Strong female characters are where it’s at, but Marvel has been struggling to balance their most powerful heroines against the rules of their cinematic universe. Its latest effort, Secret Invasion, worked hard to bring more nuanced heroines into the MCU with G’iah (Emilia Clarke), the daughter of Skrull General Talos (Ben Mendelsohn). She was already a force to be reckoned with in earlier episodes, but the season finale sees her enter a whole new power bracket, which could have major ramifications for the MCU.
After a heart-to-heart with Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) in Episode 6, G’iah is exposed to the Harvest, a serum that carried the DNA of the Avengers and Thanos’ servants. Not only is she now a Super Skrull, she’s probably the most powerful being in the universe. We see her channel Captain Marvel, the Hulk, and Mantis in her showdown against Gravik, and once the dust clears she’s the last Super Skrull standing.
G’iah is later recruited by Sonya Falsworth of MI6 (Olivia Colman), so there’s a good chance we’ll see her again soon. With Gravik and Talos off the board, G’iah might even become the new leader of the Skrulls. She’s certainly got the power to defend her people, and to resume their search for a new home planet. But how will future Marvel projects reckon with G’iah’s unwieldy new abilities?
The MCU doesn’t always know what to do with its most powerful characters. Their abilities make things just a little too easy, which eliminates the tension Marvel projects need to drive the action forward. Take Thanos’ brief run-in with Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) in Avengers: Endgame. Carol could have defeated Thanos all by herself, and the same could be said for Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). Both had the Mad Titan on the ropes, and both are examples of how Marvel tries to reckon with raw power.
As Wanda demonstrated, few heroes understand the full weight of their abilities. Once she became the Scarlet Witch, however, her power levels went off the charts, forcing Marvel to write her off. Carol had a similar introduction in Captain Marvel, but she’s been able to explore her powers and grow even stronger... but she’s been doing it off-screen.
Marvel might take a similar approach to G’iah. She’s only just beginning to grasp the smorgasbord of skills at her disposal, but she seems like a fast learner. The next time we see her, she could be more powerful than Captain Marvel and the Scarlet Witch combined. That could pose a problem. Unless Marvel finds a way to integrate her into the MCU, omnipotence and all, it’s only a matter of time before she’s sidelined. That will be frustrating for fans, but there’s only so much you can do with a character who already has it all.
