DAMN DIRTY SKRULLS: WHAT WE KNOW NOW 4

[MattBrady]

<a href="http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/secretinvasion/SecretInvasion2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/secretinvasion/t_SecretInvasion2.jpg" border="0" align="right"></a><i>by Lucas Siegel and Troy Brownfield</i>

And there shall come an update! As regular ‘Rama readers know, we’ve been tracking the Secret Invasion and incremental revelations for some time. If you’re so inclined, you may read the previous updates here (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=155055), here (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=140987) and here (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=119451). Now, with the second proper issue of Secret Invasion on the stands alongside a number of additional tie-in books, it’s time for a quick recap.

Secret Invasion #2: Things quickly go south on the southernmost continent as the combined New and Mighty Avengers tangle with the shipload of ‘70s look characters that arrived at the end of #1. Confirmation that all is not kosher is provided when the Spider-Man and Hawkeye from the ship are killed in the ensuing battle and revert to Skrull form. Spider-Woman also splits, which is interesting in light of New Avengers, covered below.

On the other hand, Ronin (Clint Barton, formerly dead, formerly Hawkeye, formerly Goliath, formerly Hawkeye the first time, formerly a criminal) believes that Mockingbird is the real deal after pressing her to answer a question about the most painful day in their shared lives (her miscarriage, which they kept secret from the others). Granted, our paranoia sensors remind us that Ronin could still be Skrully (ah, the immortal panel in Avengers #502), but this encounter seems like a logical way to get Mockingbird back into the Marvel Universe. That would require a lengthy explanation to establish exactly who died at the hands of Mephisto; then again, it could just be magic.

Other points of interest include, oh yeah, a friggin’ army of Super Skrulls arriving in NYC. The Young Avengers (and one assumes, soon enough, the Runaways) are there to confront them, which reminds us of course that there’s already a known pair of Skrulls between the two teams. Also, Mockingbird contends that Captain America is also the real deal. Feel free to argue amongst yourselves.

Other Titles: In the most recent issue of Ms. Marvel[b], #26, Carol learned quite a bit about the invasion. She fought the X-Men Skrull once again (as she had last issue), but this time aboard a S.H.I.E.L.D. craft. Oh, and that was, of course, after she was arrested, along with a Skrull doppleganger of herself. In the ensuing battle, Ms. Marvel and her team, Lightning Storm (Sleepwalker, Machine Man, and Agent Sum- more on him later), seemingly killed the X-men Super-Skrull, the vowel challenged Rl’nnd. The Ms. Skrull revealed herself as Rl’nnd’s lover, distraught at the sight of his death. She also revealed that Carol’s kinda-boyfriend, William Wagner, is Kree; this possibly hints at larger Kree involvement to come. Ms. Skrull kidnapped William, and wants her freedom in exchange for his. In a side note, we also learned that Agent Sum is at least 700 years old, and thus may have some experience and/or edge fighting the Skrull. He has experience turning back invasions, though it was Medieval China.

Meanwhile, in [b]New Avengers # 40, we got a glimpse into the very beginnings of this latest invasion plan of the Skrulls. Princess Veranke of the Skrulls follows the religious prophesies to a T. She is thusly upset when the then-current emperor King Dorrek decides to ignore said prophesies and rule his own way. She is banished for her outcries, and Dorrek begins the genetic engineering that eventually results in what we see in Secret Invasion. It should be noted, Princess Veranke, upon banishment, merely repeats “He loves me” to herself, a phrase that should look familiar to readers of SI.

“Years later” the Skrull Throneworld is destroyed by Galactus, and the armies of the Skrull seek out Veranke, who is now Queen. She tours the Skrull worlds, and observes how far their replicating program has come. After announcing to her people their Manifest Destiny of Earth, she meets the first successful test subject, a Skrull named Siri, whom readers know better as Elektra Natchios.

After meeting Elektra Skrull-chios, Queen Veranke determines that she must, in fact, enroll in this program, so she can lead her people from the frontlines. On the final page of the issue, we see just who she chose to replace, none other than Jessica Drew, Spider-woman. Spider-woman is the only character in the Marvel Universe currently in contact with both Avengers teams (Mighty and Secret or “New”), AND Nick Fury. She coordinated the meeting of the two teams with the crash-landed Skrull ship in the Savage Land, and a future cover image shows her and Tony Stark getting very…close. This is probably the biggest reveal of Secret Invasion so far, and it took place in another book.

Mighty Avengers #13 bore the “Secret Invasion” banner, but once again told a story set in the somewhat recent past, starring that old warhorse Nick Fury. Remember, in last issue, Nick learned of the Skrull invasion when he figured out his lover, Contessa, was in fact a Skrull. He then told Spider-woman (oops!) and now in this issue sought out his team.

Nick, it turns out, has a “Caterpillar File.” This file is full of potential heroes/agents who don’t yet have a strong tie to the hero community. No profile means little to no risk of them being Skrull agents in disguise. Disguising himself as Ultimate Nick Fury (seriously) he taps Daisy, the earthquake-powered teen from Secret War to be the first of his Caterpillars, and the gatherer of the rest. Ares’ son, Alex, is revealed as Phobos (god of fear), following mytho-logic, and the second recruit. Next is Yo-Yo Rodriguez, daughter of The Griffin, a speedster who, well, yo-yos back to her point of origin when she uses her powers. J.T. is the grandson of the Phantom Rider, and is a natural with a chain; oh, he can set it aflame, as well. Layla Miller of X-Factor (pre-Messiah CompleX, of course), turned down the invitation, leaving Daisy with just a little bit of foreshadowing that Daisy would survive, but there WOULD be losses. Doctor Druid’s son has monster DNA- and that’s all we really know about him. Finally, Jerry Sledge; he’s uhhh…well, he hits cops and gets arrested for it. He’s a big guy, and likely the powerhouse of the team. After gathering his new team, Nick informed them of their enemy- the Skrulls. We may not know much about a lot of these characters yet, but we can be certain we’ll be seeing more of the group as the Invasion rolls on.

What’s Next?: We should expect at least a couple of more ‘70s Look characters to offer plausible explanations as to how they could be the genuine articles. The real question there would be “how long were the real characters actually missing?”.

Your Homework: The Invasion is still in the early stages of open conflict, and there’s a lot of ground (and tie-in issues) left to cover. Of the unrevealed agents, who are, in your estimation, the top three most likely current candidates for Skrullhood?

Lucas Siegel and Troy Brownfield write for Newsarama’s Best Shots team.

[rwe1138]

I wonder if the long-promised Bendis/Maleev Spider-Woman series will finally come out as a spin-off from SI.

[Rollo_Tomasi]

there is still a possibility that the real spider-woman was with the new avengers for at least a few issues.

[skl183]

Well, there's a certian faction of folks think that Skrullessica Drew isn't a Skrull and its misdirection on Bendis' part. I'm not one of them but heres the other people that I think might be Skrulls that haven't been mentioned a billion times already:

1. Ares - my first guess for the black haired figure that appears in Mighty Avengers #14

2. Namor - my other guess for the unknown black haired man in Mighty #14.

3. Moonstone - Skrull-Vell's attack on T-Bolts Mountain more or less confirms one of them is a Skrull and she's been messing with Osborn's medication as of late and trying to overthrow him as leader. Osborn is unintentionally serving the Skrulls since they helped him out, but he actually isn't one. The shadowy figure that helps out Osborn in Civil War is also linked to the Skrull conspiracy within the U.S. Government and the Initiative.

[caanan]

Judging from the various things in Mighty Avengers, I still say Wonder Man is a Skrull. And there's got to be more than one Spidey getting around.

I really enjoyed the latest Mighty Avengers with the Caterpillar Squad. In fact, it was better than SI #2 in which not much happens. Unless you re-read it several times and extrapolate deeper intended meaning, which I probably will. :)

[Xanrn]

No she was obiviously herself for alot of NA otherwise the Queen wouldn't have chosen her to replace, because she wouldn't be a position to actually be worth replacing.

[Porcelain]

I wonder if the long-promised Bendis/Maleev Spider-Woman series will finally come out as a spin-off from SI.

It comes out the week after SI#8 comes out

[mackpatty]

Of the unrevealed agents, who are, in your estimation, the top three most likely current candidates for Skrullhood?


Dr. Strange -- it would explain why he didn't find any Skrulls in the New Avengers
2. Norman Osborne -- he's in charge of a government sanctioned/protected team, but he's doesn't really have anyone looking over his shoulder (that's why the T-bolts are the perfect team to plant a Skrull); besides, the real Norman is so crazy, that no one would notice if he was a bit Skrully too
3. Clint Barton/Ronin -- he's died so many time in the last few years, that it would have been quite easy to replace him; besides, if both Clint & Mockingbird were Skrulls, then their scenes in SI #2 take on a different meaning since they esentially "proved" that they're both the real deal by "remembering" some event that no one else could possibly prove

[jsimms555]

My candidates for membership to the Brotherhood of the Skrull.

Lindy Reynolds (Sentry's wife)
She died at the hands of the female Ultron in Mighty Avengers, then poof, was back to life at the end of the story arc. Plus she's had time to screw with the Sentry's head, like Skrull Vision did in SI #2.

Wong
I forget what issue it was, but something said the Skrulls had invaded the Santium Santorium. I don't think it's Doctor Strange, it's Wong, who could easily manipulate things. Plus the Skrulls pulled the same thing with Jarvis, who saw that coming?

Luke Cage's baby and his baby's mama, Jessica Jones. (I'm hoping)
The kid did have green eyes and Jessica already infiltrated the New Avengers, then went with a sob story to the Mighty Avengers, where she'll cause some havoc with Jarvis. Plus Luke will be super pissed when he finds out he's been F&@%ing a Skrull and had a kid with it. He will go off! Then hopefully Jewel is the real Jessica Jones and can maybe get back to Alias.

[joekelly007]

what we know now is that SI SUCKS !!!!!!!

sory i'm not trying to be crass and i know a the marvel die hards are gona enjoy it but c'mon, what the hell was up with the second issue ??!!!? i mean NOTHING HAPPENED , I was waiting to see THOR kick some ass wheether he was a skrull or not and noooooooo instead we're led to believe mockingbird was held for a year ??!!?? and ,by clint verifying her identity, we're supposed to believe her when she says captain america is the real deal

ok she couldnt verify the hawkeye who was with her despite being married to him , with or without using the october 12 codeword, but she some how knows that thats cap because he got them to earth.......

and what the hell was up with that dialouge ????!

HHUUUAAARRGGGGGG!!!!!!

[LikeaPhoenix]

Secret Invasion is by far the best comics event, ever! S.I.#2 continues to titilate, intrigue and fascinate. Although it mainly focuses on the confrontation in the Savage Land, they are quite a few relevations.

While the scene with Ronin and the crash-landed Mockingbird is incredibly touching, I can't help but to suspect that Bendis will throw us a curve ball at down the road.

I still don't understand the inclusion of the Claremont/Byrne White Queen. Hopefully, Bendis has an awesome explanation for her appearance and not by the virtue that he has an affinity for the character, i.e., 'House of M'.

What's up with Spider-Woman? Is she or isn't she the Skrull Queen?? I'm begining to understand why Bendis is delaying the release of the Spider-Woman ongoing series. It makes sense to have it spins off post S.I.

The Skrull's new replicating technology must not be that great because PHOENIX is kinda weak. The real PHOENIX would've mindblasted eveyone and turned all of the surrounding flora and fauna into gold and crushed them all! LOL

The final scene is so shocking and scary. Those new Super-Skrull are going to be kicking some serious ass! Can't wait to the see the appearance of the Runaways...Unleash Bruiser/Princess Powerful on those damn dirty stinky sneaky Skrulls now! LOL

[Andraxx]

Who is Jerry Sledge, and how is connected to ANYONE? He's a definite mystery link in the new Howling Commandos.

[Super-Yoda]

Any chance Bendis retires after SI?

[mackpatty]

...and i know a the marvel die hards are gona enjoy it but c'mon, what the hell was up with the second issue ??!!!?

I disagree. I'm a huge DC fan who reads a few Marvel titles, but I've been enjoying SI. After SI #1, the 2nd issue felt a little slower, but between the actual mini & the Avengers tie ins, the overall series has been a blast so far. :D :D :D

[Bugaboo-X]

Could be anyone. ... So guessing is pointless.

[rwe1138]

It comes out the week after SI#8 comes out
Seriously? Where'd you hear that?

[Dragonzair]

I wonder if the long-promised Bendis/Maleev Spider-Woman series will finally come out as a spin-off from SI.

If I recall correctly, when Marvel talked about the new Spider-Woman series coming out, someone mentioned that Daisy Johnson would play a part in it. Or were those just rumours?

Either way, it's no coincidence that Daisy's been dragged into the SW title.

[R A Renteria]

Captain America is a Skrull. I'm talking about he one that came of the Skrull ship.

If it was Cap who got them to Earth, the landing in the Savage Land was set-up with the sole purpose of getting both teams of Avengers out of the way. Mockingbird all but confirms it when she says that Captain America got them home. Plus when have you not known Cap to shout instructions to his teammates in the heat of battle.

Also, obviously the Vision is a Skrull; but again with the psychological trauma to neuter the Sentry - what a great character to have around.

[Gorgeousaur]

ok she couldnt verify the hawkeye who was with her despite being married to him , with or without using the october 12 codeword, but she some how knows that thats cap because he got them to earth.......

Actually we're not supposed to know if we can believe her, that's the whole point. All the paranoia is supposed to accompany it.
And I agree with LikeaPhoenix and mackpatty this series is off the chain.

[rwe1138]

If I recall correctly, when Marvel talked about the new Spider-Woman series coming out, someone mentioned that Daisy Johnson would play a part in it. Or were those just rumours?
No, you're right. I remember Bendis saying that the Caterpillar Files would play a part in his Spider-Woman series.

[HopeLantern]

Skulls...

1) I still say Cyclops is a skrull. He leads pretty much ALL the factions of X-Men running around, and still has a secret force with X-Force. That's one good way to control the mutant population, who would side with the rest of the Avengers in eliminating the skrull threat.

2) Storm is a skrull. Again, let's not forget how valuable the assets of Wakanda would be to the skrulls. Control the King, control the land. She will be revealed as one soon!

3) Savage Land: After reading SI#2 I know think all the characters on the 70's ship are skrulls... that includes Mockingbird, and Captain America. I know Cap's a skrull. He has to be. Ronin is a skrull too. I've been calling N.A. Luke a skrull since the beginning. This is going to wind up with one avengers book, I can see that. Plus we know that this storyline doesn't really intercept with Brubaker's Captain America.

[ParisCub]

what we know now is that SI SUCKS !!!!!!!

sory i'm not trying to be crass and i know a the marvel die hards are gona enjoy it but c'mon, what the hell was up with the second issue ??!!!? i mean NOTHING HAPPENED , I was waiting to see THOR kick some ass wheether he was a skrull or not and noooooooo instead we're led to believe mockingbird was held for a year ??!!?? and ,by clint verifying her identity, we're supposed to believe her when she says captain america is the real deal

ok she couldnt verify the hawkeye who was with her despite being married to him , with or without using the october 12 codeword, but she some how knows that thats cap because he got them to earth.......

and what the hell was up with that dialouge ????!

HHUUUAAARRGGGGGG!!!!!!

I disagree. SI 2 delivered and continued developping the intrigue and paranoia. So far it's one of the best things Bendis has written for Marvel... looking forward to SI 3

[MrToady12]

I disagree. SI 2 delivered and continued developping the intrigue and paranoia. So far it's one of the best things Bendis has written for Marvel... looking forward to SI 3

SI has been pretty Ho-Hum so far in my estimation - nothing bad, but certainly nothing overly interesting. It certainly hasn't had any major "Oh Fudge" moments like the Elektra or Black Bolt reveal. The 70's Avengers reveal was certainly Ho-Hum because we all know that most of those major characters are Skrull impersonators - the supporting characters? Who cares if they are or aren't anyway.

I just thought it was hilarious that DC is criticised for mainly catering to old time DC fans by bringing back Silver Age characters, but Marvel brings back Mockingbird last week. LOL. Talk about obscure... certainly didn't break the internet in half with that (possible) return.

Cheers :)

[Ken B.]

I disagree. SI 2 delivered and continued developping the intrigue and paranoia. So far it's one of the best things Bendis has written for Marvel... looking forward to SI 3

I disagree with you. For $4, it was the regular page count (after being promised at 48 pages I believe), and read like a padded mess except for the Clint scenes. Everything else felt just drawn out (heh).

In fact, I'll call it right here, it will be decompressed just like House of M; 8 issues with only 6 worth of story.

[Ironhorse]

Wong
I forget what issue it was, but something said the Skrulls had invaded the Santium Santorium. I don't think it's Doctor Strange, it's Wong, who could easily manipulate things. Plus the Skrulls pulled the same thing with Jarvis, who saw that coming?

It wasn't in any issue, it was in the latest trailer, take a look at it here:

http://www.marvel.com/videos/286.Secret_Invasion_Animated_Webisode

Peace.

[halfblack]

Mostly because no one has said anything about it yet,
Mighty Avengers #13, the pin board behind Fury and the Catapillars (new series spinning out of SI anyone?) features a number of characters, some circled in red, others in blue. Now, I don't have the comic in front of me (I'm at work) but has anyone really looked into it. There were some confirmed as skrulls in one color, and some (mostly) confirmed non-skrulls in the other. Is it just me or does that last page hold a few reveals in and of itself?

[dj4]

HUH?

Has anyone other them myself caught this? It looks like Alex Maleev is drawing Nick Fury in the pages of Mighty and New Avengers to look exactly like "Prison Break" and "Blade Trinity" star Dominic Purcell. (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0700712/)

Is there ANY reason for this? It's quite distracting and illogical. Now, I do like Maleev's work and support artist representation but this is bizarre.

ANYONE else see this....or am I just plain nuts?!?!?

:eek:

[MODOT]

I just thought it was hilarious that DC is criticised for mainly catering to old time DC fans by bringing back Silver Age characters, but Marvel brings back Mockingbird last week. LOL. Talk about obscure... certainly didn't break the internet in half with that (possible) return.

Cheers :)

The problem with DC is they bring back silver age characters and completely butcher them (like that OMAC/Kamandi reveal in Countdown). But Mockingbird? She's probably a skrull anyway. I mean, I wouldn't trust Clint Barton's word for anything, especially when he's got love interest involved. Clint has never been impartial about anything. He's always pretty opinionated and gung-ho. Now that I think about it, the fact that he's trying to convince the heroes that Mockingbird's legit probably means he's a skrull too.

Anyway, besides Hawkeye and Mockingbird, here's my top three skrulls:

The Cage Baby: obviously if you read New Avengers. But is it a baby skrull or a grown skrull? Can a skrull change its size too? I guess if one replaced Yellowjacket they'd have to. What if the Cage baby is a crusty, old, incontinent skrull?

Moonstone: Like they released all those one-shots for the individual Thunderbolts (which were great by the way) where we got to look inside all of their heads. But all we learned about Moonstone is that she's a fraggin bastich.

Wonderman: For sure. He's got the personality of cardboard. But then... he always sort of has though. I guess I'll have to wait for the one-shot with him and Beast. Speaking of which, that's supposed to have a bronze age-style non-lion Beast, right?. Does that mean that the heroes that got off the skrull ship in the Savage Land eventually reach the main land? Or does that book take place on the Savage Land?

[skl183]

SI has been pretty Ho-Hum so far in my estimation - nothing bad, but certainly nothing overly interesting. It certainly hasn't had any major "Oh Fudge" moments like the Elektra or Black Bolt reveal. The 70's Avengers reveal was certainly Ho-Hum because we all know that most of those major characters are Skrull impersonators - the supporting characters? Who cares if they are or aren't anyway.

Cheers :)

Ho hum? Since when is shootiing Richards point blank in the face and splattering his isness all over the place is considered Ho hum???? Not to mention transporting an entire building into the Negative Zone and god knows what else..

[Troy Brownfield]

HUH?

Has anyone other them myself caught this? It looks like Alex Maleev is drawing Nick Fury in the pages of Mighty and New Avengers to look exactly like "Prison Break" and "Blade Trinity" star Dominic Purcell. (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0700712/)

Is there ANY reason for this? It's quite distracting and illogical. Now, I do like Maleev's work and support artist representation but this is bizarre.

ANYONE else see this....or am I just plain nuts?!?!?

:eek:

It's in the dialogue. Nick mentions that he was disguising himself as someone "Valentina" found attractive.

[<sage>]

Methinks that if Jessica Drew was replaced it was when she returned to Cap and the other rebels at the end of the Civil War/New Avengers tie in that focussed on her, the one penciled by Oliver Coipel iirc

[ChaosHornet]

1. Ronin and Mockingbird are not Skrulls. Clint finding memory-deprived Wanda would suggest that Clint was real, as he wanted answers. And this was a cheap way to bring back Mockingbird, but I believe she's the real deal. And bah to that. I wanted more Clint/Wanda naughtiness.
2. Baby Cage is a Skrull. Obviously.
3. Wanda will return and help save the day, redeeming her character. I be aint gots no proof, but wait and see.
4. Spider Woman is not a Skrull. That was meant to throw us off.
5. Cap is dead.

Bah.

[lwhlee]

The Beast from the ship is the real one. And Black Widow from Mighty Avengers is a skrull. Beast was going to ask Natasha how she got there right before she tried to seriously kick his jaw off. So obviously, Natasha is still imprisoned and didn't escape with the group.

[halfblack]

Jessica Drew is a Skrull for a number of reasons:
1) putting that huge splash at the end as a cliffhanger and not following through is a HUGE literary cheat and would be a bigger slap in the face to readers than...I don't know let's go with Superman Red and Blue for today
2) Jessica Drew is in with EVERYBODY giving a perfect example of hiding right under everyones noses (readers and characters)
3) Since when was SI a fourth wall breaking story? I think Bendis is above the whole 'turn to the reader, wink and nod, and back to the story' crap.
and finally...
4) What good would come from being on the ins with EVERY major group in the MU if not for the purpose of taking them all out

[nickmarino]

there is still a possibility that the real spider-woman was with the new avengers for at least a few issues.

i recently re-read the breakout issues of New Avengers and previous to when the lights shut off at the Raft, Jessica Drew's eyes are brown. after the lights come back up, her eyes are green from then on through at least the end of New Avengers #3.

[newfoundma]

i recently re-read the breakout issues of New Avengers and previous to when the lights shut off at the Raft, Jessica Drew's eyes are brown. after the lights come back up, her eyes are green from then on through at least the end of New Avengers #3.

wow. Really? That is huge. Maybe Bendis is right; the clues are in those issues. I though Spider-Women would be a red herring, but maybe...

[beta-ray]

what we know now is that SI SUCKS !!!!!!!

sory i'm not trying to be crass and i know a the marvel die hards are gona enjoy it but c'mon, what the hell was up with the second issue ??!!!? i mean NOTHING HAPPENED , I was waiting to see THOR kick some ass wheether he was a skrull or not and noooooooo instead we're led to believe mockingbird was held for a year ??!!?? and ,by clint verifying her identity, we're supposed to believe her when she says captain america is the real deal

ok she couldnt verify the hawkeye who was with her despite being married to him , with or without using the october 12 codeword, but she some how knows that thats cap because he got them to earth.......

and what the hell was up with that dialouge ????!

HHUUUAAARRGGGGGG!!!!!!

Speaking of whacky dialog...

[beta-ray]

i recently re-read the breakout issues of New Avengers and previous to when the lights shut off at the Raft, Jessica Drew's eyes are brown. after the lights come back up, her eyes are green from then on through at least the end of New Avengers #3.

Maybe the real Spider-Woman found out and took out the skrull one? The Marvel profile lists her eyes as green...

http://www.marvel.com/universe/Spider-Woman_%28Jessica_Drew%29

[ViperOneTwo]

3. Wanda will return and help save the day, redeeming her character. I be aint gots no proof, but wait and see.

Bah.

"No More SKRULLS!!!" ???

Wanda is a Skrull and that Skrull is Mephisto!

[saiyanspider]

Well, there's a certian faction of folks think that Skrullessica Drew isn't a Skrull and its misdirection on Bendis' part. I'm not one of them but heres the other people that I think might be Skrulls that haven't been mentioned a billion times already:

1. Ares - my first guess for the black haired figure that appears in Mighty Avengers #14

2. Namor - my other guess for the unknown black haired man in Mighty #14.

3. Moonstone - Skrull-Vell's attack on T-Bolts Mountain more or less confirms one of them is a Skrull and she's been messing with Osborn's medication as of late and trying to overthrow him as leader. Osborn is unintentionally serving the Skrulls since they helped him out, but he actually isn't one. The shadowy figure that helps out Osborn in Civil War is also linked to the Skrull conspiracy within the U.S. Government and the Initiative.


Don't forget Bendis in a recent interview said his recent use of thought ballons was a tip off, that's how I knew Spiderwoman was a skrull. 3 issues of Mighty and everyone had inner dialogue but her...

[5-0]

I liked the second issue, except for the Sentry going off crying, that was funny. I like the 50s sci fi feel of the the covers. Also I believe that the Captain America is a clone, Iike the Reed Richards clone that the Skrull emperor shot in the NA issue. I think Mockingbird is a clone also. Other Skrulls I think will be revealed are: Luke Cage, Beast, Black Widow, and Spider Woman.

Also Batman.

[GohanWinner]

I don't have any real theories on who or who is not a Skrull, but I do have one character that I really HOPE is a Skrull..

Beast.

He hasn't been written particularly poorly, and in fact a number of issues I've read in the past few years (particularly the first storyarc from Astonishing X-Men) have had him written well...but I hate cat-Beast. So much. I'd be perfectly cool if we got the old Beast back.

[X-punged]

So far it's one of the best things Bendis has written for Marvel...

That doesn't mean it's good.
I was iffy on issue one, but this was Bendis decompression at it's worst. It seemed like it spent time on plot points that weren't that interesting. And it left the prior cliffhangers untouched and presented a new one with the new superskrulls. It was almost a completely wasted issue.
As for the alleged intrigue over the identity of skrulls, does anybody believe that the Captain America is a skrull? (Although I'm really curious what Ed Brubaker thinks of this).
Overall, this issue didn't build paranoia. It built boredom.

In terms of summer comic events, so far it's set the bar pretty low for Final Crisis.

[Zenstrive]

Invasion?
What about CRISIS instead :D ?

*is a DC Zealot*

[SuperAaron]

So...did anyone else pay attention to Nick Fury's board of pictures at the end of Mighty Avengers #13? I have a theory:

Iron Man has been confirmed by Bendis and others as not being a Skrull. He's circled in blue. Same for Daredevil.

Hulkling is half-Skrull. He's circled in red.

Maybe there's a hint there. The heroes circled in red are possibly skrulls and the ones circled in blue, Fury has confirmed are not Skrulls.

...or maybe I'm reading too far into this?

[TelFie]

So...did anyone else pay attention to Nick Fury's board of pictures at the end of Mighty Avengers #13? I have a theory:

Iron Man has been confirmed by Bendis and others as not being a Skrull. He's circled in blue. Same for Daredevil.

Hulkling is half-Skrull. He's circled in red.

Maybe there's a hint there. The heroes circled in red are possibly skrulls and the ones circled in blue, Fury has confirmed are not Skrulls.

...or maybe I'm reading too far into this?

No, that sounds about right.

Issue 2 wasn't as good as #1, and nearly felt like a waste of money really. Not much happened at all, and the art doesn't really do anything for me, but that just comes down to taste.

Hopefully #3 picks up some.

[Billy Parker]

what we know now is that SI SUCKS !!!!!!!

sory i'm not trying to be crass and i know a the marvel die hards are gona enjoy it but c'mon, what the hell was up with the second issue ??!!!? i mean NOTHING HAPPENED , I was waiting to see THOR kick some ass wheether he was a skrull or not and noooooooo instead we're led to believe mockingbird was held for a year ??!!?? and ,by clint verifying her identity, we're supposed to believe her when she says captain america is the real deal

ok she couldnt verify the hawkeye who was with her despite being married to him , with or without using the october 12 codeword, but she some how knows that thats cap because he got them to earth.......

and what the hell was up with that dialouge ????!

HHUUUAAARRGGGGGG!!!!!!

HUUUARRGG!!! to your HUUUAAARRGGG!!!!

And I'll raise you a BBLLLAAAARRRGG!!!!

[TF_Loki]

Invasion?
What about CRISIS instead :D ?

*is a DC Zealot*

Pah. People have Crises. Real universes have INVASIONS (or Wars if you're retro!);) :D

[Dawfydd]

I'm just getting mildly ticked at the lack of referance to established continuity:
I can more or less accept that Marvel are ignoring a good chunk of the late 90's, espeacially in terms of X-continuity, but it bugs me that Bendis doesn't even mention the Skrull infiltration camps from the Alan Davis run pre-2000, which Wolverine witnessed.
Nor the minor fact that Wolverine got swapped for a Skrull who did a fair old job of impersonating him. You'd think that little fact would get a referance....

And maybe I'm being pedantic, but I'm pretty sure that Phobos & Demios (Ares two sons from mythology) have appeared before, and were in fact reported as KIA in the Ares mini-series that established the character that we now see in Mighty Avengers. It even presented Alex as being the next God of War, whom Ares is trying to make better than he is, a god of honourable warfare instead of the unrestrained bloodshed that marks his embodiment of the role.

Sorry, it just bugs me when good continuity gets ignored....

Alternatively, it's possible that Alex's staredown of those bullies in MA #13 could be an indication of Skrull hypnosis, so Fury's new Howling Commando's are already FUBAR'd, and gods help the Skrulls if they have got Ares' kid :)
Hmmm, I like this idea...

Did enjoy SI #2, but it may have been better to save most of the beats from this issue for the next, and have this issue actually show more of what we got at the end of the issue: the actual Invasion in full swing. But we'll see how things play out.

[Pauul]

Maybe Alex is just using Phobos as a codename. He doesn't have to be the actual mythological Phobos does he? Other people have used mythological codenames while real versions of the gods exist. Makkari used the name Mercury while the real Mecury/Hermes exists on Olympus. The same is true of the Venus from Agents of Atlas. She is a siren like enitity, yet the real Aphrodite apparently visited Earth as Venus in the Champions.


Okay, who do I think are three Skrulls...

1. War Machine/James Rhodes - There was a Skrull in Camp Hammond previous to the KIA story and I think Yellowjackets explanations of shrinking down to subatomic size sounds a bit Skrully. I'm thinking Yellowjacket may not have been replaced until this incident. Also another Iron Man came off the Skrull ship. It would be too obvious just to say he's a Skrull (as we know Tony Stark is the real deal) so I think this other Iron Man is the real Iron Man II/James Rhodes and that War Machine has been a Skrull even before he became War Machine. That he was replaced when he was still using the Iron Man persona.

2. USAgent/John Walker - He's a minor character so I doubt Marvel would have a problem using him as a longtime sleeper Skrull. And the Skrulls need agents worldwide... one would think that they'd have an agent in Canada's Omega Flight. If USAgent is a Skrull then it could mean that the apparently real Captain America from the Skrull ship is John Walker. Therefore he'd be a real Captain America while Steve Rogers would remain deceased.

3. Luke Cage - His babys a Skrull which to me indicates that one of his parents must be also. Jessica Jones has been abused again and again. Plus she's a character which isn't seperately defined from the rest of the Marvel universe. I could see Marvel giving her a Skrull child and a Skrull husband. I can't see Marvel giving the real Luke Cage a Skrull wife and a Skrull baby. He's a street level character, using the same logic that Marvel applies to Spiderman he can't have a Skrull child. Maybe a street level character like him might have a baby but an alien baby? No, I don't think so. Also the yellow shirt version of Luke Cage seems to be popular (appearing in House of M: Avengers), this gives Marvel the oppotunity to return Cage to that look by having the real deal coming off the Skrull ship.

[Starbird]

what we know now is that SI SUCKS !!!!!!!

sory i'm not trying to be crass and i know a the marvel die hards are gona enjoy it but c'mon, what the hell was up with the second issue ??!!!? i mean NOTHING HAPPENED , I was waiting to see THOR kick some ass wheether he was a skrull or not and noooooooo instead we're led to believe mockingbird was held for a year ??!!?? and ,by clint verifying her identity, we're supposed to believe her when she says captain america is the real deal

ok she couldnt verify the hawkeye who was with her despite being married to him , with or without using the october 12 codeword, but she some how knows that thats cap because he got them to earth.......

and what the hell was up with that dialouge ????!

HHUUUAAARRGGGGGG!!!!!!



I don't know if I'd go as far as to say that "SI sucks," :D but I will admit to being very disappointed in the 2nd issue. Number 1 had me really psyched and satisfied, but this 2nd issue...Wow, what a serious let down. There's a significant difference in the quality of the art too. The first issue, Yu's art looked crisp...the colors vibrant, but number 2's overall art looks rushed. And...I don't even want to get into the pointless fight and the childish dialogue that started it. I'm not a big fan of the banter during the fights either. Entirely too much talking. Oh well...

Here's hoping that the remaining issues will undo the poor impression of issue 2.

;)

[MrToady12]

Ho hum? Since when is shootiing Richards point blank in the face and splattering his isness all over the place is considered Ho hum???? Not to mention transporting an entire building into the Negative Zone and god knows what else..

Well it's considered Ho Hum when I see Richards shot in the face and my reaction is "Ho Hum, nothing I haven't seen before." It's also considered Ho Hum when I see the Baxter Building transported into the Negative Zone and my reaction is "Ho Hum, nothing I haven't seen before." Seriously, how many times has the Baxter Building een transported, moved, shot into space, and/ or blown up? It just happened in Ult FF for criminey's sake! I've been reading comics for over 30 yrs - this story is nothing I haven't seen in some form scattered throughout Fantastic Four comics, and others, over the last 40 years.

Hence the Ho Hum...

Cheers :)

[MrToady12]

The problem with DC is they bring back silver age characters and completely butcher them (like that OMAC/Kamandi reveal in Countdown).

While I agree that Countdown had a lot of stuff ups, I didn't think the Kamandi/ OMAC story was one of them. I have the entire Kamandi series, and I really enjoyed the two Buddy Blank issues in Countdown, and their version of "the origins."

But back to my point - it seemed pretty pointless to bring Mockingbird back in a major Limited Series when she is so 3rd Tier. Her reappearance just wasn't interesting, certainly doesn't significantly impact the Marvel Universe, and didn't warrant the amount of attention it was given IMO.

Cheers :)

[IronSyndicat]

I really like these features, keep 'em coming Newsarama!

The second issue was a little disappointing, luckily we've got New and Mighty Avengers, which both rock.

If any of you are interested, I've got my own Skrull-analysis thing, enttitled Skrull Watch (http://muchadoe.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/skrull-watch-2/), check it out!

[Dawfydd]

Maybe Alex is just using Phobos as a codename. He doesn't have to be the actual mythological Phobos does he? Other people have used mythological codenames while real versions of the gods exist. Makkari used the name Mercury while the real Mecury/Hermes exists on Olympus. The same is true of the Venus from Agents of Atlas. She is a siren like enitity, yet the real Aphrodite apparently visited Earth as Venus in the Champions.

That's a fair point which I hadn't considerd.
And I suppose if we want to get technical it was Daisy who called him Phobos, so it may just be because she doesn't know better...
Still think it's great to see her back though!
And does anyone think that one of the upcoming issues of MA or NA will show Fury showing up in time to save Duggan post stabbing?
Plus: what the **** is going on with S.W.O.R.D.? Hopefully the next issue'll show Brand & Co. getting their asses saved...

[Tomwaitsfan]

I don't know if I'd go as far as to say that "SI sucks," :D but I will admit to being very disappointed in the 2nd issue.

I agree. The first issue was great and it felt that you had just read two issues. The second issue had barely anything happen at all.

[deworde]

I agree. The first issue was great and it felt that you had just read two issues. The second issue had barely anything happen at all.
Yeah, it did feel a bit like filler. Very short, really.
I mean, the Skrull fleet landed, but we knew that would happen.
Some of the pod people turned out to be Skrulls. Well, duh.
Sentry went nuts. Nice and quick there.
I actually thought that the Wolverine Cage was talking to was 70's Wolverine. That actually made it far more interesting. In fact, it still could be, all he'd have had to do was remove the mask from his costume.
They tried to make it seem like Cap was back, but we know that's not likely.
Clint fell for what seems like a really obvious trick. I mean, surely the Skrulls could have brain-scanned Bobbi or something. Or it might be exactly as it seems, and Bobbi's the real deal. I mean, so far the Skrulls don't seem to have had access to deep memories.
It seems like it moves us into a position where the some of the side issues can begin (YA/Runaways and the Initiative, for example), but I'd rather have seen what's going on with the Thunderbolts, or with Reed.

[joekelly007]

HUUUARRGG!!! to your HUUUAAARRGGG!!!!

And I'll raise you a BBLLLAAAARRRGG!!!!

hahaha i'm sure if thats what the T-REX said as he broke up the fight it would have been more realistic


i really gotta hand it to bendis , only he alone would give a dinosaur a two page spread and four panels of dialogue

[Simon DelMonte]

Haven't read it, but...

Any other "Five Years Later" Legion of Super Heroes fans looking at that the old Avengers and current Avengers and thinking "it's Batch SW6 all over again?"

[noncore-kid]

I think Jess and Luke haven't been replaced. Just the baby.

I'd rather Luke and Jessica had really fallen in love, than one of the two having been manipulated.

Jessica can't be a Skrull anyway, that would invalidate the entire Alias series, and the Purple Man arc just can't be retconned, it' was too good.

Suggestion to joekelly007 : scan your copy of the book, edit out the "dialougue", and write your own instead, that would be a lot of fun :D I remember someone did that for Infinite crisis and it was hysterical.

[Starbird]

You know who should have been plotting/writing Secret Invasion...?

Ed Brubaker!

I mean...he's already been giving us the biggest invasion of them all (albeit a Skull, not SKRULL invasion)...in the exceptionally written pages of Captain America. He's consistently incorporating key moments of espionage, betrayal, revelations, deception and all that type of secret invasion type of stuff and he would have given us one hell of a SKRULL Secret Invasion. Having Epting and Guice also doing the artwork for a Brubaker Secret Invasion would have been...Priceless! :D

No offense to Bendis, of course.

Bendis may "bring it on "as the series progresses, but as of the moment, the 2nd issue sort of weakened the series a little.


;)

[Unicron78]

I disagree with you. For $4, it was the regular page count (after being promised at 48 pages I believe), and read like a padded mess except for the Clint scenes. Everything else felt just drawn out (heh).

In fact, I'll call it right here, it will be decompressed just like House of M; 8 issues with only 6 worth of story.

Ditto for me and I'm suprised that this isn't something that hasn't come up several times already. I wish that someone could find the interview when he stated this on Newsarama, but we were told that the series would be 48pgs per issue I'm sure. At $4 for 22pgs, this is a rip-off.

[BrIron Man]

Seriously, how long has Mephisto been a Skrull?

[protege]

Yep- secret invasion is giving me a headache, introducing the offspring of heroes I've never heard of before, (Griffin?) and then there's this thing with Hawkeye, who i could've sworn was in the group of heroes that came out of the ship, yet Ronin was more concerned with MOCKINGBIRD's authenticity?

[newfoundma]

Don't forget Bendis in a recent interview said his recent use of thought ballons was a tip off, that's how I knew Spiderwoman was a skrull. 3 issues of Mighty and everyone had inner dialogue but her...
I think that's too obvious. Did Jarvis have any creepy thoughts? Also, I remember Black Widow not having any thoughts that weren't battle crazed...

[RockerTodd]

So...did anyone else pay attention to Nick Fury's board of pictures at the end of Mighty Avengers #13? I have a theory:

Iron Man has been confirmed by Bendis and others as not being a Skrull. He's circled in blue. Same for Daredevil.

Hulkling is half-Skrull. He's circled in red.

Maybe there's a hint there. The heroes circled in red are possibly skrulls and the ones circled in blue, Fury has confirmed are not Skrulls.

...or maybe I'm reading too far into this?

So what does this tell us?

In Mighty Avengers #12 we have:

Skrulls (in red): Hulkling (of course), Doctor Strange, Wolverine, and of course, the Sentry (YEAH!) Strange and Logan have been suspects for a while (although there may be two Wolverines running around). Hulkling's Skrull heritage doesn't necessarily mean his loyalty is questionable, since he's half Kree as well.

Human (in blue): Spider-Man, Daredevil, Submariner, Lockjaw from the Inhumans, and Stature from the Young Avengers. Some of these make a lot of sense. Spidey and Daredevil have extra-sensory abilities that that make them hard to replace, Lockjaw's a teleporter, and Prince Namor is a tough mutha.

In Mighty Avengers #13 we get a wider view of the board, and there are three changes from the previous issue:

1. Namor is no longer circled. Maybe that means Fury thinks he's been replaced, or just that he's no longer certain he's human.

2. Iron Man is circled in BLUE, meaning (we assume) that Fury doesn't doubt this is the real Tony Stark.

3. The bearded guy to the right of Lockjaw is circled in RED, meaning he's been replaced. I don't recognize this character. Who is he? What books is he in? Anyone?

In addition to this, there is evidence that the following are Skrulls:

Spider-Woman, Hank Pym, Jarvis, Agent Dugan, Sue Storm in the Negative Zone, Black Widow, Wonder Man and Danielle Cage. Hank Pym was replaced when he began using the Yellow Jacket personna again (In the US Army, they refer to psyops as psychological operations, which this is an example of.) Those are pretty sure bets, but other Skrull sleepers could include Agent Hill from SHIELD, Bob Reynolds' wife Lindy, Miriam Sharpe from Civil War, Emma Frost, The Beast, Ronin, and one or both of baby Cage's parents.

[HNutz]

I agree. The first issue was great and it felt that you had just read two issues. The second issue had barely anything happen at all.

Just like House of M.

I think Jess and Luke haven't been replaced. Just the baby.

It would have been easy. Replace the kid after she's born and before she taker her home. We hear about babies getting switched, same concept. :)

I'd rather Luke and Jessica had really fallen in love, than one of the two having been manipulated.

Jessica can't be a Skrull anyway, that would invalidate the entire Alias series, and the Purple Man arc just can't be retconned, it' was too good.

Maybe Jess was switched out during Civil War, when Cage sent her away? Maybe the REAL Jess is still in Canada, waiting to hear that it's safe to return with the kid?

Suggestion to joekelly007 : scan your copy of the book, edit out the "dialougue", and write your own instead, that would be a lot of fun :D I remember someone did that for Infinite crisis and it was hysterical.

Mightygodking did a GREAT job with his take on Civil War! Would have rather read HIS, to be honest.

You know who should have been plotting/writing Secret Invasion...?

Ed Brubaker!

I can dig it! :cool:

Yep- secret invasion is giving me a headache, introducing the offspring of heroes I've never heard of before, (Griffin?) and then there's this thing with Hawkeye, who i could've sworn was in the group of heroes that came out of the ship, yet Ronin was more concerned with MOCKINGBIRD's authenticity?

Well, Ronin KNEW he was the real one (whether or not that's true is a different story). And he just saw his "wife" come back from the dead (although he's seen her in Hell before, but that might get ignored). For the record, though, I don't really think that's the REAL Mockingbird....

But HOW cool was it to see Clint Barton/Ronin with the bow and arrows?! :cool: Even though he was sniping people most of the time....

I'm also kinda thinking it's a red herring for Spider Woman.....

[Police-dude]

Wel, gotta say i liked the first issue better. The 2nd one was ok, only it bothered me (just like most of you) it fealt to short, to mutch spread pages, and almost no dialoge. At one point in reading it i got a "House of M' shiver down my spine. Hope SI will keep up the way it does now, and doesnt go bad like House of M did. That was one awfull mini-series. Only issue 1 and 8 where actually worth reading. Ok now, Black Widow is a Skrull!! In the Pages of Captain America we see the stunning girl with long hair, and in the pages of Mighty Avengers etc, she has short hair. WHAT GIVES?? :P
Propably just how the artsists like to draw her, but still :)

[Police-dude]

But HOW cool was it to see Clint Barton/Ronin with the bow and arrows?! :cool: Even though he was sniping people most of the time....


Indeed, it was kinda cool :) And the most likely to do for a "bow and arrow" man. He was always fighting up close and personal in the Avengers. That doesnt make any sence, why would he need a bow for that. He did just like a real sniper, hide, take the best place that you can find and..start shooting arrows to people :)

Btw im not an Avengers expert, but was this the first time he actually really hit someone with those arrows of his? i never saw him really hurting people with it :)

[NYC_AVENG3R]

only way i see them surviving is to unleash the hulk. he has already proven thats he's more than a match for super powered beingshttp://www.comicbooknoise.com/images/WorldWarHulk02.jpg

[Styllian]

Granted, our paranoia sensors remind us that Ronin could still be Skrully (ah, the immortal panel in Avengers #502)...

In Avengers #502 Captain Americais right next to Hawkeye when we first see the Skrull at the top of the page and, maybe I read it wrong, but it looked like it might[I] be two different Skrulls shown, one in each panel of the two which clearly show a Skrull.

I agree that Hawkeye/Ronin could very well be a Skrull and, though I like the character, it means Mockingbird is a Skrull too. But bear with me...especially if you're going to start with Captain America's body reverting to a non-Super Soldier Serum frailty after his death.

We can guess the Skrulls plan included the breakout at The Raft, and didn't Nitro get out during that to blow up those poor children in Civil War #1? Reed was involved in making the faux-Thor that killed "Goliath" and the Skrulls don't like Reed very much, do they? Reed was pro-registration and turning heroes against him (wasn't Skrull-Hank involved in faux-Thor??) would throw them into more disarray if they were all being hunted already when the Invasion was revealed.

But the point is...the Captain America who died after Civil War [I]could havebeen a Skrull. Skrulls revert to their 'at rest' state upon death as far as we know, and couldn't a Skrull have been surgically altered to have his 'at rest' state be frail Steve Rogers?

Don't get me wrong (death is seldom permanent in comics so even when he first died I knew Cap would return sooner or later) I like the way Cap's death has been handled and I am patient enough to wait a very long time for him to return if that is how it goes.

The tied end of my ramble is...wouldn't Skrull-Hawkeye and Skrull-Mockingbird stir up the Marvel heroes to be 'sure' that the Cap who 'returns' in Secret Invasion is another Skrull if they themselves were revealed? Wouldn't that be a treat to them [the Skrulls], to trick the heroes (Wolverine maybe?) into killing the real Captain America, especially if he just managed to return after being gone for so long?

[lwhlee]

1.) Black Widow is a skrull. Ever since New Avengers started, she has been hostile to Logan and has not acknowledge her relationship to Logan. Beside flashbacks in Wolverine, she never once called her "little uncle."

2.) Magneto may be a skrull. He died and come back so many times. Going back and forth as a good guy and bad guy. Under his watch, millions of mutants died in Genosha. Decimation happened because of his actions toward Wanda in House of M. And started a war between humans and inhumans in Son of M with his actions to Pietro.

3.) With Hank being a skrull, then was he learning about the ins and outs of the human anatomy with Jan in Avengers #71. If Jan is not a skrull, she's going to be sick to her stomache when she finds out the truth about Hank. And has there been more than one Hank skrull? Did one Hank skrull died in KIA and replaced with another?

4.) Tigra is a possibility. She was very quick to betray Cap. She is easily replaced, she doesn't look normal. She has green eyes. She hasn't been her old buttkicking self. She hasn't shown any agility or fighting abilities. She just keeps getting knocked down. And she hooked up with skrull Hank out of nowhere.


And of course, there are skrulls among the real ones on the ship. Even though they may be captured on another planet, the skrulls probably separated their prisoners and replaced some of them with skrulls to infitrate them. So they could obtain personal informations about them they can't get otherwise. And they would be clue in to any escape plans and be prepared. And if the heroes escape, they would cause confusions when they're on Earth. And if they get outed as skrulls, then the heroes on earth wouldn't trust the heroes from space. Thinking they're all skrulls even if there are several real heroes among them.

[halfblack]

okay, maybe I missed this one (obviously i did) but WHAT PANEL FROM AVENGERS 502#!!!!

[rwe1138]

okay, maybe I missed this one (obviously i did) but WHAT PANEL FROM AVENGERS 502#!!!!
I can't get the pic to work, so just click this link (http://www.comicboards.com/avengers/view.php?trd=080427153612).

[fistofkhonshu]

Miriam Sharpe - mother of the dead kid who fearmongered the Registration Act into being

Emma Frost - shortly after she figured out how to undo Sentry's mindwipe on the planet, Scarlet Witch does a mindwipe on the planet, then Mephisto does a mindwipe on the planet. Since when does Mephisto wear gloves?
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m3/fistofkhonshu/Unfiled%20Photos/SMOMDHC-121.jpg

The Sentry is either a Skrull or really Captain Marvel all mixed up somehow.
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m3/fistofkhonshu/Unfiled%20Photos/Avengers_v1_091_p01fc.jpg

[AllPwrflStev]

Mockingbird died. She like died died. She didn't revert back to her skrull shape like Elektra did. Plus the Avengers didn't do autopsy after Mephisto killed her? Really? She also was one of the souls Grim Reaper brought back. She sent a message to Clint from the afterlife. Trust me I'm one of the five Bobbi fans, and even I think she's a skrull. If she's not a skrull, then this story is F*cking stupid! This is worse than the Colossus resurrection. Hell, at least every time they brought Wonderman back from the dead it made sense.

[The Guvnor]

The second issue was just average to me. Granted the art was fantastic but the first half felt too quickly read although the Mockingbird scenes saved the issue somewhat.

Anyhow Skrulls:
Black Widow - For starters the colourists can't seem to get the colours of her eyes correct from issue to issue plus there was the whole scene after the Doom battle where she went into one with Spider-Woman about her powers. (Which would lead me to believe that the Skrull Queen switch is a bit of a curve ball). Her thought balloons have also been pretty random too, Bendis has been banging on about clues in there for ages.

Doc Strange - His powers went all wonky for a while and then he disappeared for a bit. Remeber it was him who cast all the truth spells too so he could have manipulated them in any which way, maybe by using Skrull technology/magic. Wong seems a cert regardless.

Wolverine - I was thinking him for ages but I doubt it since he went to the trouble of saving Echo.

Sentry's wife- Explains how she got killed and then back to life.

Wonder-Man - No particular reason, he just looks a bit suspect and Brian Reed said he had written a good few skrulls.

Namor - What better way to invade Earth than to get Doctor Doom on your side.


In Mighty Avengers #13 we get a wider view of the board, and there are three changes from the previous issue:

1. Namor is no longer circled. Maybe that means Fury thinks he's been replaced, or just that he's no longer certain he's human.

2. Iron Man is circled in BLUE, meaning (we assume) that Fury doesn't doubt this is the real Tony Stark.

3. The bearded guy to the right of Lockjaw is circled in RED, meaning he's been replaced. I don't recognize this character. Who is he? What books is he in? Anyone?

In addition to this, there is evidence that the following are Skrulls:


Yeah I thought it might have been an artists balls-up at first. I think guy number 3 is Hydro Man but I doubt it, he doesn't seem high profile enough.


In fact, I'll call it right here, it will be decompressed just like House of M; 8 issues with only 6 worth of story.

6 issues? That's extremely generous, felt more like 4 to me. Agreed though, House Of M dragged in the middle, so did Civil War and that is my main worry with this event being 8 issues long. And that I continue to get ripped off by the frigging useless cardboard covers.

[noncore-kid]

Maybe Jess was switched out during Civil War, when Cage sent her away? Maybe the REAL Jess is still in Canada, waiting to hear that it's safe to return with the kid?

Oh! I had forgotten about Canada. Thanks for the reminder.

The Sentry is either a Skrull or really Captain Marvel all mixed up somehow.
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m3/fistofkhonshu/Unfiled%20Photos/Avengers_v1_091_p01fc.jpg
:eek::cool: Nice.
I loved the Sentry original mini series so I kinda hope you're wrong, but that'd be fun.

It's fun that the head shots on the upper left are 3 characters who have recently been the "enemy" behind an event, too. (Disassembled Wanda, HoM Pietro, Clor's co-creator/Skrull Hank.)

[fmyii]

I personally have been loving going back and reading all of those back issues after each new reveal. I try to keep up with it at http://thenoblog.com/

I never even thought of the whole Sentry/Sentry thing! I really believe all of the SI is Bendis's homage tot he original Kree-Skrull War. I can't believe I missed that.

[smulan77]

Spidey and Daredevil have extra-sensory abilities that that make them hard to replace, Lockjaw's a teleporter, and Prince Namor is a tough mutha.

Daredevil doesn't have extra-sensory abilities (the radar sense is a physical sense with no psychic/precognitive qualities), and I'd imagine that the powers of the truly high-powered characters that have already been shown to have Skrull counterparts would be much harder to emulate. Nitpicking aside (sorry), he's 100% not a Skrull, and it looks like the ones circled in blue are confirmed non-Skrulls, but who knows how that's supposed to work out... It might mean something completely different.

I probably don't read as many titles as everyone else here, so I would like for some kind and generous soul to indulge me with this whole Cage baby is a Skrull thing. What clues are there? :) Thanks!

[adamme]

On the other hand, Ronin (Clint Barton, formerly dead, formerly Hawkeye, formerly Goliath, formerly Hawkeye the first time, formerly a criminal) believes that Mockingbird is the real deal after pressing her to answer a question about the most painful day in their shared lives (her miscarriage, which they kept secret from the others). Granted, our paranoia sensors remind us that Ronin could still be Skrully (ah, the immortal panel in Avengers #502), but this encounter seems like a logical way to get Mockingbird back into the Marvel Universe. That would require a lengthy explanation to establish exactly who died at the hands of Mephisto; then again, it could just be magic.

In regards to the above as someone who didn't read the Avengers before, cna you tell me what its about the immortal panel in 502?

[ark_keeper]

Cyclops, Wolverine, and Luke Cage are my picks.

[Beeslo]

I know I'll be in the minority on this one, but I'm expecting the huge twist is going to be that that really is Captain America who emerged from the Skrull craft. Sure, its safe to say that he is a Skrull and that his "saving" those who escaped is merely a ruse as to take advantage of those gullible enough to believe it. But thats just it: everyone is going to think that, and what better place to throw a curveball but to reveal that Captain America never died.

But what about when Wolverine went to actually see the corpse for himself after Steve Rogers died. Part of me thinks that while I don't believe Tony Stark is a Skrull, its obvious that anyone in SHIELD could be one (which was obviously shown with Dugan being a Skrull) and access to Steve's body wouldn't have been that hard to pull off and could have switched his body with someone else.

Dunno, there are a lot of holes in the theory though. Like Wolvie would have been able to sense it wasn't Rogers, the way Rogers surrendered at the end of Civil War and a lot of other things. But think about it, if it weren't for Captain's actions at the beginning of Civil War, the war itself might not have happened and we most likely wouldn't have seen such a huge divide in the superhero community as a result. This would make me think it was a Skrull Captain America that forced the opposition.

Like I said, so many people are gunning for the usual suspects, I felt it'd be nice to go for this oddball darkhorse.

[dalunt]

My candidates for membership to the Brotherhood of the Skrull.


Wong
I forget what issue it was, but something said the Skrulls had invaded the Santium Santorium. I don't think it's Doctor Strange, it's Wong, who could easily manipulate things. Plus the Skrulls pulled the same thing with Jarvis, who saw that coming?


I did, he had green skrully eyes in an NA Issue (#2 I think)

[adri]

here r my skrullthoughts

wong's a skrull

emma frost aka white queen is a skrull.. someone has to be one in the x-men and i can't think of anyone better fitting the image than emma. she's got a lot to say with the muties and she used to be a baddie. sleeping with the leader of mutantkind is a very easy and direct way to get some power. wonder what cyclops will do though, knowing he's been sleeping with a sexy skrull.

jessica jones and her baby are skrull imposters, the real ones are still in canada. i thought it for some time since the baby's eyes were brown before she went there and when she was back they were green. i hope luke will go savage on her when he finds out.
the 70's jessica can't be real since it will damage the whole alias and pulse series. got to be a skrull too.

i've not been following the red hulk series thing but it seems they just couldn't imitate the right tone of green so the made him red ? possible ?

hope luke cage isn't a skrull. that would be dissapointing
for the rest i don't really care,i like the whole story anyway, just hope there won't be too many things that don't fit.

[adri]

almost forget who the biggest skrull is.. it's soo obvious.. president bush is definitely a skrull. he doesn't even need superpowers to get a world war starting and he frauded with the elections. don't forget the skrulls tried it earlier using politicians.

wonder where the real bush is though.. maybe in a cave in afghanistan

[burnitdown]

secret invasion has been satisfactory so far. i just hope its not an 8 issue mini just to say "no more registration act"

[Stormbreaker]

almost forget who the biggest skrull is.. it's soo obvious.. president bush is definitely a skrull. he doesn't even need superpowers to get a world war starting and he frauded with the elections. don't forget the skrulls tried it earlier using politicians.

wonder where the real bush is though.. maybe in a cave in afghanistan

Was this really necessary? Not only does it contribute nothing of worth to the conversation, but it also shows your ignorance concerning international affairs (in case you didn't notice, Al Qaeda is one of the major groups trying to start a war between East and West [remember the World Trade Center bombing, the USS Cole or September 11th?]. The White House isn't) and American electoral procedures (whether you like it or not, the man WON two presidential elections. He didn't fraud anybody). But whatever. This obviously isn't the thread for political debate or bashing.

As for SI, I am a bit underwhelmed by the event thus far, to be honest. I just can't help but see retconning hands in everything with an SI banner on it. I am just wondering what they'll retcon out of existence next. And I don't even think the reading is that compelling, either. I'll keep reading the main book but I am (again) dropping everything else SI-related except the Thor, X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova tie-ins.

[crood]

Mockingbird died. She like died died. She didn't revert back to her skrull shape like Elektra did. Plus the Avengers didn't do autopsy after Mephisto killed her? Really? She also was one of the souls Grim Reaper brought back. She sent a message to Clint from the afterlife. Trust me I'm one of the five Bobbi fans, and even I think she's a skrull. If she's not a skrull, then this story is F*cking stupid! This is worse than the Colossus resurrection. Hell, at least every time they brought Wonderman back from the dead it made sense.


The key word here is MEPHISTO. He could easily have prevented a dead Skrull from reverting. Anything to screw with the good guys is game for him.

Also, can someone check the timeline of Mockingbird's death? There was an extended period where all Skrulls lost their shapeshifting powers and were locked into whatever form they were in at the time. The Silver Surfer helped them restore their powers in order to stop a Skrull Civil War where a lot of innocents were caught in the crossfire.

[artiepants]

Was this really necessary? >snip<. But whatever. This obviously isn't the thread for political debate or bashing.
while i agree with a lot of your points, I also agree with Adri, the President is almost certainly a Skrull, Bendis laid down the clues way back in Secret War IMO.

(and something i like to remember is that the Black Bolt Skrull said "you've already lost" or something to that effect ~ The "Secret Invasion" happened before SI #1 ever came out)

[DarthJer]

If the Skrull Ship White Queen & Jean Grey are the real ones, and Cyclops has been sleeping with a skrull, since his previous skrull girlfriend died (You know, the one that was previously replaced by a clone that he had a kid with...)... Serious, Serious Trust Issues in the bedroom for that dude...

He may not be able to control his optic powers anymore, but I know what power he will NEVER use again...

Or has someone already made that joke and I'm late to the party?

[Beeslo]

jessica jones and her baby are skrull imposters, the real ones are still in canada. i thought it for some time since the baby's eyes were brown before she went there and when she was back they were green. i hope luke will go savage on her when he finds out.
the 70's jessica can't be real since it will damage the whole alias and pulse series. got to be a skrull too.

i've not been following the red hulk series thing but it seems they just couldn't imitate the right tone of green so the made him red ? possible ?

hope luke cage isn't a skrull. that would be dissapointing
for the rest i don't really care,i like the whole story anyway, just hope there won't be too many things that don't fit.
It wouldn't surprise me if Jessica Jones was a Skrull. Talk about a serious mind-f*ck for Cage when he finds out his baby is half-Skrull.

As far as Red Hulk goes, he is not connected to this series by any means. While it hasn't been officially revealed who Red Hulk is, we do know its not Banner and that this Red Hulk is nothing like the original in terms of how he acts (he uses a gigantic gun for instance).

I agree with you about Luke Cage, though. He better not be a Skrull.

I think everyone is correct about Wong, he definately seems like a likely candidate for being a Skrull (a la Jarvis).

My top 3 Skrull Imposters are:

Wolverine:
This one was a hard one for me to admit, but the evidence is really building against him. One, as someone else stated, he just rather appeared in the Savage Land without much reasons at the beginning of New Avengers and just promptly joined. His sense of smell hasn't exactly been accurate as of late (which would explain why "even Wolverine couldn't smell out a Skrull, because he's not Wolverine). The problem is, Wolverine canon is all over the place as far as continuity. When was Wolvie abducted?

Maria Hill:
When she was made Director of SHIELD, her ability came into question a lot of times. Sure she was filling in Nick Fury's big shoes, but something about how she carried herself and how she made decisions made me rather suspicious of her intentions. Also, its non to obvious what her feeling were when Tony Stark took command from her and she has since been put on the back burner out of the lime light which to me, makes her job easier as a Skrull (and who knows, maybe its after she lost control to Stark that she was abducted). However, we now know that SHIELD can easily be infilatrated.

I'm gonna go with Black Widow as my third:
I know a lot of people are going for Spider-Woman, but honestly. I don't think its happened...yet. Right now, New Avengers #40 was used to put people on edge and possibly make them look in the wrong direction. Yes, she has the most connections at the moment, but I think a lot of people aren't giving Nick Fury enough credit. The man is probably the most cautious person on the planet. After accidentally exposing his lover has a Skrull, I'd think he'd be a little on edge as far as revealing himself to too many people. I think he would already see the strategic place Spider-Woman has in this Invasion and wouldn't approach her if he thought she was a Skrull or would approach her (if he did know) to put the element of surprise back in his favor by leading her astray. Regardless, Nick Fury is incredibly resourceful and I don't think he'd play into Skrull hands so easy like.

Now as far as Black Widow, she does seem to be in a Spider-Woman like position where she is intergrated in with the Avengers and SHIELD and could easily do a lot of damage within. She also has been acting out of character a lot, in fact, her short moment in SI #1 (is proof of this). I'm sorry, I find it odd that she was surprised so easily when the New Avengers arrived to steal the Twinjet.

[buff1040]

Skulls...

1) I still say Cyclops is a skrull. He leads pretty much ALL the factions of X-Men running around, and still has a secret force with X-Force. That's one good way to control the mutant population, who would side with the rest of the Avengers in eliminating the skrull threat.

2) Storm is a skrull. Again, let's not forget how valuable the assets of Wakanda would be to the skrulls. Control the King, control the land. She will be revealed as one soon!

3) Savage Land: After reading SI#2 I know think all the characters on the 70's ship are skrulls... that includes Mockingbird, and Captain America. I know Cap's a skrull. He has to be. Ronin is a skrull too. I've been calling N.A. Luke a skrull since the beginning. This is going to wind up with one avengers book, I can see that. Plus we know that this storyline doesn't really intercept with Brubaker's Captain America.

I say good call on Cyclops, as he's basically broken up the X-Men altogether. Storm could very well be a Skrull too.

But only having one Avengers book? You can't be serious. Both New and Mighty are selling like crazy, no way Marvel decides it doesn't want that money.

[Stormbreaker]

while i agree with a lot of your points, I also agree with Adri, the President is almost certainly a Skrull, Bendis laid down the clues way back in Secret War IMO.

(and something i like to remember is that the Black Bolt Skrull said "you've already lost" or something to that effect ~ The "Secret Invasion" happened before SI #1 ever came out)

I totally forgot about the presidential appearance in Secret War. Was the president's last name in SW Bush? I honestly forgot, seeing as how I haven't read that series in a long time.

[civilwar vet]

I'm loving the way SI is going, I'm also looking forward to the Captain Britain re-launch, nice to have an excalibur launch which doesn't feature a pun on swords.

I'm also liking Fury's "New howling Commandos" (a better name than caterpillars!) from Mighty Avengers #12, it's a pretty random group and it reminds me that you could just go out into the street and assemble a superhero team whenever you want. I also like how the mighty avengers aren't even appearing in their own comic. I also love Fury's disguise (perhaps he say the end of iron man movie...). As for SI #2, it's just.... maybe there's a few too many double page splashes? 3 double page splashes out of 22 pages only leaves 16 for actual story and the impact gets a bit diminished. I don't want to get into the decompression row but I do feel that more story would be good as what's there is fantastic. I just hope that after 8 months/issues i don't find myself thinking that it could have been done in 6 or even 4.

Issue #1 of SI was so packed with stuff, #2 was a bit of a breather and to keep people guessing before diving back in for part 3. I think Mock & Cap are legit, it's the easiest way of bringing back characters yet. I do like the idea of a double bluff with Clint/Bobbi but we'll see.

Incidentally - it is far more likely that baby was replaced by skrull rather than having luke/jess being a skrull, if so it would have been born more green & skrully and probably not have much to do with an invasion (priorities for new-born skrulls are, I imagine, similar to newborn humans). therefore it is an adult skrull masquerading as the baby - which is a bit kinky but a fantastic way to gather information.

Re: Fury's list, why would you have circles to say "yup, human - definately" when anyone could be replaced at any time.

I really hope SI ends with Wanda's "no more Skrulls." that would piss off so many people! especially as we could have S-Day and only 198 skrulls left, luke's baby - Son of S, deci-skrull-imation etc. Go on Bendis do it! Just get yourself a bullet-proof vest.

[fistofkhonshu]

Thats actually not Hank as Goliath its Hawkeye. So if you really look at that cover again, they are all villains at some point just recently.

Marvel is a skrull sleeper agent, the dead hawkeye skrull from SI 2, Wanda, Pietro etc

[Beeslo]

You know all of this discussion has led me to believe two theories that I have come up with:

1) Reed Richards was about to reveal how the Skrulls had been hiding their identity so well before he was shot in the face. I think I have figured out how a Skrull could go undetected (by magic, tech and smell). They are human.

Okay, so maybe not entirely human. But I believe that the Skrulls were able to create clones of all the heroes that were abducted, and transplant Skrull DNA into them keeping them human with possibly cloned memories, but the ability to change shape back into a Skrull. The reason I think this was the moment in SI #1 where all the Skrulls iniated their act in unison with Cage opening the ship and tripping the beacon. I think that these cloned hero/skrulls were given the memories of the heroes the copied so that they will believe they are who they claim to be but programmed to reveal themselves and attack when the beacon went off. Up until that point, they believe they are the person that they are copying and no one else would be the wiser.

2) The other theory I have is that everyone is not giving the Skrulls enough credit for their plans. At first glance, you'd think the Skrulls were idiots for sending heroes to Earth that look like heroes from the 70's. I mean, seriously...Luke Cage with his fro and yellow jacket? Give me a break, right? But I think this was done on purpose. Notice when we find out that the "70's era" Spider-man indeed turns out to be a Skrull, we automatically ignore the fact that the Spider-Man that was with the New Avengers was indeed human. We have already seen signs that there have been multiple Carol Danvers and Susan Storms running around. What stops the Skrulls from kidnapping Spider-Man now and replacing him after everyone has determined he's not a Skrull because of the fake Spider-Man being dead? I say that this "Skrull ship" was used as a huge confusion tactic and that even more heroes have been replaced as a result of it rather than exposing more Skrulls. So yeah, Ronin (Clint) could still be a Skrull even though the fake Hawkeye was killed.



Also, someone else pointed out that a lot of the signs can be seen in their eyes, which is why a lot of people are pointing the finger at Wolverine. He clearly has blue eyes in SI #2 and his profile says he has brown eyes. And he's not the only one that falls under this...

[SMARTASS8]

Pah. People have Crises. Real universes have INVASIONS (or Wars if you're retro!);) :D

Exactly!!!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e8/Invasiondcu0.png/396px-Invasiondcu0.png (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e8/Invasiondcu0.png)

[fmyii]

Most of these theories are legitimate, but some are poorly researched. Everything that is happening has been Bendis using the original Kree-Skrull War as a road map.

All of my theories are at http://thenoblog.com/

If anyone is interested in checking them out.

[johnchrist]

WOOOT!

Man I am LOVING Secret Invasion. I was a week late picking up # 2 because I've got a life and all, but man what a great book!! I love everything about it especially Sentry getting pussified, yet again. Man, I just hate Supermanesque characters because I hate Superman as a character SO very much. I would just love to see him get killed in a comic on every single page, you know, just like bitch slapped down for 22 pages straight, just 5 panels each of him getting beat on and whimpering and then BAM, panel 6 just one big moneyshot of him eating it. Goddamn.. that would be nice... hell they could do the same to Sentry and I'd be happy. Yeah, that would be the first Superman book I bought since he originally got worked over back in the 90's.

Skrull picks of the week:
Spider Woman - Duuuuuuh!
Luke Cage's wife and child - I always forget supporting characters names but I think they are, or at least I hope they are, I don't like her much at all.
Mephisto - Because it would make me laugh :)