Marvel has a lot going on these days, from World War Hulk to Endangered Species and all the post Civil War stuff. New Avengers 31 gave us our first glimpse of a Skrull impersonator, Elektra. With the New Avengers book at the forefront of the Skrull Invasion, we take a look at how each member fits in to this situation and make a wild prediction for the characters future.
Captain America
I know that Steve Rogers died, but (wait for it) is he really dead? That will be the question for who knows how long. Just know this, Nick Fury was in contact with Steve Rogers right up until he went underground. Nick going off the grid was probably the first indicator that things weren’t right, and since Fury didn’t even show for Cap’s funeral, his death becomes suspect. What really threw me was that this wasn’t the first time that Nick came up missing, and on the outs with S.H.I.E.L.D. what made this time so different? Namely Madame Hydra’s statement that things had gone bad at S.H.I.E.L.D. added to how shady the organization got almost immediately into the series. In a lot of way’s, even after his death, New Avengers has been an expansion of the Captain America solo title.
Wild Prediction:
In order to fake Steve Rogers death (to fool the Skrulls into tipping their hand) Nick Fury did the unthinkable by impersonating a dead Red Skull and faking Cap’s death with the help of Cap’s own enemies. The kicker: Tony Stark is in on it.
Luke Cage
Luke Cage was just another botched black superhero job (I’m lookin’ at you Wilson) until his recent overhaul in his Marvel Max series ‘Cage’. Now he’s one of the hardest most outspoken heroes in Marvel comics. It would seem a shame to make him a Skrull, but anyone who has spent a good deal of time under the comics radar is suspect. Then you look at who he’s shacked up with and all of a sudden… What the hell is up with the evil Skrull baby anyway?!?! Luke Cage either is a Skrull, married to one and doesn’t know it, or knows it and is like totally whipped.
Wild Prediction:
We’re going to find out that the project that gave him his super power’s was actually run by Skrull’s and he’s been their secret inside man ever since, That might explain his difficulty keeping up with the times.
Iron Man
A few weeks ago this would have been a no-brainer, but like my editor says, “The more obvious it looks, the more likely he isn’t.” I’m starting to think that he might be the victim of manipulation by the Skrulls. Remember however that the Skrulls had the opportunity to make the switch in issue #2 of the Illuminati. What’s most troubling though is how according to Mighty Avengers, he’s kind of been killed by Ultron. Whoops!
Wild Prediction:
Tony Stark has been dead for years, the Skrulls don’t take prisoners.
Spider Woman
Is a Skrull.
Wild Prediction:
It’s gonna turn out that she’s also Jessica Drew, but some Skrull bs has turned her this way along with several others.
Spider-Man
Peter Parker did the single dumbest thing in all of comics, he told the world at large that he was Spider-Man, despite the fact that creeps like the Kingpin were only in jail, not dead and buried. What? Was Iron Man gonna have Mary Jane under constant guard forever? Aunt May getting wacked was more than obvious, the moment she saw her nephew on the news there should have been a caption of her saying, “I’m so f*****g dead.” Peter is smarter than that, isn’t he? Tony Stark’s pimp game is extra official, all that money, and he convinced Pete to ruin his own life for absolutely nothing’.
Wild Prediction:
The Jackal is the Skrull, and he was the brainiac who got this idea in the first place. He first tried to perfect Skrull cloning way back in the day, but the best he could do was Ben Reilly. He made his Skrull overlords leave Spidey alone because even he thought the whole clone thing was stupid in hindsight.
Iron Fist
Marvel is going to way too much trouble to reestablish he and Luke Cage to just turn either one of them into Skrulls. It looks to me like he might be one of the players that the Skrulls underestimate and because of that shows up big. I really appreciate his use as a solid role player.
Wild Prediction:
Iron Fist is a Skrull, he’s there to keep tabs on the rest of the team, and will probably get stabbed by Wolverine when he ‘suddenly’ figures out what Skrull smells like.
Dr. Strange
He’s the Master of the Mystic Arts, defender of the earth plain, and he didn’t see this? Dr. Strange might know more than he let’s on. Even though, since when can that guy take a sword in the chest and survive through magic whoodoo. Maybe he’s a shape shifting Skrull?
Wild Prediction:
Strange knows what’s going on and is in league with Nick Fury, he’s even behind all the theatrics surrounding Cap’s ‘death’.
Wolverine 
In case you don’t remember, Logan has been replaced by the Skrulls before and recently, and it seems unlikely that the best there is at what he does would fall for the same trick twice. More than likely the Skrulls are trying to spread the hardest working man in Marvel as thin as possible in order to take the fight out of him.
Wild Prediction:
Wolverine is not a Skrull, but his son is! The little bastard will wait till the last minute to reveal the truth only to be killed by not Logan, but the Winter Soldier.
Hawkeye
A lot of evidence surrounding Barton’s return to the living point to him possibly being a Skrull. But he also exists as one of the last plot threads coming away from the ‘House of M’ arc, and that is still not completely resolved. But, because of how everything else has been going, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he suddenly grew pointy ears and a green goatee.
Wild Prediction:
Hawkeye is not a Skrull, he aids the heroes as they repel the invaders from space, and by the end of the conflict he’s wearing the flag and throwing the shield.
Wong & Jarvis
Though Jarvis is no longer the teams butler, and Wong really only answers to the Doctor, they both could have an impact one way or another on the story. Jarvis could be the binding force between the Mighty team and the New team. Wong could discover that Jessica Jones is a Skrull and has an evil Skrull baby and warn the others. You never know.
Wild Prediction:
Not only are Wong and Jarvis Skrulls, they are the friggin’ Skrull kings, who have been behind this whole thing since the Masters of Evil attacked the mansion all those years ago. The Skrulls drug Jarvis away and replaced him with their leader, and now his master plan unfurls!
Remember kids, the cool thing about comics (and fiction in general) is that anything can happen, so who knows when its all said and done? Marvel has a really cool idea on their hands, it will be a blast to see what they do with it.
