By Marc Strom
The cavalry has finally arrived.
So far, the heroes' war against the
Skrulls hasn't gone so well—but luckily for them that Captain America and
Thor officially join their old
Avengers ally
Iron Man in the pages of SECRET INVASION #6, on sale September 10.
And the three heroes' entrance certainly won't go unnoticed, according to editor Tom Brevoort.
"They're the 'Big Three' for a reason, and we haven't had an opportunity to see them all together as a united front for a couple of years now," Brevoort notes. "So it'll definitely have an impact, [even] if only as a rallying point and a morale-booster for the heroes."
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Preview art by
Leinil Francis Yu |
So far,
Nick Fury has emerged as the man with the plan, and while the Big Three have proven themselves more than capable as leaders, will they nonetheless defer to Fury this time around?
"Possibly," Brevoort posits. "This is a war scenario, and Fury is the most experienced tactical fighter among them. But that's assuming that there's some unity between the heroes, and an opportunity for some strategy. Fury's been assembling his forces and operating like a guerilla unit, whereas Thor is coming right out in the open, casting lightning to the heavens and daring the Skrulls to come to him.
"Once the battle is joined, there may not be an opportunity for organizing or tactics. Alternately, Thor may provide the distraction Fury needs to be able to mobilize his ad hoc army more effectively than he could with Skrulls on every street."
Even though Manhattan could have used Thor and Cap's help earlier, Brevoort says the decision to keep the two heroes out of the conflict until now made the most sense creatively.
"Neither of them is aligned with any other heroes for the most part at the moment, and they're also spread out away from Manhattan a lot of the time, so it made
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Preview art by
Leinil Francis Yu |
sense that we might not see them get involved in a major way until now," the editor reasons. "And neither of them was aware of the Skrull machinations until those ships started appearing in the skies over the world's cities."
Though readers have seen Thor, Iron Man and Captain America go into action together countless times, don't expect the same type of team-up this time around.
"This is a different Captain America and a different, reborn Thor, so all previous benchmarks are out the window," Brevoort notes. "While these are still the three heroes who form the core of the Avengers, they're each very different from when they stood together last, and that's going to come out in the way they relate to one another."
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Preview art by
Leinil Francis Yu |
And while the Big Three will certainly cause quite a splash, Brevoort says fans should keep their eyes on a handful of other characters as well, such as
Marvel Boy, the
Thunderbolts,
Hank Pym and Jarvis.
Finally, the Big Three ain't the only latecomers, and
Mr. Fantastic's entrance in the last issue with a device that can ferret out Skrull impersonators seems to have evened the odds a little, but Brevoort warns that fans shouldn't take anything at face value.
"Reed's test is only accurate if Reed is who he says he is," he points out. "That's the real problem with the Skrull situation—any test or method of discovery that you use may be compromised if the person who's employing it is actually a Skrull. It's extremely difficult to be absolutely sure of anything."
SECRET INVASION #6 brings the thunder on September 10. Meanwhile, check out classic Avengers stories on Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
