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“Preludes” sometimes miss the mark, either by not having enough or the right material. They are supposed to help orient the reader for the main event by recapping critical scenes that occurred across the many Marvel titles that lead into it. Each of the individual series all have parts of the conspiracy, so while Infiltration is very good, it’s still not enough for readers who don’t read any of the individual titles. I’m still uncertain, even after reading this, the main event and the Mighty Avengers volume, as to when some heroes were replaced.

The Skrulls appeared in Marvel comics way back in the 60’s and the first appearance of them against the Fantastic Four opens this book. Though the story was certainly relevant, I personally don’t care for the golden age comics. The panels are too wordy making this opening story tedious to get through.

The prelude then jumps to the present day where readers get two pieces of the New Avengers: Illuminati arc (why they just didn't include all 5 parts is beyond me!) showing how they, through their arrogance, decided to confront the Skrulls and ended up captured. They provided the knowledge necessary for the Secret Invasion to occur. The prelude also includes interconnected pieces from the New Avengers and the Mighty Avengers of how both groups learned about the Invasion. It has drastic consequences for both teams. Already reeling from Civil War, the heroes do not know who they can trust. I especially liked this section because it is Wolverine who sums up why each team member, including himself, could possibly be an impostor. The book closes with a heart-breaking scene between Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.

The pieces included are all helpful in seeing how Secret Invasion unfolded, but I think it would have been truly valuable for the book to conclude with some “recommended reading” as to which issues reveal who and when the heroes were replaced. Overall, this prelude was helpful, but readers still need to read all the related tie-ins to get a fuller picture. Recommended. ( )

A corny old FF story introducing the Skrulls, that Illuminati backup strip where they go to the homeworld and make trouble and sow the seeds of the invasion, a couple of awesome Avengers stories, and some pointless Initiative crap - basically a scrobbled-up batch of background stories for this year's event, some more entertaining than others in their own right. ( )