Marvel’s Secret Invasion Follow-Up Series Lands Later This Year

With Marvel Studios hard at work on their highly-anticipated Secret Invasion series for Disney+, this is the perfect time for the House of Ideas to revisit the original storyline that inspired the upcoming show. In 2008, readers watched as some of Marvel’s most powerful heroes were revealed to be Skrulls in disguise. Now, the shape-shifting aliens are gearing up for round two. Secret Invasion follow-up.

Sometime this year, the Skrulls will make their next bid for planetary domination in a five-issue sequel event. The new miniseries, also called Secret Invasion, finds writer Ryan North and artist Francesco Mobili stepping in for the original creative team of Brian Michael Bendis and artist Lenil Francis Yu. Admittedly, some readers might find the identical title confusing. But North insists that the new crossover will honor the events of the original series.

“It’s a sequel in that it takes place in the same Marvel Universe as the first one and everyone in the story remembers the first one happening,” said North during an interview with IGN. “But it’s more of a standalone story because they’ve all learned from that adventure and aren’t interested in seeing it go the same way twice, where they almost lose the Earth to alien invaders. You don’t have to have any of the 2008 series to enjoy this, of course – the book tells you all you need to know – but if you have there’s a few little callbacks you’ll catch.”

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Although he teased that Tony Stark has a “prominent role,” North isn’t saying whether the follow-up will unmask even more heroes as Skrull sleeper agents. He did hint that a team of ‘90s-era characters “that we haven’t seen in a while” shows up as well. But in the end, the story will feature a more narrow scope than its predecessor. And the spotlight primarily belongs to Maria Hill and Nick Fury.

“This is really Maria’s story,” revealed North. “I see her as this really competent, really clever woman who’s great at her job. Which just happens to sometimes be protecting Earth from shape-shifting alien invaders. What interested me is seeing how an alien invasion story would play out if A) Earth knew what the Skrulls had done before, and B) and used the time since then to prepare. So it’s a less of an ‘Avenger VS Avenger’ story and more of exploration of how even the best, most-funded systems can still fail under unexpected load, and because of basic human nature. That said, there are definitely Avengers punching Avengers in this. So let’s say it’s the best of both worlds: an exciting story of intrigue and collapse, and cool fights with cool heroes.”

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North also heaped praise on Mobili, teasing one scene in particular that best showcases his artistic talents.

“Francesco’s approach has been incredible,” added North. “I’ll give you one example: there’s a spread in issue one where you see a single room in a house. I described it as best I can. But Francesco elevated it, adding incredible touches like a Dutch angle, and a very clever construction to the image itself that uses mirrors to reflect the idea of identity. It’s just really, really thoughtful imagery. And I’m so excited (and honoured) to be getting to work with someone so talented, someone so at the top of their game.”

Marvel still hasn’t announced a release date for Secret Invasion #1. However, you can view three variant covers and two pages of interior artwork in the gallery below.

Are you excited to see what the Skrulls have planned for Earth this year? Let us know in the comment section below!

Recommended Reading: Secret Invasion

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