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IN the midst of World War II, an alliance of costumed heroes came together to battle the Axis threat across the globe. Captain America and Bucky were joined by the (original) Human Torch and his prot�g� Toro, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Union Jack and Spitfire, fighting the good fight on all fronts.

But the decades since the war’s end were not kind for the Invaders. Captain America was frozen in ice for decades, Bucky was presumed dead but actually resurrected as a Soviet assassin, the Torch was deactivated and Toro was killed, Namor spent years as an amnesiac, Union Jack died in a car crash, and Spitfire grew into old age somewhat ungracefully.

However, comics being comics, events transpired to bring about an unexpected reunion of the Invaders in the 21st century, with members either resurrected, rejuvenated or replaced, ensuring the 1940s super team was together again to answer a call from the extradimensional Aarkus, alias the (Golden Age) Vision, to deal with a menace from the darkest days of their wartime careers…

The joy of seeing the entire Invaders team back together in a contemporary setting is enough to send any comics fan into an apoplexy. After all, who ever expected Marvel to bring back the likes of Bucky and Toro? The cover art (reprinted within) by the ever-amazing Alex Ross is a joy to behold, and Caio Reis’ somewhat cartoony interior work cannot fail to suffer from comparison. That said, he does a decent enough job with a vast cast of characters, aided by a sterling script from Christos Gage.

Hopefully this one-off story isn’t the last we’ll see of the Invaders now, as the WWII superteam in the 21st century format has been proved to work so well for rival DC’s Justice Society of America, (and who wouldn’t salivate at the thought of a crossover between those two forces?) suggesting comics fans would take an ongoing title to their hearts.