X-Skrulls? The Odds of Your Favorite Mutants Being Skrull Infiltrators

Secret Invasion is kicking off soon and today we’ll be examining the possible Skrulls on the X-Men teams.

Three small words changed the marvel universe forever…sorta. Wanda Maximof’s final spell as the Scarlet Witch, “No More Mutants” sent shockwaves through the multiverse, depowering all but 198 mutants. Of course after that, many of the depowered mutants got their powers back, but a number have also been killed, so the number is likely still around the 200 mark.

Of course the decimation really served as a way for the writers at Marvel Inc. to rid themselves of many unnecessary characters who had been created in the 90’s. The aftermath of the decimation was nothing less than a long series of slaps to the collective face of the 198, but now things are turning around for the X-Men. After the rebirth of Jean Grey (supposedly) we may finally start seeing a resurgence in the mutant population.

Of course, just as this turn of fortune happens, the Marvel Universe is still reeling from the events of Civil War and World War Hulk- but is that enough? The answer, of course, is no. Secret Invasion has supposedly been the penultimate goal of the editors since before the Civil War. Skrull soldiers have been infiltrating every echelon of super-human society and here’s what we know so far:

1) Electra and Black Bolt were both Skrulls.

2) There is a Skrull on ever team.

3) They seem to be people who have died once, but miraculously come back to life.

So with those in mind I researched every single X-Man or X-Affiliate since the beginning of the mutant line and have come up with a list of potential candidates for their Invaders. I looked at three factors, the first was who had died at least once, number of results: 39/100 (note that none of the New X-Men: Academy X were included as possible Skrulls). Next, who had come back to life, results: 18/39. Then, who of those who returned from the netherworld, retained their powers- since a powerless Skrull would be fairly pointless- results: 18/18.

So who made the list? Let’s take a look.

1) Northstar- Jean-Paul Beaubier was once part of Alpha Flight, before he joined the X-Men and became their second openly gay member (the first being Karma). Unfortunately, he didn’t last long enough to make tenure as he was eviscerated by Wolverine during the early years of Academy X. Wolverine was being controlled by “The Hand,” a league of assassins led by Electra, who we now know has been a Skrull for a long while. His body was stolen from under Beast’s nose before an autopsy could be done, and he later returned to life and rejoined the X-Men. The likelihood of Jean-Paul being a Skrull at this point is extremely high.

2) Xorn- The mysterious healer who turned out to be Magneto…kinda. Xorn apparently was an entity who took on the form of a man that the X-Men had rescued from a Chinese Mutant Growth Hormone (MGH) manufacturing plant. He had no head, in it’s place was a nutron star, which had to be contained within a special helmet. What was also concealed, and what we were led to believe, was that it was actually Magneto under the helmet. Unfortunately, Xorn-Magneto was killed by Wolverine in New York, but not before he killed Jean Grey. Later, the X-Men discovered that the real Xorn was still alive in Tibet. But what if this isn’t the real Xorn- but rather a Skrull imposter. Likelihood of Xorn being a Skrull Infiltrator, extremely high.

3) Magneto- Speaking of Eric Lensher, he had allegedly died in the sentinel attack on Genosha, but later came back to life before the events in “The House of M” storyline. But what if he never came back from Genosha, his attitude has always been very war-like (that is to say, very Skrull-like). Likelihood of Magnus being an Infiltrator, high.

4) Darwin- The little known X-Man who was part of Xavier’s secret team, who had apparently died with his team mates in Genosha. Recently, he’s made a come back, and has been sticking very close to Professor X as he went into space. His reappearance from the dead seems a little too coincidental and the likelihood of his being a Skrull is high.

5) Colossus- The metal giant who’s been a heavy hitter for the X-Men since the 1980’s. He recently returned so Joss Whedon could use him in his run of Astonishing X-Men, but no real explanation was given for his return. He has been different now, but still retains his commitment to his sister Illyana, who is once again Dark Chylde. The likelihood of Pitor Rasputin being an Infiltrator, high to mid.

6) Cyclops- The man who died, and returned as Apocalypse, but then got rid of Apocalypse and had an affair with Emma Frost. He’s a complicated man with a mind for tactics and no sense of humor. He’s recently been criticized for resorting to killing, and disbanding the X-Men in the wake of Xavier’s death. His motivation has been suspect, and the likelihood of being a Skrull is mid.

7) Mondo- A member of Generation X who was killed, but was later revealed to be a clone. Or was he? Again, we have a case where we’ve seen the person die, but it wasn’t really them…it was a clone, but what if that was the real Mondo and this imposter is a Skrull. Unfortunately, Mondo hasn’t been seen or heard from in quite a while and there has been no confirmation of his status after M-Day. Skrull likelihood, mid.

8) Mystique- Raven Darkholme, the shape changer who always seems to betray the X-Men. She shot Rouge, she poisoned Ice Man and joined the Marauders all within the space of two issues! She has died, disappeared and reappeared many times in the past, there have been numerous opportunities for her to be replaced. Again, we see someone here who still has a commitment to her family- as she was willing to sacrifice ‘The Baby’ to save Rouge. The likelihood of being an Infiltrator, mid.

9) Psylocke- The teenage ninja with the mind of a spy. She’s currently tripping with the Exiles, but that was a recent development, occurring after Civil War. Again, her return was never fully explained to the readers, so there is a possibility for her being a Skrull- but it’s lowered by her being off world/dimension at the moment.

There’s a number of honorable mentions and why it’s unlikely for them to be Skrulls:

- Blindfold: Killed herself for a few hours to prevent Exodus from killing her, body was accounted for at all times.

- Cable: Currently in the future, with The Baby, so won’t be a part of this event.

- Magik: Now the ruler of Limbo, not likely a Skrull would have enough power to do so.

- Rockslide: Now confirmed to be a rock Gollum, who pulls surrounding rock together to form a body for his own physical awareness.

- Sabertooth: Though we haven’t seen him recently, it’s likely because he was tossed into the middle of the Pacific by Cable’s TK, not because he’s a Skrull.

- Archangel: Retains his innocence and character, though a switch could have been made prior to his returning to the Angel persona (when he shed his metal wings and blue skin).

- Sunfire: As a horseman of Apocalypse, it’s unlikely that he would have been chosen as a Skrull.

- Vulcan: The Emperor of the Shi’Ar Empire, again it’s unlikely that he could achieve this feat as the Shi’Ar would have detected him.

Well, those are my predictions; Northstar and Darwin are the infiltrators and will try to destroy the X-Men during Secret Invasion. One way or another, we’ll know who’s who very soon.

Review: Scud #21

It's been a long time...too damn long. But after 10 years Rob Schrab has brought back one of the best anti-heroes of my generation. A character who is stylish killer and witty linguist. A character who looks like "ronald freakin' mcdonald" and is definitely not child friendly (unless you're looking to ace that bully who kicked your ass in high school).

He is Scud: The Disposable Assassin.

If you're unfamiliar with the comic, here's the down and dirty: Scud, a robot assassin who once he kills his target he explodes, gets hired to kill this freaky thing called Jeff. He gets smart, de-limbs the plug-headed creature, and proceeds to earn money killin' zombies, rapists, bad guys, good guys, animals, undead animals, and Ben Franklin, all so he can keep the damn thin on life support. Of course, Jeff escapes, tracks down Scud, they brawl, and Scud gets sent on a bizarre time traveling quest which eventually lands him in Heaven, where the furies have taken over, and want Scud do to what was supposed to have occurred in the Scud universe: the apocalypse.

In order to convince him, they maim/kill his girlfriend Sussudio. Yep, that sucks. I've seen Braveheart...you never 'f' with another man's woman. He'll kill you. And then he'll try to invade your country with a few dozen burly men in kilts.

#21, The Return of the Over-Used Muse, mixes all that was sweet about the original series (great dialogue, great art, great plot) with some highly creative flashbacks (no we know what happened to Voo Doo Ben, Drywall, Oswald, Mr. Spidergod, etc.). This book sets the stage beautifully with its peppering of exposition/fine storytelling. In short, Scud still has to destroy the earth, but know we're all caught up on what's transpired, and we're ready to rock.

Except for the jarring part (which simultaneously is the most rewarding part). Shit's changed. Drywall is all grown up, a bit hardened by life without Scud (think Tim Drake being all cynical because Bruce Wayne disappeared). Scud is bit weathered himself and you can see the toll of his loss has made him both worried and reminiscent (great scenes where he remember when Drywall was just a kid; restating a line which Sussudio says in issue #18).

Scud's grown up...and like all things which grow up, there's bit of an identity crisis. For this series this adds to the conflict by giving more depth than Scud has ever shown before (in the Horse series you see Scud deal with his confusing feelings, great, except kinda too Romantic-Comedy for me). Scud is now dealing, again with his own mortality, his pain, his sadness from missing his friends, and now, the realization that he's old himself.

Welcome back Rob, it's good to have you in the comic stores again when both major universes can't say anything cool, you remind us all why "it's cool to be a robot."

pb