Like the X-Men tie-in for Secret Invasion, this Hercules trade just shows the invasion from an alternate POV from the superheroes: in this case, the many gods/pantheons of Earth. If the Skrulls wipe out humanity, then these gods will be replaced by Skrull gods.

Athena calls a council of Pantheons to discuss the threat and propose an assault on the Skrull gods directly - led by her brother Hercules. I have never read Marvel's Hercules so I was completely unfamiliar with the character in that context. And he is VERY different from the myth and film/tv versions. This Hercules is not a leader; he's more like Hulk and just wants to smash (at least in this story). I didn't care for this interpretation of him and the focus on him bogged the story down to the detriment of possibly more interesting characters. The team of five gods, Greek Hercules, Inuit Snowbird, Eternal Ajak, god-eater Demogorge and the Japanese trickster Mikaboshi, along with former SHIELD genius Cho, travel via Dreamlands to confront the Skrull god. I liked how so many cultures were captured in the story - recalling that humanity has many religions and that Marvel incorporates them into its universe. I wish these others had been given more weight in the story because Herc was so one dimensional.

The story has a lot of action, but also a lot of bickering among the competing gods. My total unfamiliarity with the characters, and the negligible impact on the crossover event, made this a weak tie-in for me. Fans of Hercules, or Secret Invasion completists, will want to read this but most won't be missing anything if they skip it. ( )

A very strange book. The action is a bit jumpy and compressed, reminiscent of the old school Kirby stories. I'm assuming that's a direct homage, since the story draws so much from Kirby's legacy.

I was entertained, and the story did what it was supposed to, but I feel like this wasn't edited as strongly as it should have been. Also, the Suicide/God Squad thing was strangely off-kilter. Not sure it really fits.

Overall, it was a good read, and quite mythic, but it just didn't quite hang together well enough to warrant the full 5 stars. ( )

1018