Monday, August 11, 2014

Recap: Avengers: EMH (Micro-Episode 13) "Enter the Whirlwind"

This Micro-Episode does not pick up where the last one left off, but takes us instead to Henry Pym's laboratory at Empire State University. These Micro-Episodes are more what you'd call "thematically" connected.

And a Black Panther one for little reason, but we'll get to that.

We open up on Janet's face looking at some caged up butterflies and... does anybody else think she looks like Phoebe from the Magic School Bus all grown up? And way hotter? It would explain the shrinking.

"Carlos, why won't you get out of the classroom and fight crime with me?"
"Because we're twelve."
But she walks through Hank's lab and looks at him with disdain. Because Janet VanDyne alternates between adoration of Hank Pym and utter contempt. In this part, it's contempt.

Janet: "This is sad, Hank. I'm the one who makes all this possible, you know. This... this..." 
Hank: "SCIENCE!"

A+ answer, Pym. You know, I'm no scientist, but I really hope they go around referring to their work as SCIENCE! All caps.

Janet: "All the business arrangements, the grants, I manage your entire life so you can do this... and it's so boring! Soooooo... boring." 
Hank: "Jan. I'm mapping insect genomes! What could be better?"

Hokay, jalapeƱo. There's a bit to talk about here. And I'm not talking about the fact that Hank is apparently a geologist, physicist, and a geneticist. When I compile these Micro-Episode Recaps into the Ant-Man full episode, I'll get to that in the Review portion. For now, I have just two things to bring up.

1. Looking into a microscope is not a spectator sport, but... 
2. Hank is allowed to do what he wants with his own life... ostensibly.

So I understand both their positions. But outside the window Jan's leaning on, a building explodes. In the time it takes for Hank to wonder what's going on, Jan's clothes are on the floor, and the window's open. Get your mind out of the gutter, she had her costume on underneath, and she shrunk down. We see a taxi driver reading a cameo-filled newspaper, when the cause of the explosion whips through the streets and knocks away his car.

Oh, crap, someone armored up the Tasmanian Devil!
It turns out to be a tornado-making villain named Whirlwind. Wasp ignores Hank's joy over having replicated an ant chromosome over her headphones, and engages the villain in combat. He brags that he's now a millionaire thanks to his sabotage, she unleashes her wasp stings (energy blasts), and they fight some more. But suddenly, Wasp has to dodge a cloud of ants. Whirlwind isn't so lucky, and gets swarmed by tens of thousands of ants.

Hank shows up riding on an ant, and he tells Janet that she should leave this to the authorities. She counters that the cops can't handle this, and otherwise, their superpowers are useless.

Hank: "SCIENCE helps people, not fighting!" 
Wasp: "Eeeaaagh, you're not getting it!" 
Hank: "No, I am getting it. you're not trained for this kind of thing, and I don't want you to get hurt!"

But before this actually-somewhat-disturbingly-realistic spat can become a full-on domestic dispute, Whirlwind comes back for more. Wasp grows to regular size and unleashes a faceful of wasp sting. Yeah, at tiny size? Phasers set to stun. Full size? Burn your face off.

Wasp: "Together, we can do more! ...and we can have fun doing it."

Janet... you don't listen when Hank talks, do you? Think about it. Is this really the guy that you wish were okay with hitting people?

"I promise, nothing bad will happen if you embrace violence."

"...oh. How about you just stick with giving violence a platonic handshake?"
To be continued!

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