CBR: SPOILERS OF WAR: "Secret Invasion" #5

[CBR News]

In stores now, "Secret Invasion" #5 sees the Skrulls reveal that their invasion is actually a mission of [/I]peace[/I]! Writer Brian Michael Bendis walks us through the issue page-by-page to help illuminate what's going on.


Full article here (http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17754).

[Trey]

I can live with BBs explanations. I espicially can see how the heroes being in one location, doesn't mean alot of things weren't going down.

[Supermutant2099]

I put this back. This series has gotten worse as it goes along. From Spider-Woman to the whole thing now with Mocking Bird. I can't even really post what I feel. I am so mad. What's worse is this piece of garbage is 3.99. It ain't worth 2.99 wipe myself with. I know this was mention in the last one but I forget to post about it. I hate the Grant Morrison Beast a lot and fact that Bendis likes him then I really hate him more. Other then Ultimate Spider-Man and Mighty Avengers most of the stuff I have hated from him since Avengers Disambled. Which was the worst avengers story ever. Don't ever get me started on Avengers with Wolverine and Spider-Man.

[XPac]

I can live with BBs explanations. I espicially can see how the heroes being in one location, doesn't mean alot of things weren't going down.

Honestly I never undestood the complaints about the Avengers being in the Savage Land in the first place.

I didn't think they would leave and head for NYC until the climax of the story. Anything prior to this issue in my view would have been a bit early.

[ColonelLee]

I have been down on Marvel...what with the House of M and the Avengers Dissembled, the Civil War and the Brand New Day and the death of Captain America. all of which left me cold.

But I gotta say....Secret Invasion is the best!

Man, I love this and I can't wait for each new book. Best Marvel event ever! Kudos to Bendis and the whole crew.

[Dr. Chaos]

There are few things that annoy me more (okay, thats a terrible lie but I'm going with it) than putting that kind of cliffhanger at the end of SI#4 so I really hope he's exactly right when he says we're getting a good amount of Thor/Cap in the next issue.

While Secret Invasion isn't quite the story I was expecting, it hasn't been too bad. I'm enjoying it for the most part, I just wish the tie-in Avenger issues weren't so much more interesting than the actual event book.

[HeckBoy]

The whole "is s/he, or isn't s/he a Skrull?" thing in the Savage Land was more annoying than anything else. Did we really need 5 issues of that? Especially when Mockingbird was really the only one whom there was any lasting debate about. The other Skrull doppelgangers barely had any panel time to really convince anyone they could be the real deals. I'm just hoping that since we're closer to the finale now, that things will pick up.

[XPac]

The whole "is s/he, or isn't s/he a Skrull?" thing in the Savage Land was more annoying than anything else. Did we really need 5 issues of that? Especially when Mockingbird was really the only one whom there was any lasting debate about. The other Skrull doppelgangers barely had any panel time to really convince anyone they could be the real deals. I'm just hoping that since we're closer to the finale now, that things will pick up.

Though it occured outside of the main book, I thought the Beast Skrull was pretty convincing when he and Wonderman were in that cave.

[Will.S]

I can understand why he chose the particular reasons for doing things like the Savage Land stuff and the Mockingbird thing but those things could have been developed at a better pace than they were done in.

Still I think the book is really ramping up after the latest issue and there's still a lot of stuff to get to like what Veranke is doing, the reveal of who the skrulls are referring to with "He Loves you", the Avengers cleaning house in NYC which is infested with skrulls (or not thanks to Ms. Marvel), etc.

[Sijo]

I'm not sure if Bendis really believes what he says, or is just trying to sell the book. Either way, I don't swallow any of it.

The Skrulls in a mission of peace? They would have to do more than impersonate our leaders on global TV to convince us of that.

And how is revealing that all the heroes in the Skrull ship were impostors "screwing with our minds"? I mean, wasn't that the obvious thing? The reverse would be true- IF some of them HAD turned out to be real, THEN he could point at it as a great moment with repercussions.

And please, no "This will bring lasting changes", please. I've had enough of that. Show us, don't tell us.

[drwho]

I have to say some of these comments in the interview by Bendis i think are totally out there. Especially this one

"Those who followed the ‘Captain Marvel’ miniseries or the ‘Who Do You Trust?’ one-shot know that the Skrull Captain Marvel has something almost like a schizophrenic personality disorder. It’s like there’s two personalities in him fighting for dominance. "


When I read the mini and the one shot I did not perceive this schizophrenic personality disorder that Bendis seems to think exists there.

[Harold of the Rocks]

I've been enjoying the entire event so far, mostly through the mini and New / Mighty Avengers. I think on the whole, when you factor in all three books, Bendis has been doing some nice work. I was already reading New and Mighty, and they really complement this series nicely. And I really enjoy seeing how the Raft breakout and the Savage Land encounter with the Mutates and S.H.I.E.L.D tie-in to this.

I thought Bendis responded to the criticisms of the series (and the issue) well.

SI #5 was a fun read. Seeing Agent Brand basically initiate a turning point in the war by rescuing Reed Richards was very cool (I was unaware of her prior to this mini -- where did she come from?). Reed is appropriately cheesed off and I like it. His history with the Skrulls, their hatred for him and his family, and the fact that they were using him as an instrument of the invasion makes this extremely personal for Reed, and I would not want to be the Skrulls at this point... I'm thinkin' its Skrullburgers instead of cows this time around!

I think the De-Skrullifier gun was fine in that Bendis did establish in issue #1 that Reed knew how the Skrulls were undetectable. It stands to reason that since then, Reed could come up with about 25 ways to neutralize the Skrull's 'cloaking'. He also accessed the Skrull computers and had probably already built the gun in his head while being tortured. Not too huge of a stretch for Reed.

The time spent in the Savage Land feels about right to me... maybe because I also read New Avengers. I think that book helped flesh out the chaos and mayhem as well as the now-revealed Skrull presence in the Savage Land. That to me was a huge point in this story... learning the details about the New Avengers first trip to the Savage Land and how it ties into the Skrulls plans (Same goes for the Raft breakout).

To be honest, I barely noticed the Cap/Thor cliffhanger not being followed up on. There was a lot going on from the get-go in this issue. It might read a little weird in trades that way, but I had no problem with leaving that meaty morsel on the back burner while we whet our appetites with Reed's rescue, the Hellicarrier event, Norman Osborn as life-coach (?!?), and the reveals of the Savage Land Skrulls.

Something about the Mockingbird reveal was 'off'. Anyways, maybe I didn't love Clint's reaction, but I do understand it and it makes sense. Can't put my finger on it, but something in that scene just didn't feel right. I'm not a longtime fan of Hawkeye, so I can't say if it was mischaracterization. Anyways, this section (which was the finale) was the least compelling for me.

I do think that it makes sense that the Skrulls would rather make dupes of all the heroes than go to the trouble of keeping a super-powered captive all this time. Then put them aboard with Skrull agents in disguise. Then hope that they don't see through the ruse and join their human allies. Just copy everyone and mess with their heads. I think it was the speculation by fans that fueled the idea that there had to be a real Marvel hero in the mix on the spaceship. I don't recall Bendis saying the point was to guess which hero was real, like a Where's Waldo book. To me, the fact that the hero might be the real deal was the point. The mistrust was the point.

I'm happy with the series so far, and thought this issue was very entertaining. Yu's art was good, I'm not a huge fan of his style, but this was one of his better performances.

2¢

[Expletive Deleted]

I was unaware of her prior to this mini -- where did she come from?Whedon's ASTONISHING X-MEN, I think.

[DeeSnider]

Captain Marvel has something almost like a schizophrenic personality disorder. It’s like there’s two personalities in him fighting for dominance.

Pet peeve of mine, but he's describing dissociative identity disorder. Schizophrenia has nothing to do with multiple personalities.

...know your terms before you get all fancy.

Well said Bendis.

[Mark_S]

It's a great luxury for an author to explain things after the issue is out. Very eloquent and well explained.

Mark_S

[drwho]

It's a great luxury for an author to explain things after the issue is out. Very eloquent and well explained.

Mark_S

Yes I really love hearing how the comic was supposed to come out versus what was written in the actual comic book. :biggrin:

[XPac]

It's a great luxury for an author to explain things after the issue is out. Very eloquent and well explained.

Mark_S

It is cool that he does that.

I wish more writers took the time to do that more often. Though I can understand why they don't... internet readers can be a tad on the brutal side at times.

[Mark_S]

It is cool that he does that.

I wish more writers took the time to do that more often. Though I can understand why they don't... internet readers can be a tad on the brutal side at times.

No I'm not saying it is a bad thing, I don't mind it and with something like SI-which involves so much spread over so many titles for so many months-this is a good idea. I don't agree with all of it and this "embrace change" thing worries me. Change is sometimes over rated. But at this point what I think doesn't really matter. I hope he does more of these though. It might solve a few debates before they get started.

Mark_S

[Muffin Fist]

The Skrulls in a mission of peace? They would have to do more than impersonate our leaders on global TV to convince us of that.



I'm not sure that you get how a lot of wars work...For instance, there's another comic world universe that's not Marvel or DC, but they have this country in it called America. Now, try and follow me if you will, because their continuity is a little scrambled and hard to follow, but they just did this mini called Final Identity Invasion of the Middle East Crisis Wars, where the leaders of America convinced enough people that it was their mission to invade another country called Iraq for the benefit of the people in Iraq. Pretty compelling stuff. I think Grant Morrison wrote it. It's a great line of comics, you should plug into it at some point.

If you think the intention of that splash page is to convince YOU the reader that the Skrulls are peaceful, well...it's called propaganda, my friend. It's a part of pretty much any invasion, secret, fictional, or otherwise.

[Mark_S]

I'm not sure that you get how a lot of wars work...For instance, there's another comic world universe that's not Marvel or DC, but they have this country in it called America. Now, try and follow me if you will, because their continuity is a little scrambled and hard to follow, but they just did this mini called Final Identity Invasion of the Middle East Crisis Wars, where the leaders of America convinced enough people that it was their mission to invade another country called Iraq for the benefit of the people in Iraq. Pretty compelling stuff. I think Grant Morrison wrote it. It's a great line of comics, you should plug into it at some point.

If you think the intention of that splash page is to convince YOU the reader that the Skrulls are peaceful, well...it's called propaganda, my friend. It's a part of pretty much any invasion, secret, fictional, or otherwise.


What comics company was that?

Mark_S

[Muffin Fist]

What comics company was that?

Western Civ Press, which is an offshoot of Life Outside of The Message Boards We're Addicted Too Unlimited! J Scott Campbell is doing the covers for their upcoming Condy Rice mini.

[Mark_S]

Western Civ Press, which is an offshoot of Life Outside of The Message Boards We're Addicted Too Unlimited! J Scott Campbell is doing the covers for their upcoming Condy Rice mini.

Ah. Sorry I don't agree. I don't see any parallel between SI and the current invasion. Maybe I will when the story is done but so far I'm seeing just another alien invasion.

Mark_S

[SeritoNiN]

It is cool that he does that.

I wish more writers took the time to do that more often. .

Most decent writers and decent stories don't need explaining afterward, it's pretty straight forward. :wink:

[Bingo!]

Ah. Sorry I don't agree. I don't see any parallel between SI and the current invasion. Maybe I will when the story is done but so far I'm seeing just another alien invasion.

Mark_S

I think I see Muffin Fist's point.


We, the United States, invade Iraq. Iraq is led by tyrant and it deserves a democratic government. We will liberate you. You do not have a choice.

Skrulls invade invade earth. The Skrulls say Earth is led by people who do not know how to manage it. They will liberate us. We do not have a choice.

It's a broad argument, but the similarities are there. I think Bendis has even said the Iraq war partially inspired Secret Invasion.

[XPac]

Most decent writers and decent stories don't need explaining afterward, it's pretty straight forward. :wink:

If that were the case, boards like this would only have a fraction of the posts they do.

Movies, TV shows, comics, books, etc... they all have their share of critics and detractors. Bendis at least makes an effort to address some of those issues, which is nice.

[Mark_S]

I think I see Muffin Fist's point.


We, the United States, invade Iraq. Iraq is led by tyrant and it deserves a democratic government. We will liberate you. You do not have a choice.

Skrulls invade invade earth. The Skrulls say Earth is led by people who do not know how to manage it. They will liberate us. We do not have a choice.

It's a broad argument, but the similarities are there. I think Bendis has even said the Iraq war partially inspired Secret Invasion.

Broadly I agree, but I think liberating Iraq from Sadam wasn't a big goal in going in there. But I do agree that-at least from their point of view-the skrulls could hardly do much worse as far as the human rights issues go than Tony, Hill, Gyrich and Brand have. I think they seem much difference between Clor and the superskrulls. I'm not sure I do either.


Mark_S

[Mark_S]

If that were the case, boards like this would only have a fraction of the posts they do.

Movies, TV shows, comics, books, etc... they all have their share of critics and detractors. Bendis at least makes an effort to address some of those issues, which is nice.

I agree and I think that the time of all the story being in the comic is passing-and has passed in marvel-from comics. The trend was set in cw with explanations and back ground being on the web after mistakes were found. In the old days you'd try to make the comic as mistake free and the storyline as clear as possible and if you made a mistake you'd try to come up with fill-ins and reasons in future issues. A writer does not have to do that anymore, the web gives them the chance to fill in without putting it into the comic. I'm not sure I like it and I could be wrong but it seems to be the way things are going; what you see on the page being only a part of the story and the rest of it being supplied on the web in interviews or downloadable extras.

Mark_S

[Muffin Fist]

Broadly I agree, but I think liberating Iraq from Sadam wasn't a big goal in going in there. But I do agree that-at least from their point of view-the skrulls could hardly do much worse as far as the human rights issues go than Tony, Hill, Gyrich and Brand have. I think they seem much difference between Clor and the superskrulls. I'm not sure I do either.


Mark_S

Wasn't trying to make any solid comparisons between the Iraq war and the fictional one with shape shifting aliens and Wolverine, more just pointing out the idea that an invading force spreading 'This is for your own good and we're here to do whats best for you' propaganda isn't some sort of weird idea or writing mistake on the part of Bendis. In fact, like all alien invading forces do it, from the Borg to the machines in the Matrix, right on down to the green guys chasing soemone with a translation machine (Don't run, we are your friends!) in Mars Attacks. So not only is it pretty standard in real wars, it's a pretty standard alien thing, too.

[Muffin Fist]

Most decent writers and decent stories don't need explaining afterward, it's pretty straight forward. :wink:

If that were completely true the internet age wouldn't go insane for message boards with insider news, or directors commentary on DVD's, or director's cuts of films, stuff like that. They don't need to do this, we clearly want this stuff: we're here, after all.

If a creator whose work you were currently enjoying right now did this exact same thing, you'd get a kick out of the gems you get every now and then from an article like this.

If comic creators stopped going out of their way to interact with the community, where would this and other sites be? Whether you like the work they're doing, you have to appreciate the tenacity of a creator to constantly get in the trenches with one of the preachiest and passionate fan bases that exists.