Infiltrating Atlantis With Invaders #10
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Captain America thinks back on the first time Namor showed him Atlantis as Steve and Bucky enter the kingdom, now in the form of Atlanteans thanks to the Genus Compound. First, Steve insists that he and Bucky make a detour to save Morris Bench, aka the Hydro-Man, from Namor. While they do this, Roxxon infiltrates Atlantis with the intent of stealing the Genus Compound for their company. Steve and Bucky interfere, and Steve chases one of the Roxxon soldiers to the surface…as Namor himself arrives. Meanwhile, Machan, now in the body of Roman Peterson, is using the power of the Serpent Crown to defy Namor, and this leads Machan into the path of the Iron Torch and Toro.
Invaders #10 continues to chronicle the Invaders’ attempts to stop a full-scale war from erupting between Atlantis and the surface world. Steve Rogers still thinks this can be done peacefully, and, as always, Bucky Barnes is there to back him up.
Of course, Roxxon is the rogue element that the Invaders didn’t quite expect, and this complicates the operation.
Admittedly, this issue didn’t quite gel for me as well as other installments of this run of Invaders. This is partially because of how much is going on in this issue, and none of it really reaches a conclusion in this installment. It’s surprisingly low on focused action too.
Plus, and this is a more minor complaint, Bucky comes off as a bit of a douche when he discovers that Steve intended to save Hydro-Man. Given Buck’s own past and the story of Kyle Higgins and Rod Reis’ Winter Soldier miniseries, one would think Bucky Barnes would be a bit more compassionate towards Morris’ plight.
That aside, Butch Guice and Carlo Magno once again make this a damn good-looking comic book. The fight scenes aren’t quite as coherent in this issue, but that could be a fault of scripting as well. Beyond that complaint, the book looks fantastic. Alex Guimarães’ color art once again shines here too, giving this book a fantastic color balance.
Invaders #10 is a slightly weaker comic than its predecessors in this run, but it’s still a largely compelling comic. The conflict between the Invaders and Namor remains engaging, and the visuals are still top-notch. As such, I can still easily recommend this one. Pick it up.
Invaders #10 comes to us from writer Chip Zdarsky, artists Carlo Magno and Butch Guice, color artist Alex Guimarães, letterer VC’s Travis Lanham, and cover artist Butch Guice with Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Final Score: 7/10
