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thebibliomancer · 7 years ago

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Essential Avengers: Avengers #160: ... The Trial!

June, 1977

So here we are once again. Some doofus in a mask who once fell on his own scythe versus the Avengers and also he beats the Avengers. That must sting.

Actually, I was prepared to dislike this issue because Grim Reaper and because the kind of overused trial plot but actually hey, stay tuned. Despite this post lacking any dials whatsoever.

So last time: Wonder Man came back to life and its a mystery and Vision has been feeling the robo-angsts about it. The Avengers recently got their asses kicked by a statue and a dick named Graviton and were played for fool chumps by Attuma and Doom. And also Vision and Wonder Man threw down because punching is easier than talking.

They’ve had a bad time of it, is what I’m basically saying.

This time: some Avengers take off early to avoid the menacing, glinting scythe that somehow got through the Avengers’ lackluster security.

Maybe Gyrich has a point in the future, even if he is an incredible dick about it.

But to be serious: Iron Man is taking Whizzer back to the hospital. I was about to comment on how his plot line just got dropped but Shooter at least remembers to tie it up loosely.

Whizzer complains that they didn’t call him to help with Graviton, Iron Man rebuts that Dude You Have A Heart Condition, thinks himself a secret hypocrite for fighting so much crime with a heart condition.

Yellowjacket and Wasp head back to Pym’s lab because Hank wants to specifically improve Yellowjacket’s powers. Doesn’t even consider improving Wasp’s powers though.

Which is interesting, sorta. I’ve been omitting the letters in the back when they do show up because I’m not sure how interesting ‘hey look at what this fan said decades ago’ is. I’m sure there is interest to be mined there, looking at fan reaction, contrasting it to my own. But I also usually end posts in a natural feeling way and including the letters would interrupt my funky flow. But to get to the point: someone wrote in suggesting that Hank give Wasp a power boost so she can actually start to matter in fights more. So its interesting to see this reflected in-comic with Hank going ‘nope my powers.’

Anyway.

Thor carries Cap back to SHIELD HQ but has some private concerns about how long he’s been absent from the Avengers and how he wishes he could stay longer. A perplexement indeed since it seems like its maybe been a couple days since the new roster. Something is going on here.

Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Beast is in a bit of a mood. He wishes he could have someplace to go that isn’t the mansion.

Everyone else Doesn’t Get It, remarking that the mansion isn’t a bad place to be stuck. Wanda and Vision even have a recently rare cute couple moment about it, Wanda declaring that anyplace is great if she’s with Vision and Vision responding without bemoaning and tearing his shirt over what a fakey fake boy he is.

And Beast remembers his time on the X-Men, a perhaps more successful time.

The plot thread of Beast not knowing his place on the team hasn’t gone away. Although, for a while, his predilection for disguise has.

So he loudly announces he’s going to go clean up the lab because hey if he can’t be a vital part of the team during battles, he may as well be the janitor.

And then he’s instantly blasted through the wall. Everyone’s a critic, I suppose.

The Avengers rush in to the lab and Black Panther switches on the light to reveal...

GRIM REAPER! This isn’t a surprise because he was on the cover and also his scythe was on the splash.

But here’s the interesting thing.

Wonder Man was never told about his brother and his silly hat. But he recognizes Grim Reaper’s voice.

So Grim Reaper gets a dramatic unmasking moment and gets to say “I AM YOUR BROTHER!”

Alas, its three years too early for Wonder Man to appropriately respond ‘THATS NOT TRUE THATS IMPOSSIBLE!’

Also, Eric “Grim Reaper” Williams looks kind of like crap. He has a kind of haggard face and a scar over one eye that is somehow not visible when he has the mask on despite the mask having a little room around the eyes.

Vision and Black Panther recap the previous Grim Reaper events for Wonder Man.

And cute couple moment dashed because when Vision says he’s an artificial boy with Simon’s brain patterns, Wanda tries to tell him that he’s not just a machine and he tells her to shut up.

Rude.

Anyway, Vision logically points out the logic that Grim Reaper should have no beef with them anymore. Look, your dang brother is alive.

Grim Reaper: “I WILL BE THE JUDGE OF THAT!”

Ffs, man.

Beast comes to and has lost nearly all of his humors because he is just sick and tired of being useless on this team when he was the strong dude on the X-Men. So he just rushes straight at Grim Reaper and gets his ass reclobbered. And then its time for fight.

But Wonder Man hesitates. Eric is his asshole brother. He can’t fight him!

Scarlet Witch can though and attacks with the power of explosions. Which Grim Reaper (not joking) scythe helicopters over. He then blasts Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, and Beast with some kind of attack that instantly puts all three in a coma.

Hax. Too op. Plz nerf.

Vision, of course, gets super nettled about Wanda being hurt but Grim Reaper has studied every detail of Vision’s construction and has an attack that puts him down instantly too.

Possibly sonic? There are concentric circles. And sonics have proven effective against Vision before.

And then he turns his scythe on Wonder Man and blasts him, although apologetically.

There’s darkness, as if to represent the passage of time during unconsciousness.

Then the Avengers all wake up at their conference table, with special manacles specially attuned to their molecular makeup and designed to cause ludicrous pain in case of contempt of court.

And we get to see two more of the chair logos!

Scarlet Witch has a stylized W for Witch but I can’t help but notice that it is also her tiara thing upside down and now have to wonder if that was always supposed to be a W. Although upside down would be an M. For mutant? Costume design, you are an enduring mystery.

Vision has his diamond but I’m pretty sure we saw that one before.

And Black Panther has a cute little kitty cat. So he wins.

Anyway, as implied by the cover the theme of Grim Reaper’s emotional turmoil for today is a trial.

He will be playing the prosecuting attorney slash inquisitor. Black Panther will arbitrarily play the defense counsel.

I have to wonder why Black Panther but the other options are Scarlet Witch, who may be slightly biased, and Beast who Grim Reaper doesn’t really know. So I guess that makes sense.

And the name of the game is:

Grim Reaper: “Two men cannot share my brother’s identity! One of them must die!”

So Grim calls Vision to the stand. Which is a chair that Grim Reaper has pulled away from the table to represent a the stand. Because he is committed to this farce.

On the cough cough ‘stand’ Vision recaps his origin: created by Ultron, well actually, adapted from the original robot Human Torch and given the brain-waves of Simon Williams because programming is hard.

So because his personality is derived from Simon Williams’ brain waves, he is in many ways somewhat like the original deal. Although they don’t here explain those similarities.

In Kurt Busiek’s run, where we revisit many of these robo-angst plot points, its revealed that Vision and Simon have very similar tastes in music and literature and women. The last one is the real sticking point.

Anyway, Grim Reaper threatens to destroy Vision if he’s just a mechanical mockery of his brother. Oh and then he reveals that once Vision accepted Grim Reaper’s offer to steal Captain America’s body, which Vision has to confirm that yes he said yes to the offer.

Which is clearly evidence that Vision is Grim’s real brother because he felt a right to a human body even at the expense of a teammate. BUT ALSO: remember how Vision protected Grim Reaper from a deadly Hydra attack? LIKE A TRUE BROTHER???

So is the supposed “Wonder Man” merely an imposter that Vision is trying to shield from Grim’s wrath? YOUR WITNESS BLACK PANTHER.

This line of questioning is dumb because it is finally revealed in this issue who was behind the resurrection of Wonder Man. Spoilers: Its Grim Reaper.

Anyway, Black Panther first objects that any Avenger would act to preserve life, even if that life is Grim Reaper life.

Although, this is not the whole truth. At the time, Vision revealed that because Grim Reaper may be his brother kinda, he felt the need to protect him sorta. It was vague and not entirely logical. Like Vision himself.

Black Panther cross-examines Vision and asks why he agreed to Grim Reaper’s mad body-swapping scheme. And Vision reveals, as the issue at the time revealed, that he was just playing along so Cap could ambush Grim Reaper.

Grim Reaper seems confused by this, almost like he didn’t remember Cap and Vision kicking his ass.

Also, Black Panther burns him almighty.

He also says that Vision won’t fit into the role that Grim Reaper wants to cast him. Vision is his own man, taking his life into his own hands. Why he has even taken a wife.

Which seems an AH HA moment for Grim Reaper because his brother would never marry a mutant! Because Grim Reaper is a bigot in addition to being weirdly fixated on his brother.

Meanwhile, Wonder Man is off to the side trying to ignore the crush he has on Wanda.

I joke, he’s really off to the side flummoxed that his brother is doing all this. But he does have feelings for Wanda at some point. Supposedly he was attracted to her even before he died (when?? when did he ever meet her?) and that formed the basis for Vision’s own interest in her. But that’s a dumb retcon.

Anyway, Grim Reaper calls Wonder Man to the stand/chair.

And Wanda asks Vision what he’s playing at when Grim Reaper may kill him. But Vision says he’s not Simon Williams and if that’s a crime, well he guesses he’ll die. But better he die for not being Simon Williams than Simon Williams suffer a second death for not being Simon Williams.

So now its Wonder Man’s turn to sit in the chair and recap his backstory. Recruited by the Masters of Evil when he was at his lowest point, made swole with ionic power and used as a traitor against the Avengers.

But it wasn’t the Avengers who killed him! To Grim Reaper’s apparent shock. He seems really clueless of a lot of things, actually.

Wonder Man died after turning on Zemo. And seems to think he got blasted for it. But it was really that Zemo didn’t give him the cure. I mean, that was the plot, right?

Then the ‘corpse’ was kept in a special preservative coffin but was stolen (by Grim Reaper). Then ??? and then he was delivered as a zombie (wait we can say that now?) to the Avengers’ front step in a big crate. The Avengers tracked down a voodoo priest called Black Talon and Scarlet Witch kicked his ass but Zombie Wonder Man still walked. And began to feel and think and remember. And by the time the Avengers were fighting Living Laser and the Serpent Crown and Nuklo and all that nonsense, Wonder Man was back to himself again.

Good enough for Grim Reaper! (Redramatically unmasks) The voice and mannerisms are right! This must be the real brother!

OBJECTION says Black Panther

(I knew I kept that for a reason)

Returning from death is impossible! True death is irrevocable!

(Oh Black Panther, how little you know of the comic book world...)

Whatever this Wonder Man is, he is not the same as the man he was before or even ANY man who EVER lived!

And Simon Williams is shocked, shocked, that someone figured it out. He takes off his goggles and reveals that his eyes glow with crimson kirby crackle. He knows he isn’t the same. But he doesn’t know what he has become... and it scares him.

Imagine coming back to life. Years have passed. The world is different. And there’s a feeling deep inside, staring at you in the mirror, that you’re not what you were. The world is not the only thing that has changed. And you wonder (hah!) if you are even human anymore...

There’s a lot of good material you could mine with Wonder Man. I remember it being squandered but maybe I remember wrong.

Grim Reaper is taken aback at Simon’s reveal and it actually feels like a small, human moment. Like maybe there’s a human connection still to be preserved here beyond the hyperbolic dramatics of the Grim Reaper.

But Vision calls Grim Reaper out. If he’s going to kill one of them, just get it over with and also kill him specifically. Because he (the Reaper) is a fool to think that he can ever have his brother back as he was.

Maybe Vision was a fool too because he had once hoped that he was in some way Simon Williams but he is his own unique, beautiful individual! He is the Vision! And he is content with that.

And if Wonder Man has somehow stepped beyond humanity, maybe he and Vision are the true brothers?

NO THAT IS NOT AN ANSWER I LIKE Grim Reaper expresses by torturing his captives.

And with all the Avengers knocked unconscious, Grim Reaper monologues that they would tremble if they knew who provided him the technology to build the manacles. Also now he’s going to execute the android kthx.

And then Wonder Man punches him in the face and it is super satisfying.

Sometimes comics are good.

Wonder Man says that his molecular structure must be different now, since his change. The manacles don’t work right on him.

Grim Reaper: “Simon, you fool! Don’t you realize that what I’ve done... and what I’m doing is for you? Stay back!”

And he blasts at Simon and Simon punches a big piece of machinery at him which Grim Eric shreds with his helicopter scythe.

Back when they were kids, Eric used to beat the stuffing out of Simon all the time. Eric was the big brother and the more athletically inclined to Simon’s quiet bookish type. But things have changed.

Grim Reaper: “Listen to me! I’ve worked long and hard for your sake! Right or wrong, for years I held the Avengers responsible for your death, and sought revenge! I paid the Black Talon a fortune to use his voodoo -- to raise your body and send it among the Avengers to kill them! But for the Scarlet Witch, you yourself would have been the instrument --.”

A lot to unpack here. Grim Reaper basically admits that maybe his revenge was misplaced but eh, sunk cost. Also, that he was the one that resurrected Black Talon but it doesn’t seem he thought he’d get his brother back. He just wanted a Wonder Man zombie (seriously, we can say that now? Its only been a few issues...) to bludgeon the Avengers to death with.

I’m not sure what the actual plan was since the Wonder Man zombie collapsed rather than murder anyone. But maybe that’s the point. Wonder Man had been brought back, not just as a body, and wouldn’t revenge on anyone. That was what derailed the plan.

Grim Reaper blasts Wonder Man with all his remaining power but just shreds his shirt.

Grim Reaper: “Look, I -- I’m trying to tell you how much it means -- to have my real brother back, instead of that android copy! But I had to be sure! I had to test you both!”

With the blade out of power but the whirl engine still whirling, Grim Reaper tries to fend Simon off with the helicoptering. But Simon just marches right into it, the scythe breaking off on his pecs.

And as Grim Reaper stares in disbelief at the stump of his weapon, Wonder Man punches him out. And then deactivates the manacles from the rest of the Avengers.

The Avengers rouse, glad to have survived that nonsense. Scarlet Witch thanks Wonder Man for saving Vision and Vision himself says he is ever in Wonder Man’s debt.

Its Beast that notices that Wonder Man isn’t altogether okay with what he had to do.

But Wonder Man just asks to be left alone for a while.

Because its not Avengers if someone isn’t brooding at the end.

And because in addition to coming back to life having missed several years, feeling like his humanity has slipped him by on his resurrection, Wonder Man had to learn today that his brother, who he already had a contentious relationship with, has become a supervillain who has already done terrible things in Simon’s name. I have to imagine that Simon hasn’t gone looking to reunite with any of his family because he doesn’t know how to explain his death and because he wasn’t sure he was himself anymore. But someone came looking for him and even if it was the brother he didn’t get along with, it was someone from his past reconnecting with him. But the way it seems is that now they’ll forever be at odds. Because having his brother back isn’t enough for Eric. He has to kill the ‘imposter’ and Simon can’t stand for that.

Heavy melodramatic stuff.

...

This issue should have gone before the Graviton arc.

You have all this increased tension from Wonder Man’s resurrection and Vision’s existential crisis, leading Vision to be moody and distant and finally come to blows with Wonder Man.

Then the rest of the issue is some gravity jerk.

It would have required a little rewriting but after Vision and Wonder Man throw down is when Grim Reaper should have struck. Get Black Panther in there somehow or use Iron Man or Captain America in Black Panther’s place.

The Avengers are weak and in turmoil from being just off the Attuma misadventure. From just having their asses kicked on Christmas by a statue. And with tempers at a fraying point, Vision at last lashes out and he and Wonder Man rumble.

And Grim Reaper takes that opportunity to jump in. And enact his trial.

Things play out as they did. Maybe expand into a two parter to give some more time to explore Vision’s discontent and the temptation to be considered the ‘real’ brother even by an ass like Grim Reaper. And then its worth more when, as before, he refuses to play Grim Reaper’s game. He stands up for his own individuality and for Wonder Man’s life. And things play out roughly the same.

With the insinuation that the Statue Knight was Ultron’s work, this makes things flow so much better. Ultron and Grim Reaper are implied and later explicitly stated to be working together.

That’s where he gets all his wonderful toys.

Ultron uses the statue as a distraction to allow Grim Reaper to infiltrate into the mansion and set up his little farce. Which Ultron uses as a distraction from his own plans (as we’ll see soon).

The Graviton story can still happen after this but moving the Grim Reaper stuff forward lets the Vision/Wonder Man thing play out instead of being interrupted by a story that didn’t advance it.

Anyway. Those are my thoughts.

Obviously, I liked this issue more than I thought I would, going in. What with Grim Reaper an all. This is a good Grim Reaper use. And it pays off his previous appearances. The problem is that this then, is the only Grim Reaper we ever get, when I think he kind of ran his course here.

In the future, he will seriously try to put Wonder Man and Vision in a blender to create a one, true brother.

So the true brother schemes should have stopped here. As hilarious as that laconic plot description sounds.

Next time: everyone who ever thought the power of small or ants was worst power I laugh at. Next time, beware the Ant-Man.

Follow @essential-avengers because I have always known ants is best power.

#Avengers #Grim Reaper #the Vision #Wonder Man #Scarlet Witch #Black Panther #Beast #Essential Avengers #Essential marvel liveblogging #villains love putting heroes on trial #i think its a 'how do YOU like it' thing #holidays are super awkward at the Williams residence

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clubpenguinheadcanons · 7 years ago

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Decided to play Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force

Okay, so this was a while ago that i played through it, but i wrote this down and never submitted it. Since, idk, didn’t think to. And, well...ah, felt like sharing it. Not really headcanons, just me reacting with this silly stuff that goes on.

So apparently Jet and Rookie are already EPF agents when you are in the game.

For some reason, the character you play isn’t a PSA agent? Or are they??? They make it seem that you don’t know about the PSA and the likes, but at the same time, you know that Rookie is a PSA agent?? So umm, did Rookie’s info get leaked or something?

Herbert isn’t in the cave when you go down to save Rookie (the door isn’t there). The game was released in November 2008, which was long after Mission 6: Questions for a Crab (January 2008). So I guess Herbert really did dip the moment you found his Secret Hideout.

Also holy fuck, the EPF was released around the same time Herbert was discovered.

Well, Rookie sucks at survival as well.

As well that Rookie and Jet were a part of the EPF for that long, I wonder what made them go to that status so quick?

With mission 4 with finding G, I think Agent would be concerned, cause a friend is missing .3. Surprised they weren’t like in this “WHOO’S GARRY?!”

Never mind, you need to ask who Gary is before you can even proceed with finding him.

I am now headcanoning that this is some android, okay I kid. But still.

“Maybe he took a day off?” Hehe, yeah, and he would just up and leave the Director hanging. Good call Agent!

Found G dead in the Mines.

Okay, he ain’t dead, justs with a bump on the head and in pain while trapped under a mine cart.

Gotta use the convenient hot geyser to fill the convenient resilient balloons to free him.

“Hey, the mine cart is heading up to the stalagmites! “Don’t you mean stalactites?” You nerds, trying to remember the right words instead of making sure the cart doesn’t land on either of you.

I swear, I was half worried it would fall on Gary, or on the player character.

That would be hilarious though, "You saved me!” *cart falls on him* “...” (ok not really, but my humor is fucked up).

Or like so close to them that they just fall into the pit.

WHO’S DAT IN THE SHADOWS?!

Found G, his memory is fuzzy, but hey he’s alive!

Okay skipping past finishing the Puffle Training.

Also, PH is adorable, sleeping in a bubble that her puffles captured her in.

I am glad that they redesigned her.

Helping G with the Snow Trekker!

Rookie questioning the Cafe Shop Owner. Cute!

“Man G, you’re gonna test run this?” “PFFTT ME?! Nah, you will Agent!”

Okay, not exact words, but like I’m just thinking of Agent just being like “...fuck...I knew this would happen...”

Agent gets wrapped into test driving things they don’t want to test drive.

“ME?!” “You seem excited Agent” G mistakes their fear voice for excitement, or is sarcastic.

Test drove it, seems that this Agent just loves the Snow Trekker.

No really, this Agent cannot BELIEVE that THE Snow Trekker is REAL

Got the Robot Locator

G REMEMBERS EVERYTHING NOW GUYS HE REMEMBERS EVERYTHING

So apparently he made robots to test drive his more dangerous prototypes.

I’m putting this down as Agent told G to be more careful with who he lets to test drive.

Then they became sentient

JESUS THE ROBO-LOCATOR IS HUGE

ITS SUPPOSE TO BE ON YOUR BACK

HOW THE HELL DID AGENT PICK IT UP LIKE A POCKET THING

G confirmed for shit cart surfing skills

GOTTA FIND ALL THE CLUES

Help Rookie with welding the ticket booth together

Wait, doesn’t he have the Elite Puffles as well?

Help Jet with fishing

Damnit, Jet you lazy, not wanting to fish.

Okay, all of these agents are lazy and Agent here is on intern status to do all the things they don’t want to do. Clearance, smearance.

“Robot art school” Don’t be mean Jet. That’s how a world war starts. Oh wait, the robot would have to be rejected from...okay moving on.

Damn it G you and your sentient robots.

Got the thing to deactivate them!

*Goes into Gift Shop* *Robot is trying to steal vault door* “Threat level, low, continue to steal vault door* “YOU SON OF A-”

Welp, got the wheelie bot out of the way. As well that it was being stripped of it’s parts.

Got the other two bots now!

Yet they were sending an activation signal? HMMMM

Aww, a play, for me?

Lol Art is done by the yellow puffle.

Wait. Something happened! Time to “Save the Day Once Again!”

THE DIRECTOR CALLED

ISLAND WIDE EMERGENCY

TIEM TO GO TO CPI

Wait..that’s 9 years too earlier.

Also G isn’t here...so like???

No monitors online and the puffles are gone!

Yup, G got taken.

TO HQQQQ

OMG PH IS SO UPSET

WE’LL GET THE PUFFLES DARLING

ALSO HOLY FUCK BIG HOLE IN THE LAB

“I’ll take the Snow Trekker!”

Okay yeah this Agent loves the snow trekker

“Never remember this hole bieng so robot shaped before” NO SHIT AGENT

“Wait a minute! This must be a hideout...” I feel like Agent would know that from like...being trapped in Herbert’s befoer.

“for a *GASP* GIANT ROBOT” HOLY FUCKING SHIT I HC THIS AGENT HAS SPONGEBOB’S VOICE FUCK

GARY IS IN THE HEAD

I guess he is teh “brains” of this operation

Okay sorry not sorry

The robots built this giant robot based on Gary’s sketches. Damn...they good.

“Hey you, whatever you are! Put G down!” PSSHHHHHH

“Don’t worry G, I’ll save you!” Okay, like now I just head canon Agent says that any time shit does down and G is gone.

WHAT THE FUCK HOW DID IT GET INTO TOWN

DA FAQ AGENT

“It’s a relief to see you, Agent! The Ultimate Proto-Bot is ruining everything!” I feel like the first part was sarcastic.

So the robot can sneeze

JESUS FUCK G ARE YOU OKAY THE ROBOT LITERALLY FELL OVER

Okay it didn’t fall over, just lost balance

AYY BLAST GOT FREE

TO THE DOCKS

KNOCKED IT

ON NO IT WENT INTO THE WATER

OMG IT IS SPIN DRYING

Rookie is using the rubber ducky. Bless your heart

Omg poor puffle got sick xD

Got Flit, and now that robo is flying

HEY LET’S HIT THE ROBOT WITH AN ANVIL

Knocked it down

Bouncer is free!

Time to jet pack fly to them!

HIT IT’S BOILER

NOW IT CAN’T FLYY

Thank god it landed into the snow

IMagine it missing teh mountain

liek jesus...good bye G.

WOO Got Chirp!

Chirp broke that glass like a pro!

Pop is free and G’s glass prison is broken!

Fuck no more jetpack.

G was able to freed by making a bubble.

Well that’s a sad robot

Deactivated finally!

Woohoo! I won!

Welp, that’s the main story!

#club penguin #epf #Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force #elite penguin force #gary the gadget guy #the agent #aa #ph #jet pack guy #rookie club penguin #not a headcanon #just a silly daria reacts from her playthrough i made months ago.

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othersportsnews-blog · 7 years ago

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Why not discuss the notion of the New England Patriots likely 19-?

New Post has been published on https://othersportsnews.com/why-not-discuss-the-notion-of-the-new-england-patriots-likely-19/

Why not discuss the notion of the New England Patriots likely 19-?

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — This is the silly time in the NFL, a time when fans ooh and aah around catches built in noncontact drills, and when Bill Belichick jokingly hails the scouting expertise of reporters although mocking his individual. So let’s agree to be silly. Let’s talk about these New England Patriots ending 19-.

But initially, let’s remember a several things about the prohibitive NFL preferred. In addition to profitable eighteen consecutive video games in the 2007 time, the Patriots of Belichick and Tom Brady won 21 consecutive video games around the 2003 and 2004 seasons. They also won 32 of 34 (’03 and ’04) and 23 of twenty five (’14 and ’15).

The 2017 Patriots? They’re the NFL’s respond to to the Golden Condition Warriors. No, they did not increase Kevin Durant, but they did increase major playmakers in their mid-20s at receiver (Brandin Cooks), cornerback (Stephon Gilmore), operating again (Mike Gillislee) and defensive conclude (Kony Ealy), as effectively as an previous pro’s pro at linebacker (David Harris). Really don’t fail to remember, a healthful Rob Gronkowski is also an addition. And given that the Patriots won seventeen of 19 video games previous time, the losses of LeGarrette Blount and the retired Rob Ninkovich aren’t about to silence ideas of them profitable 19 of 19 video games this calendar year.

The Patriots are a group of a lot of blessings, but the burden of sustaining greatness is their just one curse. As curses go, it is just not a bad just one. Belichick and Brady have won extra Tremendous Bowls (five) than any coach and quarterback ahead of them, and exterior of breaking a tie for NFL titles with the Vince Lombardi-Bart Starr partnership in Inexperienced Bay, there is just not a lot still left for them to do.

Besides supply a great time. So although it could possibly be silly on just one hand to talk about 19- extra than five weeks ahead of New England attempts to go one-, this a lot is real: The 2007 Patriots were being a single enjoy away from pulling it off, and the 2017 roster looks to be in the identical ZIP code as that just one. In other phrases, the Patriots could possibly be good enough to exorcise the just one lingering demon from the Belichick-Brady many years: the pursuit of perfection that satisfied a devastating conclude in their Tremendous Bowl XLII loss to the New York Giants.

Brady and kicker Stephen Gostkowski are the only holdover players from that epic (and in the end doomed) ’07 group, and the bylaws of the Patriot Way expressly prohibit them from evaluating present day practice to yesterday’s practice, hardly ever brain evaluating groups from various a long time. Belichick’s cardinal rule among cardinal rules? Remain in the instant at all instances.

Brandin Cooks will give Tom Brady a critical deep risk, and the Patriots’ offense could be exclusive. Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire by using Getty Photos

“It is really quick to arrive out here and say,” Gostkowski stated of the just one-snap-at-a-time clichés the Patriots are forever feeding reporters, “since that’s what [the coaches are] stating to us.”

Beneath owner Robert Kraft, the Belichick-Brady Patriots have arrived at 7 Tremendous Bowls with a relentless robo-technique to their work, creating Foxborough a location exactly where humanizing writers go to die. It would just take a fairly robust dose of truth serum to get the 65-calendar year-previous Belichick to expose the things he’d most really like to execute ahead of retirement, so we’re still left to speculate about what people things could possibly be. This is a guess at two of them:

one. Ultimately beat the Giants in the Tremendous Bowl.

two. Entire the Don Larsen game he dropped with two outs in the ninth inning a 10 years ago.

Soon after paying out a dozen many years as an assistant with the Giants, and following losing to them 2 times in the huge game, Belichick absolutely would really like to decide on them off even with his former Giants staffmate, Tom Coughlin, no more time on the opposing sideline. But Belichick won’t have a lot command around the NFC half of the postseason match. We all could possibly are living to see Mayweather-McGregor II (most regrettably) ahead of we at any time see Patriots-Giants III.

Belichick does have command around the next part of the proposed would like checklist. The 1972 Miami Dolphins went seventeen-, and though the Patriots coach would very likely delight in unseating Don Shula, who referred to him as “Beli-cheat,” as the maker of the greatest NFL time of all, his primary source of motivation would be rooted in Tremendous Bowl XLII. The Eli Manning escape. The David Tyree catch. The Asante Samuel drop. You know the drill.

In his locker place following the Giants’ seventeen-fourteen victory, Belichick wore a ghastly mask of agony and despair.

“I observed a defeated appear on his face, and I might hardly ever found nearly anything like it,” stated Donte’ Stallworth, a Patriots receiver then and a sports activities and political commentator now. Belichick blamed himself in a quick talk with his group and then still left his roomful of shattered players. “It was virtually like he just light to black when he walked away,” Stallworth stated.

The tape of the game will have to have built the result even extra haunting. On the Manning escape, the New England rush overwhelmed almost the whole Giants offensive line. Jarvis Inexperienced exploded past Shaun O’Hara to the center’s still left and plowed by still left guard Rich Seubert, and Richard Seymour looped at the rear of Jarvis Inexperienced and beat O’Hara to his suitable. The offensive linemen experimented with to enjoy the rush as if they were being switching on a basketball decide on-and-roll, and they failed miserably. As Seymour and Inexperienced converged on the motionless Manning, O’Hara stated he observed “Eli curl up in the fetal place, which he generally does,” and then imagined, “Ok, we’re possibly likely to drop this game.”

But as Manning held transferring his ft and keeping alive, having difficulties to break cost-free from the grasp of both equally New England rushers, a desperate O’Hara slid his gloved suitable hand on to Seymour’s throat. “I stated, ‘Screw it,'” the Giants heart would remember. “I was squeezing his trachea as hard as I could and not permitting go.” Choked by a 300-pound man, Seymour was briefly disabled for the break up-next that allowed Manning to get away. O’Hara gambled that the officials would overlook his WWE transfer, and overlook it they sure as hell did. If they threw a flag there, the Patriots would have finished up 19-.

Tom Coughlin has moved on from New York, although Belichick continues to be on the identical sideline. Jim Rogash/Getty Photos

Rather, Belichick was still left to guarantee his eighteen-one players that it was not their fault.

“It is really the most emotional I have at any time found Bill,” stated Heath Evans, a fullback on that group who is now an NFL Community analyst. “Other than my father, I have hardly ever experienced extra respect for a man at a instant in my daily life as that instant suitable there. He owned the scenario, and it was not just verbiage. He was broken around the truth he experienced price not himself, but his group, his coaching employees, and probably most importantly his owner an option to go down in historical past.”

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10 many years afterwards, that option is even now very a lot in enjoy. The Patriots are terrifying on paper. At their initially practice Thursday early morning, as Belichick wore a white visor although shuffling involving the team’s two side-by-side fields, extra than fifteen,000 fans viewed Brady toss to risky weapons previous and new. Harris stated it was a bigger camp crowd than any from his Jets times. Julian Edelman stated it was a bigger crowd than he experienced at his Kent Condition video games.

On muscle memory, the fans chanted the identify of the quarterback sporting pink jersey No. twelve. The 6-foot-four Brady even now appeared to rise over all people on the field, together with the 6-foot-6 Gronk, and following he identified Cooks on a touchdown go in the still left corner of the conclude zone, beating two defenders, he slowly lifted his arms toward the sky and held them superior for an extra next or two. Brady’s reaction appeared extra fitting for January than July.

Perhaps he was basking in the opportunities for Cooks and this group, or probably he was just possessing a little opening-working day enjoyable. Both way, as he stands three times away from his 40th birthday, Brady continues to be solely able of introducing to his legacy as the ideal NFL participant at any time. He believes he has time on his side, too. He informed ESPN.com in the spring that he could possibly enjoy over and above age 45, and that his wife, Gisele Bundchen, has signed off on him at least participating in into his mid-forties. “She desires me to do that, too,” he stated.

Brady would not duplicate what he did in 2007, when he threw 50 touchdown passes, 23 of them to Randy Moss. But off his four-game suspension, he proved previous time that he can enjoy shut to that degree. He was picked off 2 times in 432 passes for a profession-reduced .5 interception percentage in the normal time ahead of authoring the mother of all Tremendous Bowl comebacks.

As an encore, can Brady seize a sixth ring by profitable just one extra game than he did in his greatest statistical time? Can he go 19-for-19 in his 18th calendar year?

“Bill is likely to eliminate me for stating this, but yes,” Evans stated. “I can draw up eighty various equations in 2007 for how we beat the Giants and end 19-, but the better group won that working day and I am going to leave it at that. … If all people plays their ideal and each group stays absolutely healthful and each coaching employees coaches as effectively as it truly is able of coaching, the Patriots will run the desk. But we also know it won’t materialize that way.”

Accidents materialize. Bad bounces materialize. Worse officiating phone calls materialize. Road video games in Denver materialize.

“I assume they certainly have the opportunity to set up equivalent figures to ours in 2007,” Stallworth stated. “The Patriots are just one of the several groups in the NFL that can transfer guys all around the field. If you double Gronk, Cooks and Julian will be broad open. …It is really not achievable to include Gronk just one-on-just one. He is not a human staying. Cooks, that dude is a house run hitter. Toss that in there and it truly is, holy s—, what else do they have to have?

“But as far as the document goes, there were being a good deal of video games we could’ve dropped that calendar year. We should’ve dropped probably three to four video games. … We did not execute [the 19- document], and the Giants were not even that good. They just set stress on us, and we were not executing in the passing game what we did previously in the calendar year.”

Numerous things have to go suitable for a great mark. And a healthful Gronk would be critical. Richard Cashin/Icon Sportswire

The 2007 Patriots were being all but gasping for water by the time they arrived at the Tremendous Bowl in the Arizona desert. Chasing historical past and a championship at the identical time is an terribly draining knowledge. The 2015-sixteen Golden Condition Warriors identified out the hard way following they broke the Chicago Bulls’ normal-time document for victories with 73 they did not have enough gasoline still left to guard a three-one Finals guide around Cleveland.

Belichick’s objective is to win titles, not break information, which is why New England has a opportunity to win three around a four-calendar year period of time for the next time on his enjoy. He did not talk to his 2007 players about a great time. “And he built sure we did not talk about it ourselves,” Stallworth stated. “It is really forbidden fruit. Really don’t go to the Garden of Eden and contact that fruit or you’re likely to be in problems.”

Possibilities are, the Patriots will drop a few of video games this calendar year. They have received a November day at their least preferred location on the map, Denver, exactly where their 10- time turned south in 2015, and they have received three consecutive road video games with Buffalo, Miami and Pittsburgh in December. The Patriots have enough hazard places on the timetable for Belichick to retain his players in line and to encourage a good and faithful veteran like Matthew Slater to simply call the glowing preseason assessments of the group “pretty foolish” and “pretty disrespectful” to the relaxation of the league.

Absolutely nothing at any time modifications in Foxborough, other than the trophy rely. Requested previous week about a released projection of an unbeaten time, Belichick stated he was just hoping to get off to a good commence in camp. “We are not definitely worried about all that’s in the upcoming,” he stated. “That will arrive when it will come.”

But ahead of it does arrive, it truly is correctly great to talk about a great time. Belichick and Brady are even now breathing all these many years following profitable eighteen straight and 32 out of 34. That’s why dismissing the chance of 19- is sillier than weighing it at the conclude of July.

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