It seems fairly likely now that, much like Civil War before it, Secret Invasion is going to end with the “unexpected” outcome – in this case, the Skrulls winning. This is being set up explicitly in this issue as the Marvel public react positively to the Skrull’s message that they’re “here to help” – unfortunately, their claims that they’ve not actually hurt anyone except super-heroes are downright bizarre to anyone who’s read, er, any issue of the crossover to date. It’s hard to imagine the public would believe that any more than the readers do. This misstep, unfortunately placed near the start of the issue, immediately undermines all credibility the story had, because it’s just such a puzzling move that you’re ripped right out of the story.

At least the action has finally moved out of the Savage Land as the heroes make it to New York for what one assumes will be the final battle. Despite some impressively huge action spreads from Yu at the close of the issue, it’s all feeling a little anti-climatic. There’s the suggestion that yet more characters might actually be Skrulls, and even thoughReed has the ability to revert Skrull infiltrators now, we haven’t yet seen confirmation that everyone with the heroes has been tested. Elsewhere, the entry of Cap and Thor onto the battlefield, hyped in Issue #4 as a big moment, serves almost no point when the time rolls around – they both appear from nowhere, exchange a few words, and then fade into the background of the giant, multi-character spread.

It’s clear that as an event, Secret Invasion is really hanging onto its readers, but the core miniseries is, despite its popularity, little more than a slow, over-crowded mess. Yu’s art, so crisp and defined in the early issues, is even starting to suffer as he’s required to pack more and more characters into each panel. It’s a valiant effort, but he’s fighting a losing battle against the requirements of the script.

While there’s a certain satisfaction to be gained from the scenes where all the non-Skrull heroes are actually working with one another, without any mention of registration, this issue of Secret Invasion yet again fails to deliver the big reveals that its predecessor, Civil War, had in every issue. While Millar seemed to throw an unexpected curveball in every issue, Bendis simply delivers the plot beats. They’re nice moments, but unlike Civil War, there’s nothing here that’ll have people talking until the next issue. We’re all just waiting for it to be over.