Captain Marvel and the Secret Invasion

Captain Marvel #3 (of 5)-
By Brian Reed and Lee Weeks

You all listened to me and picked this series up, right? Over at Amazing Tales in Raleigh, the store owner told me how surprised he was that customers were buying #3 (just released on 2/20/2 and asking of he had any copies of #1 and #2.

The reason?

Skrulls, my friend. Skrulls. This mini-series follows a bewildered and time-tossed Captain Marvel taken out of his life at some indistinct time before his death.

A somewhat lackluster super hero (loved by many, unknown by more), Captain Marvel was a cosmic hero from Marvel’s bronze age in the 1970’s. He died from Cancer in the fantastic ‘Death of Captain Marvel’ graphic novel published in the mid 1980’s.

But last year, with no explanation, he popped back into reality. So far our hero has resisted SHIELD psych profiling and fought enemies that should have died long ago. But then again… so should Mar-Vell. And he also seems very confused about who he is. He spends all of his time staring at a painting as if it can unlock something hidden deep in his psyche.

The series has taken a major turn as Mar-Vell and Iron Man have been ambushed atop the SHIELD heli-carrier by Skrulls masquerading as Kree warriors (the Kree and Skrulls have been at war for generations). This places Tony Stark in an awkward position. Thanks to Spider-Woman, he knows that there is a massive conspiracy by the Skrulls to invade the planet. That conspiracy involves the devious shape-shifting Skrulls masquerading as high-profile super heroes and super villains. But since Tony cannot be sure who is and is not a Skrull, it’s a secret invasion.

Another reference to Marvel’s past, the green skinned, pointy eared and lumpy-chinned Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 where they sought to discredit the Fantastic Four by posing as them and sewing havoc. Many many years later, that same plot device is being employed on a much larger scale.

The plot of the Captain Marvel miniseries is further thickened when a captive Skrull (who drops the Kree facade and reveals his true face) confides in Mar-Vell that he is an imposter.

Is Mar-Vell a Skrull? If so, what can this mean for the upcoming major Marvel Comics crossover event this spring? Across the way in the sister series, Ms. Marvel (also written by Brian Reed), readers also got a major shock.

What with the mixture of apathy and satisfaction from the fan community in reaction to the last two major crossovers ‘Civil War’ and ‘World War Hulk,’ this could be another major win for Marvel Comics or at least a chance to win back those readers beleaguered with the ‘Civil War nonsense.’

The set up (a universe of heroes who cannot trust each other being invaded by shifty alien shape shifters) is great. I have high hopes that the follow through is even better.