Secret Invasion: Front Line #5

Nov 9

Nov 9 Secret Invasion: Front Line #5

Dark Reign

Secret Invasion continues from Secret Invasion: Inhumans #3…

The Skrull invasion of New York has been on going for over 36 hours, with many refugees taking shelter in Avengers Tower to await rescue.[1] Two, Officer Bill Dawson and Lisa Carter were put in charge of looking after Jonathan Bryant. Bryant was a cab driver who was shot by members of the Rolling Sevens street gang, who didn’t seem to care that there was an invasion going on.[2] Lisa is upset to learn that Jonathan died while she and Bill were sleeping.

Meanwhile, Front Line reporter Ben Urich and Melanie Crane had ventured outside to get help for the others. Their search has drawn them to Central Park where humanity’s last stand is being fought as Earth’s superheros fight back against the Skrull invaders. Urich tries desperately to document everything that was going on, but the battle is so fantastic, soon he can do nothing more but watch. Eventually, the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) — the victim of a Skrull doomsday weapon — begins to grow uncontrollably and bombard the area with deadly energies as she reaches critical mass.[3] All Urich can do was grab Melanie and carry her to safety before the explosion.

The invasion was ended shortly there after, and about two weeks later, life seemed to have gone back to normal. Ben Urich tried to write his story about the invasion, but discovered that he couldn’t find the words. The entire week had been preoccupied by funerals for Molly Young, Jonathan Bryant, and Vincent Crane.[4] Melanie couldn’t bring herself to go to her father’s funeral and has since relocated to Los Angeles to live with her mother. Ben hopes that the nightmare and fits of sadness will pass over time.

Touching base with Bill Dawson, his injuries sidelined him from active duty, so he decided to take a desk job. When asked why he would take a stressful job like that, Bill said it was because he liked people. Bill and Lisa have also started seeing each other on the regular, making Ben happy that something good happened through all of this.

Ben has been going to therapy to find out why he can’t write a story about his experiences. His psychologist figures that it had to do with the fact that when Ben finally found out what happened to his wife, Doris, she was already dead. His psychologist points out that he can’t write because he wasn’t there for his wife during the invasion. Ben, however, says that he hadn’t been there for his wife many years earlier. The shrink levels with Ben, telling him that he’s not the asshole he thinks he is and that it is not uncommon that a couple become detached in a situation like this, because it is a defense mechanism. Ben disagrees, telling his psychologist that when the invasion started the only thing he wanted more than anything else was to be with his wife. However, when he finally had the chance to go and find her, he ended up wandering the city observing what was going on keeping record for the story that he now finds himself struggling to write. When he asks the doctor to explain that, he has no answer to give.

He is told to get out more and get some fresh air. In the time since, Ben has noticed that New York will bounce back from anything it throws at it. One day, while sitting in Central Park trying to write his story, Ben gets a call from another reporter. He wanted to know if Urich, with his history of reporting on Norman Osborn, had any comment regarding today’s news.[5] Urich had no idea what he was talking about, but learned that Norman Osborn was being hailed as a hero for killing the leader of the Skrull invasion.[6] Apparently, this was enough for the President of the United States to appoint Osborn the new head of national security, putting him in charge of SHIELD and the Avengers.[7] Urich rushes to the press conference to question Osborn on how the public should trust him. Osborn dismisses Urich’s concerns as nothing more than an attempt to sell more books.[8] He then refuses anymore questions from Urich, saying that he had only come to attack him. Much to Ben’s shock and horror, everyone else in the press applaud this and are tripping over themselves to shake his hand afterwards.

Later, back at the officers of the Front Line, Ben sits at his computer with his old friend, Joe Robertson. Joe tells Ben that he walked into that press conference and said what he did with the President standing right there. Ben admits that it was stupid, but Joe disagrees, he says it is the bravest damn thing he ever saw. Joe then leaves for the night, but before he does he asks Ben what he is going to do this evening. Urich tells Joe that he plans on writing. Sure enough, the news about Norman Osborn’s new role has inspired Ben to write. His next article is titled “Dark Reign: Norman Osborn Takes Control”.

… Secret Invasion continues in Secret Invasion: Home Invasion #8.

Recurring Characters

Ben Urich, Melanie Crane, Bill Dawson, Lisa Carter, Jonathan Bryant (corpse), Doris Urich (corpse), Joe Robertson, Skrulls (Veranke), Thor, Captain America, Mighty Avengers (Iron Man, Wasp, Ares, Sentry), New Avengers (Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine), Daredevil, Nick Fury, Norman Osborn, Stature, Vision, Venom, Rolling Sevens

Continuity Notes

The main story of the Skrull invasion is told in Secret Invasion #1-8.
Bryant was shot last issue.
In Mighty Avengers #6, a Skrull posing as Yellowjacket gave the Wasp what seemed to be a simple power upgrade. In reality, it also hid a last ditch doomsday weapon to be used if the Skrulls began to lose their invasion. It was activated in Secret Invasion #7-8. See those issues for what happened next.
Molly Young was an ESU doctor who was killed when her hospital was attacked in Secret Invasion: Front Line #2, and Vincent Crane (Melanie’s father) was murdered in issue #3.
The reporter reaching Ben for comment mentions his book, Legacy of Evil, which he wrote a few years earlier that revealed Norman Osborn’s criminal background as the Green Goblin as seen in Spider-Man: Legacy of Evil #1. Urich later also wrote the story that landed Osborn in jail in The Pulse #1-5.
Osborn landed the supposed kill shot in Secret Invasion #8. However, Veranke wasn’t actually killed and will turn up alive again in Spider-Woman (vol. 7) #18-19.
This is a position that Osborn will hold until his insanity eventually derails him in Siege #1-4.
Ben brings up the human rights violations that the Thunderbolts have been accused of under his watch. Osborn was put in charge of the T-Bolts in Thunderbolts #110.

Topical References

Ben walks past Katz’s deli located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It has become a New York institution and has been around since 1888. That said, it is a real world location and could possibly go out of a business at some point in the future. Nothing lasts forever and all that. As such, its depiction should be considered topical.
Ben gets a call for comment from a member of the Associated Press. The AP is a non-profit news organization that was established in 1846. Its reference here should be considered topical because it is a real world business.
Urich is also depicted as having a “flip” style cell phone that were still common when this comic was published in 2009. However, they have since fallen out of popular use thanks to the smart phone. As such, its depiction here should be considered topical.