by Erin Hatch, Editor-at-Large

Never judge a DVD by its cover. That is probably the primary lesson that I learned from Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. You see, I assumed that the DVD for Spider-Woman contained an animated movie that did something interesting with Spider-Woman, who doesn’t seem to be all that popular among fans. I’d seen her featured in interesting roles in the Avengers comics a while back, but never really sympathized with her character, so I just assumed that this movie would be a good chance to get to know the character in her post-Invasion incarnation.

But this isn’t a movie, it is a motion comic, and it would be unfair to judge this motion comic by movie standards, right? So, let’s start over.

It is really sad that motion comics exist. I can’t seem to think of a justification for this awkward stage between comic and animation that sits well with me. Are they made for people who want to experience comics but just don’t have the literacy skills for actual reading? Are they a source of extra profits for comic book and animation companies? Basically, I guess I am asking if anyone actually likes these things.

Take Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. for example. The art is spectacular, but the art would be spectacular on a printed page, and in fact it might be more spectacular, since the animation effect on the images detracts from the quality of the art more often than they enhance it, or even frame it, in an aesthetically pleasing way. There are a few moments where shifting colors are used to great effect, and where movement allows for the image to be framed in an interesting way over a span of time, but in most of the cases it doesn’t add much. The places where the animation is most overt is clunky, especially a vehicle chase in episode two, and any scene where Spider-Woman busts out her… What does she have, lightening powers? It has been a while since I have read any comics featuring Spider-Woman. I guess the pheromone power effect was cool, but again, it was one of the more subdued bits of movement.  Overall, the action scenes were weak.

Also, Marvel pretty clearly brought in their B-team of voice actors for this project. Most of the performances are fine most of the time, but there are some clunky sections as well (especially a lot of the exaggerated asian accents), and some of the characters just didn’t sound the way they should. (No offense to Jeffrey Hedquist, who played Wolverine and Captain America, but despite fine acting in the brief roles he just didn’t sound like Wolverine.)

And…the story. It isn’t bad, per se, but it doesn’t seem to do much. Spider-Woman, recently freed from Skrull captivity, is recruited by S.W.O.R.D. to hunt down aliens hiding on Earth, starting with some of the remaining Skrull agents on the planet, who are hiding out in the city of Majipoor, basically a mostly lawless island city in the Pacific, from what I can tell. While in the city, Spider-Woman is attacked by Skrulls, arrested, kidnapped by HYDRA, attacked by the Thunderbolts and attacked by Skrulls again. The episodes are short, and the story doesn’t move along in a coherent way. Things just kind of… happen. There isn’t any particular dramatic tension in the story, at least not in the way it is presented in motion.

Special Features:
-Behind the Scenes of Marvel Knights Animation
-Visual History of Spider-woman.
-Music Video
-Trailers
-Artists Gallery

The Visual History of Spider-Woman gives viewers a chance to catch up on her history and discover who she really is, although it is a fairly brief slideshow, and low-res. Behind the Scenes of Marvel Knights Animation and the Trailers on the disk actually make other Marvel Knights motion comics look pretty cool. The music video isn’t anything to write home about, but is an interesting re-purposing of motion comic footage into a music video for a song about Spider-Woman’s mental state during the story, and the Artists Gallery features sample art from the project, most of which you can also see on the packaging, as well as in menus and maybe in the film itself.

Overall:
In the end, the special features changed my mind about the viability of motion comics by showcasing some of the other projects that Marvel is working on. The thing that those trailers had over Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. is that they actually looked animated, unlike the mostly static (if gorgeous) artwork done for this series of shorts. Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. is not without it’s merits. The art is beautiful, the animator’s use of color and subtle effects are very cool and… Well, that’s about it. Unfortunately, this story feels like it would flow better on the page, and the ornate artwork does not seem to lend itself to animated action scenes, making me wish I was reading this one instead of watching it.

ComicsOnline gives Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. – 2 out of 5 secret Super Skrulls.

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