Invasion! (New Edition)

by Keith Giffen and Bill Mantlo

Book Overview

DC Comics' 1988 miniseries MILLENNIUM is collected for the first time The Guardians of the Universe, the powerful creators of the Green Lantern Corps, have left our dimension behind - and in their... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401262198
• ISBN13: 9781401262198
• Release Date: April 2016
• Publisher: DC Comics
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.6" x 10.2"

Customer Reviews

The headline on the Daily Planet reads: "Earth to Invaders: Drop Dead!"

- Quoting the literally long-in-the-tooth Dominators: "For it is the purpose of this war to insure that no hero shall ever spring from mankind's seed to menace our universe again!" Lest fanboys forget, DC did stage its own Invasion crossover event two decades ago, long before Marvel's Skrullapalooza Secrety Invasion. Only instead of one alien race, DC threw a number of multi-extraterrestrial fuglies at its heroes - including, yes, a race of shapeshifters. So take that, Marvel. But unlike the Skrulls' more sneaky covert takeover plan, this one was pretty much in your face. Back in 1988, DC published the INVASION! mini-series, consisting of three 80-paged issues and now collected in this trade paperback. That this trade's release coincided with Marvel's then ongoing SECRET INVASION event is, I'm sure, purely coincidental. Here's how it went down: With its genetic potential to produce diversely-powered metahumans, Earth's humanity has become a threat which can no longer be ignored. The cerebral alien race - the Dominators - construct a sinister alliance with the most warlike alien races in the universe (the Khunds, Durlans, Thanagarians, the Warlords of Okaara, etc.) and contrive and then implement a plan of attack on Earth. And lemme tell you, there's nothing quite like the sight of a colossal alien armada ominously hovering over Mother Earth to get a jingoistic rise out of your basic comic book reader. Why not simply blow up the planet, one asks? Two reasons. First, there's Darkseid, who declined to participate in the earth stomp, but has warned the alliance not to destroy the planet (he thinks the key to the Anti-Life Equation can be found on Earth). Secondly, the Dominators have an ulterior motive. They not only intend to muzzle Earth's meta-humans, but also to harvest humanity's meta-gene for their own use. But their allies don't know this. Looking back at INVASION! now, from a vantage point twenty years removed, and trying to gauge its impact on DC's continuity, this story arc has lost much of its punch and immediacy. Although I do remember that, when it first came out, INVASION! was a terribly exciting mega-happening. I also remember that I lost much cash picking up tie-in titles to this thing. INVASION!'s short-term fallout resulted in deaths in the Doom Patrol and the Omega Men, the resurrection of Metamorpho (but, of course, he'd later get killed again, only to be re-resurrected), and the debut of L.E.G.I.O.N. and Snapper Carr's the Blasters. In the long run, INVASION! triggered Maxwell Lord's mental ability, something which Blue Beetle years later won't appreciate. It also introduced the concept of the meta-gene, the genetic trait inherent in the human species which, in times of extreme peril, can trigger super powers in a person. Of course, if that same person resided in the Marvel universe, he'd be a mutie. This is also when the Daxamites first learn that, when exposed to a yellow sun, they develop amazing abilities similar to that

Understand the Dominators

Reading this trade really demonstrates how much comics have changes in the 20 years since these books were published. That said, the story is very good even if the dialogue suffers a little from too much from late 80's wording and too much Guy Gardner quips (Guy is great in limited doses). To understand the Dominators and their role in current storylines, this is a must-read.