Avengers Invaders

Marvels characters have seen a lot of things in their lifetimes. Some of the characters have died and been resurrected, others have died and new people have taken on their costumes to continue a legacy. So what happens when a group of heroes fighting Nazis are whisked into the present day? They get to see what happened to the world they are fighting to protect, the people who have taken up the cause and together they must work out what has happened and why?

This graphic novel may be confusing for those who don't really know their heroes and the history. This story starts off with notes from Bucky's War Journal in 1943. Bucky is Captain America's wartime sidekick and is involved with the rest of the Superheroes who are known as The Invaders, heading into axis territory. Captain America and Bucky are accompanied by the Sub-Mariner, The Human Torch (the original Human Torch, not the one from Fantastic Four), Spitfire, Union Jack and Toro (like the Human Torch, but all human).

After being introduced to that team through Bucky's pen we then find ourselves in Manhattan where Spiderman is being chased down by government sanctioned supervillains as he is considered to be a rogue hero having not registered after the Superhero Registration Act was brought in! However into the middle of this fight appear the Invaders. They immediately start fighting the obvious enemies and help Spiderman, bringing their prejudices against people speaking with German accents with them.

If you know your recent Marvel history then you will know that someone who was all for the Superhero registration act was the new controller of SHIELD, Tony Stark AKA Iron Man. When reports start coming in he can't believe what he is seeing as during the Civil War storyline Captain America was shot and killed. This had already been a point of anguish for Stark and one that has to be faced again by him.

There are a whole range of characters in this Graphic Novel and the rifts built up in the main Civil War stories are still a long way from being healed. However we do see some of the heroes from opposing sides coming together to sort out this problem. However things are further complicated when one of the non-superhuman soldiers decides to visit his future self, goes back in time and an important energy cube falls into the hands of The Red Skull!

There is a lot of emotion expressed through these pages and a lot of mistrust. Cap from 1943 and his party can't believe what has happened to America! They're not sure if it was really what they were fighting for. Then we have Tony Starks regrets about all that happened with Captain America. On top of all the other rifsts about the Civil War. Also when Captain America comes face-to-face with the New Captain America and discovers that he has a robotic arm things get very complicated.

This must have been both a pleasure and a nightmare for the artists to draw. With such a range of goodies, baddies and costumes from different era's I am sure it is something that took a long time to get right, but who wouldn't jump at the chance? It has ended up with a convoluted story, but some fantastic artwork throughout, especially the big battle scenes and, of course, those that take us back to Nazi Germany!

If you've not read the Civil War storyline and you're not up to date with the Marvel Universe then you might want to skip this one for a while. It is an excellent storyline but does require the knowledge to really appreciate it. Myself I loved the intrigue and actually seeing some regret etc. from certain characters, exploring something deeper than the lycra of their costumes!