Secret Invasion #6-8 (2008-2009): Wasp dies

The big finale.  The various pockets of superhero resistance regroup and recriminate how they have historically been ignorant of the threat within their own ranks. 

Iron Man is especially rueful given that he brought the Spider-Woman skrull inside the Avengers and allowed his own armor to be critically damaged. 

Most of the tie-in SI series take place during these issues, which feature the big battle for Manhattan.

I can’t imagine how hard it was to draw these issues.

Page after page of huge spreads with nearly 100 unique characters. Just tagging them was bad enough.

The battle delivers some fun and creative fight scenes–it doesn’t disappoint–but there’s no real tension.  There was never any real doubt how this would end. 

Of course the heroes would win and expel the threat in a big final fight.  

In an attempt to ratchet up the drama, Bendis brings Uatu into it.

So no, real question how this would end.  The question is, does anything matter?

The answer is, “kinda.”

Wasp is turned into a biological weapon that threatens to kill everyone (human and skrull alike), so Thor is forced to kill her.  SHIELD is disbanded (again) and Iron Man is disgraced.  Norman Osborn gets his big hero moment, killing the skrull queen, which enables him to jump into the void and become the new leader of the new HAMMER organization–complete with a rejuvenated Thunderbolts enforcement arm.  He then forms a secret Illuminati with Emma Frost, Namor, The Hood, Loki and Doctor Doom.  This of course launches the “Dark Reign” era.  

Iron Man somewhat redeems himself by finding and returning the kidnapped heroes to Earth and reuniting Reed and the real Sue, and Hawkeye and Mockingbird.

Bullseye also gets a little redemption, killing Jarvis Skrull as he attempts to kidnap Luke Cage and Jessica Jones’ daughter.