Comic Vine Review

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S.H.I.E.L.D. #8 - Active Mission: No Angel

4

Mockingbird and Agent May team up to take down a horrific enemy.

The Marvel Universe can be a creepy place. We're used to seeing the brighter and more familiar areas. In this issue of S.H.I.E.L.D., Mark Waid and Paco Medina take us to a darker corner. Director Coulson becomes aware of a situation and puts Mockingbird and Agent May on the mission to stop the "bad guy."

What is the mission? Coulson becomes aware of someone involved with genetic alteration. A dead kid is found and he had wings surgically attached. This is part of a bigger situation with altered kids being leased out as mercenaries or sold as slaves. This later notion opens the door to some really creepy possibilities.

What about the bad guy? At this point, that's not the focus we need to look at. What's great about this is it shows a darker side to the Marvel Universe. There's evil out there other than Doctor Doom or Galactus. How the kids might be used adds a different level of a threat. It might not be a villain looking to conquer the world but the crimes are pretty horrific.

Mockingbird and Agent May have an interesting dynamic. Yes, there is the point of trying to make the TV and comic universes together more cohesive but it does work here. They make a great team. Paco Medina, Juan Vlasco, and David Curiel make it look pretty great. We're clearly in the Marvel [comic] Universe and the story flows naturally.

The good and the bad about this series is the self-contained stories. Each issue can stand on its own. As you read through, you're aware that things will get settled within a few pages. That takes away a little of the depth potential possible in the story but at the same time, you can easily digest each issue without having to worry about loads of backstory. I'm just often left wanting a little more.

Waid executes the merging of S.H.I.E.L.D. with existing Marvel heroes well. The idea of the two combining to head into different and less often seen areas of the Marvel U is something that keeps drawing me back to this series. There's a huge sandbox to play in here and each issue gives us something different.