Secret Invasion

Secret Invasion
Variant cover art to Secret Invasion #1. Art by Steve McNiven.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Publication date	(The Infiltration) November 2007 - April 2008 (Main Story) April 2008 - November 2008
No. of issues	8 plus tie-ins
Main character(s)	New Avengers Mighty Avengers Nick Fury The Skrulls
Creative team
Written by	Brian Michael Bendis
Artist(s)	Leinil Francis Yu
Inker(s)	Mark Morales
Colorist(s)	Laura Martin

Secret Invasion is a comic book limited series and crossover storyline that began in April 2008, published by Marvel Comics. It focuses on an alien invasion by shapeshifters known as the Skrulls, who have been secretly posing as various characters in the Marvel Universe.

Production and marketing

Though it is unknown how the Skrull invasion began and for how long it has been going on, writer Brian Michael Bendis revealed in interviews that the motivation is the destruction of the Skrull Empire in Annihilation; the Skrulls believe that Planet Earth "is religiously and rightfully theirs." Bendis said there have been hints of the Skrull plot placed as far back as New Avengers #1, when an unknown figure (later revealed to be the Skrull Siri posing as Elektra) hired Electro to break into the superhuman prison known as the Raft, and 2004's Secret War, which culminated in Nick Fury being removed as head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and going underground for many years. In New Avengers #45, it will reveal what plot the Skrulls had in House of M.

Starting in November 2007 and leading up to April when the event started, several ongoing comics and mini-series were branded as tie-ins to the main Secret Invasion storyline, bearing the branding: "Secret Invasion: The Infiltration". These tie-ins include New Avengers: Illuminati #5, Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1, Mighty Avengers #7, New Avengers #38-39, Captain Marvel #4 -5 and Ms. Marvel #25-27.

The primary story of Secret Invasion is told in an eight-issue limited series which will pull all parties involved together, while the current titles of New Avengers and Mighty Avengers will focus on the past three years' worth of events and how those have been affected by the Skrull invasion, including the return of Nick Fury to the Marvel Universe. Other books such as the Fantastic Four will not tie in although their characters will still appear in the Secret Invasion books; the main story will mostly stick to Avengers-related books. Major impact from Secret Invasion has already been felt in Avengers: The Initiative, but whether this impact will relate to current events or reflect past events which will be revealed in this book is unknown.

When asked about the plot, Bendis stated that the series would not deal with heroes trying to work out how the Invasion had started, but show the reader the details; he stated that "if there's a character on the team who's a Skrull, we will rewind from when they got on that team, or from before they got on that team, so when they infiltrated, how they became who they became and the effects of their actions from their 'point of view' is shown." He also stated that the story has been brewing since 2004's Avengers Disassembled, and that the limited series will be that story's final end, "and it’s a hell of an end."

"Who Do You Trust?" images on Marvel.com show Skrulls posing as Iron Man, Wolverine, Hawkeye, Hercules, Phoenix, Spider-Woman, Luke Cage, Storm, Invisible Woman, Doctor Doom, Yellowjacket, Nick Fury, Spider-Man and Captain America.

In addition the Marvel website features two currently Online-Exclusive and free Comics for the event - Secret Invasion Prologue, a seven page comic that reveals the replacement of a previously unknown Skrull agent, and Secret Invasion: Home Invasion, a special storyline started via a MySpace video blog and featuring a young teenager named Kinsey Walden and her fears regarding her brother acting strangely, and continuing on Marvel.com with one new comic page by writer Ivan Brandon and artist Nick Postic every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, albeit with some exceptions.

Additionly, various series, even ones not directly tying into the Secret Invasion will have variant covers with the characters on them depicted as Skrulls.

Sources at Marvel say that the elements from this series, Secret Invasion: Inhumans, Rise and Fall of the Shi'Ar Empire, Emperor Vulcan, the ongoing series Nova, and Guardians of the Galaxy will lead into a major cosmic event called War of Kings. Also, the finale of Secret Invasion will lead to another event called Dark Reign.

Plot synopsis

Kree-Skrull War aftermath

Shortly after the Kree-Skrull War, in which Earth's heroes were involved, a small group of heroes banded together to secretly confront the Skrull emperor. Informally referenced as the "Illuminati", this group represented the various factions of the Marvel universe and consisted of Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, Namor, Black Bolt, Professor Charles Xavier, and Doctor Strange. They attacked the capital of the empire, and then threatened the emperor that another attack by the Skrulls would lead to war. However, they were captured, separated, and then experimented upon. The Skrulls analyzed their captives (physiology, genetics, technology, etc) and gleaned information from their behavior, until Iron Man was able to lead an escape. The Illuminati recognized that another attack is inevitable, while the Skrull Empire began to make use of the data they compiled. The research resulted in the creation of clones indistinguishable from the originals and the capacity of duplicating almost any superhuman power.

The heir to the Skrull throne, Princess Veranke, claimed that a prophecy foretold the annihilation of their planet and the need to find a new planet called Earth. King Dorrek exiled her to a prison world for inciting religious extremism. After the destruction of the Skrull Throneworld by Galactus and the Annihilation Wave, Veranke became queen by lineage, which drew the remainder of the Skrull Empire under her rule. Having heard the report of Siri, Veranke decided to spearhead an invasion of Earth with the information of the human species obtained from the Illuminati. The plan was to disguise themselves as important people in society and weaken the Earth's defenses from within, thus leaving the planet vulnerable for a military assault. Veranke has decided that she herself would pose as one of the agents on Earth. When she asked who she could replace to do the most damage, Spider-Woman was recommended.

The Infiltration

After the events of Secret War, Nick Fury goes into hiding. He learns that Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is plotting to extract S.H.I.E.L.D. passcodes from him and kill him. Fury kills her first, after which she reverts to her true Skrull form. Fury realizes that an alien invasion is taking place. He recruits Jessica Drew to be a mole inside both HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D., while secretly reporting to him, and to keep an eye on anything suspicious. However, the HYDRA cell she approached to have her powers restored turns out to be a group of Skrull agents, thus giving Veranke the chance to replace Jessica Drew. Afterwards, Nick Fury recruits former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Daisy Johnson in order to gather a group of super powered teenagers whose existence is known only to Fury himself. The teens, Yo Yo, Druid, Stonewall, Phobos, and Hellfire, along with Daisy Johnson form Nick Fury's new Howling Commandos.

Another Skrull agent, Criti Noll, poses as a British college student who then enters into a sexual relationship with Hank Pym once he breaks up with his wife Janet after the disbanding of the Avengers. After pulling much information about Pym's life as a superhero, Noll neutralizes Pym and replaces him. Also around that time, Veranke and Criti Noll plan the mass breakout of the Raft and having the Skrull-Elektra and the Hand hire Electro for the job. Within the short time of replacing Drew and the space leading up to the events of the Raft Breakout, Queen Veranke's plan successfully goes ahead with Electro breaking all the inmates out; but at the same time, she unwillingly and accidentally forms the New Avengers. She subsequently joins to infiltrate the team.

Under orders from the Queen, a group of Skrull infiltrators disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and led by a new Skrull agent disguised as de Fontaine begin mining vibranium in the Savage Land, using natives as slaves. They are discovered by Ka-Zar and Shanna, who organize a guerrilla force to oppose the impending Skrull invasion. The S.H.I.E.L.D. Skrulls, save for the de Fontaine Skrull, are all destroyed by a blast from the Helicarrier when the New Avengers travelled to the Savage Land.

A Skrull agent posing as Edwin Jarvis infiltrates Avengers Tower sometime after the formation of the New Avengers. The Skrull agent appearing as Jarvis asks Iron Man for access to files on the Sentry under the cover of hoping to avoid another situation like the incident with the Scarlet Witch during the events of Avengers Disassembled. The Jarvis impostor then meets with other undercover Skrull agents, including the Skrull Empress, who is using the form of Spider-Woman, and uses the information to formulate a plan to have a Skrull agent impersonate the Void and cause the Sentry to experience a complete mental collapse. The Skrulls also decide to let the events of the Hulk's return to Earth and the war over superhuman registration escalate on their own.

Dum Dum Dugan also meets with de Fontaine around the time of Captain America's death. She asks Dugan about Nick Fury's whereabouts and if he has had contact with Fury. Dugan denies any knowledge and the Contessa stabs Dugan with claws similar to Wolverine's, revealing herself to be another Skrull impostor. The Skrull then assumes Dugan's form and leaves him to die. Some time afterwards, the Dugan replacement and a group of Skrulls disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents hunt down and kill the Pym infiltrator after she began to doubt of the invasion plans. Criti Noll is selected as the new Pym replacement and sent to the Initiative.

Some time afterwards, a battle breaks out between the New Avengers and the Hand over the fate of Echo. During the fight, Echo is freed from the Hand's influence, and stabs the Hand's leader Elektra. Moments after her death, Elektra is revealed to be a Skrull. Tensions rise amongst the New Avengers, as no-one was able to detect Elektra's true nature, they surmise any one of them could also be a Skrull. Spider-Woman suggests that they hand over the Skrull corpse to Iron Man, but she is rebuked by Luke Cage, who believes Iron Man to be a Skrull as well. During the crash landing of the ship they are traveling on due to the Ultron Virus occurring at the time, Spider-Woman knocks out Wolverine, the only other conscious team member following impact, and steals the corpse to bring to Iron Man.

Spider-Woman informs Tony Stark of what has happened in Japan, including the suspicion by his former team-mates that he is a Skrull himself. A disturbed Stark accepts this, claims that his possession and DNA restructuring by Ultron verifies his authenticity, then demands to know where Nick Fury is, because he would know what to do. Jessica doesn't know. Stark agrees with Wolverine's opinion that this is just the beginning of an invasion, and convinces her to join the Mighty Avengers, even though she still absolutely refuses to register her abilities under the Superhuman Registration Act, since it will throw the Skrull off guard. Stark assumes that one of the Mighty Avengers is a Skrull sent to kill him, and with Spider-Woman on the team the Skrull will know that the Avengers are now aware of the Skrull threat. Spider-Woman convinces the others that she merely wants to get back to doing something useful, and does not tell them what happened in Japan.

Iron Man is shocked by the Skrull corpse, realizing it to be a repercussion of the Illuminati's attack years prior. He reassembles the group for the first time since they splintered shortly before the Civil War, and they debate over whether this means an invasion has taken place. The group is caught off guard, however, when Black Bolt uncharacteristically voices his opinion. It is revealed that he is in fact a Skrull as well, and fights the others over the body. This Skrull not only has Black Bolt's powers, but the combined powers of all the members of the Illuminati. After Namor manages to kill him, the Illuminati are attacked by two more Skrulls:

• A Skrull that has Cyclops' optic blasts, Nightcrawler's prehensile tail, and Colossus' metallic skin.
• A Skrull that wields a technological copy of Thor's hammer Mjolnir.

These Skrulls are killed by Iron Man who detonates a small nuclear bomb with his armor. Namor reminds them that any of them could also be a Skrull, and that no one is to be trusted. The five then go their separate ways.

The returning Captain Marvel battles the villains Cobalt Man and the original Cyclone, both supposedly deceased. He is then confronted by a group of Skrulls posing as Kree Soldiers, who attempt to kill him but are quickly defeated by Mar-Vell with the aid of Iron Man. He then confronts Ms. Marvel over her identity, and then shares with her his experiences fighting both Cobalt Man and Cyclone. Shortly thereafter, Mar-Vell interrogates Cobalt Man, who reveals himself to be a Skrull and states "You are not Captain Marvel." Meanwhile, Brother McNally, a member of the recently formed Church of Hala (established after the return of Captain Marvel), is revealed to be a Skrull as well. Iron Man is suspicious of Mar-Vell's true identity and sends men to Titan to investigate his grave. The Skrull impersonating Cobalt Man reveals to Captain Marvel that he is in fact a Skrull sleeper agent named Khn'nr created to pose as the real Captain Marvel. However, despite his status, Marvel decides to fight against the invading Skrulls after killing the Cobalt Man Skrull.

Iron Man tells S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent David Sum, a member of Ms. Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D. strike force "Operation Lightning Storm", about the coming invasion and states that he believes Ms. Marvel, is actually a Skrull agent. A Skrull named Rl'nnd is found by Ms. Marvel in what she believes is an A.I.M. lair and attacks her, only to escape. Afterwards, Ms. Marvel finds the body of William Wagner, a man she had been dating. Agent Sum and the rest of Lightning Storm try to capture Ms. Marvel under the impression that she is the murderer. Eventually both Ms. Marvel and the Skrull impostor are captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. with Rl'nnd following in disguise. After Rl'nnd reveals himself, the Skrull Ms. Marvel tells Ms. Marvel that Wagner was a Kree. She also has disguised herself as him to convince Ms. Marvel he was dead, and that he is still alive. However, Ms. Marvel and Operation Lightning Storm try to stop the truck holding William, only to discover it is a holographic projection. When Carol confronts the Skrull agent, the latter says the words "He loves you", and causes a massive explosion that destroys Operation Lightning Storm's Minicarrier.

A Skrull posing as Daredevil approaches Echo outside Matt Murdock's office. She sees through his deception though, because the Skrulls' are unaware of Matt Murdock's current activities. In battle, the Daredevil-Skrull is shown to exhibit Wolverine's claws and healing factor, Cyclops' optic blasts, Nightcrawler's teleportation abilities, and the flame abilities of the Human Torch or any pyrokinetic member of the X-Men. After a long battle, Echo drives away the Skrull with Wolverine's help.

The Invasion

Iron Man called in two of the brightest minds on Earth: Mister Fantastic and Henry Pym to examine the body of the Elektra-Skrull that Spider-Woman brought to him. He knows it is just the beginning of an invasion.

Meanwhile, S.W.O.R.D.'s headquarters hosts a meeting between various world security agencies. As Commander Dugan arrives, a Skrull ship enters Earth's atmosphere and crashes into the Savage Land. Tony Stark gets called in by Abigail Brand, leaving Reed and Hank to examine the Skrull.

Iron Man orders the Avengers to assemble, but only Spider-Woman is currently available. She contacts the New Avengers and tells them about the crashed Skrull ship.

The two Avenger teams meet up in the Savage Land near the crashed ship, each side ready to fight. As Luke Cage pries open the Skrull ship, S.W.O.R.D. is receiving live video feeds from Iron Man's armor. Both Commander Dugan and Edwin Jarvis, the Avenger Tower butler, upon seeing Cage pry open the ship, decide to take "action".

Commander Dugan sets off an explosion that destroys S.W.O.R.D. headquarters, saying "He Loves You..." just before the blast. Jarvis uploads a virus into the Stark computer mainframe, saying "He Loves You..." causing Iron Man's armor to malfunction and disable Tony Stark and infecting the entire Stark computer network with an alien virus from satellites to defense systems. Ms. Marvel calls the Helicarrier, but no one responds. Maria Hill has ordered everyone to abandon ship as the Helicarrier has lost all power and control, falling down toward a city.

The Raft loses power, freeing every single villain that is being held there like Armadillo, Answer, Doctor Doom, Mandrill, and Shockwave. Similar events happen at the Cube, where the master Noh-Varr decides it is time to go. The Thunderbolts' headquarters, Thunderbolt Mountain, is simultaneously attacked by Khn'nr himself.

Meanwhile at the Baxter Building, Lyja in the form of a tourist changes into Invisible Woman (who was taken out after a press conference), enters the lab, and opens a gateway to the Negative Zone, again saying "He loves You...", and creating a massive vacuum WITHIN the Baxter Building that begins to engulf the building and the surroundings.

In the Savage Land, Iron Man slips into a seizure as the Skrull ship opens, revealing its cargo to be heroes with older appearances (ranging from Beast, Thor, Spider-Man, Phoenix, Iron Man, Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch, Invisible Woman, Captain America, Wolverine, Mockingbird, Power Man, Hawkeye, Emma Frost, Vision, and Jewel). They claimed that they have made it back to Earth. "Wolverine," who has emerged from the ship, asks the gathered Avengers who exactly they are.

In orbit, Agent Brand and her team are safe in a stasis gel. She calls for help only to realize that a massive Skrull invasion fleet has just arrived on Earth's doorstep

At the lab, Reed realizes how the Skrulls become undetectable and turns to tell Hank. Pym pulls out a weapon and shoots Richards which destabilizes him. As Hank transforms into a Skrull, he says "He Even Loves You."

Despite the urging of Ares that their confrontation is merely a distraction from the true battle, the assembled heroes from the ship and their counterparts on Earth begin fighting, both sides convinced that their opponents are the Skrulls. In the ensuing battle, the Spider-Man from the ship is killed by a Tyrannosaurus and regresses to a Skrull. The Hawkeye from the ship is killed by Clint Barton's Ronin alias and regresses to a Skrull. Testing Mockingbird's knowledge, Ronin is convinced that Mockingbird is NOT a Skrull. Mockingbird also states that the Captain America from the ship may, in fact, be the genuine article. Not being able to combat the power of the Sentry, the Skrulls decide the best way to deal with him is to make Reynolds have a psychotic episode. With Sentry believing what a Skrull posing as the classic Vision told him, opted to stay out of the fight. While Spider-Woman disappears into the jungle and Earth's Ms. Marvel heads back to the States, Earth's Iron Man (still suffering from the Skrull virus) starts to build himself a new suit from the wreckage of a nearby lab. In Manhattan, meanwhile, the first wave of Super Skrull shock troops bearing the abilities of Earth's superhumans arrive, as witnessed by the Young Avengers and the Runaways.

Meanwhile, Britain is also attacked by a Skrull armada and a wave of empowered Super Skrulls. The Skrulls had infiltrated the ranks of the British government, though they were exposed by John the Skrull (a Skrull turncoat loyal to MI:13 and who had taken the form of John Lennon). The Skrulls' target was the Siege Perilous. To protect this source of magic Captain Britain attacked a Skrull missle head on, possibly sacrificing himself.

The Void creating an equal and opposite reaction showed up battling Skrulls and saving Lindy Reynolds promising to do all that The Sentry won't do.

Athena gathers all Earth gods to prepare a "God Squad" to fight the Skrull Gods. Hercules, Snowbird, Ajak, Amatsu-Mikaboshi, and Atum the God Eater are chosen as the team. Mikaboshi later asks Hercules if his sister's eyes have always been green. This could be hinting that Athena is a Skrull and is trying to get rid of the heavy hitters.

While all this happens, Spider-Man confronts Ka-Zar and Shanna, accusing them of being Skrulls. However, they are attacked by the ship's Captain America.

During the evacuation of Helicarrier the Jarvis Impersonator confronts Ms. Hill about surrendering.

In Times Square Young Avengers try their best to battle the invading forces. Vision II realizing that communications are down suggests that Hulkling being Skrull royalty calm the situation but to no avail. After losing Wiccan and Hulkling to unconsciousness, the Camp Hammond Staff and Trainees arrive. This does not change the tide of the battle after Stature lose consciousness, Proton's neck is broken by a Skrull, and Vision II gets destroyed. Just then, Nick Fury and his new Howling Commandos arrive.

Back in the Savage Land, natives on the side of Ka-Zar use a poisonous dart on the ship's Captain America which causes him to be regressed back to a Skrull and killed by Shanna. The natives then used it on Spider-Man only to learn that he's not a Skrull. Spider-Woman attacks and knocks out Echo, all but solidifying that Drew has been replaced. After the scuffle, the impostor finds Tony Stark and congratulates him calling him her lover Kr’Ali and confirming that she is the Skrull Queen.

During the battle in New York, the Runaways return from their trip to 1907 to land in the middle of the fight. Xavin, the team's Skrull, knocks out the team and appears to betray them. After realizing that Hulkling is going to be executed by the Skrulls, Xavin intervenes and saves him. This causes the Skrulls to brand her as a traitor.

Delroy Garrett, the 3-D Man, arrives in Hawaii and is greeted by Point Men team members Star Sign and Paydirt. He encounters Devil-Slayer on the way to the base, who states that he has sensed portents of doom all day. When he meets the final team member Magnitude, the goggles Delroy obtained from the original 3-D Man allow him to identify Magnitude as a Skrull impostor. The Magnitude-Skrull (who wields the powers of Banshee, Havok, Polaris, and Sunfire) attacks and severely wounds Star Sign and Paydirt, but Delroy kills the Skrull with a sword magically summoned by Devil-Slayer. Devil Slayer uses his Shadow Cloak to teleport Delroy to Camp Hammond, where he announced to everyone assembled that the Initiative has been infiltrated by Skrulls. Crusader (fearing that he will be exposed as a Skrull) uses the Freedom Ring. This causes 3-D Man's goggles to make him see everyone surrounding him as a Skrull. Crusader tells Delroy Garrett to take his leave. However, Delroy's Quinjet is effected by the same computer virus and it crashes in New Mexico.

Whilst all of this is happening, Reed Richards is revealed to being held by Skrull forces up in Earth's orbit on an unidentified armada ship, stretched to his physical limits and surrounded by a crowd of Skrull watchers and scientists, helpless against the threats and torture. Agent Abigail Brand of S.W.O.R.D. manages to break through the exterior of another ship and make it into one of the central control rooms, seeing the images of the invasion, death, and destruction the Skrull's are making on Earth, as well as the torture of Mr. Fantastic. A Skrull guard and a youngster find and point a gun at her. The Sentry is shown up in orbit, still being tormented by the false words of the Skrull Void impostor and refusing to help.

Down in the chaotic battle in Manhattan, Nick Fury and the new Howling Commandos show promises of turning the tide; Ms. Marvel, after being heavily blasted by a group of Skrull soldiers ends up rising in the middle of Fury and his group in Times Square as they fight, shocked by the return of the ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. leader. As they quickly head into the fray, Yo-Yo, the team's mutant speedster, manages to rescue all the downed Young Avengers and Initiative cadets before further execution and casualties. Ms. Marvel proceeds to help, but soon after is shot by Fury, whom is unconvinced she is the real Carol Danvers. After being shot back into another street, the Skrull onlookers quickly overrun her, with the Skrull Henry Pym looking down at her with a smirk on his face. Fury then calls his men to retreat so that they can plan the next move.

Watching the battle via news broadcast on live television, the Hood decides to take his rebuilt empire of the New York City criminal roster and battle the Skrulls, as "no more Earth is bad for business". In the Bermuda Triangle, Jarvis tries to get Maria Hill to surrender, but Maria refuses and says it is still her ship, but the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents turn into Skrulls. Back in the Savage Land, Spider-Woman continues to persuade Tony into believing he is a Skrull sleeper agent named Kl'Riki Dulu, and that she will find a way to turn him back to his original form and praise him as the greatest Skrull Warrior to ever live. Natasha Romanoff (the Black Widow) is revealed to be watching the conversation, and proceeds to enter and shoot Spider-Woman. She is temporarily distracted by the Beast and Phoenix heroes from the Skrull ship, who she in turn, opens fire on and seemingly kills. Spider-Woman has enough time to escape, and Natasha injects Tony with a dose of adrenaline to keep him going. She convinces him to continue the fight, despite the words of the Skrull Spider-Woman and the possibility of him being a sleeper. Wolverine enters (after being shot by Black Widow and being forced to confirm his true identity through the codeword, "Carrot Sticks") and the trio conclude that Tony has to rebuild the armor quick, and return to New York as soon as possible.

After Fury and his Commandos move on, the view shifts to innocent civilians evading Skrull forces in Central Park. As they are about to be killed by some Skrull soldiers, a blast of lightning strikes and kills one. As the civilians look through the light and destruction, the shadowy figure of what appears to be Thor in the New York City sky is seen. Another mysterious figure is shown watching the event from another location with a pair of binoculars; the figure then proceeds to move from his position, and suddenly the shield and costume of Captain America is seen.

Meanwhile, after the God Squad is forced to experience their worse fears by Nightmare, Snowbird and Hercules make love, after she confesses to him that she doesn't want to be alone anymore. Later is discover that the Skrull in the group is who had been with them since the end of World War Hulk reveals itself and is quickly dispatched. The issue ends with an impending battle between gods Hercules and Kly'bn, the one in the sentence "He loves you". However, Hercules won the battle after stabing Kly'bn, giving the Skrulls a huge upset in the Secret Invasion war.

As the Skrulls comfortably settle in Portland, Oregon, enslaving the population, the Skrulls repeatedly announce the any attempt at resistance will be met with extreme force. Gorilla-Man and M-11, disguised as slaves, attack the Skrulls, freeing Namora who has been captured. The trio capture the regional Skrull commander, taking only his head, bringing it to their underwater saucer where Bob Grayson and Venus are waiting. They extract military secrets from the severed head just as they are attacked. The odd team repel the attack, liberate Portland, set a course for Seattle to secure that city, then intending on securing the country before moving to Japan, but they question who they can trust.

Norman Osborn talks Khn'nr out of destroying the Thunderbolts, sending him away in anguish. He then declares to U.S. troops that they are at war.

Nick Fury arrives with the Initiative cadets, his new Howling Commandos, and the Young Avengers at his new command post. The Vision survived his attempted murder by the Skrulls, but remains rather disfigured/damaged. He awaits with his team for the Skrulls to announced their plans for Earth and they do. Using generated images of various leaders and famous stars including Magneto, the Pope, Barack Obama, Tom Cruise, John McCain, Eric Cartman, Tony Stark, Namor, Oprah Winfrey, Doctor Doom, Kim Jong-il, and others, the Skrulls announce that they intend on assimilating all humans into their culture and way of life, declaring Earth part of the Skrull empire. The only way for the human race to save their planet is to assimilate...

Meanwhile in space, Agent Brand successfully infiltrates the Skrull ship holding Mister Fantastic captive where she battles the Skrulls experimenting on them, either killing or disabling them and freeing Mister Fantastic. Frustrated, she decompresses the ship, throwing every Skrull out into space. Richards panics, threatening Brand, demanding the location of his family, believing she to be a Skrull. He reveals that the Skrulls needed him alive to assist in the invasion. Richards tests Brand to prove she is not a Skrull as the ship they have commandeered comes under attack. Out of nowhere, Captain Marvel, with a new sense of purpose, engages and destroys a large portion of the Skrull fleet. Brand then takes the ship and Richards to the the Savage Land.

Back on the Shield Helicarrier, Director Hill revealing to "Jarvis" and the Skrull insurgents that she is using a life model decoy as Fury had suggested to her many months ago. The Skrulls kill the duplicate and Hill, using jet pack, opens fire on the Skrulls before causing the carrier to self-destruct.

The various superheroes, Savage Land leaders, and Skrull impersonators clash again, about ready to fight. Each one declares who they are or who they believe themselves to be. Emma Frost states she can detect who is a Skrull and who is not accusing Spider-Man of being an impostor. Susan Storm states she will keep everyone in place with a force field until all is settled. Tony Stark throws up a lot. Richards fires into the center of the crowd of super heroes with an odd weapon. When tech dust and brightness recede, the Skrulls and humans are revealed, a battle ensues. Ronin discovers his Mockingbird is a Skrull, grabs one of Black Widow's guns, and kills her in anger. The impostors (Thor, Emma Frost, Wonder Man, Ms. Marvel, Jewel, and Invisible Woman) are surprised when their skin turns green and become surprised and disoriented, making them easier to take down by the real super heroes. Ronin, angry and frustrated at the realization his wife was an impostor, declares that every last Skrull must be killed.

The invasion reaches San Francisco, new home of the X-Men. Believing the city to be virtually defenseless except for local police, they launch a small scale attack to cause enough damage to instill fear. However, their ground teams encounter unexpected superhuman resistance: each and everyone of the X-Men that are still active. The X-Men launch a counter strike, defending civilians and evacuating badly attacked buildings. The Skrulls are shocked to find the X-men in San Francisco especially when they take over their command shuttle. As the X-men make a successful gain, the Skrulls launch their super soldiers into the city from an orbiting ship.

Trapped in the Negative Zone, Human Torch, Thing, Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards, and Lyja turn to the prison population to rebuild the destroyed portal generator in order to return to Earth and help repel the invasion. The one they turn to is Phineas Mason, known as the Tinkerer. He tells the Fantastic Four that he was forcefully taken even after retiring from supervillain work, revealing that the unregistered superhumans did not receive a fair trial. The Tinkerer then refuses to help, but after Franklin pleads with the man, Tinkerer complies at the child's desire to return to his family. They successfully return back to New York City, Lyja staying behind, to the battleground that is New York City...

At New Asgard, Thor had just rescued Beta Ray Bill (who is lacking his Stormbreaker) after he escaped from the Skrulls. With the featured Asgardians thinking Beta Ray Bill is a Skrull, they plot to attack while he is recuperating only to be stopped by Thor. Thor proved Beta Ray Bill isn't a Skrull by throwing Mjolnir at Beta Ray Bill who catches it, proving he's not a Skrull by being able to lift Mjolnir. Beta Ray Bill, healed by holding Mjolnir, joins Thor in his fight against the Skrulls as some of them attack Asgard.

3-D Man is discovered by She-Thing, a member of the Initiative. 3-D Man instantly sees she is a Skrull, but before she can strike a blow, she is killed by the Skrull Kill Krew. The Krew recruits Delroy and approaches Arizona's Desert Stars, determining Blacksmith to be an impostor. After a brief battle, the Krew plans on going to Las Vegas.

Norman Osborn and his Thunderbolts launch a counter-attack on the force invading Washington DC. There, Songbird is attacked by a Super-Skrull combining the powers of Atlas and herself. Mac Gargan and Bullseye go rogue, Norman and Robbie Baldwin go crazy, and Moonstone betrays the team by shooting Swordman and bargains her allegiance to the Skrulls.

While flying away, Noh-Varr comes across a damaged Skrull ship. He lands to check it out when Captain Marvel stumbles out. Before he dies, Captain Marvel begs Noh-Varr to stop the invasion but Noh-Varr says this isn't his world. Captain Marvel says it doesn't matter and he is here for a reason. He has learned so much from Earth's people and the Skrulls have no honor like the humans or the Kree.

Elsewhere, the Skrulls restore the global communication systems and announce their plans. Using the restored systems, they explain the Skrull Invasion with the following talking points:

• They only want to improve Earth's culture and add to it, not kill anyone.
• They have attacked organizations like the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Fantastic Four because they stood in the way of their progress as a society.
• They are part of their problems and they wish to change that.

Queen Veranke arrives at Camp Hammond while the Avengers head to New York only to find it burning. Down on the street, a group of people want to welcome the Skrulls but the Skrull go to attack them only to be saved by Nick Fury and his troops. The Hood and his syndicate of criminals decide to finally help out. Thor makes his presence known and meets up with the new Captain America. The New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Nick Fury & his commandos, the Young Avengers, the Initiative, the Hood's crew, Thor, the new Captain America, and the Thunderbolts all assemble. Queen Veranke reveals who "He" is....God, and it's an all out war against the Skrulls and the superhumans of Earth.

Known Skrull agents

This section lists prominent characters who have been shown to be agents of the Skrulls, in order of publication date. Some or all have been replaced by Skrulls for an unknown but prolonged period of time.

• Elektra - Revealed in New Avengers #31. Siri, the original Skrull who impersonated Elektra was killed by the real Natchios when Super Skrull agents tried to abduct her while Pagon takes Elektra's identity after she is captured. Pagon is ordered by Veranke to undertake a suicide mission to reveal the Skrull invasion to the humans by sacrificing himself to be killed by Echo.
• Black Bolt - Revealed in New Avengers: Illuminati #5. Killed by Namor.
• Revolutionary (of the Liberteens) - Revealed in Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1.
• Cobalt Man - Revealed in Captain Marvel #3. Killed by Captain Marvel.
• Cyclone I - Revealed in Captain Marvel #4. Killed by Captain Marvel. Skrull identity not public due to destruction of remains.
• Valentina Allegra de Fontaine - Revealed in Secret Invasion Prologue. The first Skrull that posed as her was killed by Nick Fury. Another Skrull later posed as her in the Savage Land and then assumed the form of Dum Dum Dugan. This Skrull presumably died during a suicide bombing at the S.W.O.R.D. Space Headquarters.
• Edwin Jarvis - Revealed in Secret Invasion #1. Supposedly killed by Maria Hill when she self-destructed the downed Helicarrier.
• Henry Pym - Revealed in Secret Invasion #1. Been replaced several times by different Skrulls, one of which was identified as Criti Noll in Avengers: The Initiative #14.
• Sir Mortimer Grimsdale (British JIC Chair) - Revealed in Captain Britain and MI: 13 #1. Outed by John the Skrull and killed by Pete Wisdom
• Captain Marvel - Revealed in Captain Marvel #5. A mistake in the Skrull Khn'nr's conditioning led to Khn'nr's personality being erased and Captain Marvel's remaining, which has caused him to rebel against his species. Killed in a Skrull ship's crash
• Spider-Woman - Revealed as the Skrull Queen Veranke in Secret Invasion #3. It should be pointed out though that Queen Veranke still has not been seen reverting back to her Skrull shape as of Secret Invasion #6.
• Magnitude (of the Point Men) - Revealed in Avengers: The Initiative #14. Killed by 3-D Man (Delroy Garrett).
• Longshot - Revealed as a Skrull in X-Factor #33.
• Kirby the Coyote Pup - Revealed as a Skrull in Incredible Hercules #119. Killed by Atum.
• Brother Voodoo - Revealed as a Skrull in Black Panther #38. Killed by Cannibal.
• She-Thing - Revealed as a Skrull in Avengers: The Initiative #16. Killed by the Skrull Kill Krew.
• Blacksmith (of the Desert Stars) - Revealed in Avengers: The Initiative #16. Killed by 3-D Man.
• Ahura (son of Black Bolt and Medusa) - Revealed in Inhumans 2 of 4.

Reception

Issue one was generally well received for its strong introduction to the story, good pacing and "slick" art,

Tie-in issues

Secret Invasion: The Infiltration

The following issues were released with the The Infiltration banner prior to the launch of the Secret Invasion series:

• Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1
• New Avengers #38-39
• New Avengers: Illuminati #5
• Captain Marvel (vol. 7) #3-5
• Mighty Avengers #7
• Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #25-27

Unofficial tie-ins

These issues link heavily to events in Secret Invasion:

• Black Panther (vol. 4) #38
• Marvel Holiday Special
• Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #24 (last two pages)
• New Avengers: Illuminati #1

Secret Invasion

The following issues tie into the Secret Invasion mini-series:

• Avengers: The Initiative #14-19
• Black Panther (vol. 4) #39-41
• Captain Britain and MI: 13 #1-4
• Deadpool (vol. 4) #1-3
• Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 2) #4-6
• Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #33-35
• Incredible Hercules #117-120
• The Mighty Avengers #12-20
• Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #28-30
• The New Avengers #40-47
• New Warriors (vol. 4) #14-15
• Nova (vol. 4) #16-18
• Punisher War Journal #24-25

• Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1-3
• Secret Invasion: Front Line #1-5
• Secret Invasion: Home Invasion (Digital Comic available at Marvel.com)
• Secret Invasion: Inhumans #1-4
• Secret Invasion: Prologue (Digital Comic available at Marvel.com or in Secret Invasion #1 Director's Cut)
• Secret Invasion: Runaways & Young Avengers #1-3
• Secret Invasion: Amazing Spider-Man #1-3
• Secret Invasion: Thor #1-3
• Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust? one-shot
• Secret Invasion: X-Men #1-4
• Skrulls! one-shot
• She-Hulk (vol. 2) #31-33
• Thunderbolts #122-125
• X-Factor (vol. 3) #33-34

Collections

The stories are being collected into volumes:

#	Title	Publisher	Year	ISBN	Reprints
1	Secret Invasion: The Infiltration	Marvel Comics	April 2008	ISBN 0785132317	Collects The reprinted material is, in whole or in part, from: Fantastic Four #2 *New Avengers: Illuminati #1 & 5 *New Avengers #31–32, 38–39 *Mighty Avengers #7 *material from Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1
	Credits and full notes Writer(s) Stan Lee • Brian Michael Bendis
2	Captain Marvel: Secret Invasion	Marvel Comics	August 2008	ISBN 0785133038	Captain Marvel #1–5 *Civil War: The Return #1
3	Incredible Hercules: Secret Invasion	Marvel Comics	November 2008	ISBN 078513333X	Incredible Hercules #116–120
4	Ms Marvel vol. 5: Secret Invasion	Marvel Comics	November 2008	ISBN 0785130195	Ms Marvel vol. 2 #25–30
5	Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers	Marvel Comics	December 2008	ISBN 078513266X	Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers #1–3
6	New Avengers vol. 8: Secret Invasion	Marvel Comics	December 2008	ISBN 0785129464	New Avengers #38–43
7	Mighty Avengers vol. 3: Secret Invasion	Marvel Comics	January 2009	ISBN 0785130098	Mighty Avengers #12–19

Note: The full title of all volumes listed here start with "Secret Invasion: ".

External links

• Secret Invasion #5: Post Traumatic Skrull Disorder from CC2K
• Marvel.com - Secret Invasion: Skrull Revelations
• Secret Invasion at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• Secret Invasion: The Infiltration at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• Secret Invasion: First Strike, Newsarama
• WizardUniverse.com - Secret Invasion #1 Director’s Commentary
• GammaPoweredRadio.com - The entire Marvel: Secret Invasion Panel from the NYC Comic-Con 2008
• Review of Secret Invasion #2, Comics Bulletin
• Review of Secret Invasion #2, Comic Book Resources