{"id":28187,"date":"2023-06-23T09:00:56","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T09:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=28187"},"modified":"2023-06-21T17:21:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T17:21:00","slug":"secret-invasion-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2023\/06\/23\/secret-invasion-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Secret Invasion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\" \"\"
\nBy Brian Michael Bendis<\/strong>, Leinil Francis Yu<\/strong>, Mark Morales<\/strong> & various (Marvel)
\nISBN: 978-0-7851-3297-4 (TPB\/Digital edition Marvel) 978-1-84653-405-8 (TPB Panini\/Marvel UK)<\/p>\n

The Skrulls are shape-shifting aliens who have threatened Earth since the second issue of Fantastic Four<\/strong>, and have long been a cornerstone of the Marvel Universe. After decades of use and misuse the insidious invaders were made the stars of a colossal braided mega-crossover event beginning in April 2008 and running through all the company\u2019s titles until Christmas. That landmark worlds-shaking epic has since been adapted to the company\u2019s burgeoning, blockbuster Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you were a real fan, you\u2019d have already seen the first episode\u2026<\/p>\n

We, however, are all about the comics so let\u2019s revisit the stunning and all-pervasive source material. The premise is simple enough: the everchanging, corruptive would-be conquerors have undergone a mass religious conversion and are now utterly, fanatically dedicated to taking Earth as their new homeworld. To this end they have replaced over an unspecified time a number of key Earth denizens – including many of the world\u2019s superheroes.<\/p>\n

When the lid is lifted on the simmering plot, no defender of the Earth truly knows who is on their side\u2026<\/p>\n

Moreover the cosmic charlatans have also unravelled the secrets of humanity\u2019s magical and genetic superpowers, creating amped-up equivalents to Earth\u2019s mightiest. They are now primed and able to destroy the heroic defenders in face-to-face confrontations.<\/p>\n

With the conquest primed to launch, everything starts to unravel when Elektra<\/strong> dies in battle and is discovered to be an alien, not a ninja. Soon, two teams of Avengers<\/strong> (Iron Man<\/strong>, The Sentry<\/strong>, Wonder Man<\/strong>, Daredevil<\/strong>, Ms. Marvel<\/strong>, Spider-Woman<\/strong>, Wolverine<\/strong>, Luke Cage<\/strong>, Iron Fist<\/strong>, Ronin<\/strong>, Echo<\/strong>, Cloak<\/strong> and Black Widow<\/strong>) and certain agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.\u00a0 are covertly investigating in discrete operations. All are painfully aware that they have no way of telling friend from foe\u2026<\/p>\n

Crisis and confusion are compounded when a Skrull ship crashes in the primordial Savage Land, releasing a band of missing heroes claiming to have been abducted and experimented on. Among them are another Spider-Man, Luke Cage, recently killed Captain America<\/strong> Steve Rogers<\/em>, Phoenix\/<\/strong>Jean Grey<\/em> and Thor<\/strong>, plus other heroes believed gone forever. Some must be Skrull duplicates but are they the newcomers or the ones facing them\u2026?<\/p>\n

As the champions second guess each other, the second strand triggers. Earths space defence station S.W.O.R.D. is blown up and a virus rips through the internet shutting down crucial systems including the Starktech comprising the operating systems of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Iron Man\u2019s armour\u2026<\/p>\n

Now all over Earth, Skrulls attack and heroes – and even villains such as Norman<\/em> (Green Goblin<\/strong>) Osborn<\/em> – respond and retaliate in a last ditch effort to survive: a war of survival that ends in shock, horror and unforeseen disaster\u2026<\/p>\n

Rather than give any more away, let me just say that if you like this sort of blockbuster saga you\u2019ll be in seventh heaven, and a detailed familiarity is not vital to your understanding. However, for a fuller understanding, amongst the other Secret Invasion<\/strong> volumes accompanying this, you should particularly seek out Secret Invasion: the Infiltration<\/strong>, Secret War<\/strong> (2004), Avengers Disassembled<\/strong>, and Annihilation<\/strong> volumes 1-3, as well as the Avengers: Illuminati<\/strong> compilation.<\/p>\n

This American volume contains all 8 issues of the core miniseries plus a monumental covers-&-variants gallery (31 in total) by Gabriele Dell\u2019Otto, Steve McNiven, Leinil Yu, Mel Rubi, Frank Cho, Laura Martin and Greg Horn, and a series of chilling house ads imploring us to \u2018Embrace Change\u2019<\/em>, but is just one of 22 volumes comprising the vast number of episodes in convergent storylines of the saga.<\/p>\n

Fast-paced, complex, superbly illustrated and suitably spectacular, this twisty-turny tale and its long-term repercussions reshaped the Marvel Universe, heralding a \u201cDark Reign\u201d that pushed all the envelopes. If you are a comics newcomer, and can find the British edition from Panini, it also includes one-shot spin-off Who Do You Trust?<\/strong> and illustrated data-book Skrulls<\/strong> which claims to provide a listing and biography for every shapeshifter yet encountered in the Marvel Universe (but if they left any out, could you<\/strong><\/em> tell?).
\n\u00a9 2017 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Francis Yu, Mark Morales & various (Marvel) ISBN: 978-0-7851-3297-4 (TPB\/Digital edition Marvel) 978-1-84653-405-8 (TPB Panini\/Marvel UK) The Skrulls are shape-shifting aliens who have threatened Earth since the second issue of Fantastic Four, and have long been a cornerstone of the Marvel Universe. After decades of use and misuse the insidious … <\/p>\n

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