Anubis and How I Learned To Love The Nuke
Episode 3 of The Guardians of Justice begins with a look at the financial terrorist group known as Anubis. The threat of World War IV and nuclear war is very much on the horizon, and it doesn’t help that President Nukem antagonizes Russia, telling them on TV that they’re ready for them. One person watching this in disdain is the Premier of the Soviet Union, Boris Smirnoff. He doesn’t trust America and is paranoid that they’ll soon be able to harness Marvelous Man’s power to use against them. If that happens, Boris promises to strike first. Meanwhile, Hawk uses Cortex to find where Motion Blur is. Unfortunately, this – plus Hawk investigating the Guardians of Justice – breaks on the news and the public find themselves losing faith in the heroes. Hawk and the Guardians unite to try and take out Anubis Queen, who happens to be the dictator in charge of the group Anubis. However, the President is already on the case and that comes from using Red Talon and Spider-Man. Or, well, this show’s version of him anyway, called Sepia Spider. Even the armour looks the same! Sepia Spider bursts into the headquarters, taking out the soldiers but eventually being stopped by Anubis Queen, who begins interrogating him for answers. Getting nowhere, he’s eventually shot dead, live on-air. With things looking bleak, Hawk speaks to Red Talon and tells him they need to fight terrorism with voyeurism. Specifically, they need Red Talon to help save face and not only make America look good, but also show that they won’t succumb to terrorists. Of course, the whole thing is turned into a game, with Red Talon diving into the thick of the action through a first person point of view shot. Unfortunately, he too meets a grizzly end when a grenade explodes at his feet. With the President angry and bombing anywhere for a distraction, Boris retaliates by moving his troops into Canada and preparing to strike. With the Guardians down on luck and in need of a win, it falls to Little Wing, Hawk’s deadly protégé, who manages to kill General Orsted and his troops. However, it doesn’t stop Anubis’ rampage, as they take to the screens again and confirm that the Guardians are definitely responsible for killing Marvelous Man.
The Episode Review
The hedonistic trip that is The Guardians of Justice returns with an episode that puts its action and slick visuals ahead of its storytelling. While there’s nothing wrong with that, and the show certainly has its endearing features, it all feels so cliched and retreads ground that’s been covered numerous times before in this genre. The Guardians of Justice tries to swing by based on wackiness alone but unfortunately that gives the show a somewhat unhinged and sporadic feel – something this episode has in abundance. While the inclusion of Anubis is a nice one, it also negates all those villains we briefly encountered in the last couple of episodes, along with adding new characters that come and go as quickly as they appear. Werther this show will settle down or not remains to be seen but this is definitely going to be an acquired taste.
