Secret Invasion continues from Secret Invasion: Home Invasion #4…

The Skrulls have invaded Earth, crippling its defenses and scattering its defenders.[1] At Thunderbolts Mountain, the Thunderbolts are attacked by a Skrull named Khn’nr who had been posing as Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) for months.[2] However, his resolve has been compromised by the implanted memories of Mar-Vell. Seeing this indecision, Norman Osborn — leader of the Thunderbolts — convinces him that he should be Earth’s protector just as the real Captain Marvel was. Still conflicted by duty, the impostor flies off. That’s when guards and Penance (Robbie Baldwin) arrive to figure out what’s happened. Norman tells them to gather the rest of the Thunderbolts and prepare to go to war.[3]

In New York City, Nick Fury and his Secret Warriors — Quake (Daisy Johnson), (Sebastian) Druid, Hellfire (J.T. James), Phobos (Alex Aaron), Slingshot (Yo-Yo Rodriguez), and Stonewall (Jerry Sledge) — have evacuated members of the Young Avengers and the Initiative to one of their safehouses to plan and prepare a counter attack against the Skrull invaders. Patriot (Eli Bradley), Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), and the Vision (Jonas) are reunited with their former teammate Stature (Cassie Lang), who recently left the group to join the Initiative.[4] Nick Fury and his team have just discovered that all Earth transmissions — including television and the internet — have been shut down. That’s when a singular Skrull transmission is beamed out on every communications channel on Earth. The Skrulls appear on TV in the images of trusted superheroes, politicians, and celebrities, and in every Earth language. However, the message is still the same. It is an appeal to the people of Earth to surrender to them and they promise that they will provide humanity with everything they ever wanted. They promise an end to poverty, hardship, disease and greed. Their final message is that he loves them so much.

Meanwhile, aboard a Skrull warship in low Earth orbit, SWORD Director Abigale Brand has been caught snooping around by a pair of Skrulls. Speaking in their native language, they assume they are dealing with another Skrull and demand that she identify herself. Having learned how to speak in Skrull, Abigale claims to be a part of the Queen’s delegation and feigns insult that they would dare question her. This intimidates the two Skrulls long enough for her to snatch a weapon and kill them both. She then smashes through a window overlooking the room where Skrull scientists are examining the captive Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards).

She guns down all of the Skrulls in the room and then goes to a radio to order that the entire crew abandon ship. When this takes too long, she decides to blow the airlocks instead, sending the entire crew out into the vacuum of space. When she frees Richards, he immediately squeezes her into submission, thinking she is a Skrull. He then accesses a nearby computer and learns that all the Starktech on the planet has been compromised and the Baxter Building has been shunted into the Negative Zone.[5] Shedding a tear for his family, Reed knows what he needs to stop this.

In the Bermuda Triangle, the SHIELD helicarrier has been scuttled at sea by the Skrull computer virus. There, a Skrull posing as Avengers butler Edwin Jarvis has come to accept Deputy-Director Maria Hill’s surrender.[6] Hill finds this hilarious and tells them that, at the advice of Nick Fury, she started using a Life Model Decoy to pose as herself. She quips that if she survives this she will get a t-shirt that reads “Nick Fury was right”.[7] The Skrulls then shoot who they think is Hill, revealing that she had indeed had a LMD in her place. The real Maria Hill had been using this as a distraction while she rigged the helicarrier to explode. She now flees the scene via a jet pack and blows up everything behind her.

By this time, Abigail Brand wakes up and Reed apologizes for knocking her out but after a genetic test he is certain she is not a Skrull. The entire ship is shaking at the point because it is being attacked by the rest of the invading armada. He has also been getting details on how the Skrulls pulled off their invasion and learned that they had used his genius to make themselves undetectable.[8] That’s when they hear a massive explosion that was not the attacks from the armada. They then see that “Captain Marvel” has arrived to fight his own people. As Abigail and Reed use an escape pod to return to Earth, Reed says he needs to save his family. Abigale promises to do just that, but first they need to stop and pick up some people.

Back in the Savage Land, the Black Widow, Wolverine, and Iron Man run into Spider-Man (Peter Parker), who was able to locate Ka-Zar (Kevin Plunder), his wife Shanna (O’Hara) the She-Devil, and their pet sabretooth tiger, Zabu.[9] However, they can’t be sure that they aren’t Skrulls and order them outside in order to keep Tony Stark safe. As Peter is explaining how he was drawn to their location after hearing gunshots, the other remaining members of the New Avengers — Ronin (Clint Barton), Luke Cage, Iron Fist (Danny Rand), and Echo (Maya Lopez) — , Ares of the Mighty Avengers, as well as the remaining Skrull prisoners — the Invisible Girl (Sue Richards), Jewel (Jessica Jones), Mockingbird (Bobbi Morse), Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Thor, and the White Queen (Emma Frost) — arrive.

As they argue over ineffective ways to prove who they really are, the escape pod carrying Abigale Brand and Mister Fantastic arrives. Hearing a Skrull posing as his wife trying to assert command of the situation, Reed tells them that’s enough and fires a weapon he constructed at the ground around them. This causes all the Skrulls to revert back to their true forms. Sure enough, all of the prisoners on board were all Skrulls, while the gathered Avengers were human the whole time. Angered to see that “Bobbi” was a Skrull impostor, Clint grabs a gun from the Black Widow and shoots her dead.[10] Luke Cage, on the other hand, can’t bring himself to kill the Skrull that was posing as his wife, Jessica Jones, leaving it up to Zabu to maul her to death.[11] Richards grabs the Skrull posing as his wife and demands to know where his children are. Unfortunately, this Skrull was mentally conditioned to pretend to be a Sue Richards from before she had any children and has no idea what he is talking about.[12]

As everyone gets up to speed on what’s been going on, they all agree to head to New York City where the final battle is taking place.[13] Seeing Ronin mourning his wife for a second time, Luke tells him to leave the dead Skrull behind. When Clint gets back to his feet he tells the others that this isn’t over until they kill every last fucking Skrull.

… Secret Invasion continues in Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 2) #4.

Recurring Characters

New Avengers (Ronin, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Fist, Echo), Mighty Avengers (Iron Man, Black Widow, Ares), Skrulls (“Captain Marvel”, “Edwin Jarvis”, “Beast” (corpse), “Invisible Girl”, “Jewel”, “Mockingbird”, “Ms. Marvel”, “Thor”, “Wonder Man”), Initiative (Gauntlet, Batwing, Diamondback, Red 9, Stature), Secret Warriors (Nick Fury, Quake, Druid, Hellfire, Phobos, Slingshot, Stonewall), SHIELD (Maria Hill), Thunderbolts (Norman Osborn, Moonstone, Penance, Songbird, Swordsman), Young Avengers (Patriot, Hawkeye, Vision, Speed), Ka-Zar, Shanna the She-Devil, Zabu

Continuity Notes

1. The Skrulls launched their invasion back in Secret Invasion #1, obviously. Richards capture happened that same issue. As was the destruction of SWORD’s space station.

2. Khn’nr has been posing as a time displaced Captain Marvel since Civil War: The Return #1. He discovered that he was a Skrull infiltrator in Captain Marvel (vol. 6) #4-5.

3. From here, the Thunderbolts will go on to defend Washington, DC from the invaders as seen in Thunderbolts #122-125.

4. Cassie left the Young Avengers in Civil War #5, deciding that she was no longer against the recently passed Super Human Registration Act as it put her in conflict with other heroes she still considered friends. She has been a member of the Initiative since Avengers: The Initiative #1.

5. The Baxter Building was also sent into the Negative Zone in issue #1. To find out what became of the rest of the Fantastic Four during this event see Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1-3.

6. Jarvis was also revealed to have been replaced with a Skrull in Secret Invasion #1. Per New Avengers #42, this impostor replaced the real Jarvis just before New Avengers #1. Although he is seemingly killed here, we’ll see him again in Secret Invasion #8, or perhaps more than one Skrull posed as Jarvis, they aren’t very clear on that.

7. Nick Fury had gone AWOL after it was revealed he staged an illegal coup in Latveria, leading to Hill succeeding him, as seen in Secret War #1-5. When Fury uncovered the Skrull invasion plot, he paid a visit to Hill and suggested that she start using Life Model Decoys of herself whenever something felt hinky. See Mighty Avengers #12.

8. Years earlier, following the Kree/Skrull War (Avengers #89-97) Mister Fantastic and the Illuminati went to the Skrull throne world to warn them from attacking the Earth again. They ended up being captured instead. While the managed to escape, it was not before the Skrulls could do a full genetic, magic, and technological profile of all the Earthlings, as seen in New Avengers: Illuminati (vol. 2) #1. In New Avengers #44, we learned that the Skrulls cloned Reed Richards and tricked him into coming up with a means to make Skrulls untraceable.

9. Spider-Man was split up from the rest of the group when a dinosaur attacked their battle with the Skrull “prisoners”, as seen in Secret Invasion #2. He ran into Ka-Zar and Shanna in New Avengers #41.

10. The reason why Clint is upset that Mockingbird was a Skrull was because he had been married since Hawkeye #4. Tragically, it seemed as though Bobbi had died during a battle with Mephisto in Avengers West Coast #100. However, we’ll learn in Secret Invasion #8 that Bobbi was indeed abducted by the Skrulls many years earlier. New Avengers: The Reunion #2 explains that she was kidnapped and replaced circa Avengers West Coast #91, and that her impostor was killed during the battle with Mephisto.

11. Luke Cage had just recently married the real Jessica Jones in New Avengers Annual #1.

12. At the time of this story, Reed and Sue have two children. Franklin, who was born in Fantastic Four Annual #6 and Valeria who was born in Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #54.

13. It is mentioned here that Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) was a Skrull this entire time. This was revealed in Secret Invasion #3. Per New Avengers #42, the real Jessica Drew was replaced circa Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1.

Topical References

• It is noted that all TV broadcasts have been cut, including CNN. References to CNN should be considered topical because this is a real world TV network.

• Quake quips that she isn’t exactly Philo Farnsworth. Farnsworth (1906-1971) was an American inventor and a pioneer in television. Since she is making a historical reference (and likely one that Nick Fury could understand), this wouldn’t be considered topical.

• Many of the personalities that are depicted delivering the Skrulls’ message are real life politicians, notable figures, and celebrities that were well known when this story was published in 2008. They would all be considered topical references for various reasons. The ones I can identify myself are….

  • Eric Cartman, one of the main characters in the long running South Park cartoon.

  • Comedian Stephen Colbert. This issue also features one of the campaign signs to Colbert’s 2008 satirical Presidential run that was happening at the time this story was published.

  • Then reality TV star, Paris Hilton.

  • Pope Benedict XVI, who was the Catholic Pope from 2005 to 2013. He died in 2022.

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin

  • Then Democratic nominee for President, Barack Obama. Obama would go on to be President from 2009 to 2014. Also depicted is his Republican opponent in the 2008 election, John McCain. McCain died in 2018.

  • Actor Tom Cruise

  • Golf champion Tiger Woods (who is also wearing a Nike hat).

  • Apple founder Steve Jobs, who died of cancer in 2011.

  • Actor Chris Rock

  • Former talk show host Oprah Winfrey

  • Corazon Aquino, the President of the Philipines at the time. She died in 2009.

  • North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. He died in 2011.

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 #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

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, 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