5 Things You Should Know About The Skrulls and Their Place In Marvel
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Captain Marvel is here and with her movie come new heroes and villains. The movie boasts a pretty impressive assembly of characters. Fan-favorites like Nick Fury and Agent Coulson are returning and new characters like Mar-Vell, Goose, and the Supreme Intelligence are making their MCU debut. Some of the characters, Captain Marvel,
Of all the characters appearing in the movie, none may leave fans asking as many questions as the Skrulls. They’ve been around for nearly as long as the Fantastic Four. They’ve appeared in some of the most respected and loved stories (Annihilation and Secret Invasion) leaving many to why they haven’t made their MCU debut yet. Perhaps its because the MCU wasn’t ready for them or perhaps, Marvel needed to bring to close its first chapter (the Infinity Stones) before launching a new chapter.
Either way, their inclusion is appreciated. Before you go an watch the movie, however, you should arm yourself with a little knowledge about the species.
Here are 5 Things You Should Know About The Skrulls and Their Place In Marvell.
5. First Appearance
In 1961 Stan Lee was charged with creating the Marvel Comics equivalent to DC’s Justice League of America. With that, he set out and created the most well-known family in all of comics, the Fantastic Four. Then, in 1962 Fantastic Four #2 hit the market and with it, came a race of beings that changed Marvel Comics.
The issue, “Skrulls From Outer Space” sees the heroes acting a little out of the ordinary. As it turns out, the heroes are not the heroes and are actually the Skrulls. As is almost always the case, the team figures out how to beat their enemy before they can cause harm. It’s in this first encounter the reader sees exactly the power the alien race possesses…and the power that would come.
4. Gender Switching
During the extremely successful Secret Invasion storyline, the Skrulls planned too and nearly successfully invaded the Earth. Their take-over begin decades before and only ended after the superheroes became aware of their existence.
One of the most interesting things about the Skrulls during Secret Invasion was not that they could shapeshift and change their forms. No, one of the most interesting things about the Skrulls was that they had the ability to change their gender.
During the event, Skrulls spent time imitating Emma Frost, Jean Grey, Mockingbird, Invisible Woman, Scarlet Witch, and more. This should impress you. Think about it. Their transformation was so good that the men, often spouses, of the Marvel Universe couldn’t tell that they were imposters. Many theorists have predicted that the Skrulls have been in the MCU all along. If so, their ability to gender switch is definitely one of the things you should know about the Skrulls.
3. Super-Skrull
The Skrulls, like many other races, have diversity within their race. Due to their extremely long lineage, the Skrulls have had the chance to develop technology and advancements in ways that many can only dream on. For example, the Super-Skrull, Kl’rt possesses all the shapeshifting abilities of his brethren while having each of the abilities of the Fantastic Four.
He made his debut in Fantastic Four #18 and has grown more formidable by the year. Kl’rt was bestowed each of the powers after the Skrull Emperor sought to get revenge on the Fantastic Four after they foiled the Skrull invasion on Earth. What makes him such a worthy adversary is that his mimicry of the Fantastic Four actually makes his power set stronger and more controlled. He has been a thorn in the side of the Fantastic Four for decades and now that they are firmly back with Disney, I suspect that we will see him sooner than later.
2. Talos The Untamed
Unlike most Skrulls, Talos the Untamed was born without the ability to shapeshift. This abnormality may have made lesser individuals fall but Talos used it as a way to prove his doubters wrong.
In an effort to compensate for being unable to shapeshift, Talos worked to become the most feared warrior in the history of the Skrulls. And he did. Through his hard work and dedication, Talos rose the ranks of the Skrull Empire.
His reputation and unwavering commitment to being the best caused him to be nicknamed Talos the Untamed.
This name, however, did not last. During the Kree/Skrull War, Talos was captured and taken prisoner. It is told that those Skrulls captured during times of war are to commit ritual suicide so as to not give any secrets away during interrogation. Talos would not do this and therefore upon being freed was given the name Talos the Tamed. Because Talos is in the movie, he is one of the things you should know about the Skrulls.
1. A Single Lineage
The Skrulls are one of the longest standing species in the Marvel Universe. In fact, some estimates have their species as over a billion years old. What’s remarkable is that they weren’t always hell-bent on war and taking over the Earth.
It’s been written that the race actually came to be how they are today after the Celestials performed experiments on them. During the experiments, the Celestials split the Skrulls into three races, The Deviants, Eternals, and normal beings. The current Skrulls are direct descendants of the Deviant race.
The Deviants were a violent species capable of shapeshifting. Once the Celestials left, the Deviants turned on their brethren and slaughtered them. As the only race left, they rose to power and are now the beings that we know them as. It’s no surprise that they are about to make their debut in the MCU. After all, Thanos is a Deviant and an Eternals movie is on the way. Therefore, their long history is without a doubt, one of the things you should know about the Skrulls.
And that’s it. 5 Things You Should Know About The Skrulls and Their Place In Marvel. Thoughts? Can you think of any other things you should know about the Skrulls?
Cheers,
Joel
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