Warning: contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy #13!
The Guardians of the Galaxy roster has included many powerful members, but the latest addition, the alien known as the Super-Skrull, is one of the team's darkest heroes yet. Although the Super-Skrull's presence on this team of heroes, criminals, and vigilantes has been overshadowed by fans' knowledge that Doctor Doom is soon to join the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Super-Skrull's membership is news in its own right, as the former Marvel villain serves as a galactic force for good instead of a Skrull weapon of war and colonization.
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for Fantastic Four #18 (1963), the Super-Skrull was once a decorated Skrull soldier who was selected to become the Captain America of Skrulls; a Super-Skrull with the combined abilities of Earth's Fantastic Four. He was sent to conquer the planet and defeat those who had helped thwart previous invasion plans. Instead, Kl'rt was repeatedly defeated by the Fantastic Four and other Earth heroes, his every action dictated by the shifting politics of his people, called into service for the Kree/Skrull War, Annihilation Wave, Secret Invasion, Infinity invasion, and the events of Empyre, where the Kree/Skrull alliance and the ascension of Dorrek VIII (aka Earth hero Hulkling) finally made him an official ally of Earth.
Kl'rt was quickly assigned to a diplomatic position on the Galactic Council by Emperor Hulkling, trading the battlefield for politics and bureaucracy. Following the Guardians' victory against the Dark Olympians, Super-Skrull appeared with a back-up armada to let the Guardians know they could not continue as they were, and offering to help them upgrade their operation to replace the desperately missed Nova Corps. Months later in Guardians of the Galaxy #13 - from Al Ewing, Juan Frigeri, Federico Blee and VC's Cory Petit - the Guardians are tending to problems all over with the help of the Super-Skrull, who monitors all events and progress from their base at Proscenium, notably wearing one of the team's new jackets as an official member.
Although one could argue that Super-Skrull's abilities would be better used helping the Guardians in the field, his presence here shows how far Marvel's cosmic scene has come over the years. Although he was created to be another powerful extraterrestrial conqueror for Earth's heroes to defeat, the Super-Skrull continued to evolve as a character, as his time on Earth had a profound effect on a character who saw himself as a hero to his own people. Kl'rt's relationship with the Skrulls also went through highs and lows, as he fell in and out of favor with the ruling class. With the Skrulls' introduced to the MCU in 2019's Captain Marvel, it's likely they'll continue to be an important force in the comics, so it makes sense the Super-Skrull has a place on the expanded Guardians of the Galaxy team.
But despite his heroism in Marvel's cosmic conflicts, the Super-Skrull is a trained killer who slaughtered Dorrek VIII's mother and countless others in the pursuit of Skrull superiority, and fought for years to put humanity under the boot of his alien masters. In a united galaxy, concessions are a necessity, and Super-Skrull is a figure of immense power and renewed resources. But while the new Guardians of the Galaxy may be fine working alongside allies with all kinds of sketchy pasts, the Super-Skrull is a truly dark figure to have such an important role in guarding all sentient life, and one who some team-members will likely struggle to trust as their adventures unfold.