Three episodes in, Secret Invasion has finally tipped its hand and revealed Gravik’s master plan. If you looked closely at previous episodes, it was obvious something was being established, but the result is far different than anticipated, and ties into one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most underrated movies.
In Episode 3, Skrull rebel leader Gravik presents his scheme to the Skrull council. Using genetic engineering, he reveals that Skrulls can now adopt not only the image of others, but also their superpowers. This new evolution of the Skrull is dubbed a Super-Skrull.
We see this when Talos stabs Gravik in the hand during a tense parlay. Instead of reeling in pain, he simply slides his hand out from the knife as orange energy envelops and heals the wound. This was a big reveal for viewers... unless they paid close attention to Episode 2. In it, G’iah investigated the DNA samples harvested by the Skrulls, which include Groot, the Frost Beast, Cull Obsidian and, crucially, Extremis.
Extremis was the name of the genetic “upgrade” featured in Iron Man 3. It’s an interesting callback considering most of the Easter eggs in Secret Invasion have been more focused on more recent projects like Captain Marvel and Black Widow, but it’s nice to see that one of the most underappreciated Marvel movies hasn’t been forgotten.
In Marvel Comics, Super-Skrull, otherwise known as Kl’rt, was introduced as a Fantastic Four villain. The Skrull Emperor chose him to defeat the team by adopting their powers and becoming the perfect weapon. Over the years, the Super-Skrull’s villainy spread across Marvel Comics; in the Infinity Wars crossover event, for example, Doctor Strange used the Time Stone to defeat the Super-Skrull.
But the Super-Skrull we see in Secret Invasion has new powers and motivations. Gravik can heal himself and, thanks to the trailer, we know he has Groot’s ability to throw vines around. However, the existence of Super-Skrull raises further questions, like how the Skrull obtained all those DNA samples, and how Cull Obsidian and the Frost Beast’s powers will reveal themselves. Secret Invasion still has three episodes left to answer them, so expect further twists.
Secret Invasion is streaming on Disney+.
