Dave Wallace: 3 Bullets
Keith Dallas: 4 Bullets

SPOILER WARNING: The following review discusses plot developments of the issue.

Dave Wallace: Secret Invasion #2 picks up exactly where the last issue left off, with the combined forces of the New and Mighty Avengers facing down a group of doppelgangers who may or may not be Skrull impostors, in the Savage Land. A huge fight ensues, and we see the super-powered Skrulls begin their invasion of Earth.

And that's it.

I can't help but feel that there should have been more to this issue. Yes, Bendis gets in a few witty one-liners and a couple of neat character moments (I enjoyed Tony Stark's realization that his intelligence and inventiveness may be one of the only things that the Skrulls can't imitate, and the Sentry has an interesting moment with… himself), and I quite enjoyed the comparison between several of the 1970s-era versions of the Avengers and their modern-day counterparts. However, for the most part, it's a predictable fight scene that throws two groups of characters into a pitched battle in the hope that it'll sustain an entire issue's worth of story. It doesn’t. In fact, it's no exaggeration to say that you could skip this issue and move straight on to Secret Invasion #3 without really missing much.

Keith Dallas: This might prove to be an interesting tandem review; I read Secret Invasion #2 both before and after reading your opening remarks, but I'm still of the opinion that it's a good issue.

It's funny that so far you and I have had dichotomous reactions to Secret Invasion: you enjoyed the first issue while I found it a bit confounding; the second issue disappointed you while it entertained me. I think some witticism about how Brits and Yanks perceive things differently is in order, but for the life of me I can't think of one right now.

So let's just get into it. You make a valid objection to Secret Invasion #2: yes, the issue basically boils down to a huge fight with various character moments scattered about. Could a reader skip this issue? Hmmn. Okay, I can see why you'd assert that. Truly, this issue doesn't help the reader put the Secret Invasion puzzle together, and the final spread page reveal is more baffling than grand. (A Skrull version of Marvel's heroes? What the--?)

Dave Wallace: I think that some of those Skrull-heroes have already cropped up in a couple of Bendis' other Avengers issues, actually, but it's the first time we've seen them act quite this aggressively. And for anyone who hasn't read those issues, it's a development that does seem to come a little out-of-the-blue.

Keith Dallas: Ah. Thanks for the explanation. It reinforces my chief complaint about the first issue of Secret Invasion: if you aren't a faithful New/Mighty Avengers reader (which I am not), you're a bit in the dark.

Just to correct you on your opening statement though: technically, this issue does not pick up where the first issue left off. If you remember, the first issue ended with Skrull Hank Pym splattering Reed Richards all over Tony Stark's secret lab. Reed and "Hank" are nowhere to be found in this second issue, and that fact reinforces one of your complaints that developments of the first issue aren't addressed here.

Dave Wallace: Of course, you’re absolutely right. I’d completely forgotten that we had those pages with Reed and Hank at the end of last issue. Again, it's a plot development that goes completely unmentioned here.

Keith Dallas: Despite this, I liked this issue because of the character moments:

• Hip 21st century Luke Cage confronting hip 1990s Luke Cage ("Word!");


• Wolverine's desire to gut everyone to figure out who the Skrulls are;


• Clint Barton's protecting and then reuniting with his wife Bobbi (Mockingbird);

The plethora of spread pages (count 'em: 4!) does turn this issue into a terse installment, but I'm now more engrossed by the overall story than I was after reading the first issue because… well… for me it's become a fun event.

Dave Wallace: Yeah, I think that the character moments are the one redeeming feature of Bendis' writing this issue.

But don't get me wrong--overall, I'm actually enjoying this event a lot more than I expected. The first issue was a decent enough opener, and the supporting stories in the other Avengers books have really come into their own over the last couple of months. I just feel that this particular issue is a let-down, because it just doesn't maintain the momentum of the event.

The writing also seems a bit too clever for its own good, in places. Bendis seems keen to remind us that, even though some characters may appear to have been proven to be the real versions (rather than Skrull impostors), it's impossible to be 100% sure of anything, due to all of the other unconfirmed variables that factor into the "proof" of their authenticity. As such, we still can't really be sure that anyone is who they say they are at this point, and it undermines the drama of the story that's being told by preventing readers from truly investing in any of the characters, in case they turn out to be Skrull impostors after all.

Keith Dallas: Allow me to disagree with that point. I would argue that not being really sure that any of the characters is who they say they are actually enhances the drama rather than undermines it. Let's call Secret Invasion for what it really is: it's Invasion of the Body Snatchers in the Marvel Universe. As such, the story relies on character paranoia and keeping the readers guessing as much as possible in order to succeed. At this point if we're not really sure who is and who isn't a Skrull, then Secret Invasion is proceeding exactly as it needs to.

Now I understand your point: even amongst the inherent uncertainty played out in an Invasion of the Body Snatchers story a protagonist is needed for the readers to latch onto and identify as "genuinely human." Secret Invasion hasn't offered such a protagonist, and it can be debated if Secret Invasion is even centered on a single character. Last issue's focus was placed mostly on Tony Stark; this issue's focus is mostly placed on Wolverine, Clint and Luke. And yes, any of those latter three can still be revealed as Skrulls.

But isn't that part of the fun of a story like this? Honestly, at this stage of the story I don't have a problem not knowing who is a Skrull and who is human. Indeed, the only conclusions I can come to about any of the characters appearing in Secret Invasion result from an understanding of Marvel's publishing circumstances rather than anything hinted at in Secret Invasion #1 and #2. For instance, the Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and Spider-Man who emerged from the Skrull ship at the end of Secret Invasion #1 are DEFINITELY all Skrulls because Marvel wouldn't invalidate the story arcs of these characters' own books by retconning them as Skrulls. Uh uh. No way.

Dave Wallace: Yeah, that's true, and the very same thought crossed my mind when I read the end of the previous issue. But if we're finding ourselves making guesses about Secret Invasion based on Marvel's publishing circumstances rather than anything that we’re actually given in the story, doesn’t that suggest that the story isn't giving us enough information to engage with it on its own terms? I just feel as though we need to be able to be certain of something if we're to be able to get on board Secret Invasion as a story. Otherwise, for all we know, every character in the book might be a Skrull, and it could all be some kind of elaborate role-playing game for Skrulls with a superhero fetish!

Moving on from the writing to the artwork, I'm probably rating this issue slightly higher than I would have if Bendis had been paired with an inferior artist for this story, because Leinil Francis Yu provides visuals that make the book always worth a read even if the story of this particular chapter is lacking. Yu's visuals are striking and hit a pleasing balance between realism and a stylized cartoon quality. He deals well with the more crowded panels that he's called upon to produce, preventing the complex fight scenes from ever feeling visually complicated. There's a real difference between these pages and the uninked work of his previous New Avengers work, too, and it shows just how important the contribution of inker Mark Morales is in refining Yu's raw linework and conveying the most important elements of it to the final finished page.

Keith Dallas: On this matter you and I are in complete agreement. Count me as someone who is not fond of Yu's New Avengers work, but with Morales' inking over Yu's pencils, I do find the Secret Invasion visuals quite attractive.

Dave Wallace: Yeah, I can see why Yu's style might not be to everyone's tastes, but I think that Morales and colourist Laura Martin provide a finish that makes it a lot more palatable for those who aren't particularly enamoured of the artist.

Keith Dallas: Well put.

Dave Wallace: My main problems with Secret Invasion #2 are that we don't really learn anything as a result of the issue, and many of the players introduced in the first chapter of the story are completely absent: anyone who's waiting to see what Captain Marvel or Marvel Boy are going to do next or how the Fantastic Four are dealing with being sucked into the Negative Zone won't find any answers here. In fact, so little happened that I was convinced that I'd missed a section of the book when I reached the final page, as it felt like the story was over far too quickly.

In these big crossover "event" comics, I don't think it's enough to dazzle readers with an eventful opening issue and then sit back and let the repercussions play out: every issue has to sustain the momentum of the event, and give readers enough to chew on and enough in the way of excitement that they're excited to read the next chapter. This second issue fails to do that, and so it inevitably feels like something of a disappointment.

Keith Dallas: Fair enough. You made your case.

I would say that with this issue I enjoyed both the spectacle of the 21st century Avengers squaring off against the Avengers of my childhood and the intrigue of not knowing who are the real Avengers and who are the doppelganger Skrulls. The third issue better not provide more of the same though. The story needs to move on.

And since our individual reactions to Secret Invasion have been dichotomous so far, I'm interested to see if our opinions flip-flop yet again once the third issue arrives.

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