Title/StorylineSecret Invasion
Publish Date/Year2008
Creative Team
Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Francis Yu
Issue(s)
1-8
PublisherMarvel
Publish Date/Year2008
Creative Team
Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Francis Yu
Issue(s)
1-8
PublisherMarvel
Story
The seeds & lead-in stories for this story-line were planted many months ago in books like the Avengers Disassembled, Illuminati, Nick Fury’s Secret War, New Avengers. I thought all of the earlier storylines were all very god reads and are very well coordinated efforts from Marvel. The Trades well worth picking up if you have missed the original issues.
Bendis was getting a little heavy by including elements of religious fanaticism in the Motivation for the Skrull invasion.
The series starts off with the outlaw Avengers confront the Govt. Sanctioned Mighty Avengers in the Savage Land. Skrull sleeper agents like Dum Dum Dugan & Jarvis the Butler are activated and they all mumble “He loves you…” (This can be really creepy if you think about it.). Then all hell breaks loose as Skrull Jarvis uploads a virus that disables ALL Stark Tech. Fan-boys would have freaked out to see the SWORD HQ destroyed, the SHIELD Heli-Carrier falling from the sky, The RAFT and the CUBE super-criminal detention centres become unlocked AND Sue Storm sends a major portion of the Baxter Building into the Negative Zone! All of this in the 1st issue!
The invasion goes full blown and we get one bombshell after another! We learn that Spider Woman was the new Skrull Queen – Veranke. Just when things look really bad for the heroes at the battlefront, Nick Fury returns (after having disappeared at the end of Nick Fury’s Secret War series) with his team of Commandos/Secret Warriors and only then it looked like Earth had a fighting chance of surviving the invasion.
Fan-boys’ appetites were further whetted when we see Skrulls being whooped by what appears to be Capt America and Thor! The tide really turned when Reed manages to whip up a device that enables the heroes to see who are and aren’t Skrulls. That helped to remove the Skrulls’ biggest weapon against earth – doubt and distrust. Once all of that had been cleared off, it was a matter of humans (heroes and villains) vs. Skrulls.
It was nice to see the bad guys (led by the Hood) join in the fight against the invasion. Among them were lesser known characters like the Griffin which made interesting visuals. The Thunderbolts also joined in the fray. However, there was one part where Bulleye had Spidey as his target and he made the shot but I’m not quite sure what happened next. Perhaps someone could enlighten me on this?
Before the series is over, you will (again) see a major Marvel character bite the dust. This character had been made into a last ditch booby-trap months ago by the Skrulls.
Regardless, this was a good read and I’m sure, kept many fan-boys camped out at the comic shops eagerly waiting for the next installment. I would recommend it!
Art
Yu’s art has been a favorite of mine for some time now but the evolution has gotten to a point that it’s not an improvement but rather it takes away from it.
I recall falling in love with his work when he was doing Wolverine a few years back. Anyway, it is still top notch stuff from Yu.
Additional Comments
For a planetary invasion, it was kind of weak to have the battlefront waged and the whole invasion hinging on a single front – New York.
It was a little disturbing and sad for me to see heroes (especially the Avengers) taking the lives of Skrulls without batting an eyelid despite the fact that they are in a war.
The end was a little anti-climatic as it not only fizzled out but was a cop-out as well as all loose ends seemed to have tied themselves up very neatly. However, as can be expected, another cliffhanger is put in there on the final page of the final issue – a cabal of major Villains (Dr Doom, Loki, The Hood, Norman Osborn, White Witch & Namor) form the next major threat to the Marvel Universe.
Damn Marvel for making us wait with bated breath for the next big event - Dark Reign!
Bendis was getting a little heavy by including elements of religious fanaticism in the Motivation for the Skrull invasion.
The series starts off with the outlaw Avengers confront the Govt. Sanctioned Mighty Avengers in the Savage Land. Skrull sleeper agents like Dum Dum Dugan & Jarvis the Butler are activated and they all mumble “He loves you…” (This can be really creepy if you think about it.). Then all hell breaks loose as Skrull Jarvis uploads a virus that disables ALL Stark Tech. Fan-boys would have freaked out to see the SWORD HQ destroyed, the SHIELD Heli-Carrier falling from the sky, The RAFT and the CUBE super-criminal detention centres become unlocked AND Sue Storm sends a major portion of the Baxter Building into the Negative Zone! All of this in the 1st issue!
The invasion goes full blown and we get one bombshell after another! We learn that Spider Woman was the new Skrull Queen – Veranke. Just when things look really bad for the heroes at the battlefront, Nick Fury returns (after having disappeared at the end of Nick Fury’s Secret War series) with his team of Commandos/Secret Warriors and only then it looked like Earth had a fighting chance of surviving the invasion.
Fan-boys’ appetites were further whetted when we see Skrulls being whooped by what appears to be Capt America and Thor! The tide really turned when Reed manages to whip up a device that enables the heroes to see who are and aren’t Skrulls. That helped to remove the Skrulls’ biggest weapon against earth – doubt and distrust. Once all of that had been cleared off, it was a matter of humans (heroes and villains) vs. Skrulls.
It was nice to see the bad guys (led by the Hood) join in the fight against the invasion. Among them were lesser known characters like the Griffin which made interesting visuals. The Thunderbolts also joined in the fray. However, there was one part where Bulleye had Spidey as his target and he made the shot but I’m not quite sure what happened next. Perhaps someone could enlighten me on this?
Before the series is over, you will (again) see a major Marvel character bite the dust. This character had been made into a last ditch booby-trap months ago by the Skrulls.
Regardless, this was a good read and I’m sure, kept many fan-boys camped out at the comic shops eagerly waiting for the next installment. I would recommend it!
Art
Yu’s art has been a favorite of mine for some time now but the evolution has gotten to a point that it’s not an improvement but rather it takes away from it.
I recall falling in love with his work when he was doing Wolverine a few years back. Anyway, it is still top notch stuff from Yu.
Additional CommentsFor a planetary invasion, it was kind of weak to have the battlefront waged and the whole invasion hinging on a single front – New York.
It was a little disturbing and sad for me to see heroes (especially the Avengers) taking the lives of Skrulls without batting an eyelid despite the fact that they are in a war.
The end was a little anti-climatic as it not only fizzled out but was a cop-out as well as all loose ends seemed to have tied themselves up very neatly. However, as can be expected, another cliffhanger is put in there on the final page of the final issue – a cabal of major Villains (Dr Doom, Loki, The Hood, Norman Osborn, White Witch & Namor) form the next major threat to the Marvel Universe.
Damn Marvel for making us wait with bated breath for the next big event - Dark Reign!
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