Description

Invasion!                                        Trade Paperback
Writers: Keith Giffen & Bill Mantlo
Artists: Todd McFarlane, Keith Giffen & Bart Sears
Inkers: P. Craig Russell, Al Gordon, Joe Rubinstein, Todd McFarlane, Tom Christopher, Dick Giordano & Pablo Marcos
Letterers: Gaspar, Agustin Mas & Jon Constanza
Colorists: Carl Gafford & Gene D’Angelo
Editors: Andrew Helfer, Kevin Dooley & Sean Mackiewicz
Cover by: Bart Sears, Todd McFarlane & Joe Rubinstein

The Dominators, an alien race were notorious for their ability to plan and scheme. Recently, they have decided that the greatest threat to their security is the planet Earth. For although the galaxy knows many races, none seem to have Earth’s capacity for spawning all manner of super-powered individuals. The Dominators could face any hero whose powers they knew, but there seems to be no predicting the super-powers which manifest themselves in Earth’s population. For this reason, the Dominators consider Earth dangerous – and have decided that it must be destroyed. Accordingly, they have formed an alliance of the galaxy’s most warlike races, and have proceeded to invade the Earth. Meanwhile, heroes from the Omega Men to Adam Strange have risen in Earth’s defense. This series (which contained the first appearance of L.E.G.I.O.N.) tells of Earth’s battle for survival against the alien menace.

Stories/Spoilers
In part #1, The Dominators and the Khunds are performing an experiment on a control group of fifty average humans, to see if they will develop super-powers under duress. To test this theory, they are all put through the Blaster-Field… a gauntlet of instantaneous death and destruction. Much to the surprise of the scientists, a total of six people survive. The diverse group is comprised of Amos Monroe, Carlotta Rivera, Dexter Fairfax, Fritz Klein, Moshe Levy, and even the Justice League’s old mascot Snapper Carr. This is the group that will later become the Blasters.

The number of survivors shocks the scientists, who come to realize that the unpredictable evolutionary development of humanity is even more of a threat than they previously thought. They consider Earth a breeding ground for a potential future super-race of metahumans that must be destroyed before they can develop.

It is time to take action against the humans. Plans are put into motion by the caste-leaders. An Alien Alliance will be formed from any race willing to throw in with them in a massive invasion force against Earth. All opposition is stifled early, and any agitators are dealt with harshly. A number of former Green Lanterns are assassinated for verbally defending humanity. Warlike races from across the galaxy join the alliance, including Citadel, the Durlans, Gil’Dishpan, Psions, Thanagarians and the Warlords of Okaara. Daxam agrees to assist in a strictly research capacity, and the Spider Guild agree to work as mercenaries.

A Starlag is established, a gigantic containment unit used for prisoners-of-war in the upcoming conflict. The Citadel volunteers for this position. Adam Strange surrenders voluntarily to avoid conflict with Rann, knowing that he can disappear at any time with the Zeta-Beam. He becomes cell-mates with Garryn Bek, a jaded but honest police officer from Cairn who has also been detained. While spying on the Alliance, Strange looks for ways to fight back against their captors. Although the beam eventually zaps him back to Earth, he is immediately recaptured by an advance Khund outpost. For his disobedience, the Citadelians randomly target prisoners and murder them as a deterrent to future troublemakers. Bek is forced to room with Vril Dox, a ruthlessly intellectual Coluan who is also hell-bent on making his escape.

The Omega Men receive immediate trouble from the Alliance, and they’re decimated by a Durlan assault. Ambushed in space with a fake distress call from Primus, Tigorr leads his forces in a desperate last stand facing certain doom. Felicity, Green Man and Ynda are killed in the conflict. After their sentient ship is blown up, the survivors are rounded up and imprisoned.

After lengthy arming and preparation, an advance force is sent to Earth comprised of dozens and dozens of gigantic galactic battle cruisers from all different civilizations. After briefly marveling at it with disgust, they launch their invasion. A beachhead is established by the Khunds in Melbourne, Australia, where they will meet the least metahuman resistance.

Thousands of innocent civilians are brutally slaughtered, and the city is nearly leveled. It is a devastating first strike intended to demonstrate the Khunds’ sheer capacity for violence. After systematically annihilating all of Australia’s armed forces, they kill the rest of the surrounding populace just for fun. The remaining parts of the continent are transformed into a single great concentration camp. Tasmanian Devil is captured during a raid on a Justice League Embassy.

The Daxamites discover that in the presence of Earth’s yellow sun, they develop great powers similar to those of Superman. Although they consider joining the fighting forces of the rest of the alliance, their leader Kel Gand would have them remain neutral.

The Spectre wishes to intervene with his mighty powers, but is forbidden by the Lords of Order. They decree that were he to interfere, the Lords of Chaos would be inclined to have their agents do the same… and the conflict would escalate vastly out of their control. In fact, the actions of any heroes mystical in origin could be perceived as just such an affront. Earth will receive no supernatural help in this crisis.

Across the world, there is political turmoil. Earth has never faced such a massive unified external threat, and the Dominators lead them to believe they can attempt diplomatic reconciliation. An order goes out from the President not to take any offensive action against the alien forces. This executive order especially includes the Justice League. Broadcasting around the Earth, the Dominators make an announcement… they will spare Earth the needless slaughter and destruction if they will simply Surrender their Superheroes. The United Nations goes into a heated debate, and makes their decision. The next morning at the Daily Planet, Perry White and Jimmy Olsen toast the new headline… showing the aliens exactly where Earth thinks they can shove their ultimatum.

Next in part #2, The Invasion! is fully under way. War rages across the planet, as any and all available superhumans fight for their lives against the aliens. But Earth stands united. Social barriers have dropped, and heroes are teaming up with villains against the threat. Reports of heroism in the face of death come in from around the world.

While a minor cease-fire has been negotiated, the humans regroup and get organized. President Reagan appoints four individuals to the security council commanding our defenses. General Wade Eiling is in charge of the armed forces, Captain Atom is conducting the super forces, Amanda Waller has been placed in charge of intelligence, and Maxwell Lord is acting as the Justice League liaison and advisor. A massive summit is held for all of the super-powered forces, during which they receive information and briefing on tactical strategy so that they can coordinate with the military. It’s time to go on the offensive. Superman has also been chosen as a community leader. Although they are unable to discern why the aliens do not simply destroy their planet, they acknowledge that nuclear retaliation is out of the question… rather than allow things to escalate, they must fight through conventional warfare. Captain Atom insists they take the fight to their invaders, and Waller offers the resources of the Suicide Squad to help round up supervillains for the assault.

In space, the Alien Alliance also eagerly awaits the end of the cease-fire. The Dominators clearly intend to betray their allies after they have gained the secrets of the metahumans. Tensions rise, and the Khunds in the Melbourne Earth-Base are concerned about possible incompetence in the Dominion leadership. They have yet to retain any captives with the exception of Australia’s Tasmanian Devil. The war-like Khunds are finally impressed to see the earthlings breaking the cease-fire an hour early with a surprise attack.

Unknown to either parties, a lone Dominator researcher believes that he has finally discovered the secrets of the metahumans… in the metagene. Without the knowledge of his caste superiors, he is defying the conventions of his race, and has privately constructed a Gene Bomb which he plans to use to negate their powers.

Most of Justice League International, including a few others tagging along fly straight to the alien headquarters in Australia and attempt to do as much damage as they can. Nemesis leads the Suicide Squad in the fight as well. The Daxamites take great interest as observers in this unfamiliar display of superheroics… but perceiving Superman as a personal threat to them, they use their newfound powers under the yellow sun (on par with those of a Kryptonian) to take him out personally. Superman fights valiantly against them blow for blow, although he is outmatched by numbers… until they start reacting to an element in the air poisonous to their species, which takes them out of the fight.

Rather than simply accept his victory, Superman brings the Daxamites into outer space away from Earth’s atmosphere where they can safely breathe. Moved by his display of honor during battle, they switch alliances… and call in the Daxam fleet to fight by Earth’s side. Unfortunately, their leader, Kel Gand dies sacrificing himself to send the communique and put a stop to the senseless violence.

The fight rages all across the world. At the Arctic Circle, the Atlantean army continues to fight against the Gil’Dishpan contingent stationed there, led by Aquaman along with the Sea Devils and the Doom Patrol. In a vicious ambush, the underwater forces attack and the sea runs red with alien blood. They are able to claim total victory.

Lex Luthor makes a contribution to the war efforts… tricking the Dominators into picking up false decoy heroes with bombs implanted inside… leading to massive amounts of destruction when false metahumans are brought to the vivisection table and examined too closely.

The Flash fights both Durlans and insurgents in Cuba. He chases them out into the open and Manhunter guns them down, directing them into a trap. Rudy West is forced to sacrifice himself by detonating an explosion to destroy their base of operations… he goes to his death calmly and with dignity.

Although the Warlords of Okaara sweep through Moscow like storm troopers, they are opposed by the New Guardians and the Rocket Red Brigade. This is one area where the Alliance seems to be prevailing and the heroes are struggling to fend them off and preserve the city.

Khund Command is strangely called to withdraw from Earth-Base and return to the fleet in outer space. The Justice League sends a team up to the Moon to pursue, although they are outgunned and pinned down by enemy fire. They regroup with Superman and the Daxamites, under cover of Green Lantern’s force field. The Alliance high command is clearly begins to feel paranoia directed towards the Dominion leadership after questionable orders seem to betray external interests.

Rioting at Starlag against the Citadelians ensues after Vril Dox slips aggression drugs into the food supply for a distraction. Along with Garryn Bek and a mysterious Durlan, he breaks into the maximum security block… and frees the Omega Men along with a number of metahumans and other more powerful prisoners. The combined forces turn the tides against their captors… although many are killed in the conflict, including Primus.

Finally, the Daxamite fleet arrives… with a message of unmitigated support for Earth’s fighters. Proposing a new alliance, they announce that any attacks toward humanity will be interpreted as direct attacks on Daxam, and responded to in kind. With an army of super-soldiers each with the strength of a man of steel now on their side, the war turns irrevocably in our favor. Now pushing the offensive with their own personal cavalry, the League rides through the enemy fleet and decimates them. It’s an absolute massacre. All across the world, the tides turn and the fighting forces are able to drive back their enemies. It’s a triumphant victory.

The alien command deteriorates and falls to pieces as troops are forced to evacuate world-wide. A fraudulent transmission from the Martian Manhunter posing as a caste leader destroys any remaining shred of credibility for the Dominators. A call for surrender goes out across transmission signals, and the Alien Alliance is destroyed lest they risk further damage and humiliation. Determined to prevail regardless of their circumstances, the Dominators are prepared to unleash a doomsday weapon and simply obliterate the Earth… until they strangely turn on each other, and kill themselves. Deadman had infiltrated their leadership and been manipulating events all along.

The cry goes out around the world, and although the great losses during the war are mourned… Earth celebrates the day its citizens worked together and put aside their differences for the greater good of their world. Faced with extinction, mankind stood united. There is a sense of comraderie, and humility even in the greatest of heroes… from the most powerful supers to the smallest infantry soldiers. As people struggle to rebuild cities from the rubble, Captain Atom gives a public address on national television. The Alliance agreed to an unconditional surrender, and were granted only enough supplies to get back home, having pledged that they would never again dare to attack Earth. With the help of the Daxamites, the Dominators and Khunds are personally escorted from our system. The news media is unanimous in their support for the super-heroes… who stood firm when they were needed most, and worked side by side to defend us all. The day will forever be remembered as one of the greatest in the history of the world.

Finally in part #3, As Earth celebrates its victory over the defeated Alien Alliance, the Dominators fire off a parting shot. One of their scientists gone rogue detonates a device called the Gene Bomb. This causes all of the metahumans to go crazy, attacking their nervous systems and making their powers completely uncontrollable. This very quickly leads to a world-wide panic, as the havoc wreaked by the superheroes threatens to destroy the planet they fought so hard to save.

Captain Atom and Major Force begin unleashing nuclear energy in Manhattan, bordering on a complete meltdown. The Power Elite begin writhing in pain. Firestorm loses control of the primal energies he contains, and the Rocket Red Brigade can barely handle him and Soyuz. The Doom Patrol’s funeral for Celsius is interrupted by their own exploding powers. All across the world, heroes like the Flash, Elongated Man, Fire, Ice and Black Lightning go berserk. Maxwell Lord is forced to accept the help of Lex Luthor in putting together a massive impromptu mediplex for all of the self-destructing metahumans.

Doctor Megala and General Eiling discuss how best to deal with this new crisis. Although the President has ordered that the military be brought in to put the heroes down, the General feels that this is wrong. Ignoring a direct order, he contacts Justice League International and allows them six hours to coordinate and bring their own problems under control before he’ll be forced to intervene. Non-affected capes across the world gather at the embassies to more effectively deal with the threat.

It’s hero against hero as the Leaguers fight to contain their comrades. Green Lanterns neutralize Captain Atom. Blue Beetle and Booster Gold neutralize Animal Man. Kilowog leads a task force against the New Guardians. Belle Reve, the supervillain prison, is completely overrun by its own inmates, and the Suicide Squad has to put down a riot from within. Manhunter has to take down the Flash singlehandedly. The Spectre fights Doctor Fate. Batman is called in to deal with Major Force. Martian Manhunter handles the Doom Patrol. Across the country, as stress levels run higher and the action heats up the media has difficulty providing coverage of the event. Criminals and supervillains take advantage of the power vacuum to rob and loot as much as they are able to, creating a nation-wide riot. Interestingly, Metamorpho, deceased at the time, was resurrected by the gene bomb.

Having recently escaped from Starlag, the Omega Men and the Blasters are rocketing back towards Earth. Tigorr wants a piece of the action. He bickers with Snapper Carr, who seems to have become the leader of his group.

At the Mediplex, all patients are gathered and treated with medical care, heroes and villains alike. Amanda Waller, Heinrich Megala, Maxwell Lord and Wade Eiling are completely running the operation. The number of victims is absurdly large, and increasing by the minute. If they can’t find a cure for the metahuman virus, it could mean death for all of the infected. Scott Fischer succumbs to complications from his cancer. Top scientists are working around the clock to find a solution, but there is no end in sight. Their only hope is to find the creator of the virus and take the antidote from him.

Earth Command launches a mission to the Dominion World composed of Green Lantern, Guy Gardner, Martian Manhunter, Robotman, Rocket Red, Starman and Superman. They are to perform a covert operation, ascertain the whereabouts of the alien scientists responsible for the bombings, and come home with an answer. Along the way, they pick up help from the Blasters and the Omega Men.

It’s a daring counter-invasion into enemy territory. The ship remains cloaked, but they are in danger of being caught by the Dominators at any time. Martian Manhunter and Robotman are teleported down in disguise by Snapper Carr. On the planet, they discover that the scientist responsible for the Gene Bomb is considered a renegade, and is being imprisoned for disobeying the higher caste. They believe he has destroyed the metas forever, making them useless to further exploitation and experimentation. Sneaking into the holding cell where the scientist is being tortured, Martian Manhunter simply steals the secrets of the antidote from his mind. He is able to bypass security by shapeshifting into a higher caste member and anticipating responses using telepathy. They are not so lucky in escaping. As soon as the ship begins to leave, they are spotted, and retaliatory spacecrafts are sent out to destroy them. These are thwarted by the heroes onboard.

There’s only one way to put the ingredients together, unfortunately. A Dominator laboratory is needed, and the only available one is on Starlag, right where everybody recently broke out of. It is still heavily guarded by the Citadel warriors, and the team must fight their way through swarms of them to get through. J’onn and Doc operate the machinery. Now that the heavy hitters are in charge, crowds of Citadellians go down in the battle. They finish, racing against the clock, and leave as they see Khunds approaching in warships. As the heroes blast away, the Khunds obliterate the Starlag with their weaponry.

Back on Earth, General Eiling and Doctor Megala lament their current situation. After all the heroes did to save humanity, humanity couldn’t save them. There are mere hours left, and this is surely the death of hundreds of the world’s greatest champions, shot down from glory in their finest hour. Knowing that he will have to give the press release telling everyone the government failed, Eiling is getting himself drunk. In space, the returning heroes arrive just in time. In the same manner the virus was distributed, they spread the antidote through the atmosphere. Superman ignites it like a bomb and lets it rain down over the planet. As Eiling is grimly delivering the news to the media, word of the cure reaches him, and he smiles before dismissing everyone hurriedly.

The next day, Perry White is proud to publish a new edition of the Daily Planet, with a headline that everyone can rejoice to. It is a new morning, and humanity’s protectors are there to safeguard them into tomorrow. The papers read Rebirth! Earth’s Heroes Cured!

Trade Paperback reprints/collects: Invasion! (1988) Issues #1-3.  DC Comics

Trade Paperback is bagged & boarded and will be carefully / securely packaged then shipped via USPS Priority Mail to ensure that it arrives to you perfectly and quickly.

First Printing
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: 2008
Format: FC, 256 pages, TPB, 10.20″ x 6.75″
ISBN-10: 1401220665
ISBN-13: 9781401220662

Collectible Entertainment note: Trade Paperback is New & Unread.  Very Fine + condition.  Beautiful!  Please See Scans!!  A must have for any serious DC Universe and/or Invasion! collector / enthusiast.  A fun & entertaining read.  Highly Recommended.

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