Comic-Caps: Invincible #5-8

23 May

Robert Kirkman – Writer, Letterer
Cory Walker – Penciler, Inker
Ryan Ottley – Penciler, Inker
Bill Crabtree – Colourist

Previously on Invincible
Mark Grayson gets his powers and becomes Invincible. Students from his school were going missing and then turning up in shopping malls with bombs implanted into their chest. It turned out to be a teacher at Mark’s school who wanted revenge for his life falling apart. Mark also received an offer to join the Teen Team, a group of young superheroes.

Vol. 2: Eight is Enough (#5-8)

Issue 5
Mark’s settling down to do his homework when he gets a call from his dad, he’s currently away on an important mission with the Guardians of the Galaxy and there’s trouble heading to Earth, so asks Mark to go into space and handle it but warns Mark that this guy is tougher than anyone he’s ever faced.

When Mark gets into orbit he get’s hit from behind by an alien that can only be described as a long lost cousin of Earthworm Jim. The alien who we soon find out is called Allen, can speak to Mark telepathically, when they crash into the Moon they start to talk and Allen explains that he’s a Champion Evaluation Officer for the Coalition of Planets and he’s here to test the strength of the current protector of the planet to make sure it meets the coalitions standards.

When Mark questions this by saying most people on the planet don’t even acknowledge aliens, why would we sign a treaty? Allen show him the mandate for planet Urath. Mark tells him this is Earth, not Urath. When home he tells his dad all about the alien who’s been coming to the wrong planet for 15 years so he won’t be back and that it’s a good job he took the time to talk to him, which leads to Debbie taking the proverbial out her her husband.

Issue 6
Issue 6 starts off with Omni-Man explaining to Invincible how the aliens who abducted him managed to suppress his powers and that he doesn’t really know how long he was gone, it could have been months or even years.

Robot announces to the Teen Team that he’s been invited for a try-out for the Guardians of the Globe. Later on Eve comes back to the lair and see’s something shocking that brings her to tears.

Mark and William are off looking at a college, while there the college is attacked by cyborg of some kind, Mark dashes off and some back as Invincible. The cyborg doesn’t seem to have any intention of fighting Invincible or doing much of anything, it simply lunges and impales itself on a large metal sculpture on the college grounds. After the attack is over Mark returns and asks William if he’s okay, William turns around as says “Dude..why didn’t you tell me you had superpowers?”

Black Samson, a former member of The Guardians of the Globe is on the phone to Art demanding he gets a super suit to allow him to get back his powers so he can get back in with the Guardians. Art tells him it will be another 2 days until it’s ready due to testing, this does not sit well with Samson and not long after the suit is stolen from Art.

Issue 7
We’re heard so much about them and now in this issue we get to meet The Guardians of the Galaxy as we get an individual story for each member, except Omni-Man whom we’ve already met.

Darkwing lives in a city called Midnight City where it is forever midnight since the Midnight Magician succeeded in a suicide mission to turn the city dark forever. Darkwing who has a similar look to Batman, it taking out 2 crooks when he get an emergency call to return to the base of The Guardians of the Globe.

Red The Rush lives in Moscow and has super speed which is shown as he foils a lady being mugged, stops a super villain and rescues a kitten from a tree (awww). Oh and he does all this whilst having a picnic with his girlfriend. And who says men can’t multi-task? He then gets an emergency call to return to the base of The Guardians of the Globe.

War Women is having breakfast with her girlfriend in Boston when, what looks like to be a beefed up centurion crashes through their apartment and demands War Women to return to their realm by order of her mother. War Women touches he necklace and transforms into Wonder Women with a cape and a shield and mace instead of a lasso. She defeats the centurion and gets an emergency call to return to the base of The Guardians of the Globe.

The king of Atlantis sits on his throne bored out of his mind when he gets an emergency call to return to the base of The Guardians of the Globe.

Martian Man and Green Ghost are in space fighting a multi armed robotic snake, after defeating it they get back to Earth where they get an emergency call to return to the base of The Guardians of the Globe.

High above Denver the Immortal is fighting a villain calling himself the Bi-Plane who is attempting to detonate a uranium powered nuclear bomb, the Immortal throws him into space and gets an emergency call to return to the base of The Guardians of the Globe.

Back at the base of The Guardians of the Globe everyone has arrived and all very confused as no one seems to know who called them there, suddenly one by one the Guardians are literally ripped apart by an unseen force. Immortal demands the coward shows them-self and he does. “You! I never liked you.” says Immortal just before his head is knocked off his shoulders.

Standing over the bodies of the Guardians, drenched in blood stands OMNI-MAN!

Issue 8
Mark gets home to find Eve in his room crying, she tells Mark that when she returned to the lair the other day she found her boyfriend Rex cheating on her with Dupli-Kate, several of them.

At school Mark is talking with William about the funeral later today when Derek returns to school after being out for 4-6 weeks. Derek, was the last student who Mt Hines turned into a living bomb and the only one that Invincible managed to save. All the bomb components were taken out but he still has a metal torso.

At the funeral for the Guardians the Mauler Twins show up to pay their respects to worthy adversaries and promise not to interfere with proceedings. Just as Omni-Man is about to continue his eulogy the monument to the Guardians which is standing in-front of explodes as Sanford, Black Samson’s butler flies in wearing the suit Art was making for Samson and starts to shoot up the funeral and shouting that they all must be destroyed for what they did to Samson. Luckily the place is filled with superheroes so he’s quickly dispatched of.

Back at the cemetery very late at night two young guys are digging up the remains of The Immortal as they read online that if you drink from his skull you will live forever. Just as they get to his casket the Mauler Twins appear and thank the two guys for saving them a considerable amount of time.

Final Thoughts
While Issues 5 and 6 seem like throw away issues they have left us with a number of questions like, will Allen the Alien return? Who are the coalition of planets? Do they have anything to do with the Viltrumite Council? What was the android that attacked the college? Why did it kill itself? Who sent it? What will William do now he knows Mark has powers other than asking him to Lois Lane his ass around the city? A lot of questions that should make the next chapter quite interesting.

Speaking of…HOLY CRAP!!!! Who saw that coming? We get to meet all the Guardians and BAM! all killed and by Omni-Man no less. What’s his agenda? Will Mark find out? What will Mark do if he does? I want to dive right into the next chapter to find out but first…..

Next week I’ll be recapping Robert Kirkmans The Walking Dead comic, Chapter Two: Miles Behind Us covering issues 7-12. I’ll be back with more Invincible the following week where I’ll be recapping the Perfect Strangers story arc covered in issues 9-12.