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Most of you are probably sitting there, wondering what in the world a “Night Machine” is. I mean, this is Marvel we are talking about here, and how come I haven’t heard of this? Well, sit back and follow along as we look into some new ideas coming out of ermm…The House of Ideas.

The Night Machine

Created By: Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver

Jonathan Hickman, one of Marvel’s newer scribes, has recently started writing a new ongoing S.H.I.E.L.D. comic. In it, he has introduced a whole new mythos behind S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage Logistics Directorate). To be brief, we regularly know S.H.I.E.L.D. as the military group led by Nick Fury that basically contains superhero/villain threats. Now Hickman has added a whole new element to the story behind S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. now represents the symbol of Imhotep, and a group designed to repel all sorts of nasty other-worldly invasions.

What we see in S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 is The Night Machine infiltrating the base of the order of the S.H.I.E.L.D., and attempting to contact his son, Leonid (the main focus of S.H.I.E.L.D.). We learn that The Night Machine wants to take out S.H.I.E.L.D., and is extremely powerful.

Unfortunately, in issue 2, The Night Machine explodes. You see there is reference throughout his appearances to a mechanism that he uses, and it has reached critical mass. He explodes, but you get to see all of the alternate versions of a more familiar character, Nathaniel Richards.

Before The Night Machine dies, he reveals a little more about himself. He makes it seem as though S.H.I.E.L.D. is evil, and killed him before he came back as The Night Machine.

A bit of The Night Machine’s motivation:

Now putting as many of these pieces together, we are left with some questions. Who is The Night Machine? What is his connection to S.H.I.E.L.D.? Why did they kill him and why is he back for revenge? What’s the deal with that talking dove that follows him around?

Mike Parente
mike@comicattack.net