Nick Peron

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Secret Invasion #2

Nick Peron

Credits

Secret Invasion continues from Secret Invasion: Home Invasion #1…

The Skrulls have launched their invasion of Earth, by luring the Mighty Avengers — Iron Man (Tony Stark), Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Black Widow (Natasha Romanov), Wonder Man (Simon Williams), Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew),[1] Ares, and the Sentry (Bob Reynolds) — and the New Avengers — Ronin (Clint Barton, Luke Cage, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Wolverine (Logan), Iron Fist (Danny Rand), and Echo (Maya Lopez) — to the Savage Land.[2] There they uncover a Skrull ship that contained a crew of heroes that may have been kidnapped and replaced by Skrulls, or might be Skrulls themselves![3]

Iron Man is down thanks to a Skrull computer virus that has infected his armor. Now there is a tense stand-off between the two Avengers teams and the ship full of Skrull prisoners. The problem is that the Skrulls are now capable of fooling and means of detection and have been conditioned to think they are the heroes they are posing as. Nobody gathered here can tell who is the real deal or who is a Skrull. The prisoners are all convinced that they recently escaped Skrull captivity and that the Avengers present are Skrull impostors. This eventually leads to a full on brawl between both sides. As the battle begins, Ms. Marvel of the Mighty Avengers flies Iron Man to safety since he is totally incapacitated by the virus.

While everyone is distracted, the “Vision” — actually a Skrull — uses his shapeshifting powers to convince the Sentry that this is all the doing of his evil persona, the Void. This shatters Bob Reynold’s tenuous grip on his sanity and he suddenly flees the fight.[4]

Not far away, Ronin manages to swipe the bow and arrow by the man who may or may not be the real Hawkeye. He then begins shooting arrows at the various prisoners, convinced that they are all Skrulls.[5] The only one who is able to deflect one of his shots is Captain America, making Clint wonder if he might be the real deal. However, before anyone can figure out who is who, the battle is ambushed by a hungry tyrannosaurus rex. This causes everyone to scatter into the jungles, making it even harder than ever before to tell who is real and who is a Skrull.

Meanwhile, Iron Man has Ms. Marvel take him to the ruins of a base previously used by the Savage Land Mutates.[6] With his armor compromised by the Skrull virus, Tony needs to start building a new suit that isn’t comprised of Starktech. Since the virus has infected all of his technology on Earth, SHIELD and Avengers Tower have been disabled as well. Realizing how bad the situation is, Stark orders Carol to return to New York and gather anyone there who can fight. Ms. Marvel is frozen with indecision on what to do until Tony yells at her to get going. When she leaves, he gets to work.[7]

Back at the scene of the battle, both Wolverine and Luke Cage double back to where they were all split up. Neither one is sure they aren’t Skrulls, but since Luke has unbreakable skin they are at a stalemate. That’s when they find one of the prisoners — Spider-Man — who was trampled and killed by the t-rex, confirming that at least this one prisoner was a Skrull. As they try to figure out their next move, Ronin watches them secretly from the tree tops with an arrow nocked on his bow, prepared to shoot either one if they give a hint they aren’t who they claim to be. That’s when Logan and Luke hear something rustle in the nearby bushes. They find Mockingbird with the dead body of Hawkey, another Skrull. They are convinced that Bobbi might be a Skrull as well. Bobbi claims that she isn’t a Skrull and claims she was a prisoner for at least a year. When Wolverine tries to threaten her, Ronin shoots him with an arrow and tells Logan to get away from his wife.[8]

Ronin then confronts Mockingbrid and asks her what October 12 means to them. Bobbi explains that October 12 would have been the day their child would have been born had she not experienced a miscarriage, something that they kept a secret from everyone but themselves. This is enough to convince Clint, who pulls off his Ronin mask and kisses the woman he thinks is his wife. Logan isn’t entirely convinced, but Clint insists that he is right and says that it is his call to make. However, neither Wolverine nor Luke can be sure that Clint is really himself. They are also unsure who among the prisoners is a Skrull, but Bobbi is convinced that Captain America is the real deal since he was the one who helped them escape.[9]

Meanwhile, in New York City, people on the street are in a panic after witnessing the top floors of the Baxter Building get swallowed up in a Negative Zone portal.[10] That’s when a Skrull warship appears over the city and begins indiscriminately firing on the streets below. Moments later, an army of Super-Skrulls — each with three unique power sets based on Earth heroes and villains — arrive in the streets to take over the city!

… Secret Invasion continues in Mighty Avengers #13.

Recurring Characters

Mighty Avengers (Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, Black Widow, Wonder Man, “Spider-Woman”, Ares, Sentry), New Avengers (Ronin, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Fist, Echo), Skrull prisoners (“Beast”, “Captain America”, “Invisible Woman”, “Iron Man”, “Jewel”, “Power Man”, “Mockingbird”, “Ms. Marvel”, “Phoenix”, “Scarlet Witch”, “Thor”, “Vision”, “White Queen”, “Wonder Man”, “Wolverine”)

Continuity Notes

  1. The woman who appears to be Spider-Woman is actually the leader of the Skrull invasion, Veranke, as we’ll learn next issue. In New Avengers #42, it is revealed that she took the place of the real Jessica Drew in Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1.

  2. The two Avengers teams have been aware that the Skrulls were up to something in New Avengers #31 and Mighty Avengers #7, respectively. The Skrulls launched their long planned invasion last issue.

  3. The characters that emerge from the ship all appear in earlier incarnations of the characters. We’ll learn in Secret Invasion #5 that everyone aboard the ship are Skrull impostors. That said, they are posing as specific characters because they are either dead at the time of this story, or had undergone a great deal of change. Let’s break it all down so you can follow along:

    • “The Beast” appears in his original blue furred form that the real Hank McCoy had on and off starting in Amazing Adventures #15. At the time of this story, the real Beast had undergone a secondary mutation that gave him a more feline appearance, as seen in New X-Men #114.

    • Captain America (Steve Rogers) was believed to have died prior to this story when he was gunned down by an assassin in Captain America (vol. 5) #25. In reality, the real Steve Rogers was shot with a chronal bullet that has him trapped in a time loop. He will be freed from this prison in Captain America: Reborn #1-6.

    • Invisible Girl is depicted in her original Fantastic Four costume circa Fantastic Four #2. This is implying that she was taken prior to when she started calling herself the Invisible Woman (Fantastic Four #284).

    • Iron Man: This Iron Man is depicted wearing his “classic” red and gold armor that was first introduced in Iron Man #85.

    • Jewel: Jessica Jones appears here in her original superhero persona. As told in Alias #22-23, Jessica didn’t do very well as a superhero and gave it up to become a private investigator. The appearance of Jewel implies that this is a version of Jessica Jones who had not married Luke Cage (New Avengers Annual #1) or gave birth to their child Dani Cage (The Pulse #13).

    • Power Man, aka Luke Cage, appears in his original costume (tiara and all) that he first sported in Luke Cage: Hero for Hire #1. It is a look that Luke hasn’t really had since Power Man and Iron Fist #125. This is implying much of the same things about the real Luke Cage as they do of Jessica Jones.

    • Mockingbird: Was believed to have been killed during a battle with Mephisto in Avengers West Coast #100. Although this Mockingbird is a Skrull, we’ll discover that Bobbi Morse was actually one of the earliest heroes to be replaced by the Skrulls when she is freed in Secret Invasion #8. New Avengers: The Reunion #2 reveals that she was swapped out back in Avengers West Coast #91 and it was her Skrull impostor who died in her place.

    • Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers): Is depicted in her original Ms. Marvel costume which she wore between Ms. Marvel #1 and 20.

    • Phoenix (Jean Grey): Appears here in the costume first worn by the Phoenix Force, who posed as Jean from Uncanny X-Men #101-137. The Phoenix died and Jean was later recovered in Fantastic Four #286. The real Jean had, on occasion, wore this costume later on since her return. At the time of this story, Jean was dead at the hands of Xorn in New X-Men #150. Jean will remain among the deceased until she is brought back to life in Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey #1-5.

    • the Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff): Appears in one of her early costumes that she wore in the Avengers. At the time of this story, the real Wanda Maximoff had suffered two serious and violent mental breakdowns in Avengers #500-503 and House of M #1-8. She has been living in Transia with no memory of her past since New Avengers #25. She won’t have her memory restored until Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #5.

    • A teenaged Spider-Man (Peter Parker): While he doesn’t look much different than the real Spider-Man. This Skrull impostor’s costume has some of the unique flourishes that by original Spider-Man artist Steve Ditko circa Amazing Fantasy #15.

    • Thor: At the time of this story, the real Thor had died along with the rest of the Asgardians in Thor (vol. 2) #80-85. He has just recently been resurrected in Thor (vol. 3) #1 and recreated Asgard on Earth in the town of Broxton, Oklahoma.

    • The White Queen (Emma Frost): Appears in the seductive outfits that harken back to her days as a member of the evil Hellfire Club, circa Uncanny X-Men #129. The real Emma Frost has been more or less reformed since Uncanny X-Men #314.

    • Wonder Man (Simon Williams): Appears here in his “Safari” look that he first wore circa Avengers #167.

    • Lastly, we have Wolverine, who is depicted wearing his original costume from his first appearance in Incredible Hulk #180-181. It has less pronounced “ears” on the hood, as well as whisker lines drawn around the mouth opening. Yes, it looks really dumb.

  4. The Sentry has had a long history of abuse and addiction trauma, which manifests as the evil Void. For more on the Sentry’s mental health see Sentry/The Void #1, New Avengers #7-10, and Sentry (vol. 2) #1-8. Using the Void as a means of removing the Sentry from the battle field was one of the Skrulls’ contingency plans as detailed in Mighty Avengers #14.

  5. Ronin complains that he’s been through enough over the last year. He is referring to his death (Avengers #502), resurrection (New Avengers #26), and his adoption of the Ronin identity (New Avengers #27).

  6. This was the same base that Tony encountered on the New Avengers’ first mission as seen in New Avengers #5.

  7. For more on Ms. Marvel’s activities during the rest of this event, see Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #28-30.

  8. Clint and Bobbie Morse had been married since Hawkeye #4. Here, the fake Mockingbird says she thinks she has been abducted for a year. As I mentioned above, the real Bobbi Morse was swapped out in Avengers West Coast #91 (published February, 1993), per the Sliding Timescale it would actually have been about four years between then and this story (published June, 2008). One could assume that someone who was held prisoner by the Skrulls may have lost track of time, hence the discrepancy here.

  9. As I said above, this “Cap” is a Skrull impostor. For more on the prisoners escape and the fake Captain America’s backstory, Check out New Avengers #43.

  10. The Baxter Building was shunted into the Negative Zone last issue. For more on what happened to those inside when it happened see Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1-3.

Topical References

  • One of the bystanders watching the destruction of the Baxter Building uses a “flip” style cell phone to snap a picture. These types of phones were still quite popular when this comic was originally published in 2008. However, they have since fallen out of common use thanks to the invention of the smart phone. Its depiction here should be considered topical.

Secret Invasion Reading Order

Prelude:

New Avengers #31, Mighty Avengers #7, New Avengers #34, New Avengers: Illuminati (vol. 2) #5, Secret Invasion: Prologue #1

The Invasion

Secret Invasion #1, Mighty Avengers #12, New Avengers #40, Secret Invasion: Home Invasion #1, Secret Invasion #2, Mighty Avengers #13, Captain Britain and MI13 #1, Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1, Mighty Avengers #14, Incredible Hercules #117, New Avengers #41, Secret Invasion #3, Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust? #1, Captain Britain and MI13 #2, Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #2, Incredible Hercules #118, Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers #1, Secret Invasion: Home Invasion #2, Avengers: The Initiative #14, Mighty Avengers #15, Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #28, New Avengers #42, Secret Invasion: Front Line #1, Secret Invasion #4, Mighty Avengers #16, X-Factor (vol. 3) #33, Incredible Hercules #119, New Warriors (vol. 4) #14, Avengers: The Initiative #15, She-Hulk (vol. 2) #31, New Avengers #43, Thunderbolts #122, Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #3, Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #29, Black Panther (vol. 4) #39, Secret Invasion: Front Line #2, Secret Invasion: Home Invasion #3, Secret Invasion: X-Men #1, Secret Invasion: Inhumans #1, Secret Invasion: Thor #1, Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers #2, Captain Britain and MI13 #3, Secret Invasion: Home Invasion #4

Fighting Back

Secret Invasion #5, Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 2) #4, X-Factor (vol. 3) #34, Incredible Hercules #120, Secret Invasion: Amazing Spider-Man #1, New Warriors (vol. 4) #15, Nova (vol. 4) #16, Avengers: The Initiative #16, Mighty Avengers #17, She-Hulk (vol. 2) #32, Black Panther (vol. 4) #40, New Avengers #44, Thunderbolts #123, Secret Invasion: Front Line #3, Deadpool (vol. 4) #1, Secret Invasion: X-Men #2, Secret Invasion: Inhumans #2, Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers #3, Secret Invasion #6, Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #30, Secret Invasion: Thor #2, Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 2) #5, Mighty Avengers #18, War Machine: Weapon of SHIELD #33, Deadpool (vol. 4) #2, Secret Invasion: Amazing Spider-Man #2, Nova (vol. 4) #17, Secret Invasion: Home Invasion #5, Avengers: The Initiative #17, She-Hulk (vol. 2) #33, Black Panther (vol. 4) #41, New Avengers #45, Thunderbolts #124, Deadpool (vol. 4) #3, Secret Invasion: Inhumans #3, Secret Invasion: Front Line #4, Secret Invasion: Home Invasion #6, Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 2) #6, Mighty Avengers #19, War Machine: Weapon of SHIELD #34, Secret Invasion: Amazing Spider-Man #3, Secret Invasion: Home Invasion #7

The Final Battle

Secret Invasion #7, New Avengers #46, Thunderbolts #125, Secret Invasion: X-Men #3, Secret Invasion: Home Invasion #6, Nova (vol. 4) #18, Avengers: The Initiative #18, Punisher: War Journal (vol. 2) #25, War Machine: Weapon of SHIELD #35, Secret Invasion: X-Men #4, Secret Invasion: Thor #3, Secret Invasion: Inhumans #3, Secret Invasion: Front Line #5, Secret Invasion: Home Invasion #8, Secret Invasion #8

Epilogue

New Avengers #47, Secret Invasion: War of Kings #1, Secret Invasion: Requiem #1, Secret Invasion Aftermath: Beta Ray Bill #1, Secret Invasion: Dark Reign #1, Avengers: The Initiative #19