Secret Invasion Review – “Secret Invasion: Requiem”

Here’s this week’s new content. In the next few days, I’ll have reviews of “Avengers: The Initiative” #14-19, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” #16-19 and 20, and “Ultimatum #1-2.” That will take us up to Wednesday, and its new comics (which will arrive Friday in many areas.)

General Information

Title: Secret Invasion: Requiem

Author: Dan Slott (new content)

Illustrator(s): Khoi Pham (artist, new content), Chris Sotomayor (colours, new content), A. Crossley (recolouring of reprint content)

Cover Date: 2009 (no month is listed)

Cover Price: $3.99 US

Premise

In the wake of Secret Invasion, a hero has fallen. The recently returned human Hank Pym now has to deal with the impact of those events, and decide where his life is going from here. There are eight pages of new content used as a framing story around reprints of “Tales to Astonish #44” (the fallen hero’s first appearance) and “Avengers #215” (an important issue for Hank and the fallen hero.) It ends with the fallen hero’s Handbook entry, and a gallery of costumes. This review will focus on the new content.

High Point

“It was the worst thing I’ve ever done. And coming from me, that says a lot.”

Low Point

In all this time, Jocasta has never asked these questions before?

The Scores

The original aspect is integrating the reprints with new content as a framing story. Most issues like this have the reprints in the back. As far as the content goes, their are a few parts that feel new, primarily in Jocasta’s instincts and Hank’s latest identity. I give it 5 out of 6.

The artwork is good, but not great. I see what Pham was aiming for, but it just feels unpolished and unfinished somehow. I give it 4 out of 6.

The story is minimal, as this is an issue about mourning with only eight pages of content that need to set up two flashbacks. I give it 4 out of 6.

The characterization is nicely done in the new content. (“Avengers #215” doesn’t make any more sense now than it did then, but that’s not the fault of this creative team.) I give it 5 out of 6.

The emotional response is quite good. Slott knows the characters and how they connect to each other, and Hank’s final decision could lead him in a very interesting direction. I give it 5 out of 6.

The flow is disrupted with each flashback, particularly as the art and writing styles change dramatically as the creative teams change. I give it 3 out of 6.

Overall, this is worth reading for fans of Hank or the new Mighty Avengers lineup, but if you’ve already got the issues reprinted in some form, you may have to put serious thought into whether it’s worth the cover price. Consider reading a friend’s copy. I give it 4 out of 6.

In total, Secret Invasion: Requiem receives 30 out of 42.

Secret Invasion Review Checklists

Background reviews:

Infiltration reviews:

Main Event reviews (including date the last issue should be available):

Dark Reign reviews:

  • Agents of Atlas #1-2+
  • Avengers: The Iniative #20-22+
  • Black Panther #1-2+
  • Dark Avengers #1-3+
  • Dark Reign: Elektra #1-5
  • Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #1-
  • Dark Reign: New Nation: This is a sampler with a few pages from each of four or five other Dark Reign titles. It won’t be individually reviewed, and the samplers aren’t complete enough for our system. The finished products will be reviewed as they come out.
  • Deadpool -8+ (crosses over with Thunderbolts)
  • Incredible Hercules #127+
  • Invincible Iron Man #8-11+
  • Mighty Avengers #20-23+
  • Ms. Marvel #34-37+
  • New Avengers #48-51+
  • New Avengers: The Reunion #1-4
  • Punisher #1-3+
  • Secret Invasion: Dark Reign
  • Secret Invasion: Requiem #1: ready for review
  • Secret Warriors #1-2+
  • Thunderbolts #126-130+ (crosses over with Deadpool)
  • Uncanny X-Men Annual #2: January 21
  • War Machine #1-4+
  • Wolverine Origins -34+

2 replies on “Secret Invasion Review – “Secret Invasion: Requiem””

  1. Oh Noes!
    Jan is dead!
    What’s Marvel and more importantly, the Avengers writers going to do?
    Without the character how can they mention, bring up, revisit the time Hank hit Jan, One Time, 25 years ago?
    Ever since then it’s been the lynch pin of the Avengers.
    And probably on average been at least mentioned every 3 to 4 issues.
    It shows up far more often than Ultron or Kang
    How are the writers going to go on without Jan whup on every few issues and rub Hanks nose in it?

    • Re: volving door of death

      Jan is dead!
      What’s Marvel and more importantly, the Avengers writers going to do?

      Last I heard, she was going to appear in the forthcoming Avengers movie. Will they leave her out (she’s not so well-known outside comicdom)– or….

      Should we have a contest: when will Jan return, and how?

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