Superhero Media: Battle Scars

Now I'm usually the person pointing out that film and television are much bigger markets than comics and that people who complain when either isn't "true to the original" are more than a little petty. It could also be said that I feel that, given the huge disparity in markets between comics and films, drawing the comics closer to the, more popular, films can only really be considered a smart marketing move. All that said, I feel that Battle Scars was a bit of a ham-handed way to get Sam Jackson Nick Fury, Phil Coulson and the Agents of SHIELD into the 616 Marvel Universe. Again, it's not that the idea is bad, but the story seems a bit forced in parts, like when Deadpool shows up for no real reason, other than his being a popular character so his presence on the cover would sell more issues. On the other hand, the inclusion of Taskmaster and the Serpent Squad is pretty cool, as well as references to classic Jim Steranko Nick Fury comics. 

I think part of the problem may stem from having no real interest in the protagonist; I honestly can't even remember his name for most of the comic (he later finds out his real name is Nick Fury Jr). There's a basic set-up involving a history of college football and time in Afghanistan, fighting with the Army Rangers, but before the reader can blink, Fury Jr's mother is dead and he's fighting Russian mercenaries until Cap, Daisy and SHIELD pull his arse out of the fire. From then on, the story lurches from action scene to action scene with no real pause or joining narrative; the whole thing plays like a trashy action film where pace replaces character and motivation.

The end result, however, seems worth the rough road getting there. MCU SHIELD is active in 616 and an adaptation of an adaptation of Ultimate Nick Fury is up and running alongside the classic versions of all your favorite Marvel super heroes. All I'm saying is, maybe skip reading Battle Scars and just read the wiki or digest to get the story. Hey, if you can handle the idea of radiation giving people super-powers and fungus people living in the core of the Earth, then SLJ turning up to be the new Nick Fury isn't too big a deal.