Incredible Hercules #118

Aug 13

Aug 13 Incredible Hercules #118

Secret Invasion, Part 2: Dream Time

Secret Invasion continues from X-Factor (vol. 3) #33…

The aliens known as the Skrull are invading the Earth. As this is a holy mission, Earth’s pantheon gods have gathered a team to destroy the Skrull gods known as Kly’Bn and Slu’gr’t. This so-called God Squad (consisting of Hercules, Ajak, Atum, Amatsu-Mikaboshi, and Snowbird) are using a ship to traverse into Dreamtime in order to venture into the realm of the Skrull gods.[1]

As they venture deeper into Dreamtime, Ajak informs them of what is at stake. The Skrulls are a conqueror race that not only invades alien worlds, but also literally kills their religions. In Skrull places of worship they have monuments of the gods they have destroyed in the past. Ajak warns that if they fail, they will share the same fate as Hadith of the Queega, Blessed-of-Litters of the Druff, and Ceffya the Righteous of the Swarm Collective.[2]

Amadeus Cho, Hercules’ companion, doesn’t fully understand what their mission will do about the invasion taking place on Earth. Ajak explains that there is a metaphysical connection between gods and those who worship them. Destroying the Skrull gods will, in turn, will make the Skrulls fall as well. Cho still cannot understand how the actions of mortals made in the name of their gods can have an impact on the deities themselves. Cho gets no concrete answers, merely haikus from Amatus-Mikaboshi.

This discussion is tabled when they finally reach the first destination on their quest. Before them is a massive spherical maze into Dreamtime. However, none of them knows what is the correct path to take. Amadeus figures that his great intelligence can help map out their course, but in trying to formulate it, he is stricken with pain. Ajak says that Dreamtime cannot be navigated through reason and in order to get to where they are going, they will need to commune with the dream demon known as Nightmare. Amadeus feels that this is a bad idea since Nightmare once drove the Hulk insane.[3]

Still, Hercules finds something to be cheerful about, as he starts rowing he tells the others that this quest reminds him of the adventures he had alongside the Argonauts centuries ago. In fact, each member of his crew reminds him of the various Argos that he fought alongside. Ajak reminds him of eloquent Orphius, while Atum is not unlike the grim Pollux, Snowbird reminds him of the brave warrior woman known as Atalanta, while Mikaboshi reminds him the treacherous Pericymenus, whom he enjoyed slaying all those years ago. When asked who Amadeus reminds him of, Hercules sees Hylas in his young companion, but chooses to say nothing.

Meanwhile, Snowbird has taken an interest in Amadeus Cho’s young coyote pup. He tells her that he has chosen to call it Kirby, short for Kerberos,[4] after both the three headed dog of Hades, and the network authentication protocol. She points out that coyotes are known as tricksters in Native American culture, suggesting that Amadeus may be a Skrull in their midst. Cho counters this by pointing out that Snowbird, Mikaboshi, and Atum are more likely suspects given that they are all shapeshifters, just like the Skrulls. Still, Cho thinks that they should all be wary of Amatsu-Mikaboshi as a traitor in their midst.

This discussion is tabled when they are greeted by Nightmare, who welcomes the immortals to his domain. He already knows of their mission, having taken it from Amadeus Cho’s dreams as he slept on the way through Dreamtime. He has a chart that will help them navigate their way to the realm of the Skrull Gods. However, he expects something in their return, their fear. Suddenly, a massive device resembling an ancient houka appears before them. Although Amadeus has his reservations about this, Hercules agrees to Nightmare’s terms. Within moments, the tentacles from the fear machine clamps onto the heads of each member of the God Squad to determine what their greatest fears are.

For Hercules, he relives a moment from 1289 BC. He and Jason of the Argonauts participated in a rowing contest. Hercules lost when, in his excitement, accidentally snapped his own ore. Herc was then sent out with Hylas to fetch wood and water. A boy of untapped beauty had garnered the attention of water nyphs who spirited him away. Unaware of what happened, Hercules refused to leave the island until he found the boy, prompting the Argonauts to leave without him.

Seeing the agony Hercules is now in, Amadeus tries to free his friend. Unfortunately, this leaves him vulnerable to Nightmare who taps into the boy’s greatest fears. Cho is forced to relive the death of his parents, the Hulk’s betrayal, the injury of his pup, and the growing fear that their current quest is doomed.[5] Cho’s greatest fear is that when he tries to use his great intellect to figure out the cause of all these tragedies he will discover that he is to blame for it all.

Nightmare revels in this but decides to move onto the others and see what they fear most. For Snowbird, it is the survivors guilt she has over the recent death of her comrades in Alpha Flight.[6] While Atum fears Eternity itself, as its continued existence means he will live in monotony for centuries living in the sun.[7] However, when Nightmare goes to check on Mikaboshi, he discovers that his clothing is empty and he is loose somewhere.

That’s when Kirby begins to howl, which allows Hercules to snap out of the dream state he is trapped in. He pulls himself free and strikes Nightmare before destroying the fear machine and freeing his comrades. Insulted at being attacked, Nightmare tells the God Squad that he will not be giving them the map after all. He then summons an army of every fear known to man to attack the intruders. As they fight, Amadeus suggests they retreat because they are in over their head. Hercules agrees, leading to recriminations to Atum, who looks forward to the fall of man so he can become the Demogorge and consume all the gods.

When they flee back to their ship, they find Mikaboshi waiting for them. As it turns out, while they were all dealing with Nightmare, the Japanese god had sneaked away and stole the map they need to reach the realm of the Skrull gods. They then cast sail and head off into Dream Time. As Hercules rejoices over their victory, he pauses when he hears sobbing coming from one of the cabins in the lower deck of the ship. He goes down and finds Snowbird mourning over the loss of her friends. When he asks her what he can do to help, she kisses him and says she doesn’t want to feel alone anymore. After asking if this is what she wants, she kisses him again. As the two lay down in bed together, they are unaware that they are being watched by Kirby, the coyote pup. Had they noticed, they would have seen that the pup’s eyes are glowing green![8]

… Secret Invasion continues in Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers #1.

Recurring Characters

God Squad (Hercules, Ajak, Atum, Amatsu-Mikaboshi, Snowbird), Amadeus Cho, Nightmare, Skrulls, “Kirby”, (in flashback) Jason

Continuity Notes

This story takes place during the Secret Invasion event. The primary conflict is chronicled in Secret Invasion #1-8 as well as various cross-over issues listed below.
These aren’t just alien races the writer pulled out of his ass, they have previously been featured in other stories. The Queega are a reptilian race that were first seen in Daredevil #28 (of all places), while Druff were first seen in Fantastic Four #37. The only new race mentioned here are the Swarm Collective of Idoidea. Time of this writing (August, 2024) there hasn’t been much more stated about this alien race.
Amadeus is referring to the events of Incredible Hulk #297-300.
The name chosen for Kirby was via a contest in the letter pages of Incredible Hercules. The winner being someone calling himself MaGnUs. Way to immortalize your contribution to the fiction with a stupid nickname, coward.
Amadeus Cho has been through a lot of tragedies in his young life. They include:
- The death of his parents. We’ll learn in Incredible Hercules #133-137 that they were murdered by a rival genius named Pythagoras Dupree.
- The Hulk was exiled into space between Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #91-105. He came back to Earth to get his revenge and was defeated as seen in World War Hulk #1-5. Cho looked up to the Hulk as a hero since Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #15.
- Kirby was injured by the Black Widow in Incredible Hercules #114.
The members of Alpha Flight were killed by the Collective in New Avengers #16. They will later be resurrected in Chaos War: Alpha Flight #1.
Atum was created by Gaea to destroy the first gods who had devolved into demons. He spends most of his time living in the sun waiting for the time to consume the current pantheon of gods. See Thor Annual #10.
As we’ll learn next issue, Kirby was replaced by a Skrull during the events of Incredible Hercules #113.

Topical References

One of the inspirations for the name Keberos is the network authentication protocol that was widely used at the time this story was published in 2008. As I write this (August, 2024) it continues to be used but other, more advanced, NAPs have since been developed. As such, Keberos could likely be made obsolete within our lifetimes. That said, this wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference as using a more contemporary reference would change the meaning of Kirby’s name. Someone as intelligent as Amadeus Cho and someone who has a knack for vintage technology would know about Keberos regardless of how widely it is used at any given time.