So, I had somewhat regained faith in Avengers Assemble after it managed to deliver a decent and enjoyable, if still flawed, second season. Unfortunately, while season 3 still is at its beginning at the time I write this, it has already managed to be so underwhelming that I feel like giving up on the show again. Especially after they attempted, and spectacularly failed, at adapting one of my favourite storylines from the comics (warning: Spoiler ahead).
For those who don't know and don't care about being spoiled, the Thunderbolts story arc is about Baron Zemo's super-villain team, the Masters of Evil, taking advantage on the disappearance of the Avengers and Fantastic Four to pose as superheroes. Their initial goal is to win the public's trust, so they can get the informations they require to further their plan; However, many of them end up realizing they actually enjoy being heroes, leading to a rebellion when Zemo tries to pull his scheme. It's a great story about redemption and second chances, full of Character Development for characters who until then had been CList Fodders.
In the comic, T-bolts being the Masters of Evil was revealed right at the end of the first issues, and was considered one of the greatest twist in history. Here, they try to keep it hidden until the last episode. They also remove all the context that justified nobody recognizing the Thunderbolts, making it so obvious you end up scratching your head wondering how the Avengers can't see this coming a mile away. Not only that, but because of this plus the arc being condensed to two episodes, the Character Development is minimal at best, and none of the Bolts get any of the Hidden Depths they had in the comic to justify their Heel–Face Turn; as such, when they do turn here, it feels forced, and you get the impression they do it just because Zemo is a dick.
Thunderbolts story arc: a terrible adaptation of an awesome comic
So, I had somewhat regained faith in Avengers Assemble after it managed to deliver a decent and enjoyable, if still flawed, second season. Unfortunately, while season 3 still is at its beginning at the time I write this, it has already managed to be so underwhelming that I feel like giving up on the show again. Especially after they attempted, and spectacularly failed, at adapting one of my favourite storylines from the comics (warning: Spoiler ahead).
For those who don't know and don't care about being spoiled, the Thunderbolts story arc is about Baron Zemo's super-villain team, the Masters of Evil, taking advantage on the disappearance of the Avengers and Fantastic Four to pose as superheroes. Their initial goal is to win the public's trust, so they can get the informations they require to further their plan; However, many of them end up realizing they actually enjoy being heroes, leading to a rebellion when Zemo tries to pull his scheme. It's a great story about redemption and second chances, full of Character Development for characters who until then had been CList Fodders.
So, naturally, Avengers Assemble took that awesome potential and pretty much stripped it of all the things that made it great in the first place.
In the comic, T-bolts being the Masters of Evil was revealed right at the end of the first issues, and was considered one of the greatest twist in history. Here, they try to keep it hidden until the last episode. They also remove all the context that justified nobody recognizing the Thunderbolts, making it so obvious you end up scratching your head wondering how the Avengers can't see this coming a mile away. Not only that, but because of this plus the arc being condensed to two episodes, the Character Development is minimal at best, and none of the Bolts get any of the Hidden Depths they had in the comic to justify their Heel–Face Turn; as such, when they do turn here, it feels forced, and you get the impression they do it just because Zemo is a dick.
Speaking of Zemo, the stupidity this incarnation displays in this arc is jarring. After going through the troubles of stealing a high-tech holographic device to disguise his team as heroes (instead of, you know, just changing their costumes), his sole plan here apparently is to just pull a cliché Sucksessor scheme on the Avengers. When this fails and his own team turns on him because he pointlessly was an asshole to them, he decides to leave them both with a death trap like a classic Bond villain, before making an announcement to the public that he now is a the only Superhero in the World. I guess Spidey, the Agents of SMASH, the FF and the Guardians of the Galaxy don't count, somehow.
Overall, a terrible disappointment.