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Super-Skrull

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Super-Skrull
Cover image from Annihilation: Super-Skrull#4.
Art by Gabriele Dell'Otto.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceFantastic Four vol. 1, #18 (September 1963)
Created byStan Lee & Jack Kirby
In-story information
Alter egoKl'rt
SpeciesSkrull
Place of originTarnax IV
Team affiliationsSecret Defenders
United Front
Notable aliasesInvincible Man, Captain Hero, Bobby Wright
AbilitiesCombined powers of the Fantastic Four
Shape-shifting
Hypnosis

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.

Fictional character biography

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 telekinesis 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.

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]

Free again

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 doppelganger), 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 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 Hulkling is also the son of Kree hero Mar-Vell.[9]

Annihilation

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 destroys hundreds of Skrull worlds. Kl'rt's body is later recovered and mysteriously revived.[10]

He later teams with Ronan the Accuser to reclaim the Kree homeworld from an invading race called the Phalanx. After resisting an attempt by the Phalanx to control him, Kl'rt engages in a war with all Phalanx-controlled Kree.[11]

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 amplifies 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.

Other versions

Ultimate Marvel Universe

The Ultimate Super-Skrull appears in Ultimate Fantastic Four. At one point he is in fact the Skrull Emperor and also the oldest living Skrull (around one billion years old). In this continuity, he draws his powers from an advanced suit of armor that allows him to mimic the superpowers of those around him. The Ultimate Super-Skrull is killed when a non-super powered Ben Grimm strips him of his armor, exposing him to harmful toxins and bacteria in earth's air.

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]

In other media

Television

The Super-Skrull makes an appearance in the 1967 Fantastic Four cartoon. He later appears twice (once in each season) in the 1994 Fantastic Four series voiced by Neil Ross and later by Jess Harnell.

Commander Kl'rt appeared in the 2006 Fantastic Four cartoon series voiced by Mark Oliver.

Video games

Music

The band Ookla the Mok perform a song about the Super Skrull on the album Super Secret.

Novels

Super Skrull makes an appearance in several of the Marvel Comics line of novels. He appeared in a short story in The Ultimate Super-Villains: New Stories Featuring Marvel's Deadliest Villains by Stan Lee, attempting to aprehend a Kree fugitive, only to be stopped by The Vision.

He also makes an appearance in X-Men: The Avengers : Friend or Foe? (Gamma Quest Trilogy), in which he joins forces with the Leader, who temporarily augments his powers to include copies of various members of the X-Men, Avengers, and the Hulk.

See also

References

  1. ^ Fantastic Four vol. 1, #18
  2. ^ Thor vol. 1, #142
  3. ^ Captain Marvel vol. 1, #2 - 3
  4. ^ Marvel Team-Up vol. 1, #62
  5. ^ Alpha Flight vol. 1, #9 - 10
  6. ^ Silver Surfer vol. 1, #25 - 31
  7. ^ Namor the Sub-Mariner vol. 2, #15 - 18
  8. ^ Avengers vol. 1, Annual #14
  9. ^ Young Avengers vol. 1, #9 - 12
  10. ^ Annihilation: Super Skrull #3 (2006)
  11. ^ Annihilation: Conquest:Wraith #1 (Jul. 2007)
  12. ^ In the graphic novel Squadron Supreme: New World Order (1998)

External links

  • Iron Fist profile (describes the events involving Super-Skrull's identities of Captain Hero and Bobby Wright)
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