Comic Book Journal

Marvel’s future is looking pretty green, and I’m not talking about money or the Hulk.

In the latest issue of New Avengers, Echo regained her senses after a near-brainwashing and returned the favor to her killer/resurrecter/abducter Elektra by stabbing her.

No sooner was Elektra killed than revealed to be a Skrull, a shapeshifting race whose empire has been devastated by the Annhilation Wave. Interviews with writer Brian Michael Bendis at Newsarama and Wizard have revealed this incident plays into a major 2008 Marvel event where the Skrulls may have infiltrated and replaced characters through out the M.U.

And its not just Elektra - Luke Cage’s baby is looking green, and depending how you interpret Jessica Jones’ “Okay. Then.” response, its possible she’s been replaced as well.

The quintessential Skrull replacement tale occured during the end of the Secret Wars, with Alicia Masters was replaced by female Skrull named Lyja. With the original Alicia tucked away in suspended animation, Lyja intended to marry Johnny Storm after Ben Grimm stayed on Battleworld. Though a reconning, this story “works” because Lyja wasn’t discarded as a plot device - and remained an ally of the Fantastic Four for some time after her revelation. Its even possible she’ll appear in the Skrull event, having remained a human woman (in a different form - Masters was freed) since the events of Onslaught.

That’s what Bendis will have to do to make this event “work” on a similar level - give life and personality to the Skrulls. If he can make this new batch of Skrulls - who apparently feel Earth is their religious right after the death of their empire - with a sense of deep conviction and character, then fans will accept it. Since its Bendis, I’m very confident this story will turn out alright.

There is, however, no reconning in place - the Skrull Infiltration doesn’t tie into the events of House of M or Civil War. However, Bendis has stated Skrull activity appeared throughout the first New Avengers arcs, which makes me rather nervous.

Bendis is playing with green fire, I think, and he’ll have to be really careful releasing the genie - or Skrull - from the bottle, because this is a hard story to nail. However, if he does make it work, the rewards for a tale of paranoia and suspicion on the M.U. will be entirely worth it.