Avengers: The Initiative

Avengers: The Initiative 14-19

Not nearly as bad as yesterday’s debacle.  Skipping ahead eight issues (I got this trade at a used bookstore), the Initiative is smack in the middle of the Skrull Secret Invasion.  Yellowjacket’s been revealed as a Skrull, and there’s an imposter on each of the fifty Initiative teams.  Triathlon, now 3-D Man and in possession of the magic Goggles of Skrull Seeing, teams up with the Skrull Kill Krew to eradicate all fifty of them.  

Crusader, one of the Initiative cadets, also turns out to be a Skrull, but one who’s gone native.  He fights for his adopted Earth while using his Freedom Ring (hah, I just got it) to help keep his identity hidden.  Dan Slott and Christos Gage do a decent job of getting into his head and explaining his motivations.  I did find myself wondering if he would get away with his deception, but not enough for me to be that moved when 3-D Man shot him in the head at the end of the book.  The art didn’t help, with an odd choice by Harvey Tolibao to play 3-D Man’s reaction comedically.

Talibao’s art, by the way, looks a lot like Tom Raney’s.

Tolibao

Raney

I’m torn about what to do with this trade.  It wasn’t bad, but wasn’t really good, either.  It isn’t part of a run that I want to keep intact, but...Huh, it turns out I have the Secret Invasion mini-series.  Might as well keep this, it’s not a bad sidebar to the main story.  

BTW, She-Thing?? I had completely forgotten she existed.  Slott and Gage really had to dig deep to find heroes for the Initiative.

Also, you can apparently gain the ability to see Skrulls if you eat Skrulls.  Let’s just leave it at that.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Fine