Secret Invasion Update is a weekly feature that among other things takes a gander at all things Skrully. More directly, we will be talking about the many issues of comics that tie into Marvel’s big summer blockbuster Secret Invasion. Is the series good? Which issues rock the house? Which ones bite the big one? Do you have to read everything that comes out to get the whole picture of the Invasion, or can you just read the main series and be fine? Those are the types of questions that we’ll be tackling with the gusto that you’ve come to expect from the Panteon.

This week we will be covering Secret Invasion #1 of 8, Mighty Avengers #12, New Avengers #40, Secret Invasion #2 of 8, and Mighty Avengers #13.

Secret Invasion #1 of 8
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Leinil Yu
Company: Marvel Comics

Nick: Let’s start things off with a bang and go right for the big enchilada. As first issues go, this one, while not perfect in every possible way, was a darn good start. The pace that Bendis has set is snappy, the story isn’t riddled with too many holes in it that could deflate the overall fun aspect of the story, and like I said in my full review of this one, I dig the Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibe that Bendis has woven into the Marvel Universe. It adds a level of intrigue and mystery to the story that many of the so called GARGANTUAN event books are completely lacking.

D3: BAM! The first issue of the miniseries knocked me on my ass. Action, excitement, and mystery are there in plenty right from the start. The event also seems like it’s going to evade one the major pitfalls that many ongoing mysteries manage to fall into. There are big reveals right in the first issue that give away enough to increase the excitement level but not so much that they lessen the anticipation and wonder of waiting on the explanation for the big mystery. Honestly, at this point, my biggest worry is that when it’s all said an done, the answers and consequences won’t live up to my unexpectedly high personal hype level. This is Bendis doing what I thought he couldn’t do: a fun action-packed superhero story, devoid of self indulgence and wit that just tries too hard.

Randy: Well, somebody’s got to shit in the cereal, might as well be me. Which is to say, I thought there were problems with Secret Invasion, and I certainly thought there was self-indulgence and clunky attempted wit to spare. The dialogue and characterization, in smaller and larger terms, miss the mark. Dum Dum Dugan talks with a southern accent? Hank Pym, Reed Richards and Iron Man, while discussing an alien invasion, banter like high schoolers? Doctor Doom is in an American prison, despite having royal diplomatic immunity? Wha–?! And as always, I felt like the action was stiff and unimaginative, which is death in a big widescreen crossover like this one. That shot of the Helicarrier overturning on Manhattan would have been so much cooler with panel-to-panel storytelling showing the effects both inside and outside the Helicarrier, rather than a static shot that looks like somebody forgot to tilt the page right side up in post production.

However, given my general dislike of everything Bendis has done since Avengers Disassembled, I think you’ve got to grade on a curve, and if you take into account my avoidance of the Bendis-verse, my grudging C+ probably gets upgraded to at least a B. I’ll give Bendis credit for some of the character stuff, as the tense face-off between the Mighty Avengers and the New Avengers feels like the culmination of the post-Initiative status quo that Bendis has been working on. And the opening sequence, with the religious fanatic Skrulls and the beginning of the plot, certainly has a nice foreboding mood. If nothing else, Secret Invasion does offer up a compelling plot and some nifty story twists. That last page is a shocker, well-executed, and the two-page tease that became the wraparound cover promises some interesting developments as well.

Nick: You’re a negative-nelly, Randy. You know, maybe the Skrulls just bungled things and assumed that Dum Dum was Texan. Didn’t you know that all Texans wear bowler hats and fight Godzilla on a regular basis? I thought that was common knowledge these days. Seriously though, yeah, the problems you bring up are true, but for me they were relatively minor ones that didn’t dissuade me from the book’s interesting vibe. And as for the art, I think that the majority of the issues actually have something to do with Bendis’ scripts. His action has never, at least for me, reached the heights that it could or should, even with things like Daredevil and Ultimate Spider-Man, and here despite that speed bump, Yu and team (Mark Morales and Laura Martin) still manage to turn in some cool moments. I dug the progression scenes of the alien virus taking control of the many Stark installations around the world especially, as it gave the reader a glimpse at how big the stakes of this Invasion really are.

Randy: There’s definitely a stronger pacing here than I’m used to seeing from the six issue (or longer) story arcs Bendis has become famous for. One definitely gets the sense that he’s either paying off years’ worth of setup or working in years’ worth of continuity and character gaffes to explain them away. Either way, the impression is a big, summer movie style setup sequence. I stand by my assertion that it’s not as fluid and fast-paced as it could have been, as the freeze-frame style splash pages of the Skrull armada or an overturned Helicarrier come off as a bit sterile rather than as a climactic pop of excitement, but I will also freely admit that it’s a pretty intriguing opener that gets across the scale of things quite nicely. It’s certainly a marked improvement from the dullsville opener of Bendis’s last crossover, House of M.

Mighty Avengers #12
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Alex Maleev
Company: Marvel Comics

Nick: Well, this issue accomplishes the one thing that I think most people wanted to see happen, which would be the return of Nick Fury. Sure, we’ve seen him on a computer screen or a quick glance of him in the pages of Ed Brubaker’s Captain America every once in awhile, but this issue of Mighty Avengers is completely devoted to him. There are no Avengers present, no panels packed full of annoying thought bubbles, and no grating dialogue that feels grossly out of character. This is a spy yarn, plain and simple, and it’s one that shows how Fury found out about the Invasion and what he’s been doing about it.

Randy: I didn’t expect to enjoy this issue. Though I have great respect for the Bendis/Maleev Daredevil, that low-key street-level approach seemed a total mismatch for Mighty Avengers. Turns out, it is, but that’s OK, because this isn’t Mighty Avengers, it’s Secret Invasion: Nick Fury Spotlight, and in that regard, it’s pretty good. Bendis’s Fury hews a little close to the Ultimate version of the character, a little too manipulative and jerky, but if you can roll with that characterization, it is fun to watch Nick Fury, Smartest Guy in The Room, at work. As Nick says, despite the little green men and taking over a superhero team book that was supposed to be Bendis’s action-heavy old school book, this isn’t really a superhero title… it’s a spy book. And a pretty good one.

Nick: I do have to wonder that if Marvel had labeled this one Secret Invasion: Nick Fury, if it would have sold even better. I know that Mighty Avengers’ numbers are nothing to snub, but it might have been cool to get a Nick Fury mini all of its own. That said, there was a scene in this issue that might be one of my favorite scenes, and that would be the meet and greet between Maria Hill and Fury. Now, don’t get me wrong, I hate Maria Hill with an undying passsion and wish that she’d never have been brought into existence. Still, I was glad to see that neither character was punked out to any great length, and that it felt like it was actually a serious meeting between two spies who are both just doing their jobs. The dialogue wasn’t contrived or annoying, it felt fluid and real. Plus, seeing Fury escape by jet-pack was as cool as it always is. Maleev’s art definitely felt improved too. There were still a few instances where I thought his characters felt stiff, but his backgrounds and exterior shots were engrossing and stunning in their detail.

Randy: Maleev’s photo-referencing sometimes gets on my nerves, and it bugged me that bald disguised Nick Fury was so disguised that he looked like some guy with completely different facial structure and ethnicity, but he does get the gritty mood of Nick Fury’s covert ops world down beautifully, with the help of a nice orange/brown/yellow palette courtesy of colorist Matt Hollingsworth. Bendis and Maleev really do get across a Nick Fury who is totally in control of the situation at all times, and while I still wish these guys could do panel-to-panel action better, I won’t deny that there’s some coolness to Nick Fury’s flying escape from the Helicarrier or his low-key, dark as hell interrogation of his lover’s impersonator. If nothing else, Mighty Avengers #12 has me looking forward to that long-promised Bendis/Maleev Spider-Woman book again.

New Avengers #40
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Jim Cheung
Company: Marvel Comics

Nick: If you’ve already read the first issue of Secret Invasion and took away from it any enjoyment whatsoever, then you should do yourself a favor and go find a copy of this one. While some of what occurs in this issue will more than likely find it’s way into the main series in some form or fashion, the story that Bendis tells here does seem important. It’s basically a whole issue dedicated to the Skrulls, and the science that they developed that helped them further their own cause. Still, before getting too much into the particulars, I wanted to mention the slick looking art. Jim Cheung (Young Avengers) has a grounded but animated sensibility, and his characters and backgrounds are immaculately penciled.

D3: I really dig the ominous and ancient feel this skrull-centric issue brings. There’s elements of political intrigue, prophecy, and an overwhelming sinister tone to the Skrull Queen that genuinely makes me fear what might happen when her plans come to fruition. I can’t say enough about Cheung’s pencils and Justin Ponsor’s colors. The pencils are detailed yet dynamic, and the colors are vivid, comic-book-bright, and have strong contrast that makes the images pop without feeling garish. This issue really ought to take a place in the front of the the first trade to serve as a prologue.

Randy: While Secret Invasion was the flawed yet intriguing issue I thought it might be, and Mighty Avengers was a reminder that the Bendis/Maleev team is perfect for some things, this was the real shocker. I didn’t just grudgingly agree it was OK, I liked it, more than Secret Invasion #1 or #2, actually. Bendis’s dialogue tics are almost completely absent in this issue, which spends an entire issue detailing the bad guys of Secret Invasion, from the big question of how they manage their infiltration and their enhanced super-powers to the reveal of who’s leading them, what her agenda is and maybe even what human she’s replaced. New Avengers fans might feel cheated that they bought an issue that featured none of the characters from the book and is instead Secret Invasion: Skrull Spotlight, and Secret Invasion fans could be rightly pissed that key information about the bad guys is in a different book, but this is a key issue to the crossover. More importantly, it’s a pretty good read.

Mighty Avengers #13
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Alex Maleev
Company: Marvel Comics

Randy: At this point, Mighty Avengers fans can kiss their book goodbye, the Avengers are going to be seen only in the pages of Secret Invasion. Nick Fury fans are going to want to tune in, however. This issue is a direct follow-up from the previous issue, as Nick Fury recruits a woman who looks strikingly like Daredevil’s wife Milla (but it isn’t, that’s just Maleev’s sometimes limited character reference) to go around recruiting the kids of obscure superheroes for a secret team. It’s clear Bendis is going for an “Old Order Changeth”/Young Avengers/Runaways type thing where the next generation of heroes are brought in, but with the weak action and lack of costumes and codenames that is a Bendis/Maleev trademark, it doesn’t quite work.

Nick: Fury fans, put your rejoice hats on and revel in the eye-patch goodness of these past two issues. Actually, while I do think that it’s neat to have Fury back in action, I thought this outing was much weaker than the previous issue. Milla-girl (her real name is Daisy Johnson, the illegitimate daughter of Calvin Zabo, but Milla-girl’s a better name in my opinion) just isn’t that interesting of a foil to hold the recruitment scenes in this one together. She’s too jokey and glib for my tastes, acting like a typical, cookie cutter Bendis character usually does. Despite that, there is a good scene between Ares, his son, and a couple of neighborhood kids. Ares, normally played as MUST SMASH and KILL replacement guy for the Avengers, here is shown as a gruff guy, but one who still loves and cares for his son’s wellbeing. This kind of stuff adds to the character and makes him seem less one-dimensional.

Randy: I like some of the notions here, and even like some of the ideas for the characters, but none of them are particularly memorable or interesting yet. I’m also wondering what “original Ghost Rider” the script refers to, as the western Phantom Rider didn’t have any powers to pass along to a descendant, but it’s possible that was changed in the wake of the Ghost Rider movie in some Ennis-penned miniseries I didn’t read. I’ll give full credit for choosing some relatively obscure D-listers to invent kids for (Doctor Druid? Really?), but the power selection and character design is pretty vanilla so far, and if these guys are going to be major players in Secret Invasion, I hope they get a lot more interesting fast.

Secret Invasion #2
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Leinil Yu
Company: Marvel Comics

D3: I thought that the huge slam-bang opener to the miniseries wouldn’t be repeated right away, and the pace would be taken down a notch in the second issue to allow for the unfolding of the Skrull plot. I was wrong. This issue doesn’t lose a step; it manages to be fast paced and exciting while simultaneously furthering the mystery and amping up the intrigue level. Leinil Yu seems to back on his game after a slew of disappointing performances in New Avengers. The art is more detailed and less sketchy, reminding me of Yu’s work before teaming up with Bendis on the regular Avengers title. The art feels complete and finished rather than rushed, and when Yu isn’t rushed, his work shines. This issue is no exception.

Randy: I still haven’t been quite as big on Yu at Marvel, but this is his strongest work for them yet. Bendis’s action style uses splash pages and frozen moments rather than panel-to-panel fights, so the action still comes across as somewhat sterile to me, but it wasn’t the action that intrigued me in this issue, it was the follow-up on the most intriguing aspect of issue one, the spaceship full of ’70s heroes. If Bendis doesn’t kill off Mockingbird or Hawkeye by the end of this, and if he can get Clint Barton out of using that stupid Ronin costume and codename, all will be forgiven for Hawkeye’s lame-as-hell punked out death sequence and return. Seeing him pick up a bow again was a treat, at any rate. And it is kind of fun seeing the ’70s version of the characters fight their modern selves, all the while wondering which ones are Skrulls. Not much else happens, which makes it feel a bit sluggish in terms of pacing and smaller in scope than the first issue. And it definitely feels like it would have been smarter to get the “who’s a Skrull?” question out of the way in this issue rather than leaving it hanging so that the heroes could get back to the main plot, but the paranoia of it all is tasty potential story material.

Nick: As the enjoyment of this issue goes, I think I fall somewhere in-between the both of you. I agree with D3 that Yu’s artwork is getting better and better as the story goes, and really, when you can draw a dinosaur thrashing and smashing things as well as Yu obviously can, who can argue? Still, this one as a whole didn’t quite reach the heights of the first one for me. It was fun and still had the paranoia feel to it that I’m digging, but it all felt very abbreviated to me, like there was something missing from it. What that something is, I don’t know. Maybe they could have touched on more of the stuff that they teased in the first issue? Who knows. And while I’m not as big of a Hawkeye nut as Randy is, I do have a fondness for the character (remember the Avengers arcade game? Best character ever!) and it was definitely a geek out for me to see him snag the bow from his Skrull counterpart and start taking pot shots at who he thinks are the bad guys. That alone made this one worth picking up.