to get a chance. Especially not if it was set to focus on female characters.

Mon: Yeah. It fell off my radar, as well. And then I heard about the 2024 Fan Expo Canada surprise panel about Agatha All Along. Followed by an invite from the Disney PR team to attend the activation at the event. 

Ron and I have written about how meh the activation was over at WWAC. That didn’t enthuse me to the show, but I began to feel that familiar pull of intrigue and excitement. Listen, this is the MCU – this is our childhood dream come true. Superheroes every year, every week? You know I’m down for it. So, my spidey-senses were tingling well before we attended the panel.

The Agatha All Along panel recap is also at WWAC. It was at the panel that my interest was piqued.

Ron: Agreed. The activation at Fan Expo didn’t really excite me. It was three outfits and we could barely see them because of the dark lighting. The witchy volunteer who surprised us was the most fun part of it. But the panel started to change my mind. Jac Schaeffer and Kathryn Hahn talked about the othering of witches by the patriarchy and how Agatha All Along will see the coven reclaim witchiness. Feminism. Witches? I was definitely intrigued.

Expectations

Ron: Agatha All Along picks up three years after the events of WandaVision which left Agatha powerless and living out a fantasy in Westview. The pilot episode of the show sees Agatha living out a true crime parody of Mare of Easttown. Agatha is able to break out of the fantasy with the help of Teen, played by Joe Locke. He’s not actually called Teen, but his identity is hidden by a sigil so nobody can hear him say his name.

Ron: Teen wants to travel the Witches Road to get power and guess who else doesn’t have power? Agatha! They team up to access the road, they’ll need a coven with specific witchy abilities. Agatha is the powerless Spirit Witch. Among her reluctant recruits are the Divination Witch Lilia, played by Broadway legend Patti LuPone. Then there’s Powerless Potions Witch, Jennifer Kale, played by Sasheer Zamata. Next, Protection Witch, Alice Wu-Gulliver, played by Ali Ahn. And randomly Mrs Sharon Davis, aka Mrs Hart, played once again by Debra Jo Rupp. Mrs Davis is recruited as the Green Witch, although she is not a witch, but a regular Westview citizen.

Ron: That’s an amazing cast. And it’s rounded off by Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal, the actual Green Witch of the coven, who has a ton of history with Agatha. That history is romantic and bloody. Teen also gets to go as part of the coven but not as a witch. He accesses the road as Agatha’s familiar. This is how I find out humans can be familiars. How fascinating.

Mon: I know nothing about witchy terminology. So I’m fascinated by everything.

Ron: I had no idea what to expect from Agatha All Along and I really wasn’t as invested in this show as so many Marvel fans. But that first episode was so entertaining, I was instantly in love. Though I am a bit sad that the first episode confirms that Wanda Maximoff is dead. Boo to Multiverse of Madness for killing Wanda like that.

Mon: Ufff, do not talk to me about Multiverse of Madness! As mentioned, I was not sure about the show at all. But that first episode was like… what am I in? Because I love it and I want more. I love that Agatha All Along continues the same theme of WandaVision – each episode is a different genre of television. I didn’t expect that on Agatha, but it’s a great way to tie the two properties together. And showrunner Jac Schaeffer makes the genre changes on both shows make sense.

Ron: The best thing about getting different genres every episode is that we also get different sets, different costumes, and a whole new vibe. 

Mon: This show looks so good. The sets and costumes, my word. Love, love, love the look of this show. After all the boring CGI Marvel’s been throwing at us, Agatha All Along is a nice change of scenery. 

Ron: Not to mention, this show was basically an adventure-of-the-week show. I don’t know why we don’t have stories like that on our screen anymore. I love adventure stories. Between Agatha All Along and the new Tomb Raider show on Netflix, I finally felt like someone had got the memo that adventure stories are the best.

Mon: See, this is what I like about Agatha, and it was a huge reason why we all loved WandaVision. These are serialized stories, but told in an episodic fashion. So you get that half-hour of fun, while knowing there’s more to be revealed later. 

Mon: And, I want to point out that one thing I loved about Agatha was how each episode stuck the landing. You ended on a high. This has become a huge problem in today’s streaming age. Studios want tv to be one long movie, so they don’t know how to make short-form stories that have an ending or a cliffhanger. Disney is particularly guilty of this. Like, I love The Acolyte – best Star Wars show out there, in my opinion – but that show has to be watched all at once, not weekly. 

Agatha, on the other hand, even if the episode had some slower moments, it knew how to get you excited while the credits rolled. What do you mean Agatha doesn’t know who Sharon is? Wait, is the whole coven dead? Is Teen a witch? You’re left asking so many questions. And you’re pumped. That’s how you end an episode – or seven.

Ron: You’ve hit the nail on the head. WandaVision and Agatha All Along know they’re TV shows. Each episode needs to tell an entire story while also giving you teasers for future stories and arcs to come. We got cliffhangers every week and that made me desperate for every Wednesday. And with every episode, I was satisfied and exhilarated.

Disappointments

Mon: My one big disappointment in Agatha is that I wish the show had been more obvious and direct about why women have been condemned and cast out as witches. Now, in the universe of the show, witches are real. But, keeping that in mind, why were they hunted, mistreated, killed? Jac Schaeffer had hinted the real-life vendettas against women declared to be witches informs the show. It’s there in the show, but doesn’t play a big part. 

After all, women who have broken the so-called norms of society have always been punished. The coven in Agatha has as well. I wanted to see more of a through-line between reality and fiction.

Ron: I agree with you. And I think I know why we didn’t get to see these backstories of the witches. The show is only nine episodes long. If it was a 22-episode series, we could have delved deep into the coven’s lives before this show. We could have seen how they were wronged by their societies, communities, and the patriarchy. But in nine episodes? There just isn’t time.

Mon: That being said, I’m glad they didn’t show us a ton of violence against the ladies. We didn’t need that to understand what they’d been through.

Ron: Yes. Just listening to Jennifer Kale talk about how her powers were taken by a man she’d trusted as her mentor? That was enough to make me squeamish.

Favourite moments

Mon: There were so many great moments in this series but what are our favourites?

Ron: Am I going to sound insane for saying I loved watching the witches fly on broomsticks. 

Mon: Not going to lie, despite the janky CGI during the flying scene, I loved that moment of profound joy the ladies were having. 

Ron: The coven was being rather disparaging about having to ride sticks but that shot of them flying across the moon on their brooms warmed my heart. For the witches in the MCU, that’s become a derogatory image because witches have been so maligned. But they get to reclaim the power of flight and pay homage to their true witchy selves. It was quite an empowering moment. Also, I really need to see someone, anyone, reclaim the witches from that TERF in the UK.

Mon: Absolutely! 

Ron: Also, I really loved the part of episode six where we see Teen’s point of view of his meeting with Agatha. It was so funny. 

Mon: So dang good. Like, this is what I love about the show – it’s unpredictable, but so perfectly acted. And executed. Black hearts everywhere. 

Ron: Also, so eminently rewatchable. I already can’t wait to rewatch this show because of episodes 1 and 6, but also episode 7, and all the easter eggs that we have most definitely not clocked.

Mon: Oh, Agatha demands a rewatch.

Ron: There were also some characters moments that I can’t stop thinking about. Like Jennifer shoving everyone out of the way to escape the first trial. Every witch for themselves! 

Mon: Oh, Jennifer’s so much fun to watch. That woman’s a survivor for a reason. Get out of her way. 

Jennifer also gets some really funny lines. Like in Episode 7 when Lilia goes, ‘we are not cool, teenager’ and Jennifer retorts ‘ooo, using the full name’—the dialogue delivery, the expression, the line. Jennifer’s memorable. 

Ron: And, this shouldn’t be a funny moment, but when Teen announces that Sharon Davis is dead, Agatha’s only comment is ‘who’s Sharon’? That was hilarious! It’s supposed to be a sad moment. We’ve lost a coven member and someone that Wanda meanly tortured for no reason. But Agatha just has to be Agatha and straight up forgets Sharon’s name. The entire coven calls Sharon Mrs Hart for so long. I love a good running gag and this one worked for me.

Mon: Oh, Agatha. You are the worst. We love you.

Mephisto

Ron: I feel like we need to talk about Easter eggs. But there are so many we’ve missed. We need to rewatch it. Obviously, the biggest one is Mephisto. I don’t know what the obsession is with Mephisto but MCU fans have been predicting Mephisto’s appearance for years. So many people thought he’d be the big bad in WandaVision. People were greatly disappointed and are now very excited that Agatha All Along has confirmed his presence. I don’t really care about Mephisto but he’s apparently such a big deal to fans that I had to mention him.

Mon: This Mephisto thing is so annoying. I get it; he’s an integral part of the boys’ history. But these shows and stories about female superheroes – like WandaVision, She-Hulk and Agatha All Along – they aren’t just vehicles to introduce dude characters from the comics. It frustrates me that people will tune into watch these amazing ladies and their fabulous stories, just to find out which man is going to swoop in to steal the show. 

Of course, I’m about to eat my words, aren’t I? I want to be mad at all the people invested in Agatha All Along because of Joe Locke’s addition and the identity of his character. The show was much more than that, but they were right. 

Teen

Ron: We should probably talk about Teen’s real identity. In a way, we all knew Teen would turn out to be Billy Maximoff because of the amount of speculation online. Sometimes I wish people would share their theories with their friends’ groups instead. Literally the moment Joe Locke was cast, everyone was screaming he was Billy. It probably doesn’t help that there are so few gay characters in Marvel that casting an out gay actor was a dead giveaway. But having said that, until Teen’s spotlight episode, I was still unsure. He could’ve been Nicolas Scratch, Agatha’s son. But Rio was pretty categorical when she told Agatha that Teen wasn’t hers.

Mon: Yeah, they set up the mystery of his identity well, but all the speculation ruined it. It’s a no-win situation. If you make a story assuming everyone knows who he is, you’ve lost a sense of mystique around Teen’s appearance. But, they went with all mystery, and well, so much for that. 

Mon: Despite the lack of a surprise, I must say, Joe Locke has been impressive. His performance is superb—he’s the right amount of campy, adorable, and emotional. 

It’s rare to see a film or show with a bunch of adult and older ladies with one young dude, so I was intrigued by how Agatha All Along would work that dynamic. Unlike a property where the genders are reversed, there is no ewwww or creepy factor to Billy being a young man amidst a bunch of ladies. He’s also not automatically mothered by the ladies — he has a different relationship with all of them. 

I have genuinely enjoyed watching Locke on the show. Which is a relief because it’s obvious that Marvel is setting up the formation of the Young Avengers. 

We have a solid group of characters played by a mostly great cast of actors. Now, if they can strike the right balance of introducing a young generation of characters without alienating us older fans, that would be amazing. 

Let’s talk about Agatha

Mon: So, the grande dame herself. What do we think of Agatha Harkness?

Ron: She’s a bad guy. And she’s the best! I cannot believe how much I’m loving Agatha. Hahn was fun as Agnes in WandaVision but in this show, incredible. Agatha is mean and she isn’t afraid to lean into the meanness. The way she refuses to call Sharon by her name but the fake Mrs Hart name she got used to in Wanda’s hex. And she’s dripping with sarcasm, which I’m pretty sure is her way of hiding her vulnerability. That scene in episode two when she’s hallucinating her child’s cradle. There’s deep pain and loss and trauma in Agatha. And she’s hiding it all under layers of sarcasm and caustic wit. Just shows you how tough the witches of the MCU have to be, I guess.

Mon: I’ll start with one big criticism—what’s up with Marvel screen adaptations turning old, white-haired ladies into younger brunettes? I said this about Madame Web, and Cassandra Nova in Deadpool & Wolverine, and now I need to say it again about Agatha. Don’t get me wrong, Kathryn Hahn is amazing, but I wish Hollywood would cast older women in roles that are literally made for them. Notice how the ‘comic-accurate’ crowd never complain when a younger, hot lady is cast in the place of an old woman? Oh, but try and make comics more inclusive, and everyone loses their minds! 

Ron: Yes. That’s a good point. Agatha in the comics is much older. She’s also kinda stoic which is not like the MCU Agatha, who is hilarious. That’s what you get when you cast a seasoned comedic actor like Hahn. The expressions. The comedic timing. You get everything with Agatha. And she’s delightfully queer! Now that Marvel has cast a younger Agatha, that just means we should be getting more Agatha stories till Hahn is 90. 

Mon: I agree. We could definitely do with more of Hahn’s Agatha. I genuinely never thought I’d be saying that. She was fun on WandaVision, but Hahn gets to flex her evil side here on Agatha All Along. What I love about Agatha is that she’s good with being bad. She’s mean, and nasty. But she’s not cruel. Agatha is looking out for herself, which is what all the witches in the coven are doing. I found her compelling to watch; especially because she’s a baddie. 

Best episode

Ron: Let’s talk about favourite episodes. What’s my favourite? Can I say all of them? How can you make me choose? Oh wait, I’m the one making us choose. 

Mon: You’re so dramatic! Oddly enough, the episode that confounded me the most is also my favourite – it’s got to be Episode 7, “Death's Hand in Mine”. 

Ron: I love Lilia’s episode. I might cry. It was so beautiful.

Mon: Yes, it was the one episode that made me super emotional. The melancholia of losing oneself, of trying to find oneself. And Patti LuPone is a legend for a reason. She carries that discombobulation so well. The way the episode was edited and structured, we feel lost like Lilia, but we also feel rewarded for having gone on this journey with her. 

Ron: I mentioned this to you while watching Lilia’s episode but it made me think of the first season of Castle Rock. The seventh episode of that season gave viewers the point of view of a character with dementia. And the episode fills in all the moments that the character had been losing through the show. It was heartbreakingly beautiful. Sissy Spacek got a lot of accolades for her performance and I hope Patti Lupone gets the same. She was so stunning in Agatha but Lilia’s spotlight episode was everything.

Mon: Episode 7 there too? 

Ron: What a coincidence, right? I must check whether there’s a connection between these two shows. I learned that the reason Agatha All Along’s first episode was a parody of Mare of Easttown was because the showrunners of the two shows are good friends. And they both have an Evan Peters connection.

Mon: Interesting. I was reminded of the fifth episode of The Haunting of Bly Manor. In that episode we also follow a character losing time and place. And we experience a similar sense of melancholy and loss as we do with Lilia.

Ron: Also, I don’t know much about Tarot, but the way Lilia’s episode leaned into tarot was really interesting. I love the way the Tarot deck tied up so many plot threads from earlier episodes. What a treat. Lilia stole my heart in that episode. But who is your favourite witch?

Favourite witch

Mon: ALICE! I love her so much. I’m so predictable, eh? Give me a silent, brooding morally-ambiguous protagonist with a bleeding heart and heart-breaking backstory, and she’s my queen. I’m still angry at Agatha for killing Alice. And Ali Ahn portrays Alice with so much pathos – I couldn’t stop watching her. Plus, Alice is the only one in the coven who’s looking out for someone else. Alice is protective of Teen, but not in the usual maternal way. She’s a kind person; she’s been burned before. She’s been a cop, and she’s literally the Protection witch. Of all the coven, Alice seemed the least selfish. The friendship she and Teen formed was adorable. I could have watched more of that. New fav. Unlocked.

Ron: I really loved Jennifer Kale. Maybe I’m biased because I’ve been listening to Sasheer Zamata for a while on the Best Friends podcast she does with Nicole Byer. But I was pretty hyperfocused on Jennifer in this show. She’s sarcastic, she doesn’t take Agatha’s nonsense. She’s on this quest for herself but she takes the time to warn Teen about how dangerous Agatha can be. Zamata has such a wonderfully expressive face. I loved watching her react to Agatha and the coven’s general weirdness. So fun.

Horror

Ron: Nobody warned us this show would be scary. Like, hoo boy, jump cuts, unnaturally-moving characters, straight up demons and demonic possessions. What a ride! I love that this show had just the right level of terrifying. Enough to make you recoil in fear but not enough to keep you up at night. Though, now that I think about it, I don’t think our parents would be able to watch it? They don’t like horror and the scary moments in Agatha are pretty scary.

Mon: There are definitely a few ‘keep the lights on at night’ jump scares in this show. And it starts from the first episode. I love that. I wish we had more of it.

Queerness

Ron: I don’t know when this happened, but Aubrey Plaza is incredibly hot and queer. I used to find her too quirky but I loved her in Happiest Season. I still think Kristen Stewart’s character should have ended up with Plaza’s character in that film. 

Mon: Not gonna lie, Aubrey Plaza in Happiest Season is super hot. I still can’t get over it. And in Agatha All Along, sizzle!!!! Loved her here. Needed more of her.

Ron: In Agatha All Along, Plaza is deliciously queer and hot. It was obvious from the trailer that she would be naughty and fun, but I really loved her in this. And her chemistry with Hahn is insane. I was screaming ‘kiss already’ everytime they were in the same frame. Also, nothing like queer longing and betrayal to get one excited, eh?

Mon: The MCU began in 2008, but Agatha All Along is the first property where we have multiple out gay protagonists. It’s the first one where two women are very obviously into each other and, at least in the first seven episodes, go in for an aborted kiss. It’s only the second MCU property where we have a gay romance between two gay lads. It’s 2024, nearly two decades after the franchise started. And we’re only now catching up with the fact that gay people exist! I mean, poor Valkyrie is dying to be her bi self in the Thor movies, but Marvel didn’t let her. An absolute shame.

Mon: Now, alongside The Eternals, the Netflix Marvel shows did have gay characters, romance and kisses. But aside from Daredevil, I don’t know if those shows are part of the MCU or not. So,some of those firsts still stand.

Ron: What’s canon and what isn’t? It’s all a mystery. But here’s the thing, is Agatha All Along going to be considered pure MCU? Since it’s a TV show? Are we getting into discourse? Okay. Let’s get into discourse.

Discourse

Ron: Have you heard all the discourse online? Particularly the discourse around who Billy should have wanted to bring back?

Mon: Eh? Agatha discourse has completely passed me by, mate. Enlighten me. 

Ron: First up, I completely missed all the hate the show was getting from dudebros. They can go suck it. But there was some weird talk online about when Billy comes to life, and why was he looking for Tommy? A lot of people were wondering why Billy wouldn’t first want Wanda back. Now look, we love Wanda. I don’t think anyone who watches Marvel films dislikes her. MCU-Wanda is universally loved in a way comics-Wanda has never been allowed to. I get the disappointment of losing Wanda in Doctor Strange 2. I hate it, as well. I want Wanda back. I’ve loved her in the comics, I love her in the MCU.

Ron: Having said all that, people saying Billy should have wanted his mother back before Tommy shows a fundamental misunderstanding of these two characters and Wanda and Pietro. I haven’t read much of Billy and Tommy, but whenever I’ve encountered them, it’s obvious that they’re very close twins, like their mom and uncle. The Wanda, Pietro and Vision trifecta is basically recreated in the next generation with Billy, Tommy, and Billy’s boyfriend, Hulkling. How can anybody expect Billy to find life and not immediately go looking for his twin?

Mon: Wait a ruddy second here. You’re telling me people are confused that Billy wants Tommy back and not Wanda? Have they met any twins in their life? Do they not understand story and characterization? Billy and Tommy are two halves of the same coin. They’re inseparable whenever we’ve seen them in the MCU. Of course, Billy wants Tommy back. 

But, aside from that, from a narrative standpoint, Tommy as Speed needs to enter the MCU to kickstart the next phase of the franchise. The Young Avengers aren’t coming; they’re here. We’re waiting for them to fill in the blanks now. People have absolutely no media literacy. Thank goodness I didn’t read this silliness. 

Finale

Mon: Ok. So the two-part finale. The show takes a complete turn here. The last trial looks very different from the others. And Jenn discovers that Agatha was the one who bound her and left her powerless — though, and it’s not clear — Agatha may have done so on the behest of the patriarchy. It’s all a convenient ploy to give Jenn her power back. 

Then we move onto Billy who asks Agatha for help to find Tommy. Or rather, they need to find a newly dead boy who can become Tommy. In the end, Agatha is left to grow life in a dead space and that’s how she accomplishes the trial. 

Ron: Except, Agatha’s trial has only just begun. We learnt in the previous episode that Rio was actually Death. Agatha makes a deal to give up Billy to save herself. But Billy has to be willing to do it. Because if he dies otherwise, he can just reincarnate and the next time, Death won’t be able to find him. 

Mon: Yeah. And Agatha is clever. She almost succeeds in her plan to sacrifice Billy. But then he reminds her of her son and Agatha makes the sacrifice play instead. Sealing the deal with a pretty hot kiss with Rio. Took them long enough. 

Ron: Can’t deny that I was waiting with bated breath for the finale. But Marvel did its Marvel thing and didn’t quite stick the landing. The two part finale was a great length but way too much exposition. And I also didn’t feel the performances were as layered as previous episodes. Like the almost-kiss scene had me thinking the best of Agatha. But in this episode, things just happen and there’s no sleight of hand to keep you on your toes.

Mon: It’s really weird how the show stuck the landing throughout the first 7 episodes and then completely fell away in the two-part finale. 

Mon: Tonally the two finales were different from the rest of the show. And you could feel them changing the protagonist — from Agatha to Billy.

Ron: Technically it wasn’t Agatha all along. More like Billy all along, eh? 

Mon: You’re not wrong. I was concerned the show was just a vehicle for Billy to enter the MCU. But, the first 7 episodes kept proving me wrong. And I was like, yes, we have a show with all these awesome ladies in it. Yay. And then the finales happened, and yup, the show was indeed just a vehicle for Billy. You cottoned on pretty quick during the finale that Billy reality-warped the whole witches’ road. 

Ron: It never even occurred to me that Billy’s presence in this show would be a distraction from Agatha. And the first seven episodes, it wasn’t. I think some of my disappointment about this finale is that the show was basically an illusion. Not exactly Lost levels of “it was a dream”, but close enough. Having said that, I did like the twist that Billy created the Witches Road purely from his desire to get his brother back. It’s a great callback to Wanda creating the hex on Westview to have a family. 

Ron: I wonder now, wouldn’t it have been interesting to swap the finales? Have us see Agatha’s journey with Nicholas and then see her make the sacrifice play to save Billy. 

Mon: So, the whole Agatha and Nicholas thing — I think they went too hard on that. The overreliance on the maternal aspect of female characters in the MCU is a problem. I thought WandaVision handled it well before Multiverse of Madness made it an obsession. And we see that here in Agatha as well. She can have a dark past with a dead child without that having to be the only humanizing aspect to her. Actually, why does she need to be humanized? Let her be evil. 

Ron: Yep. I agree wholeheartedly. Do we need such a long part of the episode dedicated to a mother’s love? It would have been more interesting to see why she enjoyed killing witches despite having so much love for her son. 

Mon: Like, seriously. In the final episode, we see Agatha and Nicholas’s life together. And honestly, it’s a drag. I thought the con artist part was interesting but the mother-son connection wasn’t strong at all. She was using Nicholas. 

Ron: We should have seen the other cons Agatha made Nicholas do with her. I like the con artist-witch angle. 

Mon: And their only bond was singing iterations of what would become the Witches’ Road song. That’s not layered storytelling. 

Ron: Question: did Nicholas make up that witches road song on his own? Or was that an existing melody he co-opted? Because it starts off as wandering road and then becomes winding road, before finally landing on witches road, aka Agatha’s centuries’ long opportunity to scam and kill witches. That I liked. A lot!

Mon: See, the problem with the finales is this — everything that’s special about these ladies is the boys in this story. And the bad stuff is the ladies fighting each other. The finales totally undermine everything that was awesome about the previous episodes. 

Ron: That’s a bit harsh. 

Mon: I know. But I’m disappointed. 

Ron: I think Agatha and Rio were connected by more than just Nicolas and his death. 

Mon: Was that on screen? No. 

At the very least, I would rather have known why Agatha kills witches and steals their power. What does she get out of it?

Ron: Nicholas even asks her to stop doing it and she just brushes it off. Lean into that. Agatha being a grieving mother isn’t new or unusual. Her insistence on taking lives is!

Ron: Of course, I would have loved to see how Rio and Agatha got together. Rio is literal death and she falls so deeply in love with Agatha? Where was that story?

Mon: Totally! Where was the romance between these two?

Ron: I had really enjoyed the queer yearning, mostly from Rio in the earlier episodes. But by the finale, it was just hate from Agatha. Is Rio’s love for her purely because Agatha keeps her in business with all those witches she kills?

Mon: The layers and depth to the characters disappeared in the finales. I think that’s what I’m struggling with the most. 

Ron: Yes, and I’m feeling that lack of a 22-episode season even more. We get a short scene of Alice being taken by Death and she really doesn’t want to go. But what does it mean for her? Does she get to be with her mother? Did she really live in fear of a curse her whole life just to die for a boy and coven she met a few days ago? 

Mon: So many questions. You’re right to ask them because we’re never going to get these answers. The story has moved on from the coven. It’s on to the Young Avengers now. Agatha is a ghost with white hair and she’s a bit player again. She’s Billy’s guide. He’s running the show.  

Ron: This is such an issue with the Marvel shows. There are all these nuggets but then it’s all wrapped up with an untidy bow. We’re never going to see more of Jake Lockley from Moon Knight and now I’m not sure where Jenn Kale’s life is going to go. I’m glad she got her happy ending. Jenn going ballistic at Agatha for binding her. Agatha really is the worst. But that’s why we’ve grown to love her!

Mon: Ok, so in the end, Agatha and the coven were simply the catalyst for Billy to become a witch. Is that the takeaway from the show then?

Ron: I want to say that’s reductive. Because it wasn’t just about Billy. This show was about Jenn getting her power back from the patriarchy and an agent of that patriarchy, aka Agatha. Lilia also got a happy-ish ending. She got the answer as to why she lived her life out of order and she got to save her coven in the process. And it was about Agatha finding the kindness in her own black heart to give her life instead of taking lives. Why Sharon and Alice had to die, I can’t tell you. 

Mon: You are kinder than I am. They should have closed the loop with Alice and said she’s going to be with her mom. Missed opportunity there. And Sharon — yeah, that was bad luck, I guess. 

Mon: Overall feelings about Agatha All Along? 

Ron: I loved disappearing into this show every week. It definitely had the energy and intrigue of WandaVision and was just as unpredictable. I loved the characters. The witches were all so layered and had incredible backstories that I would have loved to explore. 

Mon: The first seven episodes were a blast and I want to rewatch them. Even when some of the moments slowed, I was invested in this group of complicated and flamboyant witches. I loved a lot of the production design and the character dynamics. More than anything, I’m so glad we finally have more out and proud queer characters in the MCU. 

Ron: As much as I don’t like that this show ended up being a tool to introduce Billy to the MCU, he’s also a fascinating character that I’m feeling quite invested in. I want to see where he goes and I desperately want him to find Tommy. 

Mon: Agreed. At least Joe Locke is compelling to watch and Billy is already a conflicted character. That’s something to look forward to with the Young Avengers. 

Ron: Onwards to the Young Avengers indeed. But until then, we’re going to be singing the Witches Road song so much.

[nekoannie-chan]

Brock’s betrayal

Brock’s betrayal

Title: Brock’s betrayal.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

Ship: Brock Rumlow X Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.!Reader.

Word count: 422 words.

Square: 3 “How could you?”

Rating: Teen.

Summary: Brock would never hurt you, wouldn’t he?

Major Tags: Agent hurt, betrayal.

Additional tags: This is my entry to @eclipsingbingo The Rising Moon Flash Event 2024.

Links: Wattpad, Ao3, Spanish version.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. Please let me know if you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

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The reports you reviewed were confusing and contradictory, but you couldn't get Brock out of your head.

You had met Brock almost a year ago, during a mission you were both assigned to. They went from exchanging combat tactics to sharing romantic dinners and then some.

But in recent weeks, Brock was distant, more reserved. He would disappear without explanation, and when you asked him, he always had an excuse ready.

That night when you described everything, with the sound of rain pounding on the windows, you followed him until they reached an abandoned building.

From a broken window on the second floor, you could see Brock talking to a group of men. Your heart stopped as you recognized the symbol on their uniforms: HYDRA.

How could Brock be part of HYDRA?

You decided to confront him; you walked into the building until you reached the room where Brock was, once the men left.

“What are you doing here? “you asked.

Brock turned around when he heard you enter, and his face tensed up when he saw and heard you.

“That's what I'm asking you."

“Brock, what are you doing here with them? “you questioned.

Brock didn't answer; instead, he walked towards you.

“You don't understand; this is bigger than you or me," he finally said.

“Explain yourself," you demanded, taking a step towards him.

“HYDRA has a vision for the future, a better future, a better world," Brock said, but his words sounded hollow.

“A better world? At the cost of betraying everything you've sworn to protect, “you answered.

Brock clenched his fists.

“There is no other way," he said, drawing his gun and pointing it at you.

“Brock... “you whispered, but before you could react, you heard the shot.

The pain was unbearable. You fell to the ground, your hand on your abdomen, trying to stop the bleeding. Brock approached you.

“How could you?“ You mumbled, and your tears began to mix with the rain that began to seep through the roof.

Brock didn't answer; he just stared at you for a moment before turning around and walking out of the building, leaving you alone and hurt.

With all your strength, you tried to crawl towards the door; you had to get to the door.

towards the door; you had to get to S.H.I.E.L.D., and you had to warn them about Brock and HYDRA.

As you felt everything start to go dark, you heard the voices of the other agents. You were not alone. You hadn't given up, had you?

[marvel-ousmondays]

Agent Carter (One-Shot)

This one-shot is one of the rare continuity problems in the MCU... but it's fucking Peggy Carter so who cares? I'll take as much of this character as I can possibly get.

This one-shot is a bit longer- clocking in at 15 minutes and only 1 of those is a flashback- but they are all well used. The first few minutes are excruciating in their condescension. I was surprised to see that the screenplay for this one was done by a man but I guarantee he'd consulted plenty of women who had worked in male-dominated fields. The boss's use of "darling" and "sweetie" makes me want to vomit. Here is possibly the most capable person in the entire agency being treated like she's only good for typing. (I won't say she's being treated like a secretary- anyone who has ever worked somewhere with a secretary knows they are often the real keys to the kingdom.)

The best part of this, as hard as it is to watch, is it is such a GOOD example of the lie that is often told to oppressed groups- "Just play by the rules and show them how good you are, then you'll EARN their respect." Except Peggy did- she was a badass in the field and continually outshines her colleagues at analysis and code-breaking and she's STILL sidelined. And while yes, this is a story, it's one that many of us have experienced in reality.

I once read a review of the show Agent Carter (soon, so soon) and the author commented that Peggy's fight style wasn't particularly elegant or the result of good training. That it often amounted to 'hitting men with heavy objects'. This One-Shot definitely uses that style (combined with Peggy's excellent marksmanship). That author followed up that comment by saying they quite enjoyed this style and I agree. I actually think it lends credibility to Peggy's success in the field. She relies on subterfuge as well as people's tendencies to underestimate women, a good gun and a steady hand, and a nice heavy briefcase. She knows where to kick (and they didn't shy away from her going for the exact parts necessary to bring someone down) and she doesn't revert to "ladylike" behavior mid-fight as some choreography does. I also appreciated the gadget knife in the briefcase, as it feels like a small nod to the Bond gadgets we've come to associate with spy work.

If there's one piece I find a bit uncomfortable, it is the part where she is being strangled. That scene is difficult because it looks so real. I don't know if they did makeup or if Hayley is that amazing or if the other actor actually went a bit too far, but she really looks like she needs air. It sets off my personal panic for her every time, even though I know she's fine.

The ending with her walking out with Steve's picture to go start S.H.I.E.L.D. is satisfying, particularly with her comment that "as always, I (she) doesn't need your (his) help." I will say though, while the post credit scene of Howard and Dum Dum is funny, it sort of undercuts the respect women vibe of the rest of the short. Yes, I'm aware women can be sexy AND competent AND respected... but it's clear that Howard at least sees most women as objects. Peggy is the exception, not the rule, and that is problematic.

But I'll grant, she's one hell of an exception.

Note for me

Directed by: Louis D'Esposito

[earth-18104]

Earth-18104 - The Battle of New York

The story is based on the movie Avengers, with some details from the comics. Most of the characters are changed to fit the original comics lineup of Avengers, and other characters have slight changes in their story, based on my original universe plot.

Like Loki uses different pronouns, Hawkeye and Mockinbird are not part of the team officially, and there's two Nick Fury in this universe: the Colonel, that fought with Captain America during war, and his son Diretor Fury Jr, that looks more like Samuel Jackson's version and is leader of the SHIELD. Also there's a slight addition of my OCs, but they don't even are part of the main story.

List of Events of Earth-18104 (Resume)

Resume of the events of 1990.

1990 -

• (Earth's mightiest heroes)

• (April 1, Sunday)

• On earth, Director Nick Fury Jr (42), Maria Hill (25), Barbara Morse (24), Clint Barton (24), Phil Coulson (43), Henry Pym (27), Janet van Dyne (24) and Erik Selvig are called to the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility in the Mojave Desert, where Dr. Selvig is researching the Tesseract, which has recently begun emitting strange amounts of energy on its own, leading the facility to be evacuated.

• Aided by Thanos, Loki activates the Tesseract from within the Sanctuary, teleporting to the SHIELD complex. She steals the Tesseract and uses the Scepter given to her by Thanos to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, including Selvig and Barton.

• They escape and the Tesseract's energy destroys the base, starting the Chitauri Invasion. In response, Nick Fury Jr. reactivates the Avengers Initiative.

• In Asgard, Heimdall sees Loki on Earth with the Tesseract, and informs Thor and Odin, who sends his sons, Tyr, Vidar, Honir, Balder and Thor to Earth to bring Loki back to Asgard for punishment.

• (April 3, Tuesday)

• In Kolkata, India, late at night locally, Barbara Morse tracks down Bruce Banner (28) and tells him that his knowledge of gamma radiation is essential to helping SHIELD locate the Tesseract. Banner reluctantly agrees to help SHIELD.

• In New York City, Steve Rogers (70) sits in his new apartment going through the SHIELD archives. Unable to sleep, he goes to a boxing gym, where Nick Fury Jr. approaches him with a mission to recover the Tesseract.

• Meanwhile, Tony Stark (26) brings his miniaturized Arc Reactor online to power the newly opened Stark Tower in midtown Manhattan, built on the site of the old Pan Am Building.

• Phil Coulson visits Stark Tower and asks Tony to review Erik Selvig's research on the Tesseract, as well as classified material on potential members of the Avengers Initiative.

• (April 4, Wednesday)

• Phil Coulson flies Rogers to the Helicarrier and tells him about the new uniform they have waiting for him.

• There he also meets Bruce Banner, Maria Hill and Barbara Morse; he is impressed when the Hellicarrier takes flight and retroreflective powers to "disappear".

• At the same time, Selvig explains to Barton about his research, saying that he needs iridium, an element that they can find in Stuttgart.

• (Loki's attack in Germany)

• On the Hellicarrier, Bruce gets to work tracking the gamma radiation the Tesseract emits, while SHIELD's spy satellites find Loki in Stuttgart, Germany.

• Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne intercept a transmission from Selvig and trace it to Germany.

• Rogers dons his new Captain America uniform and travels with Hill and Morse in a Quinjet to confront Loki in Stuttgart; the God of Mischief is acting as a distraction while Hawkeye steals iridium to stabilize the Tesseract.

• Loki attacks a man named Heinrich Schafer before terrorizing a crowd of people attending a gala, providing a distraction so Hawkeye can steal iridium.

• Rogers and Morse attack him and a fight breaks out in the crowd. The unexpected arrival of Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp leads Loki to surrender.

• During the confusion, Mockingbird loses sight of Hawkeye and he escapes with the iridium.

• On the way back to the Helicarrier, the Quinjet is ambushed by the princes of Asgard. Tyr, Balder and Honir hold back the Avengers, while Vidar and Thor grabbed their youngest sibling and jumped.

• While Vidar wanted to simply bring Loki back to Asgard to be punished, Thor tried to to reason with them. Loki, blinded by his jealousy of his older brothers and contempt for Odin, refuses.

• The Avengers are not able to go through the princes, as Balder was indestructible and Honir and Tyr had the strength of ten men. Seeing the fight was useless, Wasp reasoned with Balder and explained they needed Loki alive.

• Balder and Wasp made a deal, and Balder allowed them to leave, agreeing that their younger sibling should be taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody as long as one of them went along.

• Vidar choose himself, as the oldest, but Thor asked to go with Loki, so he was granted permission, and his brothers went back to Asgard to tell their father.

• Back on the Helicarrier, Loki was placed in a cell designed to contain the Hulk and other super-powered people. The vigilantes and SHIELD agents debate what to do with Loki, giving them time to plan an escape.

• Fury tries to interrogate him about the Tesseract's location, but Loki remains silent.

• The meeting between the heroes was tense at first, but Wasp calmed the nerves and convinced the assembled heroes to help her cause. Thor reveals Loki's plan to the Avengers: with the Tesseract, he hopes to open a portal that will allow the Chitauri access to Earth, thus starting an alien invasion.

• As Pym and Banner work to locate the Tesseract, Tony becomes intrigued by his old college roommate's level of control over the Hulk. Henry is irritated by Tony's attempts to anger Banner, warning him that the Hulk is a danger to everyone on the Hellicarrier.

• Steve, also angered by Stark's erratic behavior and disrespect for authority, tries to get him to follow orders more carefully, which instigates a rivalry between the two. Wasp once again tries to intervene in the fights.

• The five begin to question SHIELD's intentions, deducing that Fury is hiding something about his plans with the Tesseract. Stark reveals that he has begun hacking the agency's mainframe to unlock its secrets, while Rogers leaves to investigate the restricted areas of the Helicarrier for himself.

• Tony also gave Henry access to Stark technology, which he used to build a device that could increase its range and be able to use ants across the country.

• Janet shrinks into a locked room, where she and Steve find several 1940s HYDRA weapons and uniforms in crates in a secret room. With Stark's help, they learn about "Phase 2", a project that aims to use the Tesseract to make weapons.

• (April 5, Thursday)

• In the early hours of the morning, Mockingbird interrogates Loki in their cell, but they refuse to budge. However, in a moment of cruelty towards her, Loki accidentally lets it slip that they're interested in Banner, and Mockingbird realizes that they intend to use the Hulk to escape.

• (Attack on the Hellicarrier)

• As the sun is rising, the Avengers confront Fury with their discoveries, to which he reveals that S.H.I.E.L.D. has begun using the Tesseract to make weapons in response to the Victor von Doom incident last year, the presence of the Skrulls in the planet, the first appearance of the Hulk, the Puppet Master attack, the debut of Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp.

• A large argument ensues, during which Hawkeye, accompanied by several soldiers also working for Loki, attacks the Helicarrier, crippling one of its engines.

• The resulting explosion destroys the laboratory where the group is arguing, causing Janet and Bruce to fall into the boiler area, trapped by the debris.

• Despite Janet's attempts to calm him down, the injured Bruce transforms into the Hulk and chases the Wasp throughout the Helicarrier.

• Thor comes to his rescue and fights with the Hulk, only to be surpassed in strength. A SHIELD jet tries to lure the Hulk away, but he crashes the plane and destroys it. The jet explodes and the Hulk is thrown towards the ground.

• Rogers, Pym, and Stark attempt to repair the damaged engine, but Loki's subordinates hinder their efforts.

• Janet and Mockingbird face Hawkeye and after an intense fight, they manage to break Loki's control by delivering a blunt blow to Barton's head.

• Thor tries to stop Loki from escaping, but is tricked by an illusion of Loki and imprisoned in her old prison cell and takes her out of the Hellicarrier. Thor breaks free of the cell at the last second, falling into a field.

• Rogers, Pym, and Stark finally overcame their attackers and got the Helicarrier back in the air. However, victory is bittersweet when Loki escapes and Bruce disappears.

• Hours later, Hawkeye recovers in the Hospital Wing and rejoins the team, informing them that Loki plans to open the portal above Stark Tower in downtown New York City.

• (Battle of New York)

• Mockinbird (26), Wasp (24), Hawkeye (24), Ant-Man (27) and Captain America (70) take a Quinjet to New York City, following Iron Man (26) in his suit.

• Stark arrives at the tower first, failing to stop Selvig from using the Tesseract to open the portal in conjunction with a device he built.

• Tony then enters the tower to meet Loki, failing to intimidate him. The god of mischief unsuccessfully attempts to possess Stark, as his Arc Reactor physically blocks the scepter's power and instead throws Stark through a window.

• Fortunately, Stark manages to activate his Mark VII armor before he hits the ground.

• Selvig launches the device, opening a portal above New York. The Chitauri fleet appears, beginning Loki's invasion.

• The other Avengers gather on the street to stop the Chitauri, but with the portal open, more and more soldiers arrive. Banner (28) finally joins them on a motorcycle and voluntarily transforms into the Hulk, who stops a large ship with his hands.

• Captain America begins giving instructions to the Avengers to direct their battle strategy against the alien threat.

• He tells Hawkeye to get to a nearby rooftop and assigns the perimeter to Iron Man, sends Thor to try and fire a beam at the portal while Ant-Man closes it, Wasp stays in the air, and Mockingbird and himself stay on the ground.

• Finally he instructs the Hulk to "smash". Hulk jumps from building to building, punching the Chitauri.

• Thor flies to the Chrysler Building to use it as a conduit, building up energy to fire at the portal, eliminating some Chitauri and an approaching Leviathan.

• On the Helicarrier, Nick Fury Jr. examines monitors showing what is happening. Maria Hill (25) says the World Security Council is calling.

• Hawkeye advises Iron Man to lead the Chitauri around sharp turns so they fall. He does so, eliminating the aliens chasing him, and goes to help Thor.

• From the battle, enormous damage is done to downtown New York City, and many lives are lost, but the Avengers save as many civilians as they can.

• Somewhere, Peter Parker and Harry Osborn (9), were returning from school when the attack began. The two boys try to get back to the Parker home safely when they are attacked by Chitauri soldiers.

• Fortunately, they are saved by Captain America, who orders Wasp to take them to a safe place.

• The Wasp shrinks them both and takes them away from the battle. Before leaving, she smiles and the two boys cheer for the heroes before running to the Parker's house.

• While Thor destroys as many ships he can, Heimdall, by Vidar's orders, opens the Byfrost. Vidar, Honir, Tyr and Balder join their brother on the fight, protecting civilians and putting Chitauri down.

• Francine (183) and Antônio Cavalcante (190) (both OCs) were watching the battle. Antônio asks his wife if they should help, when he recognizes Captain America, but Francine says that human problems are none of their business and tells her subordinates to protect themselves, closing the gates of the Sister Margaret's house.

• A Leviathan heads towards a building, the Hulk runs through the building and jumps on it, attacking it in the mouth and redirecting it.

• Captain America tells the Avengers they need to do something about the portal. Wasp grabs Pym and takes him to the top of Stark Tower.

• Hulk attacks a Leviathan, Thor helps him hammer a piece of the vehicle into the Leviathan's back, killing it. He crash lands in Grand Central Terminal, where Hulk also punches Thor in retaliation for earlier.

• Before more debris can fall on the civilians, the Fantastic Four arrive to help.

• The Invisible Woman (26) creates a shield while Mister Fantastic (27) pushes the civilians to safety. Human Torch (18) and the Thing (28) join the Hulk and Thor, causing a brief argument between the four.

• In New York's Sanctum, Stephen Strange (46), Wong (46) and Sara Wolfe (37) help fight the invading forces.

• At the top of Stark Tower, Erik Selvig wakes up, his mind control broken, and sees what is happening around him.

• The military enters the streets to do what they can.

• At Pym's house, his girlfriend Maria Trovaya, watches the fight on the news.

• Hawkeye directs Captain America to a nearby bank, where he goes and stops a Chitauri attack from killing civilians. The Invisible Woman protects the civilians from an explosion, while the Thing catches the Captain before he can fall from the building.

• Ben Grimm is nervous when meeting the Captain and presents himself as a big fan. Susan reminds him of the battle and drives them away with her shields.

• On the Hellicarrier, the World Security Council tells Fury Jr. that they have made the decision to launch a nuclear attack on Manhattan to contain the threat to the island only, but Fury refuses.

• Loki boards a Chitauri vehicle, which is intercepted by Human Torch. Johnny dodges the God of Mischief's attacks and throws her away, throwing her into Stark Tower, where the vehicle drops the "S" and "T" from the logo.

• Mister Fantastic scolds Johnny for losing sight of the "big villain", but Hulk jumps into the tower and attacks Loki, who tries to intimidate him; Hulk just grabs them and throws them to the ground repeatedly, leaving her unable to move.

• Wasp and Ant-Man meet Selvig in the tower, who says he believes Loki's Scepter, lying on the ground below them, may be able to close the portal.

• Iron Man finds himself unable to break through the shell of a Leviathan whale, so he tries to fly directly into its mouth, managing to explode it from the inside. He falls to the ground and finds himself fighting Chitauri again.

• Hawkeye runs out of arrows and has to kick an attacking alien off his perch. When his building is attacked, he jumps, firing a hook arrow to swing through a window below.

• He reaches the sidewalk, where he meets Mockingbird and they fight side by side.

• At Salem Center, Scott Summers, Bobby Drake, Warren Worthington III and Jean Grey watch the news. Scott asks the professor why they won't join the fight. Xavier simply says that them, as students, are not ready yet.

• Somewhere in Brooklyn, Sanguinária (OC) and Sabretooth takes down a Leviathan with their powers. They notice Captain America on TV and grin.

• The World Security Council orders a nuclear attack on Manhattan and a pilot will take off. Fury Jr. arrives with a rocket launcher and manages to hit the jet, but another jet flies in to launch the missile. He calls Stark and tells him that there is a missile heading to New York in the next 3 minutes.

• Wasp grabs the scepter. She, Selvig, and Pym work together to break the Tesseract's defenses to close the portal. Stark asks them to wait, saying there is a missile coming and he wants to send it through the portal.

• Stark grabs the missile just in time and begins to change direction. JARVIS tries to call Pepper Potts (29) in case he dies taking the missile through the portal. However, Potts, on a flight, is too preoccupied with watching the news to see her phone ringing.

• SHIELD watches the news closely on the Helicarrier. Just like every civilian, mutant and human, in New York.

• Stark diverts the missile into the air at Stark Tower and through the portal.

• SHIELD cheers with relief for New York, although Fury is worried about Stark.

• Peter Parker and Harry Osborn cheer in the living room, while Ben and May Parker (46) look fearfully at the TV.

• Strange, Wong and Sara Wolfe watch from the security of the Sanctum.

• Stark finds himself in deep space and his suit begins to fail. He releases the missile and it continues flying, hitting the Chitauri mothership and causing a huge explosion, which causes the remaining fleet of Chitauri and Leviathan to crash and fall dead without the mothership's power.

• Stark falls toward the portal, but the explosion threatens to hit Earth as well, so Rogers orders Pym and van Dyne to close the portal.

• Tony falls back into the New York sky just before its closure, but continues to fall, unconscious. Hulk jumps and catches him to slow his fall.

• The Fantastic Four and the rest of the Avengers crowd around Stark, Reed Richards manages to wake him up. Steve says they won and Tony says they should celebrate with shawarma, but Johnny reminds him that he lost sight of Loki.

• At Stark Tower, Loki recovers from Hulk's beating and the Avengers arrive to arrest her.

• A team from the Damage Control Department arrives at the Avengers' floor of Stark Tower to retrieve the Scepter. Jasper Sitwell takes the Scepter and he and Brock Rumlow (29) guard it.

• While the SHIELD agents guard the Tesseract, Tony invites the Fantastic Four to go eat shawarma and they accept.

• A little after the battle, at Thanos' ship on space, Gamora (29) talks to her master about Loki's defeat, the loss of the Tesseract and Earth's new protectors. He claims that attacking Earth again would be an act of suicide.

• Thanos (975), simply turns and smiles, thinking about what's to come.

• (April 6, Friday)

• The New York Bulletin has a front-page article titled "Battle of NY" that depicts a Leviathan causing several deaths by crashing into a building.

• The world, changed once again by the emergence of superhumans, is dominated by the idea of ​​a team of superheroes.

• The Avengers become the center of media attention, admired by the public as heroes, but are also received with some concern and fear. Some feel that his appearance during the battle is too coincidental.

• (April 11, Wednesday)

• Gathering in Central Park, the Avengers and SHIELD watch as Thor escorts Loki and the Tesseract to Asgard.

• Nick Fury Jr (42) talks to Colonel Fury Sr. (82), saying that the moment a new global threat emerges, the team will come together.

• Odin sentences Loki to an eternity of imprisonment in the Asgardian Dungeons and the Tesseract is put in a safe chamber inside the castle, watch by guards and Heimdall.

• (April 15, Sunday)

• Tony Stark (26) and Pepper Potts (29) review plans to rebuild the damaged Stark Tower, which lost the "S", "T", "R" and "K" outside in battle. They choose to repurpose the remaining "A" to represent the newly formed group, renamed "Avengers Tower".

• Tony reunites with Pym and helps him improve Janet's Wasp costume.

[bungalowbear]

The Honeys VII

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Word Count: 1.7k

A/N: We finally meet our man the Honeys are after. Let me know what you think!

Series Masterlist

On Monday you and Phoebe sat at your desk during morning recess to review her report on Crime and Punishment. You could tell she was enjoying your discussion about the characters and themes just as much as you were. Though it must have been quite a sight seeing a teacher and her student speak to each other about criminality, justice, and love.

“I left notes in the margins,” you paused to flip the stapled papers to the final page, “as well as further response questions here to work on in your spare time.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Honey,” Phoebe said. You slid the report across the desk and she took it and held it to her chest. Phoebe wore a wide smile and a gleam in her eyes. “I appreciate you doing this for me. Truly, I do.”

You returned her smile. “You’re welcome, dear.”

The bell rang, signaling the end of recess. The sound of children entering the building sounded down the hallway. Phoebe went to her desk to put away her report. She met you at the door but paused when you said her name.

“Do you ever feel…bored in class?”

“Sometimes,” she answered. “But you make it fun. And I like being with the other kids.”

“I understand wanting to be with your peers.” Your folded your hands in front of your stomach. Shifted your feet. ”But if you’d like to work on harder material I could talk to the principal—”

“You can’t!” Phoebe exclaimed. She stared up at you with panicked eyes. “Please, Mrs. Honey, you said I could trust you. No one is supposed to know.”

“Okay.” You placed a hand on her shoulder to assure her. “Okay. I won’t talk to the principal. Not if you don’t want me to.”

Her deep brown eyes searched your face before. After a moment her expression turned to one of relief. “Thank you, Mrs. Honey.”

You watched her line up with the other children. You tried not to think too much about the half promise you’d just made. You’d stay true to your word and not talk to the principal, but that didn’t acknowledge her previous statement. One you already broke when you told Bucky, and would break again when you told Fury in your next field report.

A pit formed in your stomach. It only grew worse as the day continued.

🐝

Parent-Teacher Conferences were all you could think about until the following week. After your talk with Phoebe you were determined to help her reach her intellectual potential. It was probably your already betraying her confidence that steeled your resolve.

Bucky had told you that any real impact would have to come from her guardian. Which was plenty convenient for him if it meant it would get him closer to Freeman. You understood it was your job, both as an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and an elementary school teacher, but it was an understatement to say you were anxious for your meeting with Freeman.

All of the students were let out early on Wednesday while the teachers stayed to prepare for the parents. Being a new teach this year, you were curious about how the parents would take to you, seeing as this would be the first time you formally meet each of them. You’d seen a few of them at pick up and drop off, but only in passing. So you readied yourself to put your best foot forward and welcomed your first parent.

After two and a half hours, you felt some of your nerves leave you. Most parents were welcoming enough. Others were mostly nosy about you and Bucky. Or rather, Charles. By the time you met with Chrys’ parents you were ready to call it a day. They were lovely and had very little questions for you so their time with you ended five minutes early. Which was fine with you because it gave you more time to prepare for Phoebe’s step-father, your final meeting of the day.

You were gather a small stack of papers on your desk when a knock sounds on your open door. You recognized him from the photos in the briefing packet. He was tall with fair skin and a closely shaved head. His eyes, a murky grey, looked directly into yours when he spoke.

“May I come in?”

“Yes.” You swallowed your nerves. “Please, have a seat, Mr. Freeman.”

He hung his black leather jacket on the coatrack you put next to the door and took a seat on the other side of your desk, smoothing out the lines on his dark pants. His posture was relaxed but there was an undeniable strength he radiated. Not just physical, but an aura around him that commanded respect.

You cleared your throat before introducing yourself. You offered your hand over the desk and he took it, giving a firm shake.

“Pleasure to meet you, love.” His voice was deep and smooth, complimented by his English accent. “I’ve heard only good things from Phoebe.”

When you moved your hand away his touch lingered for a moment. You easily brushed it off and sat down in your chair and folded your hands on the desk.

“I’m glad to hear that. Phoebe is a lovely girl.”

“She is,” he agreed.

“Phoebe is doing very well in my class. All of her work is superb,” you began. You decided to just bite the bullet. If you started this meeting with anything else, you would have backed out when it was time o say what you really wanted to. “But I wanted to speak with you about…about something she said in particular.”

“Oh?” Freeman folded his arms, making the sleeves of his button up tighten around his strong biceps. “And what would that be?”

“Phoebe is very bright. She is more intelligent than a girl her age usually is.” You paused. Your finger twitched and you willed it to be still. “But she says she isn’t supposed to talk about it.”

Freeman tilted his head. One of his eyebrows rose but he doesn’t speak.

“I don’t know if you’re aware,” you spoke slowly, continuing through his silence, “but I think Phoebe might be gifted.”

“Gifted?” He smirked, like he was in on a joke you’re not privy to.

“Yes.” You bristled slightly as you sat straighter. “Phoebe is an exceptional student, and I believe she might be better suited in a higher grade.”

“You don’t want her in your class?”

“No,” you were quick to say, but then corrected yourself. “I mean, that’s not what I mean. It’s only that I can see that she’s not being challenged with the coursework. And she might benefit from more advanced curriculum.”

“I see.” Freeman’s brow furrowed. He unfolded his arms and leaned closer to your desk. “What about individual instruction?”

“I suppose,” you spoke carefully, “that is another option.”

The way he looked at you made you uneasy. But you didn’t shy away. You were determined for him to recognize how serious you were about helping Phoebe. You both sat in silence as he made his decision.

“Okay,” he finally said.

You narrowed your gaze. “Okay…?”

“I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“M-my offer?”

“To be her private tutor.” he sat back in his seat. “Of course I’ll provide appropriate compensation for your time.”

You shook your head. “Oh, you don’t have to—”

“I insist.”

“Mr. Freeman—”

“Call me Francis.”

A long pause stretched between you. He sighed.

“Phoebe and I have discussed her…brightness. I previously had her working with another instructor at home, but it didn’t work out. They moved away.” His explanation was short. To the point. “So, I am in need of a new one.”

“I don’t believe I’m qualified,” you stated sincerely.

“Then why don’t we call it a trial run.” His suggestion came swiftly. You got the sense people rarely denied him anything. “Say, one month to start?”

“This can’t be a permanent solution,” you countered. “I can only help her until my own intellectual capacity is reached. Once we’re there you’ll have the same dilemma.”

“I understand your concern, and it is appreciated. But this is what Phoebe’s mother wanted for her. To live a normal life, to grow up around children her own age.” Freeman’s face tightened. “Not among middle aged men debating the structure of the universe. When she passed, I became Phoebe’s legal guardian and sought to keep her mother’s final wish.”

You lowered your gaze. “I see.”

“So you must understand that when the time comes, when all options for Phoebe to stay among her peers have been exhausted, I will take appropriate action.” He spoke with conviction. An intensity that rivaled any other you had ever encountered in a person. You felt yourself becoming swayed by it. “But for now, I’d like her to remain as she is. And that includes not letting other people know of her…brightness. Will you help me?”

“I…”

You couldn’t believe the opportunity being presented to you. Bucky would surely commend you for making this happen, no matter how accidental. And you found that the next words that came out of your mouth were more for the sake of seeking Bucky’s approval than for fulfilling your duty to the mission.

“I accept.”

“Wonderful.” Freeman stood. A pleased expression painted his features. “If there isn’t anything else we need to discuss about Phoebe, then I must be on my way.”

“No,” you agreed. “That’s all.”

“I’ll give you the weekend to prepare. Monday after school I’ll let the driver know to expect both you and Phoebe to be picked up and taken to our home.” He strode over to the coatrack and gathered his jacket, folding it over his arm. “I look forward to working with you, Ms. Honey.”

“It’s Mrs,” you said without thinking, surprising yourself. Your eyes jumped to Freeman.

He paused as he was turning to leave. “What was that, love?”

You swallowed before speaking. “My name is Mrs. Honey.”

Glancing down at your left hand, at the ring on your finger, a smirk lifted the corner of his mouth. “Indeed it is.”

He bid you a good evening before he left the classroom. You sat back in your seat, releasing the breath you hadn’t realized you were holding, and wondered what you just got yourself into.

I do not do taglists. This series will be updated every first Friday of the month.

[mcu-reviews]

Agent Carter (S2 E6) Life of The Party

Life of the Party brings back Dottie and Thompson. It progresses the plot with Whitney and makes her a bigger threat. It is fairly boring.

The return of Dottie feels very forced but they don't pay much attention to the why so i will gloss over it to. Dottie's scenes are fun and seeing her scared of Whitney is a nice touch to make Whitney more threatening. Whitney kills most of the members of the arena club including her husband, and it feels kind of weird she keeps some of them alive. Why wouldn't she kill all of them?

The drama with Peggy and Sousa is so poorly done. Why did they try to kiss? Peggy was so happy for him and his fiancé, it would have been better if Sousa still liked Peggy but Peggy was over it at that point. It just needs a hetero romance however instead of the obvious option of Peggy becoming the unicorn for Ana and Edwin.

Overall, a generic episode. I do not have much to say my head hurts. I do headcannon Ana and Peggy dating.

Fuck

[thejuliettecai]

thoughts on secret invasion (spoilers!)

just finished watching the first episode. I still think Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is the best MCU show and was a lot clearer in its premise. Also, each of the seasons clearly connected in spite of having different plots, unlike the current MCU run. I get that Marvel is setting up for a lot of things, but I can't help but think that, like other reviewers of AOS, the AOS family is actually a family compared to the Avengers. Or maybe I cannot compare the two because AOS is "not canon anymore" (it is canon to me).

I wish the first episode gave more answers as to why Fury was in space and why Talos was in Spiderman FFH, but I guess that will come up later. Also, Maria Hill deserves better. I like the dynamic between Fury, Hill, and Talos. Unfortunately, my favorite part ended up being the soundtrack.

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: The Avengers (2012)

The Avengers (2012)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2023/04/review-avengers-2012.html>

Score: 5 out of 5

Eleven years and dozens of movies and TV shows later, The Avengers still stands as arguably the greatest achievement of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even more than its best standalone films like Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther, this was the movie that demonstrated what the "idea" of the MCU could produce and accomplish, a shared universe that brought together characters from different popular movies for a big crossover in which they all got a chance to shine as a team. Looking back, the legacy of the MCU on Hollywood as a whole has been mixed, such that it's increasingly come in for backlash in the last few years to the point where hating the series is no longer necessarily a contrarian take, the genuinely divisive reception to recent movies and shows in the franchise not helping its case. (I've been nicer to Marvel's recent output than most, and even I can't help but feel that there's a bit of malaise there.) Which makes it all the more impressive to see that, watching the original Avengers again with a group of kids who were either in diapers or not even born yet when it came out and experienced the series mostly through home video and streaming, it still absolutely holds up, and moreover, it reminded me of what Marvel's strengths were back in its 2010s imperial phase when it was firing on all cylinders. It's got an all-star cast, probably the best direction of Joss Whedon's career, and a use of continuity that enriches the experience for those who've seen the prior films in the franchise but doesn't detract from it if you haven't -- the secret sauce that, if you ask me, allowed the MCU to succeed for so long where other, similar attempts at big, modular franchises failed, and something that it's lost sight of recently. Once we're past the backlash phase and old enough to be nostalgic for the MCU (won't that be something), I think that this movie and "Phase One" more broadly will get its due once again.

The plot feels like it could've been lifted out of any number of Big Event crossovers from the comics. An alien race called the Chitauri, led by the Norse trickster god Loki (the Norse gods in this universe being aliens themselves) with a chip on his shoulder, is planning to invade Earth, and Nick Fury, director of the secret government agency S.H.I.E.L.D., has a plan to stop them: assemble a collection of exceptional individuals with unique skills to lead the fight. They include: Tony Stark, the egotistical billionaire CEO of a weapons manufacturer who built a suit of high-tech "Iron Man" powered armor to fight terrorists; Steve Rogers, the product of an American World War II scientific program to create a superior fighting man who wound up frozen in ice for decades and thawed out in the present day; Bruce Banner, a brilliant physicist who, thanks to an accident during an experiment with gamma radiation, developed a monstrous Jekyll-and-Hyde alter ego called the Hulk that comes out when he's angry or stressed; Thor, the Norse god of thunder seeking to stop his adoptive brother Loki's warpath and return him to Asgard for judgment; and Natasha Romanoff; a deadly spy codenamed "Black Widow" who defected from Russia and is now one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents. Unfortunately, Loki, using his own supernatural gifts, has seduced a number of humans to his own side, most notably Erik Selvig, a physicist who was researching an alien artifact called the Tesseract that Loki needs to open a portal to bring his army to Earth, and Clint Barton, another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent codenamed "Hawkeye" who knows his employer inside and out.

The underlying theme of most of the first two acts of this movie is a reflection of what people in real life, from critics to comic book fans to much of the movie's audience, were thinking in 2012: "can this actually work?" Can you do this kind of superhero team-up in the movies the way they do it in the comics? It's here where you see why Marvel producer Kevin Feige sought out Joss Whedon to write and direct this movie, and not just because he was already a geek media legend by then. Whedon's style has unfortunately been caricatured over the years as revolving around jokey, flippant dialogue, thanks in no small part to the many filmmakers and TV show runners who've tried to imitate it, and the man's own personal controversies in the last several years have made him an easy punching bag. That said, anybody who's watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, or Firefly knows that his real strength as a writer, the thing that separated him from the countless writers making jokey, flippant Shane Black ripoffs back in the '90s, was working with large ensemble casts in which there often wasn't a singular protagonist.

Whedon tackles the question of whether this will work head-on by making the real "arc" of the movie revolve less around stopping Loki than around having Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the Incredible Hulk, the four marquee superheroes who each had their origin stories told in prior movies, learn to put aside their differences and work as a team. They each bring their own larger-than-life personalities to the table, and while Tony and Bruce hit it off immediately over their shared love of science, Tony's ego and gung-ho attitude clash with both Steve's Boy Scout values and military code of honor and Thor's own ego as a superbeing of ancient legend, while Bruce's volatile temper and the end result of such threatens to get them all killed if he can't control it. Loki knows all of this, and for much of the film, a good chunk of his plan, as befitting a trickster god, is to play mind games with the heroes and convince them to tear each other apart so that he can move on and conquer Earth in their absence. Black Widow and Hawkeye, the relative newcomers to the MCU (the former had been a supporting character in Iron Man 2 but wouldn't get her own movie for nearly a decade), serve as surrogates for audience members who know what superheroes are but may not have seen every (or even any) prior movie in the series, while Nick Fury, the authority figure looming over them all, is the ringmaster who introduces us to them and brings them all together.

It helps when you've got a bunch of A-list (or soon-to-be-A-list) actors at the top of their game, the kinds of people who feel born to play these sorts of figures. Robert Downey, Jr.'s great gift as Tony Stark was making him just unlikable enough that you want to see him humbled but not so much that you want to see him lose, Chris Evans always knew how to make Steve Rogers feel like a good-hearted average Joe given extraordinary abilities but never forgetting who he used to be, Chris Hemsworth was exactly the kind of chiseled, Ahnold-style hunk you'd need to play the mighty God of Thunder, and Mark Ruffalo, replacing Edward Norton after some complicated backstage politics, brought an almost Jeff Goldblum-style energy to Bruce Banner, a squirrelly nerd who's visibly hiding a shameful secret. Scarlett Johansson, meanwhile, made her scenes in this movie as Natasha a demo reel for her as both an action hero and a femme fatale, while Samuel L. Jackson brought his usual BAMF energy to a PG-13 version of such as Nick Fury, a man who most of us would happily take orders from. Last but not least, Tom Hiddleston as Loki is exactly the kind of classy-yet-subtly-off-putting British theater actor you want playing a hammy, egomaniacal villain straight out of mythology, like a young Alan Rickman, standing as one of the best villains the MCU's ever had to this day and only failing to steal the show out from under everyone else because, again, this is a Joss Whedon ensemble piece where everybody gets a moment in the sun.

(And Hawkeye seems cool, like a really nice guy. Okay, I kid, Jeremy Renner was alright in the part. He was much better in later movies, though. There's a reason why people used to make fun of him so much.)

The quality of Whedon's work here doesn't stop at his writing, either. The MCU has never been known as a visually inventive series, and a lot of people blame Whedon for that, accusing him of bringing a flat visual style straight out of network television to the biggest blockbuster franchise in Hollywood and relying on his writing as his main creative thumbprint. I'm convinced that they got Whedon mixed up with the Russo brothers who handled the later Avengers films, because Whedon actually does a lot that's interesting behind the camera. Noting that scenes in superhero movies look like they were pulled straight out of a comic book is practically a cliché at this point, but in this case, it's a perfect description, as Whedon seemed to understand exactly how to bring a comic book splash panel to life on the big screen. This movie looks and feels epic, with action that's not only well-shot and easy to follow but also downright massive in scope, often having several things going on at once in the bigger sequences like the attack on the helicarrier and the climatic third-act battle in the streets of Manhattan. The effects were top-notch and felt like they had all the love and care in the world put into them, especially in comparison to some of the rush jobs that more recent Marvel movies have been guilty of. This was the kind of movie they make movie theaters for, and even watching it at home, I was consistently enthralled by its action sequences. There's a reason why so many sci-fi blockbuster action movies in the 2010s had their villains shoot big beams of light into the sky as part of their plan, or featured armies of faceless alien monsters for the heroes to fight without feeling guilty about killing people, and that's because this movie did it so amazingly well that everybody else couldn't help but copy its notes.

The Bottom Line

The Avengers is a movie that still holds up even after countless superhero movies, including in its own franchise, that tried to top it. I don't know if I'd call it the best movie in the MCU, but it's certainly the most impactful, the one that everyone's gonna remember above all else (barring maybe Black Panther) years from now as the movie that made the whole enterprise worth it.

[dispatchdcu]

Venom: Lethal Protector II #3 Preview

Venom: Lethal Protector II #3 Preview #venomlethalprotector #venomlethalprotectorII #lethalprotector #MARVEL #marvelcomics #comics #comicbooks #news #mcu #art #info #NCBD #comicbooknews #previews #reviews #venom #spiderman #Amazon

  Venom: Lethal Protector II #3 Preview: VENOM – AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D.?! VENOM has  joined international super-spy SILVER SABLE’s WILD PACK, but to stop planet-killing tech from falling into the wrong hands – they’ll have to play by Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s rules! But when New York City falls under attack, Venom may be S.H.I.E.L.D.’s only hope! And there’s a new player in the game – DOCTOR…

[mari--lace]

thank you for the tag @novasforce

Number of stories posted to AO3:

17

2. Word count this year:

38568 (on Ao3. It doesn't account for what I only published on an italian fanfiction site [which doesn't have a word count like Ao3])

3. Fandoms I wrote for:

taking the list from AO3:

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Black Widow

Daredevil (TV)

Harry Potter

Hawkeye (comics/TV)

The Mirror Visitor

Miraculous Ladybug

Moon Knight (TV)

Ms Marvel (comics/TV)

She-Hulk: Attorney at law

Spider-Man (MCU)

The Avengers

4. Pairings:

I mostly wrote gen relationships this year, but here are the pairings:

Matt Murdock/Jennifer Walters

Matt Murdock/Claire Temple

Matt Murdock/Natasha Romanov

Clint Barton/Laura Barton

Michelle Jones/Peter Parker

Draco Malfoy/Luna Lovegood

Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng (MLB)

Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng (MLB)

5. Stories with the most:

Kudos: What am I looking at, Matt? — published right after She-Hulk ep 8 and the hype for the episode did the rest, my most popular story ever :")

Bookmarks: same as above!

Comment threads: A marvelous october, which has 31 chapters. The fic with more comment threads on a single chapter would be the same as above!

Word count: Same as above with its 31 chapters. As a writer, most of my stories are pretty short; my longest one-chapter story on Ao3 (for 2022 at least) would be Sorelle dal sangue diverso, a one-shot in Italian.

6. Work I'm most proud of (and why):

What's in a soul? I'm really proud of how this turned out. It has Natasha coming back without her memories when Bruce snaps his fingers and it delves on the bond between memoried and identity. Is she still Natasha? Is she not? She meets Matt along the way.

7. Work I'm least proud of (and why): maybe a short hogwarts!au I wrote in italian for a challenge. I'm not super satisfied with the final result (mostly because it doesn't really go anywhere), but it was one of the first things I wrote for the Daredevil fandom, so there's that.

8. Share or describe a favorite review you received:

"oh my goshhhh this is so poetic and beautiful. "Would you like to tell me why?" MY HEART.

Also, Nat saying she “Swapped it for an orange rock.” made me smile. A very Nat thing to say. (And she says she's not still Nat!)"

"oh wow, this is so good, and so poignant? in a way. how you portrayed Nat’s identity issues and struggling to be someone you’re not, someone everyone expects you to be, felt so real. this fic was so lovely. thank you so much for writing! <3"

Both those two comments made me smile so much 🥹

9. A time when writing was really, really hard: Pretty much all the first part of the year, from January to September. I wrote next to nothing then.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: Maybe that I actually wrote about Clint and Laura. Also Jennifer Walters, I wasn't expecting it but I found writing from her pov pretty easy and kinda fun.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing: from What's in a soul?:

“I'm the ghost of a sister. I'm the ghost of a friend. I'm the ghost of a killer and a hero.” She pauses. Her heartbeat slows back to its usual steady rhythm. “I'm a shadow who is more comfortable talking and fighting with a vigilante than surrounded by people who say they love her.”

12: How did you grow as a writer this year: I wrote a lot directly in English, which is something I didn't really do before (I've translated a few stories in the past, but translating and writing are pretty different processes).

13. How do you hope to grow next year: I hope to keep writing, first of all, in both English and Italian. I hope to improve and to be able to write meaningful stories.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): I can't not mention @ceterisparibus116. I read pretty much every Daredevil story on her profile and I fell in love with everything – the themes, the characterizations, the plots. So good aaaaaaaaaaaa

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: there's always something from my experiences in my writing, usually in a not very explicit way, but yeah.

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: Don't write to cater to an audience; write to cater to yourself. If you love what you do, readers can see that love, and they'll believe in it, too. <- I'm keeping @novasforce's advise because it's really good! And I completely agree. Write what you like first and foremost, without worrying about how many people might or might not read and appreciate it.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: I am working on something for the DDE, so there's that. I'm also joining a challenge to write a story a month according to certain themes, so I hope to be able to fulfill that too (last year I only got 7 months/12).

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read:

Just, anyone who wants to do this feel free to! Plus @reginadiutopia @drogatadiapifrizzole @folkloristico

[likea-black-widow-baby]

I posted 2,001 times in 2022

227 posts created (11%)

1,774 posts reblogged (89%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@likea-black-widow-baby

@redvanillabee

@marvelladiesdaily

@marvelsaos

@womenofmcu

I tagged 1,126 of my posts in 2022

Only 44% of my posts had no tags

#mundie says things - 110 posts

#agents of shield - 77 posts

#it’s an ask! - 68 posts

#marvel memes - 57 posts

#melinda may - 47 posts

#it's an ask! - 42 posts

#daisy johnson - 39 posts

#taylor swift rule - 39 posts

#marvel - 35 posts

#phil coulson - 35 posts

Longest Tag: 134 characters

#wait does the ‘ben’ in her name mean ‘child of’ a titan because that would be the funniest use of random hebrew i think i’ve ever seen

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

See the full post

288 notes - Posted June 5, 2022

#4

The entire ethos of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is captured in the moment when tiny human Melinda May put herself between Skye and the Asgardian goddess of war I think.

316 notes - Posted April 20, 2022

#3

After living communally for a while, I have so many questions about how The Bus was run.

Was there a chore wheel? Did they stick it up on the fridge? Did Skye keep turning it to avoid having to clean the bathrooms only for it to be miraculously reset the next time she saw it? The whole plane probably got deep cleaned by SHIELD cleaners whenever they touched down at a base, but shared kitchens and bathrooms need to be swept and wiped down at least twice a week.

Were May and Ward in charge of cleaning the gym equipment? Was that how he got her to spar with him for the first time? Did he teach Skye how to wipe down boxing gloves when she started training?

Fitz and Simmons were definitely in charge of cleaning the lab, so they definitely made their own roomba to clean it for them. Did they name it? The dwarves all have names so they had to have. Did Ward keep tripping over Snowy the Bus Roomba and what did Fitzsimmons make it say when it hit things? What did they make Snowy say when Ward stepped on her!!

How did they order groceries? We see Fitz eating popcorn and pretzels in season 1, and Ward mentions Fitz’s candy stash so how did he GET this stuff?? You can’t exactly instacart to “the mobile command unit in the middle of the Atlantic. Yeah, you see the cloud that looks like a dragon? Keep going and make a right.” Did they do grocery runs? Did they write up a shopping list and send some poor level 1 agent to Costco when they touched down? What counted as SHIELD funded and what was a personal expense? Was May upset when they bought Bigelow green tea with elderberry instead of plain green like she asked for? We see Ward making a sandwich in episode 9 so we know they have fresh food, and Coulson has standards.

Speaking of, what was cooking like? Simmons clearly didn’t know Coulson could cook when he made her dinner in season 2, so were communal meals not a thing? Did Coulson just cook for himself and May? How did they hide it?

Where was Coulson’s candy stash and did he and Fitz keep finding each other’s candy while searching for new spots to hide theirs? What. Trashy. Processed. Food. Was. Skye’s. Favorite. And Who Stole It Most Often. I need ANSWERS, Jedmo, ANSWERS

323 notes - Posted April 11, 2022

#2

New meme template for your consideration

345 notes - Posted July 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

“Oh this character is evil” “Oh that character is obnoxious” “Oh your fave is actually problematic”

Okay but have you considered that I could not give less of a shit about their morality as long as they are interesting

486 notes - Posted May 6, 2022

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