With Avengers: Endgame sowing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe new seeds for growth, the MCU has opened up to a world of endless possibilities. The use of time travel was a smart choice. It does undo a lot of things that happened in the past, chief of them being the Skrull race and their back story in the cinematic universe. Captain Marvel was a decisive movie in the Marvel mythos as well as a divisive one. It established the existence of the Kree and the Skrull race. But we will focus on how Avengers: Endgame may have changed the fate of the Skrulls in the MCU forever. They were portrayed as victims and refugees running away from a Kree inter-galactic invasion. We grew to sympathize them. But rest assured, that facet of their past may not stick for long. The Skrulls are coming back and they might be coming back as the bad guys this time to challenge the Avengers. Presenting – Avengers: Endgame may have undone Captain Marvel – Skrulls are now our enemies!!!
It was early 1962. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby sat together to draw the next set of villains that would challenge the Avengers for the seat of our planet. What Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did not know then was that their creation – the alien Skrull race, would go on to become a huge success, frequently recurring their roles as antagonists in major Marvel Comics storylines. Using their shape-shifting powers as well as their advanced technology, the Skrulls believed in the ‘Soft Invasion’ – which is infiltrating the highest authorities in any civilization, plant their own spies there, and turn the tide of war. Their form of aggression had negligible bloodshed and a high rate of success. Although they have only used such methods in very few arcs that come to our mind, the one storyline from the comic books that used this plot element in absolute detail was Secret Invasion – a major milestone of comic book storytelling.
In 2007, Brian Bendis helped launch the Secret Invasion saga. The storyline involved the heroes coming to the revelation that the Skrulls have managed to infiltrate the highest echelons of leadership all over the planet. Any friend – be it a superhero or a supervillain – could not be trusted because they could be a Skrull in disguise. The Skrulls had managed to do what no other alien race or villain before them ever could. They defeated the Avengers. They came within striking distance of achieving total supremacy and victory over the superheroes was almost upon them. The Shield Helicarrier was destroyed. Most of the Shield officials turned out to be Skrulls. The arc saw Tony Stark driving down the insanity lane. If not for the surviving heroes to launch a last-ditch combined offensive against the invading Skrull force in New York City, maybe the Skrulls would have won the match and Marvel Comics would no longer have ha the Avengers.
Yeah, Secret Invasion was THAT serious. But the storyline never got the recognition and acclaim it so truly deserved when it was released. Many readers and critics alike panned the hovering paranoia and the dark nature of the storyline. Many believed Comic books should not be this gritty. Brian Bendis soon found himself relegated to the menial villain of the day story arcs and his talent was wasted for years on stupendously stupid plotlines.
But in the following years, Secret Invasion became more and more famous. It was Secret Invasion that finally led to Marvel Comics venture into dark territory, a domain that had always been DC Comics’ stronghold until then. It also helped spawn the Dark Reign storyline, where Norman Osborn’s rise to power led to several unfortunate yet memorable events taking place in the Marvel Comics universe. So the question that remains to be asked is this – Can Avengers: Endgame lead to Secret Invasion storyline in MCU Phase 4?
Talos – The Skrull Leader in Captain Marvel, was there in Avengers: Endgame
When Captain Marvel revealed the Skrulls to the viewers, we see Talos, their charismatic leader, take charge to try and stop Captain Marvel. Talos is played by Ben Mendelsohn in the movie. He is trying to locate the Space Stone aka the Tesseract that is somewhere on Earth and get the coordinates to the light speed engine that a Kree scientist had developed. To achieve this, Talos used his skills to his maximum. He took on the role of a decorated Shield Official and a close confidante of Nick Fury. At the end of the movie, Talos was helped by Captain Marvel in acquiring the Light Speed Engine and escaping the Kree forces along with the rest of his species to a planet where their enemies could never reach them.
But here’s the catch – in Endgame, Talos is there! It is a blink and you will miss it scene but he is definitely there. At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Peter Parker returns to his old school. As Ned Leeds greets his resurrected buddy, a character in the background caught our attention. The figure is blurred and just fairly visible to make out the similarities it has with Ben Mendelsohn’s character – they both wear the same suit, have the same height, wear glasses, and even the mannerisms are quite similar. The actor was never credited but if it is indeed what we think it to be then it is quite a subtle hint at what’s to come in MCU Phase 4.
Where Captain Marvel faltered
The Skrulls, in the comic books, are a violent race that believes in expansion of territory for their empire via any means and at any cost. The Kree and the Skrulls are sworn enemies in the comic books. The movie takes a different approach though. The Skrulls are not actually violent and aggressive. They are just trying to get away from the Kree Empire that has been hunting them since time immemorial which is why they have gone almost extinct. This does not actually lead to the Skrulls being portrayed as villainous shape-shifters that want to conquer Earth. And therein lays the problem. A fascinating plot twist to the classic Skrull saga, Captain Marvel does lead to some loose ends. But the events of the movie are set in 1995, 23 years before the events of Avengers: Endgame. There might still be room for a course correction strategy. Secret Invasion might still happen.
Does Endgame really pave the way for Secret Invasion?
There are holes in this theory as well. Why would Talos, a high ranking Skrull operative, impersonate a Shield Official whose identity was compromised all the way back in 1995? Moreover, why would he impersonate the same guy and look the same as well? Wouldn’t it be logical for the guy to have aged since it has been 23 years? And why would the Skrulls plant Talos, one of their top spies and agents in Midtown High? Wouldn’t his skills be better utilized elsewhere since the Skrulls are hell-bent on conquering Earth, a planet that has resisted the Mad Titan, one of the most feared entities in the entire universe, not just once but twice already? Like we said, it is still just a possibility.
The Last solo Marvel movie to be released under the Disney banner is Captain Marvel. The movie is currently in theatres. The official film synopsis for the movie reads:
Captain Marvel is an extraterrestrial Kree warrior who finds herself caught in the middle of an intergalactic battle between her people and the Skrulls. Living on Earth in 1995, she keeps having recurring memories of another life as U.S. Air Force pilot Carol Danvers. With help from Nick Fury, Captain Marvel tries to uncover the secrets of her past while harnessing her special superpowers to end the war with the evil Skrulls.
Avengers: Endgame was released on 26th April, 2019. The official film synopsis of the movie has been released and it states:
“After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.”
