When I started reading Invaders, it was for Brian Falsworth aka Union Jack aka Marvel's first gay character (publication chronology speaking). With Volume 4, here is the end of the Invaders portion of that journey, as Roy Thomas hands the superhero reins over to other writers and artists. Unfortunately, the finale was more pop than bang.

Collecting Invaders (1975) #35-41 and Invaders (1993) #1-4, this volume has three major plotlines, and in all the Invaders join forces with the USA-based Liberty Legion. The first is the fight against Iron Cross, the second is the fight against Lady Lotus, and the last is against the Battle-Axis. There are some great moments. Miss America, the Liberty's Legion resident super-flyer, rebels against her male colleagues having her play secretary. It's a satisfying jibe against how the Justice League regulated Wonder Woman to a secretarial role. Classic baddies are back, including Baron Blood, Master Man, Warrior Woman, and U-Man. The evil doppelgänger vibe is strong. Spitfire and Union Jack have a classic sibling team-up. The Kid Commandos show up briefly. According the back matter, the Liberty Legion and Battle-Axis members are classic Timely Comics characters, which is a nod to the long time fans. With all these callbacks, the volume succeeds at feeling like a farewell.

Among this fanfare, however, there are a lot problems. It seems like Thomas wanted to explore what causes regular democracy-lovin' citizens to become fascists. The first leg of this discussion mostly checks out. The Liberty Legion are told to investigate the loyalty of German Americans, which totally disgusts them. Yay! When the Legion stumbles upon the Iron Cross, he insists that he's not a Nazi, but loyal to his home country of Germany...which happens to be Nazi. These idiotic mental gymnastics will be familiar to anyone who has that one racist family member who says they don't support the USA's loud yam, but it's important to be respectful of the President and his laws, even though the loud yam LITERALLY wants to make it illegal for you to work, adopt children, or basically be queer. Here's what tripped me up: the Iron Cross is gay. Supporting fascism when he's one of its victims is a much more complex kettle of fish. Iron Cross is not given page space to explore that, so the story fell flat for me.

The second arc was distractedly misogynistic, homophobic, and racist. Thomas had good intentions. Lady Lotus is a Japanese woman who, after escaping Internment, has taken a vow to dismantle the USA from the inside as revenge. Add some queer femme fatale vibes and we have the makings of a super interesting story. Instead, things derail. In the back matter, Thomas says Lady Lotus was his answer to Fu Manchu, and she doesn't stray far from this hyper-racist origin. She uses "Oriental magics and psychic ability" to control men. Her queerness turns predatory as she attempts to seduce Gwenny Lou to her side. She disguises herself as a Chinese woman for protection, but it comes off as a "two for one" exotic deal. It's just...bad.

The last arc is the worst yet. The Battle-Axis are a team of white Americans who sell out to fascism. Spider-Queen's husband was killed by Russians; the Nazis fight the USSR. Similarly, Human Meteor wants to get back at the UK for their mistreatment of his native Ireland. Doctor Death feels jilted by the scientific community. Strong Man is a bully and an idiot. Voltron...was given a sandwich by Doctor Death so I guess he's okay with genocide now??? Vision, who pops up, says he's neutral, and therefore fights for the Nazis. IDK. None of these reasons felt super compelling. In answer, the Invaders...punch them. Thomas doesn't go deeper than that. He doesn't call on Cap's own Irish heritage, have someone point out that the USSR is likely the USA's next target, or tell the men to get over themselves. There's none of the complexity and compassion of earlier volumes. Heck, a Jewish character returns and fights for the Battle-Axis and reading that felt like swallowing acid. The art itself is also dreadful, with lots of eternal male grimaces, panty shots, and ridiculous revealing costumes.

I have other petty quibbles. Brian and Jacqueline barely make an appearance. Namor and Jim's resentment of one another comes out of nowhere. If the Kid Commandos are meant to be fighting Internment, why are happily hosting a war bond rally? Why do we spend so much time in the USA when the Invaders are a European team? This volume is a mess.

I'm giving stars to the mess because Brian, Jacqueline, and Miss America refusing to play secretary. I can't say I recommend Invaders volume 4. Maybe my expectations were just too high after previous stellar volumes.