Comics

[TV Review] “Agent Carter”: Episode 1.04, ‘The Blitzkrieg Button’

Published

9 years ago

January 27, 2015

Reviewed By Katy Rex. ‘Blitzkrieg Button’ has Peggy navigating moral ambiguity and who to trust, it´s almost the overarching theme of the episode, but it seems like the show runners are really trying to hammer home concepts of privilege in society. And Agent Carter is the perfect vehicle to discuss who is included and excluded — not only is it set in an era pre-Civil Rights, notorious for a strict social class system, but the post-WWII government angle gives them ample opportunity to bring up Nazis as often as possible.

Tonight is perhaps the most disheartening hour for Agent Carter’s character, as with every turn her position as a woman in a male-dominated social structure is reinforced. She still does her signature Peggy move, allowing herself to be underestimated and using it to her advantage. But where there had previously been a tone of hope for the future, this week Agent Chad Michael Murray literally says to her that the Natural Order of the Universe is that no man will ever consider her equal.

Agent Susan also has his chance to confront privileged experiences this episode, as he doggedly pursues the leads he believes in regardless of the agency’s lack of faith. He’s such a likable, relatable guy, it’s really hard not to cheer for him, even though we know he’s (unknowingly) trying to foil Agent Carter. He’s the least villainous antagonist we’ve encountered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His lead starts to pan out, he finds a bum who may have witnessed the anonymous tip that Jarvis called in last week, and then we get an amazingly touching character development scene in which Susan tries to relate to the bum, one broken veteran to another.

Even effing Howard Stark, at one point in the episode, goes off about the ways the world is weighed against certain people based on race, gender, or socioeconomic status, and that growing up poor left him with a complex. That’s a bit far, don’t you think? Come on.

The thing is, the trust/morality/loyalty theme is maybe less obvious, but it’s way heavier this episode. Stark’s face is charmingly covered in lipstick marks from a different woman every time we turn around, which he clearly thinks is roguish and cute, but you can see Peggy’s patience wearing thin. This is where she has placed her loyalty– but was it the right thing to do? The way she’s questioning authority in this episode actually is very similar in tone to the way Steve Rogers himself questioned the moral right of authority in Winter Soldier.

Not everything about this episode was strong; there was absolutely not enough Angie in this episode, for one, but you can’t have it all. But, Peggy’s weird apartment situation gets more and more interesting each episode, as evidenced by a truly bizarre conversation the girls have about stealing food from the main room and having a special pocket built into a sweater to smuggle chicken. And the new girl, Dotty, we were wondering about last episode? Hold on to your butt, Peggy, because maybe you’re not the only pretty girl who’s being underestimated around here.

Also, I won’t spoil why specifically, but I might have squealed a little when Stark and Jarvis got their shoes shined. You’ll get it when you see it.

What did you think of ‘The Blitzkrieg Button?’

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Katy Rex writes comics analysis at endoftheuniversecomics.com, comicsbulletin.com, and bloody-disgusting.com. She also writes scholarly articles for various academic journals. She really likes butt jokes, dinosaurs, and killing psychos and midgets in Borderlands 2. She has a great sense of humor if you’re not an asshole.

Twitter: @eotucomics

Tumblr: katy-rex.tumblr.com

Instagram: @katy_rex

Email: katy@endoftheuniversecomics.com

Related Topics:ABC action comic Agent CArter Comic Book TV comics Katy Rex Marvel Cinematic Universe MCU

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Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

Published

1 week ago

April 18, 2024

Meagan Navarro

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.