CHECKMATE #12
Connie Webb, a Checkmate Knight, is sent in to NASA control at Cape Canaveral after some equipment was stolen from a nearby tech company and the thieves were traced to a connection back at the space centre.
With Checkmate pulling strings, Webb is installed as part of the shuttle crew that are due to take off to deploy a satellite that will combat the Alien Alliance. After an attempt on her life is made, and the launch time of the mission is brought forward, Webb speeds up her investigation.
She is found by one of the other astronauts who bolts, planning to use the stolen tech to change the shuttle into an interplanetary craft to meet with the Alliance. After he falls to his death, Webb is forced to stowaway on the shuttle as the other astronauts get aboard. Once in orbit, the commander of the mission reveals he was in league with the Aliens as well, but is stopped by Webb. They arrive just in time to see the Alliance leaving (as shown in INVASION! #2) but as they begin their return journey home, they see a shuttle craft arrive and fire a device – the Gene Bomb – at the Earth which explodes, resulting in a negative flash.
FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #81
Weary of the fighting, Firestorm elects to separate the single people that make up the hero, with Mikhail Arkadin heading home to Russia to find his family and check that they’re alright, but finds the house abandoned and ruined due to the Invasion, and blood on the floor.
Ronnie Raymond finds his parents safe but not at home; instead, Firehawk calls and explains that due to flying so high, she fears she has fatal radiation poisoning.
Mikhail finds his wife and daughters in a field hospital; one of his daughters may have lost the sight in both eyes; understandably, his wife is angry that the hero was not home and tells him to leave. On the way out, he meets the Russian hero Vikhor who tells him Firebird, his comrade – and also Mikhail’s niece – is missing. Firestorm finds her in the clutches of Stalnoivolk, an old enemy and plans to kill him, but Firebird stops him, calming Stalnoivolk with her mental powers.
With Stalnoivolk secure in a field hospital, Firestorm reunites with Firebird and the others before the Dominator’s Gene Bomb explodes above the Earth.
FLASH #22
Following the defeat of the Durlans in Cuba, Manhunter informs that Flash that it was Flash’s father who sacrificed himself to finally take the aliens out. Flash reacts angrily, striking Manhunter before running off. When he stops, he’s found by Chunk but, dealing with the news of his father’s death, Flash dismisses him.
Meanwhile, Manhunter is approached by Cuban nationals who are anti-Castro and want to hire him to kidnap the Cuban leader in order to trigger a revolution. Flash arrives just as they leave and jokingly asks Manhunter if they were trying to hire him to get rid of Castro.
Later, Castro hosts a fancy dress birthday party for Flash and surprises him by revealing his mother Mary has been brought to the island for the party. Flash and Manhunter argue again before the latter storms off. An argument between two guests disables the mansion’s alarm system. Flash tries to find Manhunter but is knocked out by him. When Manhunter captures Castro, the Cuban nationals are revealed to be Durlan shape-shifters who want to get off the planet.
They kidnap Castro and Mary West and leave Flash and Manhunter for dead.
JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #23
The JLI are in the South Pacific on clean up duty, trying to tidy up after the Khund ships that crashed there. Being impatient, Green Lantern Guy Gardner tries to take the easy way out and causes more trouble – the ship he was attempting to lift breaks apart. He and Mr Miracle are assigned to sort through the pieces to ensure there’s nothing dangerous left in there and, while they do, they pick up a radio signal from a neighbouring island where someone mentions the Injustice League.
Major Disaster and his Injustice League are on the next island, attempting to start a captured Thanagarian ship. Though they get it airborne, their plans are scuppered as Guy Gardner, having heard the radio, simply flies through it, causing it to plummet to the Earth.
The rest of the League manage to get airborne with Martian Manhunter saving the falling ship and the Injustice League, who are then taken into military custody. As the villains are transported elsewhere, Mr Miracle and Guy once again begin to comb through the wreckage, only stopping as the Gene Bomb is detonated in the Earth’s atmosphere.
MANHUNTER #9
Following on from FLASH #22 as shown above, the Durlans take the kidnapped Fidel Castro and explain they need air craft to get to the rest of the Alliance in Australia, unaware that the war is over and the Alliance had surrendered, until Mary West tells them this.
Manhunter overhears Mary threatening the Durlans with Flash’s abilities, forcing one of them to assume her shape in order to get close enough to Flash to kill him. When the Durlans are about to kill Castro and Mary, Manhunter arrives and saves them but with the Durlans in pursuit.
Once the aliens catch and surround them, they attempt to kill them, only to have their weapons confiscated by the Flash. As he tries to work out who is who, his father appears and sets Flash against Manhunter. After a brief fight, Manhunter realises he’s no match for Flash who is still angry with him for delivering the news of his father’s death and so refuses to fight, forcing Flash to face the truth rather than just beat Manhunter. Together, they defeat the Durlans and head back to civilisation, just in time for the Gene Bomb to detonate.
WONDER WOMAN #26
Following the defeat of the Alliance in the South Pacific, Wonder Woman heads to Boston where she surveys the damage caused by her and Hermes when they battled a villain prior to the Invasion. Hermes, too, reflects on the battle before Harmonia convinces him he needs to apologise to Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman, with Etta Candy, returns to the air force where they are greeted by Captain Atom who tells them that Steve Trevor is missing. Enlisting Amanda Waller and General Eiling, they learn that the airman who was last seen with Trevor was actually a Durlan who has now escaped to Cuba.
Together, Wonder Woman and Captain Atom catch up with the Durlan in his stolen aircraft and force him to land. With the aid of Wonder Woman’s lasso, he reveals the place where his fellow Durlans are holding Steve Trevor.
They find the hideout and, despite the Durlans using their shapeshifting abilities to mimic the heroes, succeed in finding and rescuing Trevor.
Wonder Woman returns to Boston where Hermes has been trying to repair the damage he caused but has ended up fighting the Creeper. Wonder Woman breaks up the fight just in time for the Gene Bomb to detonate.
SUPERMAN #27
Following the superhero attack on Australia, Superman finds a damaged Alliance ship near “Ayer’s Rock” or Uluru as it’s now called. He helps the Australian Special Forces unit that’s found it to circumvent a booby trap, but finds only dead beings inside.
He returns to Metropolis and the Daily Planet (as Clark Kent) and files a story on the invasion, claiming to have seen most of the fighting in Australia. He heads back to his apartment and, exhausted, falls asleep.
Lex Luthor meets with army generals to finalise a deal to analyse the alien weaponry that’s been left following the invasion, but the meeting is interrupted by Gangbuster, determined to kill Luthor in order to stop his criminal escapades. He is stopped by Brainiac whose mental attack backfires, though still causes damage to Gangbuster who flees.
Guardian attempts to stop him, sensing that Gangbuster is at heart a good man but, as disoriented as he is, Gangbuster puts up a fight, the pair of them brawling to a standstill until Guardian tears open Gangbuster’s uniform to reveal a shocking surprise.
THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #450
Beneath Gangbuster’s uniform is that of Superman himself! Coming to his senses, Superman realises that the recent appearances of the violent vigilante Gangbuster have actually been Superman, masquerading as the other hero while unaware of what he was doing.
Convinced he is a danger to himself and others, Superman seeks help from his friends in Metropolis, securing a breathing apparatus from Prof Emil Hamilton and Dr Kitty Faulkner of STAR Labs.
Once he has everything he needs, he phones in a message to Perry White at the Daily Planet explaining that he needs to take some personal time.
With that done, he heads to the Kent farm in Smallville and says goodbye to his parents and Lana Lang.
As he flies off and leaves Earth, banishing himself for the safety of others, he doesn’t see the explosion of the Gene Bomb.
POWER OF THE ATOM #8
Still in Australia, the Atom is attacked by a Khund sniper who refuses to accept the Invasion is over and that the Alien Alliance lost. Having turned him over to the army, Atom continues his search for Chronos, convinced that now the Invasion is finished, the temporary truce he and Chronos had will be ended.
In Brisbane, Chronos helps himself to the weaponry of the fallen aliens and, when disturbed by a Thanagarian, uses his time powers to drain the birdman of all life. He pins the Thanagarian in the same place that Atom phoned himself in to and issues a challenge, claiming the truce is over and their battle is back on.
Atom heads back to America and the house where Chronos had imprisoned him. When he gets inside he finds a stripped down lab and thinks that Chronos has left for good; he’s unaware that the villain has been watching him on a video feed the whole time, until Chronos unleashes a band of henchmen against him.
The Atom easily dispatches the goons only to have Chronos reveal the house has been encased in a forcefield and wired to explode in only 60 seconds. After the explosion, Chronos investigates the area and finds Atom has survived but before the hero can capture him, the Gene Bomb detonates.
STARMAN #6
Following the end of the war, Starman helps some construction workers by propping up the Sydney Opera House before it collapses but ends up needing the help of Green Lantern Hal Jordan who happens by, before they are joined by Power Girl. With the structure secure, Starman is left alone before a brief conversation with the Atom.
Hitching a lift with Blue Beetle, Starman gets back to Phoenix, Arizona and meets up with his sister. While catching up, he hears a live news report of a rampaging Durlan and how it was captured by the Power Elite, the team of extremist metahumans that he had fought days before.
He chases them down and confronts them, this time easily beating them, but before he can do more, the Gene Bomb explodes.
CAPTAIN ATOM #25
Aboard Air Force One, Captain Atom and President Reagan chat with Atom telling him of his desire to clear his name of the court martial that forced him to take part in the original Captain Atom project in the late 60s. Promising to help, the President re-enlists Atom in the Air Force as a Major.
Landing in New York, they are joined by other members of the team that fought against the Alien Alliance, including Major Force who overhears the President and Atom talking about his promotion to Major. Enraged, Major Force storms off but his vital signs are being monitored with a report getting back to General Eiling.
Captain Atom finds the Major and takes him to where an ad is being short for the New York City Chamber of Commerce who have asked for Major Force to star in it. While shooting the ad, the Major notices Atom getting all the attention and storms out again. As Atom calms him down, a random terrorist attack occurs which Atom defeats, leaving Force even more jealous of and angry at him until the Captain washes his hands of Force.
Major Force loses his temper and kidnaps a girl, threatening to kill her until Captain Atom manages to talk him down one last time, before swearing he is through with both Force and General Eiling. As he sits and thinks about them, the Gene Bomb detonates.
THE NEW GUARDIANS #7
The Guardians mourn the loss of their team mate Jet who died during the Invasion (as shown in First Strike) but are surprised when Betty Clawman – who dwells in Dream Time – appears and tells three of them (Ram, Gloss and Floronic Man) are harbouring doubts about whether to continue.
The team go their separate ways, Harbinger to the Green Lantern Citadel where she finds worrying news about Tom Kalmaku and his wife, while Extrano heads to Peru where he ends up finding a crystal skull that grants him better understanding of his magical powers.
Ram goes to Japan where his father disowns him, claiming he is no longer a man but a machine. Leaving his father, he is captured by his father’s business rivals who plan to dissect him and learn his secrets. Gloss heads to her parents’ village in China but is shunned by them, claiming that she belongs more to the world than China. During a dream, her powers cause an earthquake that destroys the village. Floronic Man goes to South America and the Parliament of Trees who deem him unworthy of their blessings and have him eaten alive by caterpillars.
All three wake to find Betty explaining they have purged their fears and doubts in dreams, before the others arrive. As they head to South Africa to find Tom and his wife, the Gene Bomb detonates.
DOOM PATROL #18
With the rest of the world celebrating, the Doom Patrol return home with the body of Celsius who had died fighting the Invasion (as shown in First Strike). As they struggle to come to terms with losing a team member, Scott Fischer reveals to Lodestone that he has cancer and is determined to continue on with the team.
As the Invasion is over, so too is the temporary truce between the Doom Patrol and Garguax, the alien conqueror who wastes no time in attacking the team once more. The Patrol retaliate, taking on Garguax’s squad of Sirens who have been armed with new and potentially lethal weapons.
As he tries to lift off in a helicopter to evacuate his team mates, Negative Man is brought down, while Negative Woman suffers an attack from the Sirens that leaves her powerless. The Chief convinces NASA to grant him access to a satellite which he uses to destroy Garguax’s ship. Convinced their master is dead, the Sirens flee, leaving the Doom Patrol to survey the shattered remains of their base.
Two days later, following the funeral for Celsius where they wonder how they’re going to continue, the Gene Bomb detonates.
Crisis on Earth-Prime 