Comics / Comic Reviews / Marvel Comics

The New Avengers #44

By Hervé St-Louis
November 2, 2008 - 19:45

In this issue, how the Skrulls found out how to permanently disguise themselves from Earthlings’ technological device in explored fully. Readers learn that the Skrulls created multiple clones of the Illuminati, the group of secluded Earth heroes that attacked and destroyed the Skrull throne world years ago. By activating clones of the heroes, the Skrulls hope to learn their deepest secrets. But will this be enough to trick the heroes or will it give the aliens incomparable advantage against them?

While it’s interesting to see Bendis provide all that inside information on how the Skrulls attempted their secret invasion of Earth, because of the weakness of the actual story in the main miniseries, all these efforts at building a complex story are in vain. Specifically, learning about all the tricks of the Skrulls after the invasion, while entertaining, does not help the overall narrative of the crossover. Bendis has always liked using flashbacks and playing back and forth with plot elements. However, there comes a point where all this material is but an epilogue and although quite interesting, more interesting to continuity buffs than the average reader.

Technically, if the Skrulls could figure out how Reed Richard could decipher them, why have they not created something to shield themselves from this weakness? Although Bendis seems to suggest that the Skrulls are not imaginative enough to figure out something so deep as how others can detect them on a nano scale, it is not a believable premise for a race of aliens used to exchanging information with others through commerce and exploration.

Like I’ve said before, Bendis characterizes the Skrulls the same way early comic books and American War material from the Second World War used to characterize Japanese and Chinese people as Fu Manchu threats. There are certain stereotypes in the Skrulls that one could easily attribute to the Chinese and Japanese people. They are plentiful, willing to sacrifice their individual lives for the sake of a collective goal, they are deemed of little imagination and great copycats and worse, they are short ugly men that are not the equal of people from the West. I’m not sure how much subliminally are racists overtones here, although I’m sure Marvel Comics would deny my charges. However, Bendis is not a writer of a level of sophistication that he can separate himself from the plots he writes. This all seems very personal and involved on his part. Of course, I have no tangible proofs, but the continuing characterisation of the Skrulls in the Secret Invasion crossover is all the proofs I need. I’ll let the reader make up his own mind.

The artist has a classical illustrative style that is well adapted to this science fiction story. However, the inking could use a little more weight. The sketchy lines left on the characters’ face feels sloppier than stylistic. Tan also has a few problems with proportions. His characters’ head are too small compared with their bodies.

Rating: 8 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12