Snowflake Day 7: a favourite moment

[tielan]

In your own space, share a favorite piece of original canon (a TV episode, a song, a favorite interview, a book, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much.

I'm going to talk about a scene that most people wouldn't think is one of my favourites, but it was pretty much the moment I knew I was going to be a little longer in MCU fandom than just that first year.

In the first episode of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, Maria Hill is interviewing Grant Ward to be a part of Coulson's team.

Maria Hill: Everything's changing. A little while ago, most people went to bed thinking that the craziest thing in the world was a billionaire in a flying metal suit. Then aliens invade New York then were beaten back by among others, a giant green monster, a costumed hero from the 40's, and a God.
Grant Ward: I don't think Thor's technically a God.
Maria Hill: Well, you haven't been near his arms.

Frankly, before that point, most of fandom behaved as though Maria was basically scenery; as Ward mocks her later that season: she was eye candy, and barely even that when compared the Black Widow. She wasn't a proponent of the Avengers Initiative, which meant she wasn't one of the Good Guys (like Coulson or Fury), and her most redeeming feature seemed to be that she was one more woman in the movie canon.

I saw more in the character from my second viewing of the Avengers movie.

I saw a very droll, very dry sense of humour displayed in the exchanges with Stark: "When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" and "He turns." I saw a deep sense of duty and responsibility to chase down an enemy who's already turned two of their people. And a deep and serious affection for Phil Coulson in her reaction to the news of his death, and in the deadly glare she levels at Tony and Steve from the bridge.

But that scene of Maria interviewing Grant Ward? That was something that other people in fandom could grasp - that Maria Hill had a sense of humour which she could let out to play when the world wasn't at stake, that her connections with Fury and Coulson were deeper than their disagreements over the Avengers Initiative, and that she could put up with shit in the name of getting the job done.

And it brought me great joy to see my view of the character confirmed - and to have the character brought back into the universe.

(I'm debating whether I want to do Challenge 6 right now. Challenge 5 was to make a fanwork, which i have no trouble doing, only all mine went to fandom_stocking.)

Comments

[dragonyphoenix]

That is a great moment. Thanks for sharing it.

[tielan]

Definitely made my night! (as did Maria's appearance in 1.20)

Thanks for coming by and commenting!

[bridgetmkennitt]

I love Maria Hill and that was a great moment.

[tielan]

I tell you, I SQUEE'D like a kid. :D

[sperrywink]

That was a brilliant moment!

[tielan]

I was so relieved that they weren't going to make her your typical Humourless Command Bitch suitable for the heroes to rage against...

[pronker]

It's great that you brought up Maria Hill - she's a large part of the reason to watch AoS and catch the film tie-ins. And that bit about the arms was especially funny when Melinda May said the same thing, I think in s.1? Anyway, March can't come soon enough to watch the show again.

[tielan]

Thor: the guy that the MCU ladies crush on.

I admit, I stopped watching AoS mid-S2. It wasn't because of the plot or characters or anything, I just struggle to watch TV episodes and not get distracted.

[pronker]

I hear you. It's my single action-type show outside of Star Wars Rebels, and that's animation. Hee, three of the main characters have strong accents so it's necessary for me to tape it and then rewatch, just to understand them. I'm not interested in crime shows or reality shows, so that certainly limits one's options re prime-time. :[

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

The porcupine that we never see is also pretty great. (Someone needs to tell Steve about that. ;)