InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "It's only time"

colonel_green (colonel_green) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-09-17 15:45:00

Entry tags:

char: jade claw/suwan, char: jimmy woo, char: temugin, char: venus, creator: gabriel hardman, creator: jeff parker, group: agents of atlas, publisher: marvel comics, title: agents of atlas

The Terror of the Jade Claw: Finale

Four scans from Agents of Atlas #11, the end of an arc and the series proper, as it transitions into an extended relaunch cycle.

The Agents face off against Jade Claw's Great Wall organization again, and lose again. Back for round three:

The dragons agree to let "their pieces" settle the question, and retire. I've always been of mixed feelings towards this series, but Lao and now Yao are both definitely plusses.

Jimmy and co. have discovered a deus ex machina to defeat Jade Claw's robots, and do so:

One of the more humiliating supervillain defeats in recent memory.

Again with the dragons being cool.

This arc had two problems, I think:

1) the conflict between Atlas and the Great Wall feels extremely small when it's supposed to be big, and the stakes are rather ill-defined.

2) the bigger issue, Jade Claw herself is such a vague character that it's hard to invest much in a conflict between her and Atlas. She was a plot device as a love interest, and she's pretty much a plot device as a villain.

The stuff with Temugin throughout this little run was very well-handled; he and Namora are really the only castmembers to get real character stuff here.

Tags: char: venus, char: jimmy woo, char: jade claw/suwan, char: temugin, creator: jeff parker, creator: gabriel hardman, title: agents of atlas, publisher: marvel comics, group: agents of atlas

(Post a new comment)

	volksjager 2009-09-17 07:56 pm UTC (link)
	I had huge enthusiasm for this book when it started. Now ? Not so much... (Reply to this)

	stolisomancer 2009-09-17 08:01 pm UTC (link)
	I'm not particularly enthused with this book, but I'm glad it exists, if only for panels like that one of Venus celebrating. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	neuhallidae 2009-09-17 08:54 pm UTC (link)
	This. Venus being all squee at getting to one-shot a villain feels more like the past issues of Atlas before this arc started. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	sherkahn 2009-09-17 08:17 pm UTC (link)
	I think Yao set up Jade to fall, so that the dragons can position themselves to work in union and behind the scenes. And I think Jimmy Woo suspects this as part of a bigger game. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	comicoz 2009-09-17 08:39 pm UTC (link)
	Which is why it was so good to start (there was an obvious over-shadowing of something bigger, but it's gotten so focused lately that it's not been as good. Still, the book was better than most out right now, even when it was bad. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	vitruvian23 2009-09-17 08:33 pm UTC (link)
	But when does Fin Fang Foom join the Great Game? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	greatest_zatara 2009-09-17 09:05 pm UTC (link)
	As soon as he finishes applying the Xorvintaal template. Obscure D&D joke is obscure. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	autolychus2 2009-09-17 11:53 pm UTC (link)
	Damn, I'm the biggest D&D nerd I know (though, admittedly you couldn't get me to touch 4th edition if you rubbed each page on Natalie Portman, so I'm guessing this is where it's from)so unless it's from the Draconomicon, I'm stumped. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	greatest_zatara 2009-09-17 11:57 pm UTC (link)
	Monster Manual 5. Template for Dragons that withdrawl from their usual dragon-ings to participate in 'the great game'. Takes away innate spellcasting and emphasizes supernaturals and natural attacks. Y'know, so they play more like DRAGONS, instead of sorcerers that happen to be shaped like dragons. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Can't we all just ... autolychus2 2009-09-18 12:22 am UTC (link)
	go back to 1988 so I can play 2nd edition? Thanks for the info, though. Nice to meet another D&D nerd - I mean other than Box-in-the-box. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	blake_reitz 2009-09-17 10:10 pm UTC (link)
	KLOK! Yay! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	darklorelei 2009-09-17 10:42 pm UTC (link)
	I am greatly enjoying the gratuitous exclamation points!!!! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	naebler 2009-09-18 04:25 am UTC (link)
	I could be mistaken...but wasn't that the first time M21 has spoken? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	colonel_green 2009-09-18 04:42 am UTC (link)
	Yes. When they upgrade him, Gorilla-Man gives him a Muhammed Ali personality chip so he can talk smack. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	psychop_rex 2009-09-18 06:09 am UTC (link)
	I REALLY love Venus going 'yay!' She is just so full of bouncy enthusiasm it's adorable. I'll be very surprised if someone doesn't icon that panel. (Reply to this)