Secret Invasion Reading Guide

December 14, 2022 Vin Captain Marvel, Comics, Disney+, Fantastic Four, Illuminati, Marvel, MCU, New Avengers, Nick Fury, Reading Guides, Savage Land, Secret Invasion 6 min read

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Greetings Earthlings, and welcome to the Secret Invasion comics reading guide!

With the Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion Disney+ series coming in just a few months, now is the perfect time to catch up with the original comic series! Here are the quick essentials you need to start your Secret Invasion comics experience:

Secret Invasion Comics Recommendations:

Secret Invasion: The Infiltration (2007)
- New Avengers (2005) #27-39
- Mighty Avengers (2007) #7-11
- New Avengers: Illuminati (2007) #1-5
Secret Invasion (2008) #1-8
- Mighty Avengers (2007) #12-20
- New Avengers (2005) #40-47
Secret Invasion (2022) #1-5

In the comics, the Skrulls are an alien race from the planet Skrullos in the Andromeda Galaxy. Originally introduced in Fantastic Four #2, these strange green beings quickly became a staple of Marvel’s cosmic universe. The Skrulls were once a peaceful species, until members of another alien race (the Kree) wrongly killed a group of Skrulls and triggered the infamous Kree/Skrull War.

One of the most prominent Skrull storylines, of course, is Secret Invasion. This is the grand comics event when the Skrulls used their shapeshifting abilities to infiltrate human society and take over the planet Earth.

Marvel’s heroes were still in disarray after Civil War, and were unprepared for new genetically-enhanced “Super Skrulls” who could replicate superpowers. The combination of these two key elements made Earth an easy target for the Skrull attack… So how did the heroes win in the end? Read on to find out!

“Who do you trust?”

Meet the Skrulls! Character Spotlights

Before diving into the Secret Invasion comics, it’s important to dive into the general history of the Skrulls and some of their most notable characters.

If you want to read only one thing from this list, check out Avengers: The Kree/Skrull War!

First appearance of Skrulls!
- Fantastic Four (1961) #2

Avengers: The Kree/Skrull War
- Avengers (1963) #89-97

Kl’rt, the First Super Skrull
- Fantastic Four (1961) #18, 32, 400, Annual #3, 24
- Avengers (1963) #89-97 (“The Kree-Skrull War”)
- Marvel Chillers (1975) #3-7
- Power Man and Iron Fist (1980) #111-113, 121, 125
- Silver Surfer (1987) #20, 25-28, 105, Annual #1
- Namor the Sub-Mariner (1990) #8, 10, 14-18, 25
- Fantastic Four: Foes (2005) #1-6
- Young Avengers (2005) #9-12
- Annihilation (2006-2008)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2020) #7-18

Warskrulls
- Uncanny X-Men (1981) #275-277

Granok, the Genetic Engineer
- X-Men (1991) #96

Talos
- Incredible Hulk (1962) #418-419
- Annihilation: Ronan (2006) #1-4
- Howard the Duck (2015) #1-5
- Web of Venom: Empyre’s End (2020) #1

Gi’ah
- Meet the Skrulls (2019) #1-5
- Road To Empyre: The Kree/Skrull War (2020) #1

Secret Invasion (2007-2008)

One of Brian Michael Bendis’ signature events, Secret Invasion was a massive endeavor that spanned the full scope of the Marvel Universe. The greatest strength of the crossover was its tense, paranoid atmosphere, especially in the prologue issues.

While the main story is only eight issues, there are over 100 extra tie-ins! I recommend trying out a few tie-ins that seem interesting, then following your favorite series for the whole event. I’ve also bolded some of the most important Secret Invasion comics that might be helpful. Enjoy reading!

Secret Invasion: The Infiltration
- New Avengers (2005) #27-33
- Mighty Avengers (2007) #7
- New Avengers (2005) #34
- Mighty Avengers (2007) #8-11
- New Avengers (2005) #35-38, Annual #2
- Avengers: The Initiative Annual (2008) #1 [E Story]
- Captain Marvel (2008) #1-5
- New Avengers (2005) #39
- Ms. Marvel (2006) #18-24

Secret Invasion: Prologue
- New Avengers: Illuminati (2007) #1-4
- Secret Invasion: Prologue (2008) #1
- New Avengers: Illuminati (2007) #5
- Ms. Marvel (2006) #25-27
- Secret Invasion Saga (2008) #1
  - Promo magazine with helpful recaps. Features Maria Hill!
- Marvel Spotlight: Secret Invasion (2008) #1
  - Promo magazine with creator interviews
- X-Factor (2005) #33
- She-Hulk (2005) #31
- X-Factor (2005) #34
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #4-6
- Incredible Hercules (2008) #117
- Secret Invasion: Inhumans (2008) #1

Secret Invasion (2008) #1
- Features Maria Hill!

Secret Invasion (2008) #2
- Thunderbolts (2006) #122
- Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four (2008) #1-2

Secret Invasion (2008) #3
- Mighty Avengers (2007) #12-13
  - Features Maria Hill and Nick Fury!
- New Avengers (2005) #40-45
  - #42 features Maria Hill!
- Avengers: The Initiative (2007) #14-15
- Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers (2008) #1-3
- Secret Invasion: Thor (2008) #1-3
- Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust? (2008) #1
  - Features Maria Hill!

Secret Invasion (2008) #4
- Mighty Avengers (2007) #14
- Avengers: The Initiative (2007) #16
  - Features Maria Hill!
- Iron Man (2005) #33-35

Secret Invasion (2008) #5
- Mighty Avengers (2007) #15-19
  - #18 features Nick Fury!
- Deadpool (2008) #1-3
  - Features Nick Fury!
- Nova (2007) #16-18
  - Features Kl’rt the Super Skrull!
- She-Hulk (2005) #32-33
  - Features Kl’rt the Super Skrull!
- Ms. Marvel (2006) #28-30
- Captain Britain and MI-13 (2008) #1-4
- Black Panther (2005) #39
- Secret Invasion: X-Men (2008) #1
- Thunderbolts (2006) #123-124

Secret Invasion (2008) #6
- Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four (2008) #3
- Secret Invasion: X-Men (2008) #2-4
- Black Panther (2005) #40-41
- Secret Invasion: Inhumans (2008) #2-4
- Incredible Hercules (2008) #118-120
- New Avengers (2005) #46
- Avengers: The Initiative (2007) #17-18
  - Features Nick Fury!

Secret Invasion (2008) #7
- Thunderbolts (2006) #125

Secret Invasion (2008) #8
- New Avengers (2005) #47
  - Features Nick Fury!
- Avengers: The Initiative (2007) #19
- Secret Invasion: War of Kings (2009) #1
- Punisher War Journal (2006) #24-25
- New Warriors (2007) #14-15
- Secret Invasion: Home Invasion (2008) #1-8
  - Webcomic parallel to the whole Secret Invasion comics event
  - #3-4 feature Nick Fury!
- Secret Invasion: Amazing Spider-Man (2008) #1-3

Secret Invasion Epilogue
- Mighty Avengers (2007) #20
  - Features Maria Hill!
- Secret Invasion: Front Line (2008) #1-5
  - #3, 5 feature Nick Fury!
- Secret Invasion Aftermath Beta Ray Bill: The Green of Eden (2009) #1
- Secret Invasion: Dark Reign (2009) #1
  - Leads into the Dark Reign era
- Secret Invasion: Requiem (2009) #1

Secret Invasion (2022) #1-5
- New Secret Invasion comics miniseries from 2022! On sale now.

Extra watching:

The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (2010) S2 E7, E10-12
Secret Invasion (2023)
- Prologue: Captain Marvel (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
- Continues in: The Marvels (2023)

And that’s the Secret Invasion comics event! Which tie-ins are you planning to read? Who do you think are the secret Skrulls in the MCU? Let me know on Twitter @vinwriteswords and remember to follow the site @MyCosmicCircus and join the Discord for more 2023 prep coming soon!