S.W.O.R.D. #1-5 (2010)

Henry Peter Gyrich and Abigail Brand are given command over the Sentient World Observation and Response Department, who are kind of like Marvel’s version of Men in Black. Gyrich uses his political influence to convince Congress to pass a law deporting all aliens from Earth. This means he’s able to put a bunch of well-known and beloved aliens in a space prison. = Also, Brand is herself an alien. (I didn’t know that!). She’s also dating Beast. (I didn’t know that!). So they work to undermine all of Gyrich’s plans. Inevitably, they free the captives. I guess the upside of this series is that we get to see a lot (a LOT) of alien characters who really have nowhere else to appear. Problem is, most of it is a panel-or-two. There’s no meaningful engagement with these characters, many of whom are fan favorites. Like Beta Ray Bill and Power Pack. I guess you can tell by now that I didn’t dig this. For one thing, Beast looks weird. For another, low sales meant it had to rush to conclusion, which has Brand claiming SWORD as her own, Gyrich ousted, and Beast giving her a muffin. Beast holds Abby Brand’s muffin See what I mean about Beast looking weird? The Unit is a robot. The story also introd...