The Incredible Hercules #120 (Secret Invasion) – Review

By Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (Writers), Rafa Sandoval (Penciler), Roger Bonet & Greg Adams (Inkers) and Gracia with Calero & Trevino (Colors)

In the comics world, there are two kinds of writers: the Innovators, who come up with wild new ideas that don’t always make sense, and the Consolidators, equally talented people who spend most of their time filling in the gaps and coming up with ways to explain the inconsistencies in the work of the Innovators. Of course, sometimes a Consolidator will devote years to making sense of an Innovator’s work (as Mark Gruenwald did with Kirby’s Asgardians and Eternals), only to have another Innovator (Walt Simonson) come along to make things nice and messy again.

Well, wherever Mark Gruenwald is right now, he must be smiling, because Hercules #120 is his kind of book, and builds on one of his ideas. Gruenwald was the guy who decided that the Skrulls were a race where the Deviants had taken over the planet by killing all the Eternals and Normals. Well, now Pak and Van Lente are doing a little consolidating of their own by asking the question, “What was that epic battle like, and what if a single Eternal had survived?”

You may notice I haven’t said a lot about the plot of the book yet. That’s because I don’t want to spoil all the comic-y goodness that awaits you when you read it. But the premise is so good I have to share it: the “He” that the Skrulls keep invoking when they say “He loves you,” is the Skrull’s last Eternal, elevated to Godhood. The events of this issue tie into the core of the Secret Invasion, and will have long-lasting repercussions in that storyline and others.

What else can I give away without spoiling the fun? There’s a big, big battle. The unbeatable are beaten. The unkillable are killed. Goodness triumphs, and so does evil. Hercules continues to be written with the same perfect blend of arrogance and self-doubt that makes him so likable in this series. The art is still beautiful, if a bit confusing at times (What can you expect with no less than three shape-changers in the cast?). And vertebrae and mosquitos are very, very important.

One other thing: the Skrull Book of Worlds, their Bible, is as inconstant as they are. Forget Reed Richards escaping the Skrulls—if you really want to experience the true turning point of the Secret Invasion, imagine if Billy Graham or Rick Warren opened the Good Book one morning and the only words inside were, “YOU’RE WRONG.” (Grade: A+)

– Andrew C. Murphy