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We are a few weeks out from Marvel’s Secret Invasion, but we still have questions about what’s in store for Nick Fury, the world, and who that Super Skrull is. While we cannot answer many of these things before the streaming series hits Disney Plus, we can shed light on the superpowered Skrull. The shapeshifting aliens have been introduced in Captain Marvel, appearing in WandaVision and the upcoming movie The Marvels. In the trailers for the Nick Fury series, we see a glimpse of one with tentacles coming out of his arm, something we have not seen before, which makes our nerdy minds go to Super Skrull. Let’s dive in on who this is and what this means for the MCU.
What Is a Super Skrull in Marvel’s Secret Invasion?
As mentioned and by the name, a Super Skrull is one of the shapeshifting aliens with additional powers. In the Secret Invasion trailers, we see Kingsley Ben-Adir (One Night in Miami) as Gravik, a rebel Skrull with powers. This is an original character not originating from the comics, so we will not see what most comic readers know as Kl’rt, who is normally the powerful alien. While Captain Marvel introduced the normally villainous aliens as allies, this will show what shapeshifting powers can lead to when the wrong mindsets start to develop.
Traditionally, in the comics, Kl’rt is the Super Skrull. The respected soldier went down a dark path under the ruler Dorrek VII as he was given the powers of the Fantastic Four. He was sent to Earth to conquer it and defeat the superhero group. From the comic of the same name that inspired Secret Invasion, heroes went against not one Super Skrull but many. For Kl’rt, it was a story about family as he tried to reunite with his daughter, delivering more dimensions to his character as a sympathetic character that blurred the lines of hero and villain. Now, he is mostly a neutral character, depending on the story you read.
As mentioned, Gravik is new, so Marvel Studios will be free to develop the character in any way without any restrictions from the comics, not that it has stopped the studio before. We have seen some original characters before, but mostly in smaller roles. A leading antagonist could really shake things up. Ben-Adir could be in place of Kl’rt’s villainous past without the Fantastic Four connections, as we are still a long way away from that film. If Marvel wants, it could deliver that connection by planting the seeds that will build up to the Phase 6 film. Even without the Fantastic Four, we can see a new set of powers that go beyond elasticity, fire, flight, strength, and invisibility.
The Story of Secret Invasion and the Super Skrull in the Marvel Series
Like most in the MCU, the comic adaption is getting dissected for something else that readers will not be as familiar with. This twist will focus on the paranoid espionage side of the MCU, as we saw with the direction of The Winter Soldier. Nick Fury and Talos—which will see Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn reprise their roles, respectively—team up for a tight-knit operation to handle the current Skrull situation as some have gone rogue and risen to powerful positions that could make for dangerous change. In the trailer, we see how some of these changes could take place, but also how the Super Skrull in Secret Invasion goes toward terroristic methods with a bombing in a city.
This is quite the departure from the 2007 comic, which was a huge crossover event. This will develop a corner of the MCU that has been seen before that is darker and goes for a more grounded position compared to the spectacles we have seen from the Thor quadrilogy and Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy.
So, what does Super Skrull mean for the MCU after we meet him in Secret Invasion? It could shake up the power dynamics. While the introduction to Skrulls in Captain Marvel puts to question the identities of anyone we see on screen for shows and movies, a shapeshifting alien with powers is another story. As we see a more complex relationship with the aliens when it comes to their alignment than in the comics, this tosses up all kinds of difficult situations for both our favorite characters and the alien race. While we have Talos and his crew on the right side, what he goes through can shake up what happens with any future stories with the Skrulls in the MCU. As Marvel changes comic stories, the crossover event seen in the Secret Invasion comic could have a twist in a future movie or series.
Secret Invasion will be available on Disney Plus on June 21.