Invasion #2
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeInvasion! #2 is the action-centerpiece of DC's 1988 line-wide crossover — the issue where the full global war erupts and every corner of the post-Crisis DC Universe is simultaneously engaged against the Alien Alliance. Most significantly, it contains the first in-story usage of the word 'metagene,' the genetic concept that would become the permanent, universe-wide explanation for how humans develop superpowers, a framework still embedded in DC continuity and its cross-media adaptations decades later. The issue also stages the landmark superhero summit at which Captain Atom is formally appointed commander of Earth's super forces, placing a then-relatively-new character at the operational center of the DC Universe. Its Bart Sears cover — a direct visual homage to Joe Rosenthal's Pulitzer-winning 'Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima' photograph, restaged with Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Captain Atom, and Firestorm hoisting the United Nations flag — is one of the most deliberate and resonant pieces of wartime iconography in Bronze-to-Modern Age DC publishing.
In "Battleground Earth, Chapter 1," the fragile peace shatters as Earth becomes a warzone in Invasion #2 (1988). Superman’s team clashes with the Khunds across Australia, while Aquaman leads a desperate defense of Atlantis against the Gil'Dishpan. With the Daxamites abandoning neutrality to turn on Superman, and the Thanagarians capturing Flash for the Dominators, chaos erupts—spurred by the Suicide Squad’s sudden arrival in the fray. Written by Keith Giffen and Bill Mantlo, with dynamic art by Giffen and Todd McFarlane, and a cover by Bart Sears and Joe Rubinstein, this issue delivers a high-stakes, globe-spanning conflict that redefines the battlefield.
In "Battleground Earth, Chapter 1," Superman’s fragile ceasefire with the alien invaders gives way to tense strategy sessions as Earth’s heroes face an uncertain future. With Captain Atom poised to lead the defense and Amanda Waller pushing for an alliance with supervillains, the lines between ally and enemy grow dangerously blurred—while the alien coalition itself teeters on the brink of collapse from within.
In "Battleground Earth, Chapter 2," the fragile peace shatters as Superman’s team clashes with the Khunds across war-torn Australia, while Aquaman and his allies hold the line beneath the waves defending Atlantis from the Gil'Dishpan. With the Daxamites—now empowered by Earth’s yellow sun—abandoning neutrality to turn on Superman, and the Thanagarians capturing Flash to deliver him to the Dominators, chaos reigns as the Suicide Squad arrives to join the fray in the southern hemisphere.
In "Battleground Earth, Chapter 3," the war for Earth intensifies as a Dominator scientist closes in on the secret behind Earth's heroes—the metagene. While Manhunter Rudy West makes a final stand in Havana to destroy a Durlan stronghold, a dying Daxamite sends a desperate plea across the stars, and imprisoned aliens on the Citadel rise up in defiance, their rebellion orchestrated by the cunning Vril Dox.
In "Battleground Earth, Chapter 4," the tide of the alien invasion shifts when the Daxamites abruptly turn against their former allies, joining Earth’s heroes in a desperate stand. With the help of a surprise intervention by Deadman, the tide of battle begins to turn—though the full cost of the alliance remains uncertain.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The entire Invasion! miniseries was plotted and broken down by Keith Giffen, who had been quietly seeding the story through his concurrent runs on Legion of Super-Heroes, Omega Men, and Justice League International; Bill Mantlo, in his first DC work after a long career at Marvel, scripted all three issues. For issue #2 specifically, penciling duties were split between Todd McFarlane — who handled the first half before moving on to his celebrated Amazing Spider-Man run at Marvel — and Giffen himself, who drew the latter portion; the book was edited by Andrew Helfer with Kevin Dooley as assistant editor. The three core issues were each published as perfect-bound, roughly 80-page giants, an intentional nod to DC's Silver Age 80-Page Giant format that gave the event a physical weight and scope unusual for the era.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: December 1988; on-sale date: November 10, 1988 (Grand Comics Database).
- The cover, penciled by Bart Sears and inked by Joe Rubinstein, is a deliberate homage to Joe Rosenthal's Pulitzer Prize-winning 'Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima' photograph, with Martian Manhunter (J'Onn J'Onzz), Wonder Woman (Princess Diana), Captain Atom (Nathaniel Adam), and Firestorm raising the United Nations flag in place of the Marines.
- This issue contains the first in-story use of the word 'metagene' — the genetic concept introduced across the Invasion! series to provide a unified biological explanation for how humans gain superpowers in the DC Universe.
- Interior pencils were split between Todd McFarlane (first half) and Keith Giffen (latter half), with inks by Joe Rubinstein, P. Craig Russell, Al Gordon, and Tom Christopher; colorist was Carl Gafford.
- Captain Atom (Nathaniel Adam) is appointed by President Reagan to command Earth's assembled super forces during the issue's superhero summit, giving the character an outsized role in the DCU at large.
- Rudy West — Wally West's father and a covert Manhunter agent — apparently sacrifices himself detonating a bomb to destroy a Durlan base in Havana, Cuba; this issue is the scene of that apparent death, with lasting repercussions for The Flash's family mythology.
- A rogue Dominator scientist, operating without his caste's authorization, is shown in this issue to have isolated the metagene and secretly constructed the Gene Bomb — the device whose detonation drives the final act of the series.
- The issue has been reprinted three times: in the Brazilian Invasão (Editora Abril, December 1990), in the DC 2008 trade paperback collection (released September 3, 2008), and in the 2016 DC new-edition trade paperback (released April 13, 2016).
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Reprints
Reprinted in Invasão #2 (1990), Supermann #8/1990 (1990), The Superman Gallery #1 (1993), Invasion! #[nn] (2008), Invasion! #[nn] (2016), The Doom Patrol: The Bronze Age Omnibus #[nn] (2020)
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