Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E

Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E

It’s an old debate but sadly we still need to have it – should you be able to separate the art from the artist? On a societal level, I think its important to contextualise the art to the artist. That way there is visibility in order for the consumer to support the art as an informed choice. It should also allow the consumer to understand the meaning of the art from the artists point of view and review the message or the agenda.

For example: Roman Polanski is a rapist on the run. I don’t think anyone can deny that. But his work never portrays sexual abuse as anything but abhorrent. Chinatown (1974) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968) both hinge on rape as a central plot point. I think both these films are masterpieces, and it’s very strange that he shows the cruelty of the crime he would later commit, but I wish I hadn’t paid to see them. I’d happily watch them again though.

J.K. Rowling’s stance on the LGBT+ community is abundantly clear now, but I feel it always was. The Wizarding World is a New-Labour dystopian nightmare, where the conservatism is so thinly vailed that good guys and bad guys both do the same morally reprehensible things because Joanne doesn’t understand society any other way. The actions of the heroes don’t benefit the world. There are still egregious cultural injustices, just the right guys committing them. You can’t make Harry a slave owner and expect me to be on his side. You can’t draw the point of having a slave race in your books, where the good guys actively ridicule people against slavery, but also call one of the few notable African-European characters “Kingsley Shacklebolt”. You even cast the bad guy as the equivalent as mixed race but the hero pure blood… the point is transparent: I’m okay with inequality as long as it doesn’t impact me. She’s now feeling the brunt of the backlash, and I would personally throw rainbow painted rocks at her. Trans rights are human rights.

The difference is the message of the art: one is by a man knowingly showing his demons, and never wants you to be on that side. The other is a woman spouting rhetoric and expecting you to agree with her by participation.

Let’s end with the writer of this series, Warren Ellis. Ellis is/was a big name in comics. He has an extensive bibliography, and his work has amassed a great amount of critical acclaim. He is also the co-creator of the DC superhero team The Authority, which is slated to have a Hollywood movie within the near future. His miniseries RED has already been adapted into a film series. His run of Ironman, Extremis, featured heavily in Ironman 3 (2013). In June 2020 he was accused of sexual coercion and manipulation by a number of individuals. Although none of the accusers were minors at the time of the incidence, and no crime was committed, they were all significantly younger than Ellis and in vulnerable personal positions. The evidence (emails, texts, photographs) provided throughout the media was damning. Ellis responded with seemingly genuine remorse and never denied his actions.

Where do I stand on Ellis? He’s a fuckwit man-child who should have known better, and I don’t believe that he never saw himself as being in a position of privilege and power when compared to his accusers (his words, not mine). Where do I stand on his work? I won’t support it financially. I seek his work out second hand, so no royalties are earned from the transaction. However, a lot of it is brilliant and I would recommend Planetary to anyone.

What am I reading? Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E, Issues 1-8, 2007. Written by Warren Ellis, illustrated by Stuart Immonen.

What’s it about? This is a straight up parody of The Avengers. Nextwave are an elite* squad of superhero cut-offs and miss-fits, working for the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort (H.A.T.E). They’ve gone rogue after learning that H.A.T.E is being bankrolled by the shady Beyond corporation, which was once the terrorist cabal group known as S.I.L.E.N.T. The team must stop the Beyond corporation’s 5-year plan, whilst trying not to be killed by the deranged efforts of Director Dirk Anger, and preferably without killing each other.

*The loosest possible sense.

What’s good about it? … I don’t like this… but 2007 Darius did. This has aged like milk. Especially considering the revelations about Ellis.

That being said I do need to give some of the concepts in this some credit. The henchmen of the Beyond corporation being vegetable based, broccoli to be specific, is quite a funny way to allow guilt free ultraviolence. H.A.T.E’s mobile base of operations being a big flying submarine made me smile. I laughed aloud at Mindless Ones decimating a town, and then dressing up as people and silently replacing them, acting out everyday scenarios.

I like the character dynamics of the squad. A standout for me was The Captain, who was invented for this story. He tackles the hypothetical of “Why do benevolent Aliens/Wizards/Gods always grant infinite power to those worthy of it? What if they make a mistake and give insane abilities to a moron?”. Well, it goes as well as you think it would. Elsa Bloodstone and Monica Rambeau should be in more books. Tabitha Smith, better known as Boom-Boom from X-Force, is normally fun, but playing her as the uneducated white-trash of the team grew rather tiresome. Aaron Stack, or The Machine Man, is such a bizarre Marvel deep cut that its good to see him appear in anything. The Machine Man originally appeared in a Marvel published 2001: A Space Odyssey 1977 tie-in comic and was only used a handful of time in the intervening thirty years.

There’s a twelve-page sequence in the final issue of the team wordlessly fighting henchmen. As the splash pages go on, the henchmen get more deranged, twisting established Marvel concepts into weirder shapes. I didn’t think it was funny, but its ballsy to have twelve pages dedicated to one joke.

What did I struggle with? But for every big swing, there are groan worthy misses.

I hated every page featuring Director Dirk Anger. Firstly, a weak mirroring of Nick Fury. But then Ellis makes him a simpering, suicidal, pervert. It’s just not funny.

I hated the strange flash-back cut-away sequences that litter the book. It makes it feel like I’m reading a Family Guy script. I don’t think that works in this medium.

I hate the forced Marvel in jokes. There’s a painfully set up joke that references The Ultimate Universes Captain America. In The Ultimate Universe (A parallel dimension to the standard Marvel affair), Steve Rogers is basically a xenophobic fascist. He quite infamously stated “Surrender?! What do you think this “A” on my forehead stands for? France?!”. A bad joke at the time, but the follow up where Elsa wears an E.U. flag t-shirt is far worse.

I hate the fact that this is canonical. That’s probably the worst part. This parody with forevermore be a milestone in the history. It’s so bizarre. I feel it a touch disrespectfully to have a character so conflicted and complex as Photon, who has a deep-rooted legacy throughout the Marvel timeline, to be reduced to a clown…

That brings me to the point of why I struggled so much with this now, as a 30-year-old, but didn’t when I was 15: I’ve read more. I understand comics better now. Marvel is already equal parts absurd sci-fi fantasy escapism and politically informed character studies. The books already reflect the humour and worries of the time. They also already embrace the ridiculous nature of a universe filled with ludicrous concepts and superheroes. You don’t need to parody it. It’s like cutting a crafted story driven stand-up routine into fart noises and flashing lights. Its too much noise and not enough substance.

Would I recommend? Nope… I don’t like being so dismissive, but I don’t think I can recommend this in all good conscience. Maybe to a teenager, but they’ve grown up with the MCU, so they will already understand that this isn’t what Marvel is about. It is nowhere near as funny or as heartfelt as James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Or as enjoyable as Gunn’s The Suicide Squad movie. Go watch them instead.

Much like Harry Potter, this is regrettable.