The Living Davebunal Site Admin
Joined: 11 Oct 2010 Posts: 238
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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My first thought in this episode is how rich the storyline is; its really hard to come up with a short summary, without actually cutting important stuff out. Christopher Yost (et al) is doing an excellent job of adapting the formative adventures of the Avengers into a modernized cohesive whole. Those familiar with the Avengers history will find many familiar echoes.
As a long-time Winghead, I am... well, perhaps not happy with all the changes they've made to the Captain America legend to bring it up to date, dodge certain restrictions, and still be recognizable. I admit, with the earlier abortive attempt at an Avengers cartoon, I was grateful that the "Big Three" had been excluded. Not so with this show; while there are certainly changes, the flavor and essential elements have been preserved, mostly to account for a cohesive, logical narrative. The role of Zemo, pere and fils, is fulfilled here by just the father, who has survived the time since World War II because of his and Arnim Zola's scientific genius. He is Captain America's physical equal, and his intellectual superior; in every way he is the twisted, evil mirror, the yang to Cap's yin.
The essential elements to the Avengers' early history with Captain America are here, sans the rather insipid alien menace; the "Man Out of Time" card is here, the "Bucky is dead" card is here. Neither of these cards is over-played; the heavy-handed melodrama of the Stan Lee era has given way to a much more realistic tone. Also, replacing the Medusa/alien threat with Zemo lets us progress deeper into the series' mythos. Nothing is wasted, which is why the episode feels so fully-packed. The shield use sequences are masterfully choreographed, although I swear when he leaped at Zemo's bomb to protect Wasp, I could have sworn he planted his shield just short of her body.... *snickers* |
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