Avengers: The Initiative #19

Overall- Along with several members of the Initiative program, 3-D Man and the Skrull Kill Krew have teleported all over the country to destroy the Skrull doomsday weapons that the Skrulls erected in the event that their invasion of the Earth were to fail. The heroes manage to succeed, which is all I can really say, because this issue was just mainly an all out action issue, with dozens of Initiative members battling it out with hordes of Skrulls.

Back in New York, after the death of the Skrull Queen, Pym Skrull runs away from the battle with super-speed, but is seen by Crusader, who is actually a Skrull who decided to work with Nick Fury's band of heroes against his fellow Skrulls. Crusader uses the Freedom ring to duplicate Skrull Pym's speed, and attacks Skrull Pym back at the Initiative headquarters at Camp Hammond.

Crusader is soon joined by the forces of 3-D Man, who teleport in and attack the remaining Skrulls at the base. Crusader and Skrull Pym battle, with Crusader ultimately killing Skrull Pym. The heroes all stand around happily and complement Crusader on his victory over Skrull Pym. However, 3-D Man realizes Crusader is actually a Skrull(not realizing Crusader isn't a part of the invading evil Skrulls)and shoots him in the back of the head... Well THAT sucks! The issue ends with Crusader laying on the floor, dying, wishing that things could have ended differently. With that, he vanishes, thanks to the power of the Freedom ring.

I was really into this comic until the unfortunate shooting/death(?) of Crusader. I liked him dammit! Even though Crusader was shot, this was another example of why Dan Slott is such a marvelous writer, and is heads and shoulders better than Marvel's golden boy, Brian Bendis. Dan managed to involve so many characters in this comic, who were all but forgotten in the Marvel Universe, including one of my all-time favorite groups, the Great Lake Avengers. Yep, I've loved those losers since they first showed up in the West Coast Avengers series, and it's always great to see them show up. Their interaction with Gravity(another forgotten favorite)had me laughing out loud. For a score I'll give this comic an 8 1/2 out of 10, while keeping my fingers crossed that this great series is allowed to continue in the post Secret Invasion Marvel Universe.