#kevin's is that we caught him halfway through his character arc

[deadliestpieceontheboard]

In honour of your tags on this post : Please tell me all your thoughts on Kevin Day! I love to hear anything you have to say about aftg in general, but there's never enough content about Kevin.

Oooh, I'll never pass an opportunity to talk about Kevin!

I really love that lately we've learned to embrace pathetic men. Kevin is a wet cat, he's scared and wounded and aggressive and really we just need to plunge him in a warm flea bath and he'll become a lap princess.

This is all great. Let us all accept weakness and be kinder to Kevin Day.

But!!! Let's not forget!!

This man is THE SHIT. He's the hottest girl in school. He's the best exy player since the sport was created. At 18!! He's the star of the most badass moment on the entire series.

He refused defeat, he refused half-assed attempts. He demanded the best because he could give nothing less and kept his pride because it was all he had left. Kevin Day couldn't afford to doubt himself because the entire world already did.

Kevin was left broken in the gutter and clawed his way back to the top. He dragged himself drinking and crying to the only acceptable outcome.

And there's nothing braver than a coward who chooses time and time again to keep going.

[karenxmenfan]

(above: Jack Kirby, John Verpoorten, Glynis Oliver; John Paul Leon; Al Milgrom, Joe Sinnott, Julianna Ferriter; Daniel Acuña)

READING THE ETERNALS

Jack Kirby’s Gods return to the Marvel Universe

PART 1 — INTRODUCTION

“When two aggressive species share the same environment, evolution demands acceptance or dominance.” When Jonathan Hickman’s return to Marvel was first teased in 2019, I thought they might do something unexpected and announce a new Eternals series. Kevin Feige had revealed an Eternals movie not too long before, so it seems possible. I knew practically nothing about the characters, aside from Sersi being an Avenger, that it was Jack Kirby’s baby, and they were tied to the Celestials. I met these massive Space Gods in the beloved 1999 miniseries Earth X. That series includes a basic recap of the Eternals and Deviants in service of an epic plot surrounding the Celestials and their relationship to Earth.

The Hickman rumors sparked an interest in the characters, so I decided to read the original run from the beginning. What I found out is that there’s a lot of silly fun to these characters and I’m genuinely excited for the movie. The concept is weird and doesn’t quite have the same generative power as, say, the Fantastic Four, but it’s still enjoyable and Jack Kirby’s art is always a treat for the eyeballs. It’s easy to get caught up on all the essentials, since these characters are used so infrequently, but their presence is heavily seeded throughout the Marvel Universe. I’ve put together this reading guide to offer a roadmap for anyone wanting to take a deep-dive into THE ETERNALS!

WHO?

The Eternals are secretly one of three branches of the human race that were ENGINEERED BY ALIENS (a fact that gets reiterated nearly every time they appear in a comic). Yes, it’s that old urban legend that human evolution was kickstarted by extraterrestrial influence. In this case, massive space beings called the Celestials came to Earth and did experiments on apes, resulting in homo sapiens, but also the Eternals, powerful god-like beings, and Deviants, “monsters” who have unstable genes so no two are alike. Make of that what you will, it’s kind of messed up. Anyway, many thousands of years after their first visit, the Celestials return to Earth again to check up on their creations, and to see if the planet is worthy to survive.

PART 2 — KIRBY

The main draw of this series is Kirby’s art, weird ideas, and how funny all the characters are as they strut around exclaiming everything. What’s interesting here is that it’s not actually a part of the Marvel Universe - there’s an issue halfway through where they fight a robot Hulk, which is pretty explicitly based on a fictional character. The best characters in the whole book are Sersi, who is a hip, with-it party girl, Thena, and of course the Deviant leader Kro (the romance between the latter two is very good).

Entries in blue are favorites

The Eternals (1976) #1–6 — Where it all begins!! WHO ARE THE SPACE GODS? Some human archaeologists discover, with the help of a disguised Eternal, the big secret of the human race, and their relationship to Eternals, Deviants, and the Celestials who created them. This kicks off the series and the first arc where all the various Eternals are brought out of hiding as the Deviants, led by Kro, launch an effort to keep the Celestials from returning to judge their creations - this includes an attack on New York where the Deviants pose as demons from space hell. Meanwhile, the Fourth Celestial Host arrives on Earth…

The Eternals (1976) #7–13 — Picking up after the attack on New York, the human race is now formally introduced to its ancient siblings. This arc starts to get more into the relationships of the characters, with Sersi getting thirsty for a flummoxed, stuffed-shirt anthropologist, while Kro and Thena drop hints of a previous romance. Through their story, we see more of Deviant society, which introduces future BFFs The Reject and Karkas. Meanwhile, the Celestials are floating around the planet making observations like colossal roombas and freaking out humanity who start to get very worried. We also see the introduction of the Uni-Mind, where all the Eternals fly into a blue flame and emerge as one giant brain-thing. In this form, they leave Earth for a while.

The Eternals Annual (1977) #1 — A fun little adventure with Thena, The Reject, and Karkas (who has a human disguise in this) dealing with some Deviant menace who brings Jack the Ripper and Atilla the Hun to the present day to cause mayhem. The Eternals (1976) #14-17 - The momentum of the series comes to a halt - the Uni-Mind returns to Earth and the Eternals get swept up in a battle with a robotic Hulk who goes on the loose, and then a secret, all-powerful monster that Zuras was hiding in the basement.

The Eternals (1976) #18–19 — Probably with the knowledge that cancellation is nigh, the story picks up again. Druig becomes obsessed with uncovering the whereabouts of a secret weapon that is able to kill the Celestials (planting the seeds for the Dreaming Celestial). Ikaris tries his hardest to stop his cousin’s folly and avert the wrath of the Space Gods and I think it eventually comes to an end when the Celestials make Druig disappear? I guess this is when Jack Kirby peaced out of Marvel…

CREDITS* full series (Writing/Pencils - Jack Kirby; Inks - John Verpoorten, Mike Royer; Colors - Glynis Oliver; Lettering - Gaspar Saladino, John Costanza, Irving Watanabe, Mike Royer)

PART 3 — JOINING THE 616

Since the original series kind of was cut short with Kirby’s departure, the Eternals’ story gets picked up in other Marvel comics, where the heroes slowly learn about their existence.

Thor Annual (1976) #7 — Since the original series kind of was cut short with Kirby’s departure, the Eternals’ story gets picked up in other Marvel comics. This issue starts off a storyline where Thor recovers memories of the Celestials and some secret that Odin has been keeping from him.

(Writing - Roy Thomas; Pencils - Walter Simonson; Inks - Ernie Chan; Colors - Glynis Oliver; Lettering - Tom Orzechowski)

Thor (1966) #283-289, 291, 300-301 — Spurred on by his meeting of the Eternals, Thor takes the question to Odin. Odin won’t tell him anything, so this sets Thor off on a journey that takes him to the Eternals, the Deviants, and eventually the lead Celestial, The One Above All, who shows him hints of a deal between Celestials, Odin, Zeus, Zuras, and the other deities of Earth. Joining forces with the Eternals, Thor tries to stop the Fourth Hosts’ judgement of Earth which puts them at odds with the Norse and Greek gods. Thor finally learns the whole truth just in time to stand against the Celestials on the Day of Judgement. This is the big culmination of everything that started in The Eternals #1!

(Writing - Roy Thomas, Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio; Pencils - John Buscema, Keith Pollard; Inks - Chic Stone, Gene Day; Colors - George Roussos, Glynis Oliver, Marie Severin, Bob Sharen, Carl Gafford; Lettering - Joe Rosen, Tom Orzechowski)

Iron Man Annual (1970) #6 — Rhodey is flying around and accidentally happens upon the Eternals’ city, but it’s overrun by Deviants! They’ve incapacitated all the Eternals and are trying to steal their power source or something.

(Writing - Peter Gillis; Pencils - Luke McDonnell; Inks - Roy Richardson; Colors - Carl Gafford; Lettering - Diana Albers)

Eternals: Secrets from the Marvel Universe (2019) #1 — This one-shot collects a series of backup stories that ran in What If? through the early 1980s. This covers the established origin of the Eternals and Deviants, but also goes into more detail about the branch of Eternals who left Earth to populate the solar system. It also ties in the Inhumans and creates a relationship between these two very similar groups of characters.

(Writing - Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio, Peter Gillis; Pencils - Ron Wilson, Rich Buckler, Bruce Patterson; Inks - Chic Stone, Alan Kupperberg, Bruce Patterson, Joe Sinnott; Colors - Carl Gafford, Ed Hannigan, Nel Yomtov, Glynis Oliver; Lettering - Michael Higgins, John Morelli, Tom Orzechowski)

Avengers (1963) #246-248 — The Avengers crash one of Sersi’s parties and get dragged with her back to Olympia for some Eternals business. There we find out about the Eternals who went to Titan, and everyone finds out Starfox is an Eternal. The main plot involves a supervillain infiltrating Olympia to steal the power of the Uni-Mind. At the end of this story, the majority of lesser-known Eternals decide to leave Earth in a Uni-Mind for good, greatly narrowing their cast to just the essentials.

(Writing - Roger Stern; Pencils - Al Milgrom; Inks - Joe Sinnott; Colors - Christie Scheele, Julianna Ferriter; Lettering - Jim Novak, Diana Albers)

The Eternals (1985) #1-12 — This is actually a solid series, and does a huge amount to introduce new concepts and characters into the Eternals. It’s more of a standard Marvel superhero comic than Kirby’s weirdness, which perhaps allows it to fit more neatly into the greater shared universe. The best thing is that it features a lot of Kro and Thena as the latter becomes leader of the Eternals despite them not taking her seriously, and the former becoming embroiled in a sectarian power struggle with Ghuar (that guy from “Atlantis Attacks”) to lead the Deviants. The two find their love rekindled, putting them at odds with the other Eternals (Ikaris is a big asshole in this). Meanwhile, Sersi collects more human pets, including a guy she saves from suicide and tries to show that life is worth living. Central to everyone’s machinations is a plot to harness the power of the Celestials, playing off of the hints left by Kirby about the Celestial who was killed during the Second Host (this is the continuing foundation for the Dreaming Celestial idea).

(Writing - Peter Gillis, Walter Simonson; Pencils - Sal Buscema, Keith Pollard, Paul Ryan; Inks - Al Gordon, Keith Williams, Danny Bulanadi, Sam de la Rosa, Al Williamson, Tom Morgan, Geof Isherwood; Colors - George Roussos, Bob Sharen; Lettering - Joe Rosen, John Morelli, Rick Parker)

The Eternals: Herod Factor (1991) #1 — A little one-shot that is fun largely because it ultimately is about Thena and Kro. It’s written by Roy Thomas so doesn’t stray too far from established canon.

(Writing - Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas; Pencils - Mark Texiera; Inks - Bob McLeod, Christopher Ivy, Mark McKenna, Ian Akin, Sam de la Rosa; Colors - Mike Thomas, Dana Moreshead; Lettering - Jean Simek)

PART 4 — SERSI & THE AVENGERS

Despite the Forgotten One (aka Gilgamesh) joining the Avengers in issue #300, he doesn’t seem to have ever made much of an impression. His tenure does little more than to lead the team to another, more famous Eternal - the cosmopolitan Sersi! She definitely makes her mark on the team in the early 90’s. For better or worse!

Avengers (1963) #307-310, 325 — Gilgamesh is injured in battle, leading the Avengers to seek out the aid of his fellow Eternals - except Sprite has transported all of Olympia to the Negative Zone. After helping fend off Blastaar, Sersi joins the team in Gilgamesh’s stead. At this point she becomes a series regular and fans can start reading Avengers from here for more. Issue #325 is a great fill-in by Mark Gruenwald that features Sersi at her best – throwing a party and hitting on stymied squares.

(Writing - John Byrne; Pencils - Paul Ryan; Inks - Tom Palmer; Colors - Christie Scheele, Tom Fine; Lettering - Bill Oakley, Rick Parker)

Avengers (1963) #325 — A great fill-in by Mark Gruenwald that features Sersi at her best — throwing a party and hitting on stymied squares.

(Writing - Mark Gruenwald; Pencils - Rick Levins; Inks - Fred Fredericks [et al]; Colors - Ed Lazellari; Lettering - Brad K. Joyce)

Avengers (1963) #370-371 — Kro works at the Pentagon and has an outreach database for Deviants, which he uses to form Delta-Force! This team includes his kids with Thena who have the ability to merge into a grotesque fusion, and they need to save the Avengers from Ghaur.

(Writing - Glenn Herdling; Pencils - Geof Irsherwood, Mike Gustovich; Inks - Al Milgrom, Kevin Yates, Tom Palmer; Colors - Chris Matthys; Lettering - Bill Oakley)

Avengers (1963) #339, 344-347, 355-366, 372-375 — This is Bob Harras’ grand epic to ruin Sersi. After Sersi forms a version of the Uni-Mind with a bacteria-based group of Eternals (it’s… a thing), her behavior becomes erratic, presumably some Eternals mind-sickness. She begins to fawn all over Black Knight, linking to him in a soulmate ritual against his consent (he’s falling in love with Crystal). It’s all because of an alternate-reality Black Knight who wants to get revenge on Sersi because his version broke his heart. When everything is finally resolved, Sersi and Black Knight enter a wormhole and leave the dimension. At least Sersi has a cool costume.

(Writing - Bob Harras; Pencils - Steve Epting, Gordon Purcell; Inks - Tom Palmer, Steve Alexandrov, Fred Fredericks; Colors - Kevin Tinsley, Sarra Mossoff, Scott Marshall, Evan Skolnick, Tom Palmer, Gina Going, John Kalisz; Lettering - Bill Oakley, Michael Higgins, Rick Parker)

Heroes for Hire (1997) #5-7 — Sersi returns to a post-Onslaught 616 universe to warn about another plot by Ghaur to form an “Anti-Mind.” He’s been resurrected as a giant gold statue and is controlling all the Deviants. Once the day is saved, Sersi goes off on her separate way, with her bond to Black Knight severed at last.

(Writing - John Ostrander; Pencils - Pasqual Ferry; Inks - Jaime Mendoza; Colors - Joe Rosas; Lettering - Jonathan Babcock)

PART 5 — REBIRTH & DEATH / THE MODERN ERA

Having exhausted the story potential of the Eternals throughout the 80s and 90s, Marvel decided to pull in a ringer to give the franchise a reboot.

The Eternals (2006) #1-7 — the Eternals have all forgotten who they are thanks to Sprite, and the return of the Dreaming Celestial forces them to wake up… I am not a big fan of this run, and hold a bit of a grudge against it. John Romita Jr’s art is good though, especially when he’s drawing big bulky things. The biggest shame is that the Deviants are pretty generic here, and Kro is nowhere to be found. I mostly recommend reading this because it reintroduces the Eternals in the modern era and sets up the scenario for the next volume, with Makkari taking center stage and arranging Druig and Tiamet, the Dreaming Celestial on the board.

(Writing - Neil Gaiman; Pencils - John Romita Jr; Inks - Danny Miki, Tim Townsend, Tom Palmer, Jesse Delperdang, Klaus Janson; Colors - Matt Hollingsworth, Dean White, Paul Mounts; Lettering - Todd Klein)

The Eternals (2008) #1-6 — Druig is brainwashing as many Eternals as possible to his cause as Thena and Ikaris race against him. The heart of the story, though, is how Makkari is being used as a megaphone/alarm system by the Dreaming Celestial to warn about an intergalactic menace called the Horde that is coming to consumer Earth - a role that is overtaking his personality like an addiction. Sersi gets some good scenes in this but her character is kind of diminished in favor of Makkari. The story is actually pretty interesting, and salvages a lot of the ideas that Gaiman brought to the table. There’s a three issue X-Men crossover after this but I don’t have much to recommend it - Acuña’s not even drawing it.

(Writing - Charles Knauf, Daniel Knauf; Art - Daniel Acuña; Lettering - Todd Klein)

Thor: The Deviants Saga (2011) #1-5 — A little romp with Thor that takes the newer elements established by Gaiman and the Knaufs and brings them more in line with the previous depictions of the mythos. It does include a lot of details and references that Eternals fans should get a kick out of – Karkas and Ransak play a large role, Deviant Ereshkigal makes a return as does Ikaris’ dad Virako, there’s a lot of Kro – but it’s kind of meandering and doesn’t amount to that much. It ends with the entire cast essentially writing themselves out of future appearances.

(Writing - Robert Rodi; Pencils - Stephen Segovia; Inks - Jason Paz, Jeff Huet; Colors - Andy Troy, Will Quintana; Lettering - Jeff Eckleberry, John Rauch)

The Ultimates 2 (2017) #4, 6, 100 — Overall this is an amazing series, but as it pertains to this reading list, these issues shed light on the origins of the Marvel Universe, and thus, the Celestials. Created in the very first iteration of the cosmos, they not only have survived the many subsequent deaths and rebirths of the Multiverse, but they stand in opposition to a host of opposite, evil Celestials, known as the Aspirants. The Aspirants lay waste to the Celestials, who manage to live on through the surviving One Above All (this is even after the Celestials were seemingly all killed by the Beyonders in New Avengers [2013] #30).

(Writing - Al Ewing; Art - Travel Foreman, Filipe Andrade, Marco Lorenzana, Scott Hanna [Inks]; Colors - Dan Brown, Matt Yackey; Lettering - Joe Sabino)

Avengers (2018) #1-6, 8 — This series combines with Aspirants with the Horde of the last Eternals series to introduce the Dark Celestials, retconning the Celestial’s origin even further. The evil Dark Celestials have killed off their more colorful brethren and are coming to destroy Earth. Meanwhile, the Eternals are found to have all killed each other for some related reason. Ikaris holds out long enough to give Iron Man the power to make a Uni-Mind, which saves the day. The Celestials return and are cured of their Horde sickness – in return, they give the Avengers an ancient Celestial corpse to live in. Not my favorite, but as of this writing, it is the last time any of these concepts have appeared in the comics.

(Writing - Jason Aaron; Pencils - Ed McGuiness, Paco Medina, David Marquez; Inks - Mark Morales, Jay Leisten, Juan Vlasco, Karl Story; Colors - David Curiel, Justin Ponsor; Lettering - Cory Petit)

The History of the Marvel Universe (2019) #1 — As the name implies, this is a straightforward and beautiful explanation of the MU’s origins and the role the Celestials play, told from today’s vantage point with all the retcons and retrofitting that have happened over the years. Includes the obligatory origin of the Eternals and Deviants and the first three Hosts of the Celestials.

(Writing - Mark Waid; Pencils/Inks - Javier Rodriguez; Colors - Álvaro López; Lettering - Joe Caramagna)

PART 6 — XTRA-CREDIT

Being an X-Men fan, it's worth noting the times when the Eternals, Deviants, and Celestials have run into the mutants.

X-Factor (1986) #43-50 — Judgement War! X-Factor ends up on another planet which is visited by its own Celestial Host. The team gets involved between a set of Eternals and Deviant-type sects, trying to stop the Celestials from judging them unworthy.

(Writing - Louise Simonson; Pencils - Paul Smith, Rich Buckler; Inks - Al Milgrom; Colors - Tom Vincent; Lettering - Joe Rosen)

X-Force (1991) #77, 79, 82-90, 96-97 — X-Force starts running into people associated with the Damocles Foundation - a group of Deviants, Eternals, and Humans.

(Writing - Joseph Harris, John Francis Moore; Pencils - Adam Pollina, Jim Cheung, Angel Unzueta, Terry Shoemaker, Anthony Williams; Inks - Mark Morales, Rob Stull, Ray McCarthy, Bud LaRosa, Harry Candelario, Scott Koblish, Derek Mei, Scott Elmer; Colors - Marie Javins, Steve Buccellato, Mike Thomas; Lettering - Comicraft, Chris Eliopoulos)

Earth X (1999) #0-X — Issue 0 is basically Uatu explaining the history of the Marvel Universe to X-51, with a heavy emphasis on the role of the Celestials. This includes a very brief discussion of the Eternals and Deviants, but mostly focuses on the creation of humanity and the birth of super heroes, as the various Celestial Hosts visit Earth. By issue 9, the Celestials return for their Fifth and final Host, and more of their relationship to earth and Uatu is revealed as the remaining heroes defend their planet. Really really good and a must-read in general, even if the Eternals themselves are just footnotes. John Paul Leon makes the Celestials look like the coolest things the Marvel Universe has ever produced. The Reject does get to play a role in the sequel Universe X, though.

(Writing - Jim Krueger, Alex Ross; Pencils - John Paul Leon; Inks - Bill Reinhold; Colors - Matt Hollingsworth, James Sinclair, Melissa Edwards; Lettering - Todd Klein)

New Eternals: Apocalypse Now (2000) #1 — Apocalypse is behind some ill-defined plot that involves destroying Lemuria and turning Karkas into a kaiju. Ikaris’ father Virako is brought back, and they have some quarrels over leadership. This is another good one for Eternals fans but it’s kind of incomprehensible. At the end, the Eternals adopt new superhero identities as “the New Breed,” but this is never mentioned again.

(Writing - Karl Bollers, Mike Higgins; Pencils - Joe Bennett; Inks - Scott Hanna; Colors - John Kalisz; Lettering - Benchmark)

Uncanny X-Men (2012) #1-3 — Mr. Sinister messes with the Dreaming Celestial and it’s bad news for the planet. Magneto comes in handy.

(Writing - Kieron Gillen; Pencils - Carlos Pacheco, Jorge Molina, Rodney Buchemi, Paco Diaz; Inks - Cam Smith, Roger Bonet, Walden Wong; Colors - Frank D'armata, Rachelle Rosenberg, Jim Charalampidis, Dono Sánchez-Almara, Rex Lokus; Lettering - Joe Caramagna)

There’s more stuff with Eternals in it throughout the Marvel Universe, and even more with the Celestials, but this is pretty foundational and focused on the Eternals of Earth. Most of this stuff is on Marvel Unlimited, and the stuff that isn’t is looking like it will be included in a new Omnibus - ”The Complete Saga” - (currently scheduled for December, 2020), like the 1985 series and the “Herod Factor” one-shot. With the MCU movie scheduled for February 2021, it’s highly likely we may be seeing a new series before too long. I recently came across this fascinating bit of research on the behind-the-scenes of Jack Kirby’s work on the The Eternals -- check it out! Four Color Primer: Sersi & The Eternals Part 1

*issue credits gathered from marvel.fandom.com

[wits-writing]

Earth’s Mightiest Retrospective Ep 19: “Widow’s Sting”

(Directed by Vinton Heuck, Written by Kevin Burke & Chris Wyatt, Original Airdate: December 19, 2010)

Here’s one that almost made me re-think my watch/recap order for the series. Wikipedia and a couple other places where the episodes of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are officially hosted put this right before the trilogy of Kang episodes, but other hosting sites and the Blu-Rays I’m using list it after. This is likely due to confusion around the original airdate, which was placed before that story arc. It honestly doesn’t matter that much, as the parts of the EMH’s overarching plot “Widow’s Sting” interacts with have little to nothing to do with the Avengers battles with Kang. Since it could easily take place before or after that storyline, I decided to go by the order on the Blu-Ray.

Developments in this episode revolve around two things, the partnership of Hydra/AIM and Hawkeye’s on-going hunt after his ex-partner Black Widow. Clint enters the episode by interrupting a deal between the two about the research AIM is putting into creating the Cosmic Cube for Hydra’s purposes. MODOK’s asks for more money from Grim Reaper, so AIM’s work can continue right as the archer ambushes them. Hawkeye manages to disable several agents on both sides of the deal, but not before their respective leaders can retreat. He faces Nick Fury’s anger for his trouble, since the Director of SHIELD doesn’t want an ex-SHIELD agent busting up every Hydra operation he comes across. Fury knows all about Hydra’s ability to rebuild after minor incidents, so he’s planning and biding his time until he can make the move that takes down all of Hydra at once.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Iron Man agrees with Fury and tells Clint to stop his hunt for Widow and keep to Avengers business. Hawkeye does what’s rapidly becoming his go to move in this series, deciding to go off on his own if no one will help him with his personal mission. Captain America and Black Panther end up deciding to join him despite what Fury and Stark had to say on the matter, plus further help from SHIELD agent Bobbi Morse, codename: Mockingbird. However, the three Avengers quickly reveal that they know Fury sent her in to spy on them. They tell her they know exactly where to find Grim Reaper before she has a chance to send them on a wild goose chase for random Hydra ops.

Mockingbird’s a good character pull from the comics, since she’s been paired with Hawkeye there even more often than Widow, they were even married for a while. While no relationship near that level gets built between Hawkeye and Mockingbird here, there is a sense of flirtation between the two as they go on to compliment each other in combat once they start going after Hydra. The pair puts up a decent fight against Reaper and his goons until they let themselves get captured, leaving Cap and Panther to track their signal, until they disappear thanks to Hydra’s stealth tech halfway to their destination, Hydra Island.

The time the episode spends on the island gives us a brief look into the scope of how Hydra has been operating since “Breakout.” Viper (aka, Madame Hydra) and Black Widow report to Baron Strucker about the various crime and government organizations willing to make deals with them. Reaper brings Hawkeye and Mockingbird into Strucker’s throne room, only for Viper to suggest that an Avenger would make a better bargaining chip than a body to add to the pile. While Clint and Bobbi are being kept in Hydra’s holding cells, Widow comes to talk to them. Hawkeye justifiably has zero patience for anything she has to say to him, since she’s the one that framed him and got him kicked out of SHIELD in the first place.

Once Black Widow’s gone, Hawkeye immediately breaks Mockingbird and himself out and start busting heads. This sequence mainly consists of them dealing with the overwhelming odds against them, alleviated once Panther and Cap finally manage to track them down. There are two moments of note amidst this otherwise repetitive brawl. First, Hawkeye having a clear shot to finally take down Black Widow, but instead using it to save Mockingbird from Viper. Second, when Clint goes back to his pursuit of Widow, he gets caught in the grasp of Strucker’s life-draining gauntlet. Before the Baron can finish him off, Widow shoots him in the back and tells Clint she’s truly sorry for what happened between them. The fight on the now self-destructing Hydra Island ends with Widow carrying Strucker away. It’s not a complete loss for the heroes, as they’ve managed to arrest Grim Reaper and Viper.

Fury’s wrath isn’t quelled by those pieces of minor victory, since all it did was again interfere with his own plans to take down Hydra strategically with SHIELD’s resources. The closing moments of “Widow’s Sting” end up going through one moment of deception after another. Widow lies to Strucker about how he was knocked out on the island. MODOK comes to meet the two of them in order to return the money Hydra was giving them to develop the Cosmic Cube, saying the project was a failure. Thanks to an earlier scene, we know AIM realized the Cosmic Cube could be made to work, rather than serve as a project to entice Hydra into funding their experiments. It’s a deception Strucker easily sees through as MODOK cordially admits to their failure. Finally, Nick Fury and Mockingbird go to look over Viper’s body (I guess she died earlier, I must’ve missed it on my watch) now reverted to its true form, a Skrull infiltrator.

This is a decent episode to push Hawkeye’s character further along his arc for the season by giving him the first hint that not all is as it seems regarding Black Widow. It also marks the first major tension between the Avengers and SHIELD since the series began, we’ll have to see where that goes from here.

Next time, the Avengers are given a cold taste of how vast the powers of Asgard’s magic can be.

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