DAMN DIRTY SKRULLS: WHAT WE KNOW NOW 5

[MattBrady]

by Lucas Siegel and Troy Brownfield

The Topic: Tracking the Secret Invasion and its incremental revelations.

The Previous Installment: here.

So where are we and what’s happened since we last spoke?

Captain Britain and MI13 #1: definitely had its fill of Skrulls. MI13 has in fact had a Skrull working for them for years, if not decades, who looks like John Lennon. The opening of the issue revealed that the U.S. teams and government are not the only in the world that have been infiltrated, however, as Mr. Grimsdale, the Joint Intelligence Committee Chair and thus head of MI5, 6, and 13, was found to be a Skrull, and killed by Pete Wisdom, in collusion with “John Lennon.” The most important detail however was not the reveal, but the fact that the John Lennon Skrull could somehow tell for sure that Mr. Grimsdale was a Skrull, once he got close enough. This detection technique could come in quite handy if used by say, Hulking of Young Avengers and/or Xavin of Runaways. We then met several Super Skrulls, displaying powers of Ghost Rider, Morbius, Lord Hawk, Iceman, Namor, Silver Surfer, Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, Doc Spectrum, and Hyperion (whew!). Probably the most interesting of those would be Silver Surfer, due to their ability to mimic the power cosmic, and Doc Spectrum, whose powers come from an artifact, the Power Prism. These show very high level mimicking, and somewhat conflict with The Sentry’s treatment over in Mighty Avengers. That, or it puts into perspective just how potentially powerful The Sentry really is. The Skrulls are seen as especially susceptible to super-speed attacks, and brute strength. Their main goal in Great Britain is shown as the destruction of the Siege Perilous. This gateway to Otherworld and Avalon is also the source of magic for the entire world. The story ends with the seeming destruction of the Siege, along with Captain Britain, in an enormous explosion.

Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1: filled in the blanks that were left following the FF’s appearances in Secret Invasion #1, as well as giving readers a surprising reveal. Sue, while out of town, walks into her hotel room to find that Reed has surprised her by coming to spend some nice quality alone time together. Unfortunately, this is in fact a Skrull imposter, who quickly reveals himself. He incapacitates her with her own powers, tells her of Reed’s fate (see: splattered all over Tony Stark’s lab by Skrull Pym in [b]SI #1[b]), and laughs that she, the “the most powerful of the Four” was so easy to defeat. We then see a more detailed version of the imposter-Sue entering the Baxter Building and warping the top half of it away into the Negative Zone, with Johnny, Ben, and the kids inside. The public that witnesses this think it’s just another wacky experiment, and Ben spends the rest of the issue fighting Annihilus bugs. Johnny confronts “Sue” in Reed’s lab, where she flat out tells him there’s a massive Skrull infiltration and invasion going on across the entire world. She first tries to convince him that Ben is Skrully, but he quickly figures out she’s a fake through the use of a favorite movie question (when you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way). She had, however, been very personal with young Mister Storm, constantly calling him Johnny, and even asking for his forgiveness right after the big building warp. Finally, he deduces and she reveals that she is Lyja. Lyja was married to Johnny Storm under the guise of Alicia Masters, and has been an on-again off-again flame of the Torch’s (pun intended) for years. The powers she displays at the end of this issue were thought lost to her, as they were initially from a device implanted within that had since been removed. It remains to be seen if a similar device has been implanted once again, or if she now has powers from another source. Also, it should be noted that Lyja has betrayed her fellow Skrulls to side with her love, Johnny Storm, several times; whose side she is on is always in question, and is always in flux.

Mighty Avengers #14: Though not as revelation-packed as you might like it to be, we do get a couple of things confirmed. We already knew that the Vision in the Savage Land was a Skrull, but we now know that it is Official Skrull Strategy from the How To Orchestrate a Secret Invasion Handbook: Third Skrull Edition that you can render Sentry ineffective by pretending to turn into The Void. This was demonstrated in the clandestine meeting that offered precious few other pieces of confirmed data. (It is kind of funny though to picture the masterminds of alien overthrow meeting in what seems like a broom closet.) All of this anti-Sentry plotting does, however, speak to the fact that the Sentry has been the Sentry (and not a Skrull) to this point. In fact, Sentry even fought Skrulls back in pre-disappearance history, and earned enough enmity to be a prime target for Skrull-Jarvis and the gang. As for the ending of the issue, well . . . that’s a little unclear. Sentry flies to Saturn, reacts in distress at . . . something (a Skrull pretending to the The Void? A Skrull pretending to be him? The Real Void? An obelisk with a fetal shape on it?), and then what appears to be a Void-possessed Sentry returns to Earth to pound a Skrull and embrace a terrified Lindy.

The Incredible Hercules #117: Most of this issue is concerned with assembling the “God Squad”, a group of champions chosen by the Council of Pantheons to bring the divine hurt down on the invading Skrulls. While there’s a rather obvious tease toward the notion that Athena might in fact be a Skrull, the truly interesting Skrull activity here centered around their own pantheon. Athena puts two names to the gods behind the Skrull holy war: Kly’bn, the Eternal Skrulls, and Sl’gur’t of the Infinite Names. The concern of Earth’s Pantheons is that they don’t want their own worship replaced by the interest of the Skrulls. Apart from that, the main thing is the question of Athena. I would truly hope that she’s not a Skrull for two reasons: 1) Pak and VanLente do a great job of writing her, and 2) It would be a real bummer to see Athena replaced by an alien imposter in two events from two different companies within the same year.

Next?: What’s to come? Well, the Skrull watch is in full effect from here on out. This week, we have Ms. Marvel #27, an un-official tie-in with a new dimension to the invasion (hint: what other alien race seems to always pop up with Skrulls are involved?), and New Avengers #41, which picks back up in the Savage Land. June then picks up the pace with no less than 10 Skrully books. Stay tuned here for all your Skrull updates as the Invasion continues!

[Lord Stark]

I'm not sure if this has been adressed or not, but when was Hank Pym replaced by a Skrull?
Civil War showed us that Hulkling replaced him, and he is half-Skrull... so that could either be one of the big reveals, or there's a Skrull posing as Hulkling, which could have replaced him in as early as the last Young Avengers issues of the first series.

[Marvel Man]

Originally Posted by Lord Stark

I'm not sure if this has been adressed or not, but when was Hank Pym replaced by a Skrull?
Civil War showed us that Hulkling replaced him, and he is half-Skrull... so that could either be one of the big reveals, or there's a Skrull posing as Hulkling, which could have replaced him in as early as the last Young Avengers issues of the first series.

I believe Mighty Avengers #15 will address how & when Hank Pym was replaced by a Skrull. Can't wait...

[protege]

i don't know if this question has been asked yet, but if you could have only one female skrull on the side of the heroes when SI was over- who would you pick? Lyja or Jazinda?

[CaptainCanad]

Originally Posted by Lord Stark

I'm not sure if this has been adressed or not, but when was Hank Pym replaced by a Skrull?

According to the most recent NA issue, he was already a Skrull by New Avengers #15, which was pre-CW.

[SuperStories]

I think (and hope) Hank was killed in Avengers Intitivte #3. Remeber Slott talking about a good death for Hank, the final stand of Yellowjacket, and other details which turned out to be a tease. Pehraps it was not the tease we all assumed.

[Ken B.]

Originally Posted by SuperStories

I think (and hope) Hank was killed in Avengers Intitivte #3. Remeber Slott talking about a good death for Hank, the final stand of Yellowjacket, and other details which turned out to be a tease. Pehraps it was not the tease we all assumed.

Nah, Slott has a really, really bad, annoying habit of killing characters only to bring them back later in the issue or by the end of the arc.

[Corpulent1]

Originally Posted by Marvel Man

I believe Mighty Avengers #15 will address how & when Hank Pym was replaced by a Skrull. Can't wait...

I'll have to check that out, although I'm a little apprehensive since it's written by Bendis, who has an admitted hatred of Hank as a character. He tends to write him as an unlikeable jerk whom everyone despises, despite the fact that everyone moved on from that one despicable wifebeating incident years ago, even by comic time, and Hank's spent every waking moment since trying to be a better man.

[protege]

Originally Posted by Ken B.

Nah, Slott has a really, really bad, annoying habit of killing characters only to bring them back later in the issue or by the end of the arc.

So maybe texas twister really DID die... man, he better not be a skrull, too.

[ejulp]

Hank being a Skrull in Civil War makes a tooooon of sense.

Um, I dunno but I'm kinda bored with all this Skrull stuff already, I reread some of Civil War and House of M over the weekend and SI so far pales...I realize lot of story is left to be told, but, I really wish something unexpected would happen, this really has been kinda tame so far.

[Hulksmash100]

Originally Posted by ejulp

Hank being a Skrull in Civil War makes a tooooon of sense.

Um, I dunno but I'm kinda bored with all this Skrull stuff already, I reread some of Civil War and House of M over the weekend and SI so far pales...I realize lot of story is left to be told, but, I really wish something unexpected would happen, this really has been kinda tame so far.

Yeah I find myself completely in agreeance with this statement. This whole "Everyone's a Skrull & You didn't even think of that!?" idea that Marvel & Bendis are expecting us to swallow in this story is a tad trite. I mean how surprised are we supposed to act when we've had 6 months + of hype showing us how anyone & everyone could be a skrull... now everyone & anyone's turning out to either be a skrull or not & we're supposed to be impressed? Where's the drop your pants moments? Where's the crap I can't believe moments? So far, this has been a terribly de-compressed typical Boring Bendis event. 4+ issues of setup set up setup, & then we finally get some progress & answers w/ the story. I have yet to really care about any of this so far, & it's sad b/c I was genuinely anticipating something exciting from this. Also the way they're just disgustingly blanketing the rest of the Marvel U w/ the same boring ass story, putting all our favorite titles on hold so we can play out the "Who's a Skrull" nonsense in every book? It just seems a tad over done for my taste.... didn't any of the Genius editorial over at Marvel think this would seem like overkill when they were planning this release schedule in conjunction w/ the Invasion story?

Man i'm getting tired already & we're 2 months in.. Yikes. Good luck Marvel..
Horray for DC & a relatively crossover free crossover w/ Final Crisis.

Freaking Event bases comics man. They suck. So weary... so soo weary.

[ThatGuamGuy]

Originally Posted by Corpulent1

I'll have to check that out, although I'm a little apprehensive since it's written by Bendis, who has an admitted hatred of Hank as a character. He tends to write him as an unlikeable jerk whom everyone despises, despite the fact that everyone moved on from that one despicable wifebeating incident years ago, even by comic time, and Hank's spent every waking moment since trying to be a better man.

I have long assumed that Bendis was going to use this story to reveal that Hank was a Skrull when he did that. That was what led me to predict that Hank would be revealed to be a Skrull in the first issue, and he was.

These show very high level mimicking, and somewhat conflict with The Sentry’s treatment over in Mighty Avengers. That, or it puts into perspective just how potentially powerful The Sentry really is.

I hope The Sentry gets killed. Marvel keeps acting as if he's interesting because he's powerful, but the more powerful they make him, the less interesting he is.

[blehbeh]

I hope The Sentry gets killed. Marvel keeps acting as if he's interesting because he's powerful, but the more powerful they make him, the less interesting he is.

That would be nice, but probably won't happen. What would actually make the Sentry interesting was if Secret Invasion sends him over the edge completely, and nothing is left at the end but The Void as a major recurring villain.

[Corpulent1]

Originally Posted by ThatGuamGuy

I have long assumed that Bendis was going to use this story to reveal that Hank was a Skrull when he did that. That was what led me to predict that Hank would be revealed to be a Skrull in the first issue, and he was.

Eh, while I guess it wouldn't really be terrible if Bendis removed that particular blemish from Hank's history, I'm not real anxious to see it. Hank hitting Jan is part of the reason why Hank's so interesting as a character. He's got problems and flaws and he struggles against them but sometimes he falters. It was disappointing to see a hero stoop to that level, but there were certain mitigating factors (like his total mental meltdown at the time) and it ultimately led to decades of wonderful characterization as various writers had Hank deal with the repercussions of that one incident and try to better himself. The whole thing had been put to bed for the most part too, until Johns put Hank back in the Yellowjacket costume, and then Austen wrote him as a total bastard, and then Bendis decided to bring it up everywhere he possibly could.

Plus, if Bendis really hates wifebeaters so much that he's willing to go back on a good 30 years of development to retcon out that incident, I'll be expecting a Skrully reveal for a certain web-slinger soon.

[l.21]

The best and cheapest way to enjoy this event! Lucas, Troy, thank you good sirs.

[shreder75]

I'm with Lucas and Troy here in regards to Athena's potential skrully problem..

even though everything points to her being a srkull as of increcdble herc's latest issue (which you should be reading if you're already not!), I liked their take on the character so much over the past few issues that I hope it's not so

also what they said abotu the Silver Surfer being a skrull but the skrulls not being able to mimic Sentry's power...it's either a big contradiction or good idea as to 'how powerful he really is'..and how powerful does this guy NEED to be...'the power of a million exploding suns' is already way too much...

sorry, just on an anti sentry kick these days..hell, in the World War Hulk Gamma files entry for the Hulk, Rob Reynolds/Sentry has been retconned into the HULK'S ORIGIN!!!!!!

ughhhhh

[rpriske]

While I appreciate the desire to 'fix' Pym by erasing that incident, but that would mean wiping out MOST of Pym's history. That would be a little excessive.

[rwe1138]

We also now know that Skrulls = $$$$$.

[andytech]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

Probably the most interesting of those would be Silver Surfer, due to their ability to mimic the power cosmic, and Doc Spectrum, whose powers come from an artifact, the Power Prism.

Wasn't the Power Prism once revealed to actually be a Skrull?

I think it was an Avengers Annual back in the late 70's or early 80's.

[rick20033]

Originally Posted by ejulp

Um, I dunno but I'm kinda bored with all this Skrull stuff already, I reread some of Civil War and House of M over the weekend and SI so far pales..

Not me. I love the "replaced by alien shapeshifters" concept and I think Bendis is doing a bang up job of translating it into the Marvel universe for this event. I enjoyed CW and House of M (I never understood the hostility directed toward the latter), but this event has an even tighter lock on my attention. I had planned on picking up DC's Final Crisis, but after Countdown I think I'll cancel the pull-and-hold on it. Secret Invasion is the event I care about this summer.

[Corpulent1]

Originally Posted by shreder75

also what they said abotu the Silver Surfer being a skrull but the skrulls not being able to mimic Sentry's power...it's either a big contradiction or good idea as to 'how powerful he really is'..and how powerful does this guy NEED to be...'the power of a million exploding suns' is already way too much...

I don't have a problem with his power level on its own. It's this ridiculous insistence that his power level has to be superduperultraway beyond everyone else's. The idea that it'd be okay to copy Thor's power level, let alone the Silver Surfer's, and not the Sentry's is just annoying. Thor, the Hulk, Dr. Strange, and the Surfer were basically the top dogs of Marvel's protagonist powerhouses for forty years. Why is that suddenly not good enough now that the Sentry is around? Just put him right on their level and quit shoving the message that he's somehow light years beyond all of them down our throats just 'cause he's a shiny new toy for the current regime to play with.

[OM]

Originally Posted by Lord Stark

I'm not sure if this has been adressed or not, but when was Hank Pym replaced by a Skrull?

...Anyone care to place a bet as to whether or not the switch took place just prior to Jim Shooter turning Hank into a wife-beating psychotic?

[shreder75]

Originally Posted by Corpulent1

I don't have a problem with his power level on its own. It's this ridiculous insistence that his power level has to be superduperultraway beyond everyone else's. The idea that it'd be okay to copy Thor's power level, let alone the Silver Surfer's, and not the Sentry's is just annoying. Thor, the Hulk, Dr. Strange, and the Surfer were basically the top dogs of Marvel's protagonist powerhouses for forty years. Why is that suddenly not good enough now that the Sentry is around? Just put him right on their level and quit shoving the message that he's somehow light years beyond all of them down our throats just 'cause he's a shiny new toy for the current regime to play with.

I agree..he seems to be at the heart of everything that's going on...SI, World War Hulk, etc, etc..that and we've actually learned VERY little about him in the past year and a half or so other than he's bat crap crazy...oh, and he's been around since the beginning and used to know everyone and everything..I think that's my biggest problem.the whole retcon that slapped him right into the MU as one of its biggest guns...then there's speculation that he's a certain space faring super being who's name starts with a B..I won't spoil it, but I'm sure you've seen it already) in which case, what happens to him could be very interesting..but if it doesn't go that way, it's probably going to annoy me..

anywho, back to powerlevels...like you said, I agree..if it weren't tha the were crazy he'd be like superman of a few years past...practically indestructible..and boring..

[civilwar vet]

Still liking the way SI is going, definitely hanging in til the end.

I also liked the Cap Britain reboot, could be a decent ongoing (at last) especially the death of Mr. Grimsdale (shout out to (Norman) Wisdom).

Is mighty avengers weekly now or what?

also I doubt they'll bother explaining exactly when folk were replaced by skrulls, it'll just create more continuity confusion, best to just leave it. Any one could be replaced any time right, sounds like great marvel shortcut to not having to keep up with ongoing continuity.

Also the sentry is ok, they shouldn't keep trying to ret-con him into old stories, that's boring, but otherwise he makes a nice piss-take of superman.

[ejulp]

Originally Posted by rick20033

Not me. I love the "replaced by alien shapeshifters" concept and I think Bendis is doing a bang up job of translating it into the Marvel universe for this event. I enjoyed CW and House of M (I never understood the hostility directed toward the latter), but this event has an even tighter lock on my attention. I had planned on picking up DC's Final Crisis, but after Countdown I think I'll cancel the pull-and-hold on it. Secret Invasion is the event I care about this summer.

i've read some of these comments and think i just realized something...i think this series would (for me) been more exciting if there had been less direct-visual set up...maybe not see the skrulls till the miniseries...maybe only see skrullectra in a NA arc the month before secret invasion hit. some set-up is required, but what if we didn't know it was skrulls until the mini-series? THEN showing the pieces fall into place (right now) would be much more suspenseful and exciting.