Super-Skrull
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The Super-Skrull (Kl'rt) is a fictional character who appears in the Marvel Universe. The Super-Skrull first appeared in Fantastic Four vol. 1, #18 (September 1963). The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Origin
Kl'rt - more commonly known as the Super-Skrull - hails from the Skrull homeworld of Tarnax IV, which has since been destroyed by Galactus. The Skrull Emperor Dorrek wanted revenge against the Fantastic Four, who thwarted the Empire's attempt to invade Earth. Dorrek handpicked the warrior Kl'rt to be the instrument of his revenge: he was artificially augmented and given the combined abilities of the Fantastic Four. Kl'rt's power levels, however, exceeded the originals - he was stronger than Ben Grimm; had superior flight and greater pyrokinetic ability than the Human Torch; exercised better control of invisibility and energiakinesis than Susan Richards; and maintained an ability to stretch beyond that of Mr. Fantastic. The newly-named "Super-Skrull" also retained his innate Skrullian shapeshifting abilities and strong hypnotic skills. He was then dispatched to Earth to defeat the Fantastic Four and pave the way for a renewed invasion by the Skrull Empire.
[edit] Against the heroes
Fantastic Four vol. 1, #18 (September, 1963).
Art by Jack Kirby.
During their first encounter, the Super-Skrull keeps the Fantastic Four at bay with his superior powers. However, Mr. Fantastic correctly guesses that Kl'rt's powers are augmented by an energy beam directed from the Skrull homeworld. Blocking the beam deprives Kl'rt of his new powers and he is quickly defeated, returning to the Skrull homeworld in shame.[1] He is, however, sent back to Earth time and again, and battles other heroes such as Thor;[2] Captain Marvel;[3] Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel.[4] The last encounter leaves Kl'rt trapped in the Van Allen radiation belt.
Years later a Canadian research team accidentally pulls Kl'rt back from deep space, and he promptly slaughters the entire group, with the exception of physicist superhero Sasquatch. Kl'rt also discovers that the time in the radiation belt has given him cancer. Sasquatch is initially defeated by the Super-Skrull, but eventually manages to trick him, converting the Super-Skrull into a stream of dissociated particles and transmitting him back into deep space.[5] The Super-Skrull is later freed by the Silver Surfer, and discovers that his cancer has gone into remission. This is apparently caused by a "chronal anomaly" in the area of space Kl'rt occupied, which reverted his cellular makeup to a healthy, pre-cancerous state.[6]
At some point during Kl'rt's imprisonment in the Van Allen belts, he is freed by the sorcerer Master Khan and used against the hero Iron Fist. Khan brainwashes the Super-Skrull into believing that he is a twelve-year-old human boy named Bobby Wright, who gains both superhuman powers and a terminal disease from exposure to an alien spore. As "Bobby", he uses his powers to assume an adult superhuman identity - Captain Hero - and ingratiate himself with Iron Fist and his crimefighting partner, Power Man. A misuse of powers by Captain Hero apparently leaves Iron Fist dead (later revealed to be doppleganger), followed by what appears to be the disintegration of Captain Hero (with Khan thinking Iron Fist dead the Super-Skrull actually returns to disembodiment in the Van Allen belts).[7]
Kl'rt's imprisonment in space also had another beneficial effect: it shielded him from the effects of Zabyk's Disaster, in which all Skrulls lost their shapeshifting abilities.[8] Kl'rt later joins forces with S'Byll, a claimant to the Skrull Throne, and she is able to use him as a genetic template to restore the shape-shifting abilities of the Skrulls. S'Byll becomes the Empress of the Skrull Empire shortly thereafter, and Kl'rt is lauded as the savior of Skrull society. When the Empire subsequently falls into a disarray, Kl'rt goes into hiding on Earth and later attacks the Fantastic Four. After a brutal battle, the Super-Skrull is captured and imprisoned by S.H.I.E.L.D. in the superhuman prison, the Vault.
Kl'rt later escapes imprisonment and renews contact with the Skrull Empire. He then seeks to take Young Avengers member Hulkling into protective custody due to his Skrullian heritage on his mother's side (as the son of the deceased Princess Anelle). In a tactical masterstroke, the Super-Skrull impersonates a willing Hulkling (who wishes to stay on Earth) and returns to space, able to spy on both the Skrulls and the Kree, who also have a stake in Hulkling's mixed parentage (given that Hulking is also the son of Kree hero Mar-Vell.[9]
[edit] Annihilation
Art by Gabriele Dell'otto.
- See also: Annihilation (comics)
In the Annihilation: Super-Skrull mini-series, Kl'rt attempts to stop the destructive wave before it reaches the Skrull homeworld. After nearly being overwhelmed by the forces of Annihilus, he sacrifices himself by destroying the Harvester of Sorrow - the enormous organic warship that destroyed hundreds of Skrull worlds and wreaked havoc throughout the universe. Kl'rt's body is later recovered and mysteriously revived.[10]
It has also been stated that the Super-Skrull will return in a new four-issue limited series titled Super Skrull: Armada, to be written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach.[11]
[edit] Powers and abilities
The Super-Skrull has a version of the Fantastic Four's superhuman abilities at the levels the team possessed when they began their careers. If the current Skrull ruler permits, a satellite can send an augmentation beam that ampliflies the Super-Skrull's abilities beyond the Fantastic Four's current levels. Kl'rt also possesses the Skrull's innate racial ability to shape-shift and the unique power of hypnosis. He is also an excellent hand-to-hand combatant and was extensively trained in warfare by the Skrull Empire. The Super-Skrull also has knowledge of and access to technology centuries ahead of conventional Earth science.
[edit] Other versions
[edit] Ultimate Marvel Universe
The Ultimate Super-Skrull appears in Ultimate Fantastic Four. When the Fantastic Four stop the accident which gave them their powers, it was revealed they later went on a voyage into space, and discovered the Skrulls, who gave them a special Skrull pill capable of curing all diseases and granting the consumer super-powers. Within a year, everyone on Earth has super-powers except Ben Grimm, Thor is President and Reed Richards his Vice-President. A visit by representatives of the Skrull empire and the Super-Skrull, who in this continuity is the billion year-old Skrull emperor wearing a special exo-skeleton that empowers him with the powers of every super-hero within a thousand miles. However, it turns out that the Skrull pills had a concealed super-virus that killed everyone on Earth excluding Ben Grimm, who was able to defeat the Super-Skrull because the exo-skeleton had no superpowers to fall back on, all the other Super-heroes now dead. Grimm steals the Super-Skrull suit, and time warps back and sabotages the event which gave the Fantastic Four their powers. The Super-Skrull's time warps tie in with two other unexplained appearances by the Super-Skrull in previous comics, including the Invisible Woman's discovery of a 500-year old mummified creature named 'Super-Skrull'.
[edit] The Skrullian Skymaster
The Skrullian Skymaster (real name Skymax) is a member of the superhero team the Squadron Supreme. It has been revealed that Skymax possesses abilities matching the Super Skrull from Earth-616.[12]
[edit] Appearances in other media
[edit] Music
Ookla the Mok has a song about Super-Skrull.
[edit] Television
The Super-Skrull appears in the 1994 Fantastic Four and 2006 Fantastic Four cartoon series, voiced by Neil Ross and Mark Oliver respectively.
[edit] Video games
- The Super-Skrull appears in the 1997 Playstation game Fantastic Four.
- The Super-Skrull appears as one of the enemies in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Fantastic Four vol. 1, #18
- ^ Thor vol. 1, #142
- ^ Captain Marvel vol. 1, #2 - 3
- ^ Marvel Team-Up vol. 1, #62
- ^ Alpha Flight vol. 1, #9 - 10
- ^ Silver Surfer vol. 1, #25 - 31
- ^ Namor the Sub-Mariner vol. 2, #15 - 18
- ^ Avengers vol. 1, Annual #14
- ^ Young Avengers vol. 1, #9 - 12
- ^ Annihilation:Super Skrull #3 (2006)
- ^ stated
- ^ In the graphic novel Squadron Supreme: New World Order (1998)
[edit] External links
- Iron Fist profile (describes the events involving Super-Skrull's identities of Captain Hero and Bobby Wright)
Categories: 1963 introductions | Extraterrestrial supervillains | Fictional characters who can stretch themselves | Fictional characters with the power to manipulate superpowers | Marvel Comics aliens | Marvel Comics mutates | Fictional characters who can shapeshift | Marvel Comics martial artists | Marvel Comics supervillains
