Marvel’s original “Secret Invasion” was a massive comic book event story written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Leinil Yu. Marvel has been telling sequels to some of their most prominent storylines, “Secret Invasion” is next up. “Heroes Reborn” and “Secret Wars” are just two examples of prominent stories Marvel has revisited over the years. The House of Ideas is looking to continue with “Secret Invasion” now that a television show carrying on some of those themes is set to debut on Disney+ plus very soon! Will Marvel find a different way to explore the “Secret Invasion” saga with a new creative team? Find out in our review for the brand new “Secret Invasion” #1 published by Marvel!
Written by Ryan NorthCover by Matteo Lolli
Penciled by Francesco Mobili
Colored by Jordie Bellaire
Letterered by VC’s Joe CaramagnaThe Skrulls Are Back… …in a giant-sized issue kicking off an all-new five-part miniseries! When Maria Hill detects the merest HINT of Skrulls, she acts quickly to put her defensive plans into action. And when Nick Fury is sent to investigate a Skrull sighting in Iowa, he finds the LAST thing he was expecting! Our pale blue dot is in their sights, and this time, Earth’s old defenses won’t work… Find out who you REALLY trust: The invasion begins NOW!
Marvel’s new “Secret Invasion” series opens with Nick Fury investigating the mysterious death of the Stuart family father, Greg. The only real subtext that readers to know for this massive scene is that there are Skrulls somewhere in this issue who could be disguised as humans at any moment. Nick Fury is no longer with S.H.I.E.L.D. in this series. Maria Hill is working directly with the C.I.A.. I really enjoy how North is able to ensure that this series is set in modern comic book continuity and that a large portion of time has passed since the first “Secret Invasion.” North writes a few excellent moments where Hill and Fury are catching up with each other after so much time has passed.
North really taps into the premise of “Secret Invasion” by hiding the mystery of the series from readers until the final moments of the issue. These long, focused scenes and plot moments are exactly the additional energy that the premise needed to remain interesting for a future story. North slowly unfurls the complicated elements of the scene with Fury and the Stuart family for the entire issue. One of the problem’s with the original “Secret Invasion” was how the scenes from each issue required several issues to resolve. North is able to wrap up the main story between Fury and the Stuart family with a final scene that leaves readers feeling satisfied with the last moments of the story.
Artist Francesco Mobili follows a much different style than what artist Leinil Yu carried towards the original “Secret Invasion.” Mobili is able to draw a smaller, personal story for the new issue of the series. Mobili’s strength appears to lie in fleshing out expressions and subtext of a scene. For a story focused on emotions and characters falsely impersonating their counterparts, Mobili is a wonderful artist for the story. Fury is emoting throughout this issue in a similar manner that you would expect to see from Samuel L. Jackson himself. Mobili is able to take a scene with just the Stuart family and make the moment feel important thanks for the tense expressions from Dannie and Fury. Mobili draws the Skrulls as viscaeral as you might have hoped.
“Secret Invasion” is the kind of issue that will impress readers if they invest the time into finding out who or where the Skrull in the comic books series is located. When North and Mobili finally peel back the curtain and reveal the green aliens lurking beneath the pages of the issue, the script and art comes alive. Mobili draws incredibly precise and sinister expressions while North can finally pull the rug out from underneath readers and show just how deadly and maniacal these characters are. Another aspect of the original series that I hope to see rectified in these issues focuses on the aftermath of the series. The Skrulls are teasing a return for future issues, but I hope they are able to linger around the Marvel Universe for future stories.
The end of “Secret Invasion” #1 has begun teasing that the Skrull invasion will leak into the larger Marvel Universe. If it does, I certainly hope that it will be written with as much nuance and suspense contained in the pages of Marvel’s newest “Secret Invasion” #1. From an art perspective Mobili really brings a different tone to the series than what you may have seen initially. The way North carefully unveils smore and more about these scenes as the issue goes lends a special type of perspective to the comic. I hope that the “Secret Invasion” show on Disney+ will be able to compete with this excellent debut. I also hope that going forward, North will continue to bend the narrative and ensure that anyone can be a Skrull at any time throughout this series. The plotting and character reveals in this debut have an incredible amount of potential for future stories, let’s see how big and interesting Marvel’s second “Secret Invasion” can get!
Final Verdict: 8.0 – “Secret Invasion” #1 is a thrilling, small-scale return to one of Marvel’s most interesting modern story ideas.
