With the Secret Wars (third one, I think) event over and the Battleworld bit ended, the Marvel titles have all rebooted. Another chance for a number one issue, yay (yes, I’m being sarcastic). Agents of SHIELD continues to try and walk the line between the comic book setting and the continuity from the tv show. 

The cast in this book will certainly be familiar to fans of the show. Coulson is in command (of the team, not SHIELD), and with him are May, Fitz, Simmons, Daisy/Quake, Bobbi/Mockingbird, and Deathlok. The only ones missing are Hunter and Mac. They are now based on the Battlecarrier Pericles, which looks a LOT like the Argo from the old Star Blazers cartoon.

This issue ties in to current events in the Invincible Iron Man comic. Apparently, many of Stark’s past designs have been stolen and uploaded to the net. Someone has used them to build a set of Iron Man armor and broken into the Pentagon (incorrectly identified as the Department of Defense) to steal something. Stark wants to talk to Coulson about this, but Coulson is busy.

Coulson and his team are fighting a splinter sect of AIM. AIM has gotten hold of a nasty bio-weapon, and the folks from SHIELD need to get it away from them. They manage to accomplish their goal, and even acquire a piece of retro-tech from earlier in the Marvel Universe’s history that would a great addition to Coulson’s collection if he doesn’t give it back to the original owners.

The issue has a few surprises. Coulson meets up with an old flame (who reminds me a lot of Roz from the tv show but isn’t) and gets a bombshell dropped him on when he learns what the fake Iron Man took. There’s a date coming up between two agents that has nothing to do with any of the pairings on the show. And one of the team gets some really bad medical news.

Plot: I’ll give it a 3.5 out of 5 for plot. Coulson’s plan was a bit more complicated than it needed it to be, but it worked.

Art: The art was fine. It didn’t impress me, but nothing looked wrong, either. I’ll say 3 out of 5 for the art.

Positives: It’s nice seeing the further adventures of the (almost) team from the show. The ship they steal is amusing. Stark is very much in character.

Negatives: I’m not wild about the date they’re setting up. It seems like a really weird match. The stolen item reminds me a lot of the plot of a Justice League story a few years ago.

It’s a decent start for a new series, and I do feel bad for the writer, who has to live up to two sets of expectations at once. I’ll stick around for a few issues.

Agents of SHIELD 1

Writer: Marc Guggemheim
Artist: German Peralta
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover: Mike Norton and FCO Plasecencia