Plotted by Christos Gage and Alex Ross
Written by Christos Gage
Arted by Caio ReisThe Invaders return to the scene of their darkest moment from World War II–and their most feared enemies are waiting to meet them! Warrior Woman, U-Man, Master Man and a brand new Alex Ross-designed Iron Cross would be challenge enough, but there are larger forces at work…dark forces that tip the scales against the Invaders and will turn one of them against the others by issue’s end!
Say what you will about the two Alex Ross overseen mini-series that preceded this one, Invaders Now was definitely his end game all along. The popularity of the “bring back the original batch of 1940s super-heroes and make them relevant again” theme has been steadily rising in mainstream comics over the last few years, and with the success of books like JSA, The Twelve and more recently (this week in fact) Thunder Agents, this method seems to be much beloved. So while Ross and crew certainly had fun crossing the World War Two Invaders over with the Initiative Era Avengers (and bringing Thomas “Toro” Raymond back to life along the way) in Avengers/Invaders and returning the original Marvel Super Hero Jim “Human Torch” Hammond to life and prominence in The Torch, it’s clear that a full, modern day reunion of the classic World War Two team was what was being built to the whole time. Which brings us to Invaders Now, the inevitable reunion of Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Namor, The Human Torch, Toro, Union Jack and Spitfire for the first time in (give or take) 70 years, with the mighty Christos Gage at the helm, working off plots straight from Ross. Now three issues in, the story is beginning to ramp up as the full details of the Invader’s greatest failure come to light.
As last issue revealed, during the darkest days of the war, the dastardly pre-robot Arnim Zola infected an entire town with a deadly and infectious virus that turned them into hulking, brutish beasts. Having no way of curing the virus, the Invaders were then forced to destroy the entire town along with every inhabitant. As this issue reveals, they missed one…and that deformed and much maligned citizen dedicated his now very long life to making The Invaders pay for their crimes. Dedicating his life to studying the occult, he eventually acquired the incredibly powerful Spear of Destiny, which he then used to warp reality and return the town, the virus and its infected inhabitants to life, as well as gather the Invaders and the Nazi Uberkommandos together, leading to the two major confrontations that make up the bulk of the issue. First, we have The Invaders vs. the somehow empowered Uberkommano (the nature of their empowerment is as yet undefined other than “powered by the Spear of Destiny.”) Despite their beefed up abilities, they end up thoroughly trounced by the gathered Invaders. Meanwhile The Golden Age Vision, Spitfire and Union Jack confront the as yet unnamed uber-villain, revealing his history and endgame. The “you know it won’t actually end up badly but looks kinda hairy right now” cliffhanger ending sees Steve Rogers offer to find a cure for the infected with modern technology in exchange for that which our villain desires the most: the death of the Invaders.
One thing that stands out about the writing on this one is the fact that Ross’ notes are not the only thing Gage seems to be deriving the story from. The pacing as well as the dialogue is HEAVILY reminiscent of the style of writing used when these character were NEW back in the 1940s, most notably the fact that all of the heroic punchlines aren’t all that…well, punchy. While lines like “IT STILL WORKS!” and “THE HARDER THEY FALL” may have packed more of a punch back then, they just come across as old fashioned now. Frankly, on any other comic book or super hero, I would be angry…but with this book and these heroes, who learned HOW to be heroes during the good old days, old fashioned one-liners are perfectly acceptable.
Continued belowOn the art side of things, I can’t really say I care too heavily for Caio Reis’ work. It’s not good, it’s not bad…it kinda just is. While there is a very Chris Weston-style vibe to this one, the term “generic comic book artist” could seemingly have been invented just for him. While his characters are certainly portrayed well, his backgrounds more thoroughly detailed than most and his proportions correctly visualized, I can’t really find much to actually like OR dislike about it. Which I suppose could be a good thing, depending on how you look at it.
So what’s the bottom line on this series? Well, I’m still having fun and with only two issues left I see no reason to not continue. However, I do see some serious potential in this group of characters and, provided they find a more unique artist, I may start building the “get Gage an Invaders ongoing” bandwagon right now.
Final Verdict: 8.8 – Buy
