On the DEWLine 2.0: Dwight Williams

So.

Saw "Purpose in the Machine" on Agents of SHIELD tonight. An old frenemy is back, and they're putting together a new machine of their own. Meanwhile, someone else is rebuilding a very old machine in order to leverage an even older one. And someone else is all about rebuilding themselves, but not sure as to exactly how.

Yes, all of that's vague. Not apologizing for that, but the sense of theme did indeed come through in plotlines "A" through "E" without feeling forced.

I liked that.

FOUR reveals I wasn't expecting!

Very good work there!

Just so you know: I'll be dropping by Patty Boland Pub today to set this up with the management:

http://www.meetup.com/ottawasfs-ca/events/178664842/

If you happen to be in town that night, feel free to join the fun!

Okay...so I found these over the last few weeks:

Arame - per Avengers and Iron Man 3

Stratum 1 - per Avengers and Winter Soldier

You might be interested for design purposes, assuming that I've finally identified them correctly.

Ummm...no. I have to disagree on at least one point in your "statement, not a discussion".

SHIELD works for the UN.

Marvel/Disney gets away with saying it flat out in the comics for reasons unclear to me, but in the movies they have to call the people that SHIELD's Director reports to the "World Security Council". Otherwise, the UN's trademark/copyright-defence lawyers get all cranky. Therefore, not a "shadowy cabal". Putting the Security Council members in shadow in Avengers was a nod to how Fury Sr.'s bosses used to be depicted in the comics, but explaining that further involves a lot of continuity stuff that people don't like to make newcomers get into.

There was a similar fuss over UNIT in Doctor Who a few years back, as Whovians will definitely recall. The UN didn't want their name to be part of the full spelling-out of that fictional organization's acronym anymore after that TV series was revived.

Also, one of the long-haul arcs of Agents of SHIELD on TV appears to be the organization's process of learning how to live and work in the open, as spearheaded by the regular cast. I wonder if Coulson's roving field team has realized that this is what they're doing, but at least one other reviewer's made an interesting case over at tor.com.

Whether or not the organization as depicted across the TV/Movie is a "secret police" regime...well, some of the characters are going to want it to be exactly that. That's part of the point of Winter Soldier next spring: having that argument play out amongst the characters. A battle for the soul of SHIELD...one that's been playing out for decades in the comics themselves.

I just got reminded by LJ: it's fajrdrako's birthday today, and here Marvel's already given a gift - accidentally or not - that tops anything I could buy or draw: the launch of Agents of SHIELD tonight on TV.

Happy birthday to you in any case, fajrdrako, and here's hoping everyone watching that show tonight has fun with it!

Two interesting points re: SHIELD in the new Avengers movie - which I plan to see with assorted friends this Friday - that I thought I'd pass along:

Re: the Helicarriers

http://news.yahoo.com/could-navy-ever-build-flying-aircraft-carrier-222306735.html

Re: SHIELD's relationship to the US Department of Defence, if any and in what form

http://news.yahoo.com/pentagon-cant-believe-avengers-181650003.html