Major Spoilers
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Twitch Discord RSS
    Major Spoilers
    • Home
    • Reviews
      • Random Access Memory
      • Retro Review
      • So You Want to Read Comics
    • Podcasts
      • Critical Hit
        • Critical Hit House Rules
        • Critical Hit World Building
      • Dueling Review
      • Finally Friday
      • Geek History Lesson
      • The Legion Clubhouse
      • Major Spoilers Podcast
        • MSP TPB for 2019
        • On the Next Major Spoilers Podcast – 2013
        • On the Next Major Spoilers Podcast – 2012
        • On the Next Major Spoilers Podcast – 2011
      • Munchkin Land
      • Top Five
      • Wayne’s Comics
      • Zach on Film
    • Features
      • Casual 60
      • Comic Casting Couch
      • Comics Portal
      • Did You Hear?
      • Editorials
      • Features
      • Gamer’s Corner
      • Hero Histories
      • Let’s Get Nerdy
      • Major Spoilers Adventures
      • Random Access Memory
      • So You Want to Read Comics
    • Movies
      • Did You Hear
      • Movies
      • Television
    • Comic Previews
    • Patreon
      • Patreon
      • Store
    Major Spoilers
    Marvel

    Review: Secret Invasion #6 (of 8)

    Matthew PetersonBy Matthew PetersonSeptember 17, 2008Updated:September 18, 200816 Comments7 Mins Read

    Or – “Has It Been Ten Years Already?”

    SI2.jpg

    As a long-time comics fan, I have found that certain bigs of comic lore tend to keep recurring every few years…  Phoenix is reborn!  Spider-Man’s life will never be the same again!  A foe strong enough to defeat Superman!  A new headquarters for the Justice League!  And, most germane to this situation, the founding Avengers return to action!  I remember a conversation with my co-worker Dusty around the time that Kurt Busiek relaunched the Avengers post-Heroes-Reborn, wherein he opined that Captain America, Iron Man and Thor ARE the Avengers, and everybody else isn’t what he reads the title for.  Apparently, Marvel editorial agrees, and this is the issue that proves it…

    Previously, on Secret Invasion: Driven by their mysterious battle cry of “He Loves You,” the Skrull Empire SI1.jpghas declared war on Earth.  After the Illuminati foolishly tried to wipe out a PLANETFUL of warriors with one suit of armor, some unstable molecules, ankle wings, and a little tuning fork onnahead, The Skrulls created a working strategy: Replace key heroes and public figures.  Sow distrust.  Break up friendships, destabilize relationships, then attack with swift and blinding violence.  Their first sorties are devastatingly effective, caputuring even the legendary Mr. Fantastic offguard and wiping out Iron Man’s technological advantage.  They create a beachhead in Manhattan, and wipe out the resistance, while the heroes are distracted by a Skrull ship full of duplicates, including Captain America, Phoenix, and others.  Thankfully, Reed Richards manages to break out, assisted by Agent Brand, head of SWORD, and sweeps up the heroes from the Savage Land, heading for home to fight anew.  Of course, there’s a few snags in that particular plan, notably the army of Super-Skrulls that wants to kill ’em and use their bodies for interesting new forms of bio-origami.

    We start with Noh-Varr, the aptly named Marvel Boy, flying into action, only to get nearly clipped by something dropping out of the sky and blowing up half a parking lot.  He stops to check it out, only to find that the “meteor” is the legendary Captain Mar-Vell, or a reasonable facsmilie thereof.  Marv is badly wounded, and greets his fellow Kree (metaphorically speaking, mind you, as this Marv is actually a Skrull) with the bad news.  “The Skrull Empire…  They have taken the Earth.  You…  you can’t let this happen.”  Noh-Varr protests that this isn’t his fight, but “Mar-Vell” insists that Noh-Varr is here for a reason, that they’re all they’re for a reason, and dies in Noh-Varr’s arms.  While Noh tries to cope with this revelation, The Skrulls go public to try and calm the populace, explaining that no one’s life will change, that the Skrulls haven’t attacked the governments, or attacked the armies, only taken out the superhuman threats.  As we see Skrull incursions across the globe (San Francisco, Attilan, Wakanda, The Savage Land, Israel and more) the leaders of Skrullapalooza offer the populace these words of wisdom: Embrace Change.

    At Camp Hammond, The Skrull Queen (in the body  ((and what a body it is)) of Jessica Drew) meets with her people, as “Hank Pym” explains that it’s all in the bag.  The Queen reveals that Reed has busted free, and “Pym” snarls, “It’s ALWAYS Richards.”  He asks if The Wasp is among the heroes, and the Queen replies in the affimative, and “Pym” ominously remarks that the battle is already won.  “As a last resort,” says the Queen mysteriously.  In a stolen Kree ship, the various Avengers, both New and Mighty, grimly prepare for a battle like they’ve never fought before: one from the losing side.  Iron Man tries to reboot his armor systems, while all the heroes realize that Jessica turned on them.  The heroes all deal with the revelation, and have a big bonding moment where they vow to wipe out the Skrulls, and Luke Cage makes his assessment.  “We will [beat them.]  They’re weasels.  They came all the way here, threw everything they had at us…  And look, we’re still here.”  They heroes arrive in Manhattan, only to find that the city has already been devastated by super-Skrulls.

    A strange moment occurs in the city, as protestors try to embrace the Skrull overlords, carrying welcome signs, and walking up to a pack of Super-Skrulls.  The Skrulls power up and seem ready to kill the protestors, when suddenly Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos/Young Avengers/Initiative all burst onto the scene and start cracking skulls.  They save the young idiots from certain death, but are still called fascists in return (political commentary) only to be surprised as lightning rains from the sky nearby, heralding the arrival of Thor.  The Skrulls prepare to face the scion of Asgard, but Thor is surprised to be faced with James Buchanan Barnes, the new Captain America.  “You wear the uniform of Captain America.  A true friend of mine…  the greatest Avenger…  But you are NOT he,” intones the god of Thunder gravely.  Mr. Barnes looks up, and merely remarks, “Weren’t you dead?”  Heh…  The Avenger cadre arrives,  as do the Secret Warriors, Norman Osborn and his Thunderbolts, The Hood’s villain brigade, and an endless legion of Super-Skrulls, and Empress Jessica of Borg explains that this battle was won by the Avengers own power, their own skills, their own minds.  “Despite all that you’ve done to our empire… He loves you.”  Spider-Man finally asks, “He who?” and Empress Jessie says “God.”  (Wait, what?)  The last four pages of the book consist of the fight-fighty, and we hang from a cliff as the superhumans of Earth rally against their oppressors by hitting them really, really hard, the way things are resolves in the Marvel Universe.

    So, we’re three-quarters of the way through Marvel’s latest event of the century, and I have some good news: There’s some good stuff here.  Laying aside for the moment the fact that Avengers and Mighty Avengers haven’t told us a thing in about three months laying the backstory and the fact that (in Marvel time, anyway) it’s been twenty minutes since World War Hulk, and about a week anna half since Civil War, this issue isn’t bad at all.  Leinil Yu’s art is more impressive than I found it on Mighty Avengers, though that might be a question of inking.  His Spider-Woman is less skeletal than it was there.  The story, while far-reaching and not stopping to focus on any individual character much, does move pretty quick-like.  I hope that somewhere we get to see the true story of what happened with The Hood and his Underworld Avengers entry into the battle, but overall this is well-paced and interesting.  The seeming revelation that the Skrulls believe they have the Almighty on their side again makes me wonder if we’re looking at a parallel between current real-world battles and the fight we’re seeing here…  Invaders come out of nowhere, attack for religious reasons, and all sides are forced to give up their personal b.s. and unite against the terror from beyond.  It’s a 4 out of 5 star issue, moving the plot forward (though I’m sure the next six weeks will be flashbacks bringing the other titles up to speed with the hour and a half of forward temporal motion here) and I have to say I’m impressed.

    4stars.jpg


    ankle wings battle cry beachhead bigs Captain America Illuminati Iron Man justice league legendary mr marvel boy noh Reed Richards Savage Land Secret Invasion skrulls snags suit of armor technological advantage tuning fork unstable molecules
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Previous ArticleDarkseid ’08
    Next Article Prince Valiant Gets Statue
    Matthew Peterson
    • Website
    • Twitter

    Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.

    Related Posts

    Even more Marve/DC team-ups await in Deadpool/Batman #1

    Read More

    The Avengers #27 Review

    Read More

    Geek History Lesson – Thunderbolts and Andor Revive Struggling Franchises

    Read More

    16 Comments

    1. Maximus Rift on September 17, 2008 10:05 pm

      The more I see of the population of Marvel U (the non-powered, non-hero part), the more I hate it. The idiots deserve to get to be ones turned into cows this time.

      Seriously, it depresses me to see what it’s come to. What’s next after Dark Reign? Does the planet die?
      Does the afterlife break and all the dead characters from issues back come back to life? Does the universe go insane and turn everybody into Wolverine?

      Reply
    2. Matthew Peterson on September 17, 2008 10:42 pm

      I have noticed a general tendency during these big events to have the passersby be complete idiots, especially during World War Hulk…

      But, I suppose it’s just an extension of Mutant Hysteria. I mean, it’s not as though the John Q. Publics of the Marvel Universe have ever been all that sharp to begin with…

      Reply
    3. Josh P. on September 18, 2008 7:09 am

      Matthew, you left out the best line in the entire series so far:

      Nick Fury: My God has a hammer.

      Reply
    4. Ricco on September 18, 2008 8:27 am

      Maximus Rift : “Does the afterlife break and all the dead characters from issues back come back to life?” No that’s Blackest Night in the DCU ;-)

      One of the few tie-ins worth reading is the Incredible Herc one, it explains all the religious undertones the Invasion has(Herc’s God Squad kills the Skrull Gods!). The Inhumans’ also cool, but only to see what happened after the Silent Wars.

      Reply
    5. Cory on September 18, 2008 10:13 am

      HOW Could you give this garbage 4 out of 5 stars???

      One of the elements is CLEARLY STOLEN FROM Battlestar Galactica. Skrulls invoking “God” as justification for their invasion and subjugation of the human race. And the “He loves you” line is almost completely lifted from the scripts of Battlestar Galactica. The fact that Skrulls can disguise themselves as humans and superhumans is exploited in order to steal from Battlestar Galactica yet again. The Cylons developed technology to produce cyborg human clones that would easily blend into the human population for the purposes of sabotage and subversion.

      I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Bendis is an f***ing hack. He is utterly devoid of any creative talent. Because of the depredations of Joe Quesada and Brian Bendis upon the Marvel Universe I have all but stopped collecting Marvel Comic Books. The only title still worth collecting is Ed Brubaker’s Captain America. And that’s been rescued mostly because it’s stories are largely separated from the comedic disaster of the Marvel Universe at large.

      Reply
    6. Aaron on September 18, 2008 12:29 pm

      I think Spider-Man should have been the guy to say “My God has a hammer.”

      Reply
    7. Josh P. on September 18, 2008 2:24 pm

      @ Cory:

      By your own arguement, Battlestar Galactica has stolen from every religious fundamentalist in history and the Skrulls (Skrulls do predate BG by at least a decade and a half).

      Every new story is a mash up of older stories and ideas.

      Reply
    8. Brother129 on September 18, 2008 3:13 pm

      I know its because I’m a fan of the character, but is anyone else besides me wondering where Jessica Jones has been since she and Luke Cage “broke up” and she moved into Avengers Tower with baby Danielle (SKRULL??) Cage? Just wondering….

      Reply
    9. Lifeisaglitch on September 18, 2008 4:07 pm

      @Josh P

      But is it his penis?

      Reply
    10. mosdef on September 18, 2008 4:55 pm

      i like the issue alot. @cory please point out to me one instance where something is 100% original, where they havent borrowed from some other form of entertainment or history and incorporated it into anything else. i highly doubt that you can, so if you have such a problem with it….dont read it.
      @lifeisaglitch is what a penis? lol

      Reply
    11. Davidvilly on September 18, 2008 5:38 pm

      @ Cory.
      How could he give it 4 out of 5 stars? Well, considering that a review is an opinion peice, you really can’t critisize him for liking something you don’t. Or you could, if you actually wanted to be an ass.
      And considering that Skrulls predated the new iteration of BG one could make a fair argument that BG has stolen concepts from Marvel and not the other way around as you suggest.
      Sounds like your letting your righteous indignance blind you to some relatively good works. Pity.

      Reply
    12. benty on September 19, 2008 1:09 am

      All this drama and I’m still waiting on my shipment from heavyink so I can read it!

      Reply
    13. Carswell on September 19, 2008 8:32 am

      @Josh P

      But is it his penis?

      Capt. Hammer would like a word with you, Josh.

      Reply
    14. Jacin B. on September 19, 2008 1:19 pm

      So, if this is the not-so-subtle political commentary that the world needs to actually pay attention to Islamofascists and fight the War on Terror to win, does that make it the make-up story for all of the ‘This administration is full of privacy-invading, short-sighted, overreactionary fascists!’ line we got in the ‘balanced’ Civil War … ?

      Reply
    15. Mike on September 27, 2008 3:48 pm

      Battlestar Galactica? Who still watches that show?

      Reply
    16. Tom Strong on October 8, 2008 3:56 pm

      Mike, you are an idiot.

      Reply

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    AMAZON AFFILIATE

    Support this site by making a purchase through our Amazon affiliate links

    Reviews
    6.7
    June 23, 2025

    The Avengers #27 Review

    7.3
    June 22, 2025

    Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #1 Review

    6.7
    June 22, 2025

    Retro Review: Menace #11 (May 1954)

    8.0
    June 20, 2025

    Jeff the Land Shark #1 Review

    4.0
    June 20, 2025

    Toxie Team-Up #1 Review

    Patreon Support
    Major Spoilers Store
    Recent Comments
    • Bunty Original on Warner Bros. plans Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge virtual viewing party and panel
    • Derrigable on COMICS PORTAL: Where Is All The Cool Merchandise?
    • ZackaryTobias on COMICS PORTAL: Where Is All The Cool Merchandise?
    • Nathan on Wayne’s Comics Podcast #696: Interview with Creators from Concrete Arcanum
    • Austin Cowboy on FIRST LOOK: Conan the Barbarian #21
    Subscribe to the Major Spoilers E-Mail List
    Sponsor

    ComiXology Home Page

    Follow Us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Twitch
    Major Spoilers Patreon
    • About
      • Major Spoilers Terms of Use
      • Major Spoilers Frequently Asked Questions
      • Major Spoilers Privacy Policy Statement
      • Major Spoilers Podcast Gear
    • Contact
    • Cookie Policy (EU)
    Major Spoilers is copyright 2006-2025 by Major Spoilers Entertainment, LLC

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Cookie settingsACCEPT
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    SAVE & ACCEPT