The Mighty Avengers: Secret Invasion

The Mighty Avengers (2007) #3-4

by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, John Romita Jr. (Illustrator)

Nick Fury is back! As the war with the Skrulls reaches a fever pitch in Secret Invasion, Mighty Avengers answers many of the event's most compelling questions: Where is Nick Fury, and what has he been up to? Who are the mysterious "Caterpillars"? What's keeping the Sentry from taking out the shape-changing aliens single-handedly? And Hank Pym's a Skrull... how the heck did that happen?! Next, she led the world's most lethal band of assassins - because she was the world's most lethal assassin! The revelation that Elektra was a Skrull impostor sent shockwaves through the Marvel Universe, and the mistrust that followed tore at the fabric of the Avengers' unity. Now, with the Secret Invasion of the Skrulls in full force, the secrets of her abduction are laid bare! Collects Mighty Avengers #12-20.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

"And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earths Mightiest Heroes found themselves united against a common threat! On that day, the Avengers were born, to fight the foes no single super hero could withstand!"
Various styles and artists throughout this TPB and all pretty good... 2 1/2 🌟
I felt this was just as integral to the story as the main Secret Invasion limited series. I loved Nick Fury in this, this is how he is supposed to be portrayed....4 🌟
Relevance to SI, 4 🌟 So overall for this TPB 4 🌟

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid supplementary volume to Secret Invasion from Bendis, much like The New Avengers Vol. 5. The thing that makes these work so much better than typical tie-in nonsense is that they MATTER. Pretty much every story in this volume works to explain either backstory or character motivations in the central Secret Invasion series, and adds a ton to that series in the process. As I said in my New Avengers review, I don't think it even makes sense to read Secret Invasion without also reading everything in this book and in the New Avengers one. It's that important.

There's an argument to be made that a lot of this is just explaining past events in a new light, instead of actively playing with the Skrull invasion in an active way. And I kind of agree with that. It would've been nice to see all this shifty stuff going on in the comics themselves, building a sense of unease, rather than having it all dropped in our laps and once. But, with all the insanity of Civil War, House of M, and other big deal events disrupting the editorial flow so often, it's no wonder they decided to stick to this more backward-looking story development.

So, I feel pretty much exactly the same about this book as I did New Avengers 5, so I don't really have much else to say. It's just a great set of stories. So there.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great behind the scenes look at what was happening to characters (like Sentry, Hank Pym, Elektra, and Nick Fury) before, during, and immediately after the Secret Invasion. You gotta read this one!

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was reading New Avengers for some reason and got up to the Secret Invasion storyline and said, “Hey, I have the Mavel Unlimited app, why don’t I just read the entire Secret Invasion storyline? I’d be really interested because I know that the MCU is going to come out with a movie pretty soon.” Great idea, right?

Ugh, that thing is 99 issues long and just starts to d r a g in the middle as Marvel tried to cash in by incorporating as many titles as possible. But I was committed, and I read every single issue. Was it worth it? Absolutely not. Am I glad I read it? I’m not sad, but I wish that Marvel had done a better job writing with concise storytelling. Or that I had not made the decision to read the whole blamed thing.

But, you know, in for a penny, and for a pound. And it’s red and I will never have to read it again and I can enjoy the movie when it comes out. So I’m just going to copy and paste this review in every single trade paperback that contains the secret invasion, storyline and call it a day.

if anyone reads this review, I recommend you just read the essential story itself without all of the side issues.

[Derek Moreland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much a perfect example of how to do a tie-in comic to a main event: see the seeds of backstory and handle some of the main plot without taking away from the primary event comic.

[Highland G · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book of backstory and clarification. I really enjoyed it though, its well written and the art is decent throughout. Leads us right into Dark Avengers.

[Adriano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't know if i selected the right comic-book, i read this in an italian version (Marvel Must-Have: Secret Invasion)

[J'aime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immediately after finishing Civil War, I started with Mighty Avengers V1 in which Iron Man and Ms. Marvel put together a new team. I continued on to this volume before starting the next Crossover event, Secret Invasion. This book might as well have been subtitled “The Return of Nick Fury” as he, and the creation of the Secret Warriors, takes up the majority of the pages. Fury has been MIA since Secret War but here he comes back with a vengeance.

The book opens with a two page scene from Secret War to catch readers up on why Fury disappeared. Then the story jumps from his present location where he’s fully aware of the Skrull invasion and begins to put together a new team composed of very young heroes that no one but he knows about. These sections were so well done that I plan to read the Secret warriors omnibus as soon as I finish Secret Invasion! Amidst Fury’s work, the book also has several sections showing how and when the Skrulls replaced various superheroes and their plans for dealing with those they can't replace, like Sentry. Some of this can be challenging to follow, but is worth reading before the main event with the exception of the last small section - it has major spoilers for the event.

My only major disappointment throughout the Mighty Avengers volumes is the Sentry. I've never liked the character anyway, as he seems a wannabe substitute for Thor. And, he’s also so powerful that the only way to take him out of a battle (or prevent him from single-handedly ending the Invasion all by himself) is for him to go a little nuts and run away – which got real old real fast. He spends most of the Invasion crying & whining in space somewhere.

Overall, even though very little of this volume was actually of the Mighty Avengers, it was an excellent tie-in to Secret Invasion. Highly recommended.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series is definitely not for people who are dipping their toes into the comics world for the first time. Too confusing, because there are so many characters and it's assumed that you already know all the characters involved because no introductions are made.

[Lee Battersby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Associated ephemera fro the Secret Invasion storyline. Solid stuff without knocking anythin out of the park. Bendis has a keen eye for the characters, and his dialogue is both naturalistic and loaded with information. Entertaining without being meaningful.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great storylines. IT adds so much more depth to the main storyline, a must read.

[Mely · Rating 4 out of 5]

So apparently this was where a lot of the Secret Invasion backstory and fallout went.

I really hate Nick Fury. And Bendis made me feel sorry for Hank Pym, damnit.