‘Secret Invasion’: What Is the Harvest?

Episode 2 of the MCU’s ‘Secret Invasion’ showed that Gravik had other plans to ensure his takeover would succeed. Of course, we know that Skrulls, as unique as they are, have their limits regarding their powers. That was what Gravik and Dr. Rosa Dalton were up to as they were looking to use the Harvest to find a way to become stronger. Now the penultimate episode of the show showed us exactly what it is. So, what is the Harvest in ‘Secret Invasion?’

The Harvest is a collection of Avengers DNA collected by Skrull collectors following the Battle of Earth during the last stand against Thanos. Gravik wants to get his hand on Avengers DNA to copy their powers. Gravik was also one of the Harvest collectors, which is why he is aware of its existence.

Considering that it takes more than just thousands of shapeshifting aliens to take over an entire planet, Gravik, and the Skrulls need to find a way to ensure they are strong enough to fight off entire armies and even other superheroes. That is likely what the Harvest is for. Now, let’s look at what we know about the Harvest.

The Harvest explained

It was already made clear as early as the first episode of ‘Secret Invasion’ that the goal of Gravik and the Skrulls is to take over the entire planet through a secret invasion that involves destabilizing entire governments and using terrorism to force nations into going to war with one another. But while that may be true, episode 2 allowed us to understand why certain figures weren’t involved in the storyline even though the fate of the entire planet was at stake here.

Specifically, people wondered why superheroes like the Avengers aren’t going to be in ‘Secret Invasion’ even though its comic book counterpart involves all sorts of superheroes. In fact, during the meeting of the Skrull Council, one of the members asked Gravik what they could do in case the Avengers were to return. Gravik said that he had a plan in store for that.

Meanwhile, in the meeting between Nick Fury and Colonel James Rhodes, Fury told him that the Skrulls mounted the terrorist attacks. While Rhodes wasn’t surprised about the existence of Skrulls, he was surprised that the invasion was now underway. Rhodes brought up the idea of calling their “friends,” who we believe are the Avengers. However, Fury didn’t want to involve the Avengers because he knew this would only complicate things, especially with the Skrulls having the ability to shapeshift.

But while that may be true, Gravik was still preparing the Skrulls for a possible fight with any superheroes on Earth. That was when we learned that he had a certain Dr. Rosa Dalton working on something in the Skrull compound in Russia. Dalton brought up the “the Harvest” concept, which seems very important to Gravik and the Skrulls.

Gi’ah, unaware of what was happening in the lab, tried to learn more by logging into Dalton’s computer. That was when Gi’ah saw that the Skrulls had been collecting DNA samples of different people and species on Earth. In that scene, we saw that they could collect the samples of Groot, Cull Obsidian, a Frost Beast from Jotunheim, and an Extremis.

It does seem like Gravik is banking on the Harvest as one of his secret weapons against humanity and the different protectors of Earth. That’s because this is one of the things that will give him and the Skrulls the edge that they need to become strong enough to face entire armies and superhero groups.

As strong as the Skrulls are, they aren’t much stronger than ordinary humans. And the possibility of them incorporating the DNA of other species should give them the advantage they need over humanity.

Fury finally revealed what ‘The Harvest’ is, and it’s his fault that it exists

Until episode 5 of ‘Secret Invasion,’ we could have only speculated exactly what the Harvest was. The latest episode revealed that it could be an extremely powerful weapon in the hands of the wrong Skrulls, and it’s Fury’s fault that it exists.

So, the Harvest is a collection of various Avengers’ DNA. And if it’s used in Gravik’s special Super-Skrull machine, it can be used for Skrulls to gain the powers and abilities of the notable Avengers. While we know that magical powers are not directly stored in the DNA, we do know that some Avengers exist that have vastly different DNA structures than the rest of the humans, which are, in turn, the source of their powers.

For starters, Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, owes her superpowers to her Kree/Human hybrid DNA, and Thor comes to mind, who is not human at all but rather an Asgardian with Asgardian DNA.

It seems unlikely that Avengers would just go around handling out their DNA samples, especially if you think about all the various means through which this DNA can be used.

How did Fury get his hands on Avengers DNA?

The Harvest was collected during the Battle of Earth when Earth’s greatest heroes fought against Thanos. In such a large-scale battle, many members of the Avengers and other superpowered characters and creatures got injured, so it was inevitable that some samples of the DNA in the form of blood, sweat, and other bodily fluids would be collected in the vicinity.

Following the battle, Fury sent special Skrull operatives on a secret mission to collect that DNA and possibly utilize it for his various spying schemes connected to Skrulls. Gravik was one of the Skrulls serving as the “collectors” of the DNA, which is why he knows about the existence of the Harvest.

Fury, however, didn’t trust anybody, really, with the information about the Harvest’s whereabouts since he was aware that it could be used as a powerful weapon for a multitude of purposes, and this is why he kept it hidden in Finland across multiple locations.

He eventually revealed the location to Sonya Falsworth when Gravik blackmailed him into delivering the Harvest to him.

The Harvest seeks to create Super-Skrulls

In the comics, the entire ‘Secret Invasion’ storyline follows the literal secret invasion that the Skrulls had prepared for a long time. Of course, the Skrulls used their Super-Skrulls to increase the chance of their invasion’s success in the comics. And these Super-Skrulls had different powers and abilities that made them far stronger than the regular Skrulls of Skrullos. 

The Super-Skrulls in the comics were genetically modified to be stronger than regular Skrulls. They underwent the process of having copies of the powers of certain heroes and villains embedded in their own genetic makeup. That was why the comics ‘Secret Invasion’ storyline was such a big event that required the help of some of Earth’s best superheroes.

Of course, the MCU Skrulls are similar to their comic counterparts in that they can shapeshift. The problem is that they can be quite limited in their other powers and abilities. And that means they aren’t strong enough to mount a full-scale invasion without the help of genetic modifications that give them powers.

That is where the Harvest comes in as one of the things that Gravik relies on regarding his upcoming war against humanity. He and his Skrulls collected DNA samples from around the world to prepare for this invasion. And this is where the concept of the MCU’s Super-Skrulls comes in.

Likely, Gravik is now on his way to creating Super-Skrulls that could become his secret weapon against Earth’s protectors, including the Avengers. That is why the Harvest is very important to him, as this would give him the edge that he and his Skrulls need in their quest to take over the entire planet.

As seen in the trailer, Gravik will eventually gain the same ability that Groot possesses. That’s because one of the DNA samples he collected came from Groot when he was on Earth during the events of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ And this Harvest will likely allow us to see the rise of the Super-Skrulls that Nick Fury should have a hard time dealing with in the future.

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