Secret Invasion #2 (OF 8)

I'm...I'm gonna blame "event fatigue" on some of the negative criticism I've seen surround this issue. ;) I'm not sure this series could possibly live up to the publisher hype or the frayed nerves of increasingly wary readers.

I liked this issue. Keep in mind that we're two issues into a eight issue story. The groundwork is still being laid. After last issue's explosive beginning, we have our first skirmish, discovering some of the implications of the Skrull threat. It would appear that we have two elements at play: undetectable skrull infiltrators and genetically-altered powerhouse skrull warriors.

The crashed ship from the first issue takes up the bulk of this issue, focusing on the the former element -- we're still unsure, but it appears that some of the heroes from the crashed ship are real while some are skrulls. This hints at a larger, unclear plan. Why were these heroes and skrulls mixed up together? Were they meant to be revealed now? These elements need to be answered, but we've still got six issues to go.

And while, by some standards, this single scene may have made the issue feel slight, I truly appreciate the fact that Bendis and Yu were able to milk some great emotion out of this sequence. The big one, of course, is Hawkeye and Mockingbird. It's weird to see a lot of complaints about the scene being unrealistic, etc. I felt it was a very touching way to reveal a huge, tender history between these two characters using very spare dialogue. To me that's a bit of craft that worth noting. Plus, it's the kind of Clint Barton scene I was waiting for -- so I have to admit it's a great inner geek moment. I also love Bendis' handle on Cage, Logan, and Tony Stark. He's got a real affinity for these characters, and he knows how to write them in a scene. Unlike some writers, Bendis doesn't need a special scene that "showcases" the character's personality traits. He simply builds the scene and lets the characters do all the work.

I will add this: I do agree with the basic sentiment online that the scene in which the Vision skrull mimics the Void and sends the Sentry off crying was... less than satisfying. I'm not really a Sentry hater, either. I think the idea of Superman with emotional problems is fascinating. I love the idea that the heaviest hitter is also the least reliable member of the team. But: using the Void to send the Sentry off running at every instance is really a misuse of the concept. That's definitely one annoying sequence in this issue. Luckily, it's fairly minor.

Yu's artwork continues to impress on this series. The added inker really helps. Everyone seems to agree that the artwork is enjoyable, so I want belabor the point.

Me, I tore through Secret Invasion #2, but I lingered on the Hawkeye scene and smiled. Even got a little misty-eyed. And the fact that this happened 1/4 of the way into this mini-series feels like a success to me.