Hey, looks like the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe
Disney+ show Secret Invasion is bringing the Skrulls back in
a big way. What better way to celebrate than to take a look at a part of the MC2’s
unexplored history by trying to uncover as much as possible about the mysterious
event known as ‘The Skrull Incident’.
The first (and unless I am mistaken only) mention of ‘The
Skrull Incident’ was in A-Next #2, when The Orbital
Defense Grid detects the approach of a Kree spacecraft
and fires upon it, resulting in the craft splitting into two before crashing
into the Washington National Park. With the newly formed new Avengers
team called in to investigate by Bill Foster,
we learn a little history behind the Orbital Defense Grid when Mainframe off-handedly
mentions to Thunderstrike
that the Grid was erected years prior when the government was
convinced by the events of the last known alien invasion, which
he identifies only as 'The Skrull Incident'.
A collection of satellites positioned in orbit around the
planet Earth, the Orbital Defense Grid comes
equipped with long-range sensory instrumentation and offensive weaponry
capabilities allowing it to detect and destroy incoming space debris,
extraterrestrial spacecraft, and various other threats to the planet from outer
space (A-Next #2, Spider-Girl #34, #46, #86).
We also learn in Last Planet Standing #2 that Reed
Richards helped design the Orbital Defense Grid.
Circling back to the Skrulls,
we learn in Spider-Girl #3 that Lyja is
married to Johnny Storm and in Fantastic Five (vol. 1)
#2 we are first introduced to the couple's son, Torus
Storm, a Human/Skrull hybrid. Torus possesses
both his mother's Skrullian ability to shape-shift and his
father's pyrogenic powers. Despite his (very) young age, Torus often
attempts to aid his family in battle by altering his form into that of a
muscular adult male while utilizing his flame-blasts.
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Here's where we connect some dots from prior exploratory
posts and add some speculation. As I mentioned in the History
of the MC2: The Fantastic Four post approximately five or so years
prior to the events of Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, the Fantastic
Four prepared to battle Hyperstorm, a cosmically powered
warlord from an alternate future who had built a doomsday weapon in the Negative
Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Lyja was
pregnant at this time and did not join the team on their mission (Fantastic
Five Vol. 1 #4).
Presumably, Lyja Storm is heavily pregnant with none other than Torus in the scenes depicting the Fantastic Four preparing to leave for the mission. Now this is significant because as I mention above, we know this mission was only ‘five or so years’ prior to the MC2’s present day. So, as I calculated in the How old is Torus Storm post, Lyja and Johnny’s son Torus is only around 5 or 6 years old.
From the book Comic Creators on Fantastic Four by Tom
Defalco, we got this comment from Fantastic Four and Fantastic
Five artist Paul Ryan:
Tom Defalco: You felt Johnny and Lyja should have
actually had a baby, right? Do you want to explain why?
Paul Ryan: I thought it would have been a new
dynamic for Johnny, in that he would have to start facing some
grown-up responsibilities. I thought that it could make for an interesting
character, too, because the child of a Skrull and a human
would be totally unique – and it could lead to some interesting story arcs in
which the Skrull Empire wanted to get hold of the child for
some reason. We could have done things with the child itself, like accelerated
growth rate; maybe the Skrulls mature faster. Also, things
could have been very interesting where the child had the ability to face-shift,
as well as he cosmic ray-based powers of heat and flame, which is something you
experimented with in Fantastic Five. Finally, I thought it might
bring Johnny and Lyja closer together, and
there could have been some exciting story possibilities there.
I think the late, great Mr Ryan provides us
with a very good explanation for why young Torus Storm looks
and behaves more like a 10-year-old than a 5-year-old. Skrull hybrids
are a rarity, and one that we know little about. But further to this point is Mr
Ryan’s comment about the Skrull Empire wanting to get hold of the
child.
As mentioned earlier, the Orbital Defense Grid was
commissioned following the events of the mysterious 'Skrull Incident' (A-Next
#2) which was some years prior. This alongside Apox the Omega
Skrull's out of date references to heroes such as Thor, Captain
America and Iron
Man strongly suggests the Skrull Empire has not
had contact with Earth since - a fact the marvunapp entry
for Apox pointed out (Spider-Girl #47). Notably, in both battles
with Apox, he refers to the Fantastic Five as ‘the team once
known as the Fantastic Four’ and Skrull’s aboard the Skrull
Worldship also refer to the team as the Fantastic Five suggesting the
Skrull Empire is aware of the change in team name (Spider-Girl #47,
Spider-Girl #86-#87).
It is also worth pointing out that apart from Apox,
no one from the Skrull Empire approached Earth directly,
as evident from the Skrull Worldship's position far away from
the planet at the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy (Spider-Girl
#87-88). It is also suggested that Apox may have attacked
the Fantastic Five against orders as a result of his delusion
of godhood. While we do not know much about the state of the Skrull
Empire, we do know that it is currently led by an Emperor (Spider-Girl
#88) who presumably presides over the Skrull High Command (Spider-Girl
#86-88) in a regime that Lyja refers to as 'virtual
slavery' (Spider-Girl #88).
With all these points laid out, I would like to posit a hypothesis.
I believe the so-called ‘Skrull Incident’ involved an invasion resulting
in a large-scale attack upon Earth with a potential goal or motivation related
to Torus Storm and his hybrid Skrull/Human nature. Presumably
this occurred around 5 to 6 years prior to the MC2 present-day, either
during Lyja’s pregnancy or shortly afterwards, potentially after the
team officially rebranded as the Fantastic Five or simply while they operated
with additional family members on a regular basis as the F4. Whatever the
details, the invaders are defeated and the Skrull Empire seemingly do
not attempt further attacks until the present day.
In the aftermath of
this Skrull Invasion, the government was convinced to erect The
Orbital Defense Grid, possibly due to the security risk shape-shifting
imposters pose to world authorities. Reed Richards (through his Big Brain
robot proxies if we assume it takes place after his accident) helps to design
this Defensive Grid, with long-range sensors that reach nearly to the
edge of the Milky Way Galaxy. This Grid proves effective in
detecting and deterring potential alien invasions and is outfitted with
offensive weaponry capable of destroying space debris and other threats.
Let me know what you think of this theory, it has been a
long time brewing in the ol’ brain pan and involves a variety of different
minor points of continuity being put together. Do you agree, disagree, or have
a different theory?
Until I stop plucking at the various loose threads of the MC2’s
untouched history, I remain
frogoat