Secret Invasion continues from Secret Invasion: Home Invasion #7…

The Skrulls have invaded the Earth, and while they have gained considerable ground, Earth’s last standing heroes and villains — comprised of the both the New and Mighty Avengers, Nick Fury’s Secret Warriors, the Initiative, the Hood’s criminal gang, the Young Avengers, as well as Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) of the Fantastic Four, Daredevil (Matt Murdock), Captain America (James Barnes), and Thor — make their last stand in Central Park. The Skrulls — led by Veranke, who posed as Spider-Woman, and Criti Noll, who posed as Yellowjacket — lead the counter offensive.[1]

As Earth’s superhumans wade into the battle, those in command — Mister Fantastic, Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man (Tony Stark) — order everyone to focus on taking down Veranke, the leader of the invaders. Veranke, on the other hand, wants them to destroy Reed Richards as he is the empire’s greatest foe and greatest threat.[2]

As heroes and villains fight side-by-side, this leads to some strange alliances in the battle, such as Nick Fury and Norman Osborn, both men thinking the other belongs in jail.[3] Meanwhile, the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) becomes enraged to see that one of the Skrulls has been posing as her ex-husband Yellowjacket for all of these months.[4] “Yellowjacket” responds to this attack by growing to giant-size. This prompts the assembly of heroes and villains to focus on taking him down. The giant finally falls when Bullseye — resisting the urge to take a shot at Spider-Man (Peter Parker) — shoots “Yellowjacket” in the eye with explosive bullets. The Skrull impostor then topples to the ground.

By this time, Iron Man’s improvised armor is acting up, forcing him to temporarily retreat from the battle.[5] Mister Fantastic is then swarmed by an team of Skrulls all taking on the appearance of his wife, the Invisible Woman. Seeing Richards in trouble, Fury orders his Howling Commandos to save him.

Eventually, Wolverine (Logan) gets close enough to Veranke to stab her in the shoulder with his claws, but she incapacitates him with a venom blast. Nearby, Spider-Man tells Iron Fist (Danny Rand) that things must not be so bad since something of this cosmic importance usually means the Uatu the Watcher will show up.[6] That’s when — as if on cue — the Watcher appears in the middle of the battle field to observe the conflict personally. As the battle rages on, Iron Man tries desperately to get in touch with SHIELD command.

Back at Avengers Tower, Jessica Jones watches the news with “Edwin Jarvis”, unaware that he is actually a Skrull spy.[7] Seeing the final battle, Jessica finds herself conflicted over what to do. She realizes that she can no longer stand on the sidelines and tells “Jarvis” to keep her daughter, Dani, safe. She then says goodbye to her daughter — possibly for the last time — and leaves.

Back in Times Square, the battle is rocked by a massive explosion that announces the arrival of Marvel Boy (Noh-Varr). He announces that he is a warrior of the Kree race, the Skrulls eternal enemies and in the name of Captain Marvel, he is here to end the battle once and for all.[8] This, and the arrival of Jessica Jones reinvigorates the fighters. When Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) is injured, Ronin (Clint Barton) recovers her bow and arrow and begins systematically killing every Skrull in his way. When he gets close enough to Veranke, he fires and arrow that goes through her cheeks, causing her to fall to the ground. Fearing that their leader is dead, Criti Noll activates their last ditch effort: A weapon he hid within the Wasp when he tricked her into accepting a power upgrade.

Suddenly, Janet begins to grow uncontrollably and begins building up with energy as she begins to reach critical mass. “Jarvis” watching this, cradles young Dani Cage in his arms while losing his human disguise. He tells her that in the end the Earthling’s fight was doomed to failure from the beginning, because this was all prophesized.

… Secret Invasion continues in New Avengers #46.

Recurring Characters

New Avengers (Ronin, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Fist, Echo), Mighty Avengers (Iron Man, the Wasp, Black Widow, Wonder Man, Ares), Captain America, Thor, Mister Fantastic, Secret Warriors (Nick Fury, Quake, Druid, Hellfire, Phobos, Slingshot, Stonewall), Skrulls (“Spider-Woman”, “Yellowjacket”, “Edwin Jarvis”), Hood’s Gang (The Hood, Madame Masque, Answer, Brothers Grimm, Bushwhacker, Chemistro, Corruptor, Crossfire, Cutthroat, Griffin, Shockwave, the Wizard, Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Piledriver, Thunderball), X-Ray), The Initiative (Gauntlet, Annex, Batwing, Constrictor, Crusader, Diamondback, Prodigy, Red 9, Stature, Sunstreak), Young Avengers (Patriot, Hulkling, Wiccan, Hawkeye, Vision, Speed), Thunderbolts (Norman Osborn, Moonstone, Bullseye, Penance, Songbird, Swordsman, Venom), Daredevil, Howard the Duck, Jessica Jones, Ka-Zar, Marvel Boy, Dani Cage, the Watcher

Continuity Notes

1. 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. The invasion went off well thanks to the infiltrations of both Veranke and Criti Noll. About that…

   • Veranke took Spider-Woman’s place due to her connections to the Avengers, SHIELD, and Hydra. This deception was revealed Secret Invasion #3. Per New Avengers #42, the real Jessica Drew was replaced circa Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1.

   • While Criti Noll took Hank Pym’s place to form the Initiative and gain access to Earth’s defense mechanisms. His deception was revealed in Secret Invasion #1. Mighty Avengers #15 details when the swap out happened, taking place before the events of House of M #1.

   2. The Skrulls have had a hate on for Reed Richards since he stopped their first present day attempt to conquer Earth way back in Fantastic Four #2.

2. Regarding why Fury and Osborn think each other should be in jail:

   • At the time of this story, Nick Fury had gone underground for months after it was revealed that he staged an illegal coup of Latveria, as seen in Secret War #1-5.

   • Norman Osborn belongs in jail due to his long criminal career as the Green Goblin which started back in Amazing Spider-Man #14. However, following the superhero civil war (Civil War #1-7), Osborn was given the opportunity to redeem himself as director of the Thunderbolts, starting in Thunderbolts #110.

3. The Wasp had a long standing on-again-off-again relationship with the real Hanky Pym, starting back in Tales to Astonish #44. By this point the two had been marriage (Avengers #60) and divorced (Avengers #213). The pair had broken up again in Might Avengers #15, just before Hank was replaced. At the time of this story, she believed that she and Hank made up in Mighty Avengers #6, but that was — of course — the Skrull spy that took his place. He also gave her a power upgrade which was also secretly a trap.

4. Iron Man’s armor, along with all Starktech, was compromised by a Skrull computer virus in Secret Invasion #1. Tony had cobbled together a make-shift suit last issue.

5. Per Tales of Suspense #53, the Watchers are an alien race tasked with observing sentient worlds and cataloguing their history. They have sworn a pact of non-interference after involving themselves with a developing alien civilization led to nuclear genocide. Uatu has been Earth’s Watcher for thousands of years (as first seen in Fantastic Four #10). He has mostly kept this vow, but it not above helping the people of Earth.

6. We learned that Jarvis was replaced with a Skrull back in Secret Invasion #1. Per New Avengers #42, he was swapped out prior to New Avengers #1.

7. Marvel Boy had encountered a Skrull traitor who had been posing as Captain Marvel in Secret Invasion #6/Mighty Avengers #19. Per Avengers #133-134, the Kree and Skrulls have been enemies for centuries. The real Mar-Vell had been a champion of Earth since he first visited in Marvel Super Heroes #12, until his death in Marvel Graphic Novel #1. The Skrull began posing as Mar-Vell in Civil War: The Return #1, only discovering his true nature in Captain Marvel (vol. 6) #4-5. He was convinced into betraying his people by Norman Osborn in Secret Invasion #5/Thunderbolts #122.

Topical References

• Jessica Jones and “Jarvis” are depicted watching CNN. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world news network.

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