Review: Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. "Doorway to Destruction"

And so we've seen the premiere of the show also known as Hulk and the Agents of S.U.C.K. These first two episodes are not as bad as later episodes, but they still contain the flaws that are present in the entire series. Let's take a look at not only the flaws, but the few good things about these episodes. Yes, there are a few good things within these episodes, shockingly enough.

Analysis

This show had a lot of potential. I was looking forward to seeing a team of Hulks working with S.H.I.E.L.D. Here's an issue: are the Hulks working with S.H.I.E.L.D.? The Hulks are using old S.H.I.E.L.D. technology and resources, but S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't even appear once. And it seems to hint that the U.S. military is still after the Hulk!

But the premise that the show went with is intermittent at best. Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. is framed like a webshow, but only half the time. The other times, the audience is left wondering why we’re getting angles that the cameras can’t pick up, like, for instance, an angle where the camera would have to already be inside the place the heroes are breaking into.

Another problem with this idea is that oftentimes, like on a reality show, the camera will cut away to individual characters talking to the camera in a private room, giving comments on a situation. The problem is, these are done as if the character is giving these thoughts in real time.

For example, in a later episode, the Hulks will shrink. Cutaways will feature a shrunken Hulk, but the Hulks are all normal-sized before they would logically have a chance to record footage for the cutaways. It’s kind of like those episodes of Star Trek where Captain Kirk is enslaved by aliens, and he somehow manages to find a way to give a Captain’s Log (which is done on the bridge of the Enterprise) wondering how he’ll get out of his current predicament.

In another episode, they pixelate Spider-Man’s real face, ostensibly to protect his secret identity from the people in the Marvel universe watching the webshow. Um, no pun intended. Such an idea works in theory, but raises many questions as to why the villain of the episode is allowing himself to be monitored by these spy-drones which could be weapons, for all he knows.

Let's go over the characters one by one and see how each one was screwed up adapted. 

Hulk
The Hulk is missing Bruce Banner, and therefore the part of him that’s interesting. As it is, the Hulk is a more angsty version of the Thing.  

Why did they get rid of Bruce Banner?

Red Hulk 

Rulk is missing 90% of his motivation for doing anything, which turns him into a guy who’s just a jerk for no reason.

Why is he a Hulk? How is he a Hulk? Why is he willing to work with the Hulk if his entire point for existing is to destroy the Hulk?
These questions and more will be completely ignored.  

A-Bomb 

In the comics, “A-Bomb” was a legacy character, the second “Abomination.”
Here, he has no reason to be called “A-Bomb.” 

Not only that, his personality is basically Seth Green + stupid. In the comics, he was a violent rage beast, but I can forgive that change for a better team dynamic. I can. 

But here’s the thing. Rick Jones was on a bomb testing field. He was saved by Bruce Banner, who became the Hulk when he saved Rick from a gamma bomb. 

Doesn’t Rick becoming a Hulk make Bruce’s sacrifice pointless?  

She-Hulk 

Why did they ruin She-Hulk? They took a unique character and stripped her (get your mind out of the gutter) of all the qualities that made her so interesting! They took away her brains, they took away her down-to-Earth personality, and they took away her self-confidence. I don’t know if they didn’t know about the character or changed her on purpose, but the change is for the worse.

In their attempt to defy gender-roles, they made a sexist character by stripping her of her independence. By trying to make her strong, they stripped her of all her inner strength. 

This is more like it.

She-Hulk went from being a smart, confident New York Assistant District Attorney, to “The Chick.”
I don’t know what writer thought that changing She-Hulk was a good idea, but they need to go into the corner and think about what they’ve done. 

I guess they based her entire character on this one cover. Why not? They've done lazier.

Skaar 

…actually, as much as I hate to say it, nothing’s wrong with the show's portrayal of Skaar, Son of Hulk.

His portrayal in this show is actually more interesting than in the comics, because here they’re adding the mystery of his origin and his status as a traitor.

I also like his inclusion because it allows them to utilize a "Savage Hulk" without compromising the Hulk's character.
Yeah, go figure. 

So, out of five characters they successfully utilized all of one.

So now I suppose I should compliment this show. Okay.
Annihilus was pretty awesome. I'm glad the character's getting a bit of love.

The dialogue may suck, but the voice actors do what they can with it. Some of it actually works, in spite of itself.

I do like to see a smarter Hulk, but not at the expense of losing Bruce Banner.

Final Thoughts
The drama's boring, the jokes aren't funny.
The animation's lazy, the writing's uninspired.
Welcome to Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.

Abandon all hope.