Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Secret Invasion #2 of 8
Marvel Comics
Bendis, Yu, Morales & Martin

The second issue has the always fun, heroes versus heroes battle. The twist this time around is that it’s the present day heroes against the versions of themselves from the 1970s. You might think this sounds boring, but it really isn’t. The real twist here is finding out who is a Skrull.

As you might guess, there is a nice splash page of the 70s heroes on one side and current day heroes on the other. Each side debates with their confidants as to what to do. Some from each side think the other side is a Skrull or worse. Both sides are convinced they are the real deal. Luke Gage breaks the ice by punching the disco version of himself.

The present day Iron Man sneaks off to figure some things out. Plus, his suit still is rejecting him. Meanwhile, Ronin starts picking off various 1970s hero versions. The current Wolverine and Cage figure out one of the heroes from the 1970s is a Skrull. That means all of them are Skrulls.

Not so. Ronin is able to verify something with the Mockingbird who came off the ship. Her revelation appears to mean that some of those on the ship are the real deal and some are not. But what about the heroes from the present time?

The issue ends with the invasion of the Skrulls in Manhattan.

A great issue if you like battles and a little mystery. I happen to love the concept of not knowing who is the real thing and who isn’t. It doesn’t bug me at all that we don’t know everything about everyone by the second issue. I also happen to like action and I think it can carry an issue when done well. This is done very well.

The artwork achieves a tough task by being able to show the difference between the two Wolverines, Spider-Men, etc. This is not easy to do even with the outdated clothing. Also, the artwork is able to really show off how interesting the Skrulls can look.

This issue does have some annoyances though. For one thing, of the many various explosions and invasions from the last issue, this issue only picks up with the battle of the heroes. I wasn’t sure if that meant I would need to read the tie-ins to get the full story or not. One other thing that bugged me was the psychics in the issue play no role. Wouldn’t Emma be able to cut through the heroes and figure out who is a Skrull? I felt this issue really didn’t take into account the actual powers of some of them.

All around, this issue was great. I read it and was pleased visually as well as with the story and the open mysteries. So far this series is a hit with me.

5 out of 5 geek goggles


Secret Invasion #2 (of 8)