Marvel Characters Emilia Clarke Could Be Playing In Secret Invasion

Marvel's Secret Invasion is gearing up to be one of their most exciting and game-changing events, and with the recent casting of Emilia Clarke, there are now a whole host of characters who could be making their MCU debut. In the comics, "Secret Invasion" is the name of a 2008 comic book storyline that sees the shapeshifting Skrulls launching a discreet invasion of planet Earth by impersonating multiple members of the superhero community at large. Running from an ancient prophecy foretelling the destruction of the Skrull homeworld, the aliens decide to strike at Earth during a crucial time; one where the Avengers are still reeling from the culmination of the Decimation of the mutant population as well as the fallout of the Superhero Registration Act.

There's a huge air of mystery surrounding Secret Invasion, in part due to the stacked cast. Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn are returning as Nick Fury and Talos, respectively, along with newcomers Kingsley Ben-Adir, Olivia Colman, and Emilia Clarke joining in as-of-yet unannounced roles. Another topic of speculation is the cause of the invasion. In the Marvel comics, the Skrulls are long-standing foes to several of Marvel's greatest heroes, but in the MCU they're actually a generally peaceful race of refugees running from the violence enacted against them by the warmongering Kree. It's a major change made in Captain Marvel that completely shakes up the dynamic regarding the Skrulls every time they're on-screen.

With so many questions, it seems like some of the new mystery characters being introduced into the mix might have some answers. And at the heart of it all might be Emilia Clarke, who could be playing a number of characters directly related to the original storyline.

Queen Veranke

In the comics, Queen Veranke is the architect of the Skrull invasion of Earth and a direct participant herself. In her youth, she foretold an ancient event that would completely destroy the Skrull homeworld, leading to her being thrown in prison for religious extremism. However, after the old Skrull emperor was killed by Galactus, Veranke ascended to power due to her lineage, preparing her race for a full-scale takeover of Earth using the discretion of their shapeshifting. To do this, she uses genetic information stolen from the secret society of superheroes known as the Illuminati to better prepare her forces to deal with Earth's legion of superhumans and uses that same knowledge to impersonate Spider-Woman for over a year.

This is a role that Emilia Clarke could easily cut her teeth on, considering that she's already played royalty before. Queen Veranke and Daenerys Targaryen aren't that different at first glance; they're both powerful women who underwent traumatic obstacles in their youth, and who now command incredible power in pursuit of what they believe to be the common good of their people. Veranke is portrayed as a traditional "sympathetic" villain in the comics, someone who's willing to do anything for the convictions that they believe in, and Emilia is certainly an actress who can bring a specific level of depth to that kind of characterization considering the work she did to make Daenerys Targaryen's turn to villainy feel believable.

Abigail Brand

With S.W.O.R.D. having officially made their MCU debut in the fourth episode of WandaVision, now would be as perfect a time as any to introduce Abigail Brand, former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and commanding officer of the more space-centric S.W.O.R.D. When the Skrull invasion of Earth went down in the comics, S.W.O.R.D. was being used as a covert organization designed to monitor threats and species from beyond the stars, giving humans a watchful eye on things beyond their control. Although the Skrulls' shapeshifting abilities made them hard to detect and gave their attempted takeover an edge that the world hadn't been exposed to in a full-scale manner, the actions of Abigail Brand and Reed Richards were instrumental in alerting the rest of the superhero community about the situation that was currently taking place.

Having starred as the femme fatale Kira in Disney's Solo: A Star Wars Story, Emilia would already be primed for the world of aliens and intergalactic espionage that Abigail Brand finds herself in constantly. Depending on whether or not Emilia's part in Secret Invasion is a one-off appearance or part of something much bigger, there's a strong possibility that we could see a character like Abigail Brand take over SWORD from its disgraced former director Tyler Hayward. And with more intergalactic characters being introduced, such as the Eternals as well as any cosmic threats that might pop up in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, the universe is certainly going to need an interplanetary intelligence organization like S.W.O.R.D. for a long, long while.

Spider-Woman

Another major player in the original Secret Invasion event is Jessica Drew, a.k.a. Spider-Woman. Jessica has had a long and convoluted history in the comics, first working as an assassin for the fascist intelligence organization Hydra before becoming a double agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury personally. For a while, she served as a member of the New Avengers, but it's revealed much later in the initial run of the New Avengers series that Jessica has actually been Queen Veranke the entire time, masquerading as Spider-Woman to throw a wrench into the plans of both Nick Fury and the New Avengers. The real Jessica was captured months earlier, after discovering that the Hydra cell she was infiltrating for Nick Fury was actually a cover for a preliminary group of Skrulls.

Jessica Drew is a character that has been rumored to be introduced for a while now, and because of her major presence in the original comic book, it would make total sense for her to be introduced in a remixed version of the Secret Invasion storyline. Even though the twist reveal of her being a Skrull wouldn't make much sense in her first appearance, introducing her as a former Hydra assassin whom Fury is forced to work with would be a very unique dynamic for the two characters, one that would mirror Fury's first interactions with Captain Marvel when she first arrived on Earth.

With a role like the world-weary Sarah Connor under her belt, Emilia Clarke could certainly bring Spider-Woman physical prowess and emotional guardedness to life in an authentic way. While it remains to be seen exactly who she might be playing in the miniseries, it's evident by the amount of star power being generated for the project that Secret Invasion is going to be one of the most important projects for Marvel moving into Phase 4.

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