Super-Skrull/appearances

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[edit] Silver Age Appearances:

During the mid-sixties, The Super-Skrull was most notable for his ongoing confrontations with Lee-Kirby's Fantastic Four, in which his ruthless nature and high intelligence came close to succeeding where sheer force could not. This was particularly evident in one encounter where he imitated The Invisible Girl's estranged father, Dr. Franklin Storm, in order to cause conflict amongst the group (neither Sue nor Johnny would attack this super-powered being who so closely resembled their father).

Following a series of crushing defeats, the Super-Skrull was exiled from the Skrull Throneworld for several years, during which he wandered bitterly through interstellar space. His increasing hatred of the Earth and all its inhabitants made him an easy target for Loki, the Asgardian god of mischief, who manipulated him into returning to New York City to wreak havoc on the population. Hoping to redeem himself by defeating The Mighty Thor, he was again humiliatingly defeated and retreated into deep space for several years.

The Super-Skrull's next major appearance came in 1971, when he was called back into Service of the Empire for the Kree-Skrull War (Avengers # 89-97). In this early seventies story arc, the Skrull's activities were somewhat more covert than on previous campaigns - his main mission was to infiltrate and disband 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes,' secure the Kree-born Captain Marvel for interrogation, and finally, to obliterate the Inhumans' Great Refuge - targeted by the Empire as a Kree outpost - with a nuclear-level incendiary device. In his first two objectives, the Super-Skrull and his team were completely successful (abducting Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch for good measure), but was foiled in the third when the re-formed Avengers intervened.

Following a brief skirmish with the Vision, the Super-Skrull escaped with his prisoners (Marvel, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch) and returned to the Throneworld, fully expecting a hero's welcome from the Emperor. Presumably, Dorrek wasn't happy to see him, as the disgraced warrior was gassed and incarcerated as soon as he set foot off his warship. The Kree-Skrull War continued on without him, suggesting how low the character had fallen in the readers' estimation.

By the time Jim Starlin took over Captain Marvel in 1972, the Super-Skrull had descended from Imperial Warrior to mercinary scum, becoming one of Thanos' cringing thralls. Involved in a plot to secure the reality-shaping Cosmic Cube, the Skrull fought Captain Marvel to the death, losing out to the Kree soldier's greater courage and indomitable spirit. As pencilled by Starlin, this was a particularly vicious and violent struggle as each fought literally tooth and nail to kill the other - a reflection of the intense hatred felt by each species for the enemy. In a typical Starlin touch, Marvel stands over the corpse of his enemy, realising the victory has achieved nothing - the Skrull is dead, but his master is still at large, the supreme weapon now in his possession.

Of course, at Marvel, no one stays dead except Uncle Ben and Gwen Stacy, and the Super-Skrull was back a few years later, making sporadic appearances whenever an expendable villain was required. In time, he would regain something of his former standing with the Throneworld, even hailed as the savior of his race at one point. But he would never again achieve the level of glory he had attain during the Lee-Kirby years.

[edit] Modern Age Appearances

Super-Skrull has seen a revival of late, appearing in both Young Avengers and the Marvel: Annihilation crossover event, which includes a 4 issue mini-series centering around the character in which he is portrayed as a 'failure-class' Anti-hero in both comics.