8-22-08
Who's Got a Secret in Secret Invasion – Issues 4 and 5: A Tale of Two Comics
By Bruce! MacIntosh

"It was the worst of comics, it was the best of comics…" In this installment of Who's Got a Secret we make the case that Brian Michael Bendis has been channeling Charles Dickens, as the parallels are uncanny between Secret Invasion and the Victorian author's 1859 classic, A Tale of Two Cities, which described another blockbuster summer event, The French Revolution. In particular, SI's fourth and fifth issues are a study of contrasts much like the opening couplet of the Dickens' story… for it was "surely the season of Darkness followed by the season of Light".

It's impossible to review A Tale of Two Cities or Secret Invasion without ****SPOILERS****. So if haven't already, you should go back and read all the available installments of both of those works of literature, before continuing with this action- and character-packed review.

Just as Dickens' readers needed to know some background of the French Revolution to fully appreciate his classic tale, we should first examine the events of Issues #1 through #3 of Secret Invasion. The initial triplet of issues of Marvel's latest big event showed readers some knockdown drag-out battles in both the Savage Land and New York City, as well as some shocking reveals as to which characters have been undercover Skrulls. Together with ties-ins with ongoing series such as Ms. Marvel, The Mighty Avengers and New Avengers, and mini-series such as Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four, (read the previous installment of Who's Got a Secret in Secret Invasion: Lyja the Skrull) Marvel turned their universe upside-down, overthrowing the established hierarchy and "eliminated" some of the sovereigns of it comics hegemony. Like the French Revolution brought down France's established monarchy and replaced it with a new order, the Skrulls have replaced many of Earth's leaders and superheroes with their own principals. For example, we learned in New Avengers #40, that the Skrull queen has been posing as Spider-Woman for quite some time.

As my previous reviews complained, the first issues of Secret Invasion had its ups and downs, as they contained plenty of action and "reveals" as to which heroes were truly dissembled alien Skrulls, while at the same time distracting readers with goofy dialog and artwork that was occasionally rushed. It was not until the fourth and fifth issues that this series started to show its true schizophrenic nature. Truly, it was the age of wisdom which followed the age of foolishness. First, lets examine…

Secret Invasion #4: The Winter of Despair

The first parts of A Tale of Two Cities moved very quickly. So brisk was the pace of the story and the introduction of new characters, I wonder if Dickens' mid-19th Century readers complained that "nothing happened" and it was "too fast of a read". In contrast, however, the pace picked up in the latter half, as the story shifted from Paris to London and back again, many new characters were featured, and the action was non-stop.

Similarly, in the fourth month's SI installment, the rip-roaring action of the previous three issues ground to a halt. In fact, it felt like everything slowed down, backed up, then went back over the same territory already covered before. Readers saw some more fighting in the Big Apple, but that was it for excitement: Bendis otherwise failed to advance the story much for the 150,000 of us who plunked down our hard-earned four bucks.

Story lines and plot threads from the first three issues dangled like the blade of an executioner's guillotine. The story of the crash-landing Skrull ship in the Savage Land was completely ignored it the third issue, so reader had to wait another month to find out if some of the atavistic versions of their favorite heroes are the real thing or "green meanies". On the other hand, we got a re-hash of the Skrull Jarvis confronting Director Maria Hill on the water-logged S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier – a page that added nothing and could have otherwise been used to further some other aspect of the plot.

Almost one-fifth of the fourth issue depicted Agent Abigail Brand floating in space, busting into the Skrull space ship and seeing a honeycomb of monitors. Certainly nothing on the monitors would surprise readers, because she was only seeing events already seen on other pages of the same issue. This was a prime example of blatant decompressed storytelling – something which writer Brian Bendis is often accused, but reached ridiculous proportions this issue. On the other hand, the big cliffhanger from Issue #3 – Nick Fury and his new Howling Commandoes showing up with the (really) big guns – happened so fast, it felt like a wasted opportunity. I was hoping for more fireworks.

We did learn a few more things in Secret Invasion #4: It was both cool and gross, the way Reed Richards looks all stretched out like cheap cling wrap over a bowl of potato salad; Sentry really needs to get some help; I'm really interested in the inevitable new Nick Fury series, especially to see more of Phobos – the Godling of Fear. Oh, and the Hood is getting together a gang of villains to battle the Skrulls. Why would the villains enter the fray, when they could leave it to the aliens to wipe out all the superheroes? "No more Earth is bad for business" says the Hood. Kudos to Mr. Bendis for not only finding a way to bring the bad guys into the story, but also for making the reasoning believable!

Finally, in terms of the final page cliffhangers, lightning does strike twice… The final page of the fourth Issue promised the appearance of two of Marvel's biggest heroes. But look carefully at the shadowy image surrounded by lightning - It may not be the Thunder God from Asgard that you think. We saw what is obviously supposed to look like Thor's silhouette – but it could very well be a Skrull, or Beta Ray Bill… or both. We also saw Captain America's shield. Again, it could be Bucky or a Skrull.

Secret Invasion #5: The Spring of Hope

A Tale of Two Cities spends much of the first installments foreshadowing later events. In defense of the fourth Issue of Secret Invasion, it did set up the events of the following installment. The only negative about the fifth issue is that it completely ignored the cliffhanger endings from the final page of the previous issue. No Thor, no Cap.

So what were the best parts of this "best of comics"? First, Norman Osborn consoling Captain Marvel – and encouraging him to take out his frustrations on the Skrulls.

Nick Fury's secret hideout, and the Young Avengers he rescued from the Melee in Manhattan. (Stay tuned for the next installment of Who's Got a Secret…?)

We learned that many of our heroes, pop icons and world leaders are Skrulls… and at least one cartoon character. Now who are we going to vote for this November? (On the other hand… While I am grateful that TV celebrities like Stephen Colbert have helped make comics cool with the general public, the faux campaign posters are blatant product placement and starting to get cloying. Give it a rest, Joe Q. 'kay?)

We finally saw Agent Brand do something to justify all the panels spent in the previous issue showing her floating around in space. Bendis amped the action as a solitary agent of S.W.O.R.D. (a branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. that deals with extraterrestrial threats) took out an entire Skrull ship and rescued Reed Richards in glorious shoot-em-up style.

Maria Hill proves she respects Nick Fury's advice, despite their differences, and smug Skrull Jarvis isn't so smart. My question is whether the all the good guys got off the floating Helicarrier before the real Hill set off the fireworks. Or was the infiltration of Skrull infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. so complete that the New Director was the only human on board anyway?

The most significant event of Issue #5 was the return to the Savage Land and the crashed ship of throwback heroes. As Dickens would have said, in the first two Issues of this series, we had everything before us: The return of fan favorite characters such as the furry blue Beast and his buddy - the red safari-jacketed Wonder Man, and of course Mockingbird. It was to be the return to a simpler age, when comics were a dollar or less, and hero friendships and marriages still endured.

Ah, but in truth – we had nothing before us. It was all a cruel taunt: Mr. Fantastic and his newly-constructed cannon stormed the Bastille and revealed the throwbacks in the Savage Land for what they really were: Stinkin' Skrulls. Clint Barton was the unhappiest of all, as he had been robbed of his beloved Bobbi once again. He cut down the villains like the French peasants who overthrew the disaffected nobility.

After Barton mowed down Savage Land Skrulls and took out his frustration on the recently revealed aliens, I was left with the question of how this fake Bobbi knew the "October 12" secret? Unless this was a huge hole in Bendis' plot, it will surely come back to play a part in the remaining issues of Secret Invasion. Because if this "Mockingbird" was a Skrull and knew a secret only she and Clint could know, wouldn't this mean that that she was a Skrull all the way back to the failed pregnancy? (Which also could have been a sham, just like the Skrull Lyja faked one pregnancy with Johnny Storm, and pinned another on him when he wasn't the true "father".)

In the Superlative Degree of Comparison

So the events of Secret Invasion mirror those of Dickens' classic story and the events of the French Revolution from 70 years earlier. Were he to read the current comic series, the auteur might say something like, "In short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." (He did, but I doubt he had Secret Invasion in mind. You never know, though.) A Tale of Two Cities, however, was not only about the overthrow of the French aristocracy by the proletariat - any more than Secret Invasion is merely the superficial recount of an alien offensive.

No, the current comic series is just as much about the heroes and villains – their relationships and interactions – just as much as Dickens crammed his story full of characters and plotlines. In fact, Bendis often stuffs as many characters and character development into his stories as his Victorian predecessor. This may partly explain why the action-packed fifth issue was as exciting as the previous issue engendered yawns. You might say Issue #4 simply set the table with character development so that #5 could feast like a gluttonous French marquis.

Both Bendis and Dickens cram their stories with so many characters that it is nearly impossible to keep track, but there are some parallels worth mentioning. The conflict between the superheroes and the evil Skrulls is clearly a direct analogue of the uprising of the proletariat against the cruel French nobility, but what about individual characters?

In the Dickens story Charles Darney is the archetypical hero, who is angered by the brutal indifference of the aristocracy of his native France to the oppressed masses. We learn that his true roots are in the French aristocracy, and he is tried for treason when he comes to the aid of the revolutionaries. To clear Darnay's name the story's heroine, Lucie Manette testifies on his behalf. The modern parallel to this Dickens character could be Tony Stark, the conflicted hero-billionaire who is taken out of action until Issue #4 by the invaders until the Black Widow helps him counteract the Skrull Queen's (Spider-Woman) brainwashing. (Darney then falls in love with Lucie. So if Iron Man and Black Widow hook up after this is over, we'll know Bendis lifted Charles Dickens' story!)

Clint Barton could parallel another Tale character, Sydney Carton. Even their names are similar! Carton is a bit of the antihero, suffering from unrequited love and conflicted between his sense of duty and his inability to rise above his own mediocrity. He is finally spurred to action at the climax of the story, similar to the final splash page of Secret Invasion #5 depicting Clint calling on his teammates to kick butt and take names later. Carton, however, is a tragic hero in Dickens' epic, as he makes the ultimate sacrifice in trading places with Darnay before the latter is put to death.

This analogy makes sense – and confirms Clint Barton's role as the tragic hero – given Bendis' obvious enthusiasm for screwing with the character. Assuming he is being set up two be sacrificed (again) by the end of series, Clint's battle cry at the end of Secret Invasion #5 can be read not as a call to arms but a sad epilogue much like Carton's famous final words, the last line of A Tale of Two Cities: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known."

Did You Know?
Most of Charles Dickens' works were not published as complete novels, but were released in installments – usually monthly – just like comic books! A Tale of Two Cities (1859) was released over the course of 8 months, from April through November - just like Secret Invasion! Coincidence? I think not.

Socrates was the father of Western philosophy who lived in Fifth Century B.C. Greece. Soupy Sales was a wacky TV comedian from the 60s who made pie throwing an art form and was later a game show staple. He is very much alive, in case you were wondering. Cameron Crowe is a popular film director who started his career writing for Rolling Stone, and as screenwriter of Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He wrote and directed Jerry Magire, the autobiographical Almost Famous, and the strange Vanilla Sky, (starring the even stranger Tom Cruise). A bologna sandwich on Wonder Bread was a staple of Elementary School lunch boxes when I was growing up, which I believe has since been banned as having little or no nutritional value.