How The MCU's Secret Invasion Will Be Different To The Comics

Since 2019's Captain Marvel introduced the shape-shifting Skrulls into the MCU, fans have been alight with curiosity (and vague paranoia) over whether or not an adaptation of Secret Invasion is being planned, and if so, how a cinematic interpretation of the storyline might be different from the comics. The Skrulls made their first comic book appearance over 50 years ago, in the pages of Fantastic Four #2, and grew quickly into one of the most formidable alien races in the Marvel Universe. Their long-standing rivalry with the Kree Empire have formed the basis for several major comic book storylines, and most recently, the two kingdoms have joined together under the rulership of Hulkling, a Kree-Skrull hybrid, in order to wage a final war against Earth.

Because of the precarious legal circumstances surrounding Marvel's ownership of some of their characters, movie rights to the Skrulls were co-owned by both Marvel and 20th Century Fox until last year's Disney-Fox deal. Now the MCU can use them in any manner the studio wants, but the first time they appeared in the franchise was in Captain Marvel, which re-invented the shape-shifters in an entirely new context for the cinematic universe. The two most prominent Skrulls from that film, Talos and his wife Soren, most recently appeared in Spider-Man: Far From Home, where it was revealed that the two of them were impersonating Nick Fury and Maria Hill the entire time.

Though the Skrulls have been featured in tons of classic Marvel storylines, none of them are as idiosyncratic as 2008's Secret Invasion. In it, dozens of Marvel superheroes are revealed to be Skrulls, as part of a sinister plot orchestrated by Queen Veranke. With the Skrulls now in play within the MCU, it's the perfect time for the franchise to borrow elements of the storyline for their next major event, while at the same time putting their own unique twist on the story.

The Illuminati's Presence Won't Be The Same

Within the Marvel Universe, there's an elite society made up of several hyper-intelligent superheroes known as the Illuminati. The roster is made up of Tony Stark, Black Bolt, Namor, Mister Fantastic, Charles Xavier, and Doctor Strange, and usually they're depicted as an organization willing to make morally dubious decisions for the good of mankind. Famously, they're responsible for sending The Hulk into space at the beginning of the Planet Hulk storyline, as well as deciding to destroy the alternate universes on a collision course with theirs in the lead-in to 2015's Secret Wars.

At the beginning of Secret Invasion, the story's inciting incident is the Illuminati traveling to the Skrull homeworld in order to warn them against invading Earth in the future. Before they leave however, they are captured and experimented on by the Skrulls, which leads to Veranke developing a deeper understanding of the metahuman presence on Earth. This event was instrumental to the Skrulls securing a foothold on Earth, and even Black Bolt of the Illuminati himself was replaced.

Of course, if the MCU were to adapt this storyline, they would have to fundamentally change the way that the Illuminati works within the story. Not only has the secret organization not been formed yet, but several of its members either haven't been introduced into the MCU (Black Bolt, Namor, Mister Fantastic, and Professor X), or are deceased (Tony Stark). There's always a chance that Marvel could put together a new Illuminati roster, but it wouldn't have nearly the same weight or stakes as the original team.

The Skrulls In The MCU Aren't Villains

Ben Mendelsohn as a Skrull Captain Marvel

When they were introduced in Captain Marvel, the Skrulls were positioned as intergalactic aggressors who the Kree were waging a desperate, defensive war against. Shockingly, the movie completely turned face halfway through when and revealed the Skrulls were actually political refugees who were searching for a new home in the aftermath of their original world's destruction. While the catalyst for the invasion of Earth in the comic book storyline is also the destruction of the Skrull homeworld, the comics have portrayed the Skrulls as traditional villains since their first introduction, making Captain Marvel a massive departure.

Some fans have offered the idea of Secret Invasion introducing a more radicalized version of the Skrulls, led by a cinematic adaptation of the Super-Skrull, one of the most iconic enemies of the Fantastic Four. Others have theorized that an adaptation of the storyline could see the Skrulls using their shape-shifting abilities not in a sinister way, but as a way to hide from something worse, such as Galactus, who was responsible for the destruction of the Skrull homeworld in the comics. Either way, the fact that the Skrulls are a more benevolent species on-screen than they are on the page offers a new storytelling avenue for the MCU to pursue if they decide to adapt the story.

The Skrulls Will Impersonate Different Heroes

Similar to the problem posed by the Illuminati's presence in the original comic, certain heroes who turned out to have been replaced by Skrulls in the comic haven't been introduced in the MCU. The first hero to be uncovered as an impersonator in the storyline is Elektra, a character who only exists in the Marvel Netflix series. Certain metahuman groups play a massive role in the final stand against the Skrull threat, like the Thunderbolts, a team of reformed supervillains whose ranks include characters like Bullseye, Venom, and Songbird, all characters who don't have a presence in the MCU. Even Queen Veranke herself impersonates Spider-Woman, another prominent hero in the comics who has yet to be introduced into the films.

One potential avenue that they could take is having the Skrulls impersonate dead characters within the MCU. Fans have wondered whether or not we'll see actors like Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson return to the franchise under the right circumstances, and seeing them resurrected only to be uncovered as extraterrestrials would be an unexpected and shocking twist to both the general audience and fans of the comic books. If Marvel really wanted to sell a twist of that magnitude, they could bring those characters back in a completely unrelated film, only to reveal their true identities as Skrulls much further down the line. Regardless of which direction the films decide to take a potential adaptation of Secret Invasion, it's clear that the unique nature of the MCU provides an opportunity to take the storyline in an exciting and unexpected new direction.

More: MCU Secret Invasion: Every Character Who Could Be A Skrull