Christopher Priest Explores The Complexities And Relevance Of U.S. Agent In New Interview

On 11/12/2020 at 3:11 PM, JayC said:

USAgent can be an ahole and over patriotic at times. He's not the charismatic leader Steve Rogers is, but he's not an idiot who stumbles and bumbles his way to victory which is how I feel they are trying to portray him here.

I agree with that description of Agent, not that a character cant grow but his most popular appearances he is the foil to more traditional heroic characters.

He is certainly a leader, again I agree not the leader Cap is but when he first joined the WCA he demonstrated strong, take charge characteristics. And I believe he at least thought he was the team leader. This is the reason he and Hawkeye butted heads so often.

todays marvel though will change decades of continuity to make a new story,.you know, Starfox = rapist.. my head spins with where they may take the Agent

32 minutes ago, JayC said:

USAgent can be an ahole and over patriotic at times. He's not the charismatic leader Steve Rogers is, but he's not an idiot who stumbles and bumbles his way to victory which is how I feel they are trying to portray him here.

This book is obviously meant to promote Falcon and the Winter Soldier, so I wonder if his new attitude in some way is supposed to reflect the way he's portrayed in the show?

USAgent can be an ahole and over patriotic at times. He's not the charismatic leader Steve Rogers is, but he's not an idiot who stumbles and bumbles his way to victory which is how I feel they are trying to portray him here.

28 minutes ago, MonsterChris said:

Well no, that's going to be a pretty opinon-based definition that varies from person to person.

I never said you agreed with me. I just said you knew what I was talking about.

Priest is a fantastic writer. His Black Panther and Deathstroke runs are all-time classics.

Curious to see how he handles USAgent.

1 hour ago, mako said:

No, I'm pretty sure you are.

Well no, that's going to be a pretty opinon-based definition that varies from person to person. I'm not even sure what I would file under that heading. The infamous drug issue of Spider-Man, I suppose. Did Secret Wars have a message? Maybe, "hey kids, buy some action figures!", lol. But how about The Dark Knight Returns? Sure it was pretty full-up with political and social commentary, but was there an overriding "message"? I wouldn't care to guess or assume where someone would draw a line between themes, morals, messages, etc.

23 minutes ago, MonsterChris said:

I'm not sure what you mean by "MESSAGE" comics.

No, I'm pretty sure you are.

1 hour ago, mako said:

You know, the one thing I hate more than pointless EVENT comics, are these misguided MESSAGE comics.

This sadly is what characters like Guy Gardner and U.S.Agent werealways meant to be. A broad stereotype, a caricature if you will, of how the far-left sees the far right. A show-place for all the great "foibles" of man-kind: Jingoistic, reactionary, narcissistic, misogynistic, bigoted. Basically, if you need someone to be an A-hole, there he is.

Personally, I prefer the notion of John Walker as a superhero who just happens to fall on the conservative side of things. Give me THAT character, and a top-notch even-handed writer, and that's a book I'd read.

I think now would be an odd, late point in his career for Priest to start writing his main characters as broad stereotypes or caricatures. Like you, I live in the United States. I'm also pushing 40 and this past summer has been the darkest and most violent of my adult life. Whatever a person's politics, I think it would dishonest of them to pretend reactionism and bigotry weren't centerpieces to much of that violence. People are literally killing each other it the streets. We need to talk about that and one of the venues for that discussion, as it always has been, is fictional literature.

I haven't read every single one of U.S. Agent's appearances, but I've read a good amount. Yeah, Walker is jingoistic and reactionary. He pretty much always has been, right? In the interview, Priest sounds like he wants to discuss those traits and maybe delve into the how and why of such a character. I certainly don't expect caricature.

I'm not sure what you mean by "MESSAGE" comics. Maybe moralistic or heavy-handed? Certainly worthwhile fiction should be socially relevant, and relevance and the fantastic aren't mutually exclusive whether we're watching a shield-throwing mystery man crash through Hitler's window to punch him in the face, or a giant, radioactive monster lay waste to Japan, or sinister space hippies try to wrest control of the Enterprise. (We miss you, Charles Napier!)

Really liked Christopher Priest's Black Panther run but imo he tends to have complicated plotlines and often the series he writes end up getting prematurely cancelled so he has to rush to tie up loose ends. i don't but floppies but even if i did i'd probably wait for the trade on this one, depending on how well it is received. I do think Priest is relatively good at portraying nuanced characters so USAgent seems like a reasonably good fit. Hope he can guest starAgent Ross or some of the characters from the Crew at some point, as well.

You know, the one thing I hate more than pointless EVENT comics, are these misguided MESSAGE comics.

This sadly is what characters like Guy Gardner and U.S.Agent werealways meant to be. A broad stereotype, a caricature if you will, of how the far-left sees the far right. A show-place for all the great "foibles" of man-kind: Jingoistic, reactionary, narcissistic, misogynistic, bigoted. Basically, if you need someone to be an A-hole, there he is.

Personally, I prefer the notion of John Walker as a superhero who just happens to fall on the conservative side of things. Give me THAT character, and a top-notch even-handed writer, and that's a book I'd read.