Secret Invasion #6 — Nick Peron

Nov 9

Nov 9 Secret Invasion #6

Secret Invasion continues from Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers #3…

In the midst of the Skrull invasion of Earth, Marvel Boy (Noh-Varr) has escaped from the Cube prison.[1] As he flees on a sky cycle a Skrull ship crash lands in front of him. The only survivor is Khn’nr, the Skrull who was posing as the original Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell).[2] Having turned against his people, inspired by Mar-Vell’s example, he tells Noh-Varr that the Skrulls have no honor, not like the Kree and that he must defend the Earth, as he was brought here for a reason. Khn’nr’s dying words hit Noh-Varr hard.

Meanwhile, the Skrulls have issued another global statement to the people of Earth. They report that they are gaining ground and fighting off the resistance against them. This is mostly in the form of Earth’s heroes. They demonize the heroes and the governments of the world, telling the public that they are a hinderance to humanity’s progress. Once more the Skrulls promise a world free of want and illness if only they embrace the change. They end their message by saying he loves them. In San Francisco, the X-Men continue their fight against the Skrulls. On the moon, Medusa cries out in rage. In Wakanda, the Black Panther (T’Challa) fights back against the aliens invading his kingdom. While in the Savage Land, Shanna the She-Devil and Zabu root out any remaining Skrulls that reside there. Lastly, in Israel, it’s lone defender Sabra (Ruth Bat-Seraph) fights back.[3]

At Camp Hammond, the training ground for the Initiative, has been secured by the Skrulls.[4] Their leader, a Skrull posing as Yellowjacket (Hank Pym), gets a situational report.[5] He is informed that SHIELD, SWORD, the Baxter Building, and Thunderbolts Mountain are down, all Starktech on the planet has been compromise.[6] However, despite these victories, they were attacked by the rogue “Captain Marvel” sleeper agent. They also have no new reports from the Savage Land about their leader, Veranke, who has been posing as Spider-Woman.[7] “Pym” is unconcerned as he believes that their Queen is still alive. This still worries the other Skrulls under his command, but “Pym” insists that they trust in their divine plan. That’s when Queen Veranke, still disguised as Spider-Woman, arrives. She reports that the Avengers survived the trap in the Savage Land and that they were rescued by Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), who also managed to escape. However, Veranke is not concerned because the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) is with them, giving them absolute victory.[8] However, Veranke will only utilize her as a last resort.

Meanwhile, the Avengers — Ronin (Clint Barton), Luke Cage, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Wolverine (Logan), Iron Fist (Danny Rand), and Echo (Maya Lopez) of the outlaw New Avengers, and Iron Man (Tony Stark), Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Black Widow (Natasha Romanov), Wonder Man (Simon Williams) and Ares of the Mighty Avengers — are enroute for New York from the Savage Land. Along the way Iron Man has been purging himself of the computer virus that bricked all Starktech and is working on a new suit of armor. The two teams are relieved that Tony Stark wasn’t a Skrull this entire time. They are still surprised, however, to have discovered that Spider-Woman was the spy in their midst. This raises the question as to when the real Jessica Drew was replaced and what else the spy had been up to while undercover. Regardless, Tony blames himself because he was the one who wanted Spider-Woman on the New Avengers to begin with.[9] Luke assures Tony that they’ll beat the Skrulls, pointing to the fact that they are still standing after everything the invaders have thrown at them so far. However, this confident is shaken a little when they arrive over Manhattan and see the city in ruins and surrounded by Skrull battleships.

On the ground, a group of protestors who are welcoming the Skrull invaders have gathered outside the boarded up remains of Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum.[10] The NYPD are out in force, but they struggle to keep the protestors in check as well as stop looters from taking advantage of the chaos. Soon, some Super-Skrulls happen upon the scene and while they are welcomed with open arms by the protestors, they are prepared to kill everyone in sight. Luckily for the misguided protestors, the Secret Warriors — Nick Fury, Quake (Daisy Johnson), (Sebastian) Druid, Hellfire (J.T. James), Phobos (Alex Aaron), Slingshot (Yo-Yo Rodrigues), and Stonewall (Jerry Sledge) — the Initiative — Gauntlet (Joe Green), Annex (Alex Ellis), Diamondback (Rachel Leighton), Gorilla Girl (Fahnbullah Eddy), Melee, Prodigy (Richie Gilmore), Red 9 (Wallace Jackson), Stature (Cassie Lang), and Sunstreak (Andrea Roark) — and the Young Avengers — Patriot (Eli Bradley), Hulkling (Teddy Altman), Wiccan (Billy Kaplan), Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), Vision (Jonas), and Speed (Tommy Shepherd) — have come out of hiding to save them.

This is observed by the Hood (Parker Robbins)’s gang from a nearby rooftop. They are surprised to see that Nick Fury is still alive.[11] As they try to figure out their next move, Madame Masque (Whitney Frost) turns their attention to something the other way. On the ground, the protestors, unable to see the danger they were in, are busy telling off Fury and his army when they suddenly see lighting in the sky.

They follow it to its source and find Thor face-to-face with the new Captain America.[12] Thor called the lightning to gather Earth’s heroes and succeeds in summoning the Avengers, Fury’s army, the Hood’s gang, and the Thunderbolts to his side. He has also attracted the attention of “Spider-Woman” and “Yellowjacket” who have arrived with their army of invaders. Veranke gives her opposition one last chance to surrender, telling them that he loves them. When they ask who he is, Veranke says she is talking about God.[13] Refusing surrender, Iron Man (in his new suit of armor) gives the Avengers battle cry of “Avengers Assemble!” and the final battle for Earth begins.

… Secret Invasion continues in Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #30.

Recurring Characters

New Avengers (Ronin, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Fist, Echo), Mighty Avengers (Iron Man, Wasp, Black Widow, Wonder Man, Ares), Hood’s Gang (The Hood, Madame Masque, Answer, Blackout, Blood Brother, Brothers Grimm, Bushwhacker, Centurius, Chemistro, Corruptor, Crossfire, Cutthroat, Doctor Demonicus, Griffin, Scarecrow, Scorcher, Shockwave, the Wizard, Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Bulldozer, Piledriver), Initiative (Gauntlet, Taskmaster, Annex, Diamondback, Gorilla Girl, Mele, Red 9, Stature, Sunstreak), Secret Warriors (Nick Fury, Quake, Druid, Hellfire, Phobos, Slingshot, Sledge), Skrulls (“Captain Marvel”, “Spider-Woman”, “Yellowjacket”), Thunderbolts (Norman Osborn, Moonstone, Bullseye, Penance, Songbird, Swordsman, Venom), X-Men (Cyclops, Beast, Nightcrawler, Pixie), Young Avengers (Patriot, Hulkling, Wiccan, Hawkeye, Vision, Speed), Black Panther, Captain America, Howard the Duck, Ka-Zar, Marvel Boy, Medusa, Mister Fantastic, Sabra, Shanna the She-Devil, Thor, Zabu

Continuity Notes

The Skrulls launched their invasion back in Secret Invasion #1. They had used a computer virus to cripple every bit of Earth defense and security. This allowed Noh-Varr to escape from the Cube, where he had been held as a prisoner since Marvel Boy (vol. 2) #1-6.
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. He was convinced to turn against his people by Norman Osborn last issue. For more on his final words to Noh-Varr see Mighty Avengers #19.
These cameo appearances are all teasing other titles that tie into the Secret Invasion story line. They are:
- The X-Men defending San Francisco and mutant kind as a whole from Skrulls who are trying to weaponize the Legacy Virus against them. See Secret Invasion: X-Men #1-4.
- The Inhumans have discovered that their leader, Black Bolt, had been replaced by the Skrull. See Secret Invasion: Inhumans #1-3.
- In Wakanda, the Black Panther and his people are repelling the invaders there. See Black Panther (vol. 4) #39-41.
- We have seen Ka-Zar and Shanna dealing with the Skrulls in New Avengers #41. The Skrulls have been active in that region since New Avengers #5 and we saw a battle take place there over the last five issues of this series.
- Sabra’s battle with the Skrulls in Israel is not covered anywhere else, but I think its safe to say she succeeded since our heroes eventually win by the end of this event (obviously).
To learn more about the conquest of Camp Hammond, see Avengers: The Initiative #14-19. Their plans there is to prime all the Negative Zone portals at each base of the 50-State Initiative as a Scorched Earth policy in the event they start losing the war.
SHIELD was shut down with an alien computer virus, SWORD’s satellite was blown up, while the Baxter Building was shunted into the Negative Zone, and Thunderbolts Mountain was blown up. This all went down in Secret Invasion #1.
We discovered that Hank Pym was replaced by a Skrull in Secret Invasion #1. Mighty Avengers #15 details when the swap out happened, taking place before the events of House of M #1.
That Spider-Woman was the Queen of the Skrulls was revealed in Secret Invasion #3. Per New Avengers #42, the real Jessica Drew was replaced circa Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1.
As we’ll find out in Mighty Avengers #6, “Hank” upgraded the Wasp’s powers, apparently as a gesture of friendship. In reality, he made her a doomsday weapon to kill all of Earth’s heroes should the need arise, as we’ll see in Secret Invasion #8.
Spider-Woman was one of Tony’s picks when the New Avengers were formed. See New Avengers #1-5.
Strange’s Sanctum is unoccupied after Stephen gave up the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme to find his successor. See New Avengers Annual #2.
Members of the Hood’s Gang had heard that Nick Fury was dead. This was clearly a rumor. In reality, Fury had gone underground after it was revealed he staged an illegal coup in Latveria in Secret War #1-5. While on the run, Fury had uncovered the Skrull invasion during its early stages, as revealed in Mighty Avengers #12.
Thor notes that this Cap is not his friend Steve Rogers, who was seemingly killed in Captain America (vol. 5) #25. This Cap is James Barnes, aka Bucky, Cap’s old wartime partner. He took up the mantle of Captain America in Captain America (vol. 5) #34. Barnes thought Thor was dead. Which was true, as seen in Thor (vol. 2) #80-85, but he had just recently been resurrected in Thor (vol. 3) #1. As for Steve Rogers, he’s not actually dead but trapped in a time loop which he will be freed from in Captain America: Reborn #1-6.
Veranke isn’t referring to any Earth deity (obviously), but Kly’bn, of the Skrull faith. He was first mentioned in Runaways (vol. 2) #14. He and Sl'gur't (first mentioned in Fantastic Four Annual #24) are worshiped by the Skrulls. They are actually directly involved in the invasion of Earth, as is chronicled in Incredible Hercules #117-120.

Topical References

Spider-Man jokingly asks if they can go to Denny’s on the way home. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world restaurant.
One of the protestors on the street is depicted with a handheld video camera which were still quite common when this story was published in 2008. However, this technology has fallen out of common use thanks to the proliferation of smart phones that are capable of recording high quality video. Its depiction here should be considered topical.