Now that we know the Skrulls are finally making their debut in the MCU in 2019’s Captain Marvel, comic book fans have got it into their heads that the studio’s planning on adapting the Secret Invasion event in Phase Four.
For the uninitiated, the 2008-2009 storyline saw it revealed that several of the Avengers had actually been shapeshifting Skrulls in disguise – sleeper agents preparing the world for a full-scale invasion. Assuming that this is indeed what Kevin Feige and his crew are planning – and for all the reasons why it’s likely that they are, check out this article – the big question is, then: which of the heroes will turn out to be Skrulls?
If done right, a Secret Invasion movie – maybe Avengers 5 – could be the greatest rug-pull moment in the MCU to date, as it’ll be revealed that some of our favorite characters that we’ve been following for years haven’t actually been who we thought they were all this time. But which Avengers are the most likely candidates to end up as Skrulls?
Well, Screen Rant has put forward some compelling arguments that seem of sound logic to us. First of all, it’s practically impossible for any of the top tier heroes to be aliens in disguise as it would damage their story arcs too much and reduce the impact of their solo films, which have formed the foundations of the MCU.
Hawkeye can also be ruled out, as the Skrulls’ aim would be to infiltrate the Avengers, so what good would copying the archer who’s in retirement be? Likewise, Scarlet Witch was able to destroy an Infinity Stone in Avengers: Infinity War, meaning she has to be the real deal.
It’s far more likely, then, that Black Widow could be a Skrull. As a close ally of Captain America’s, a long-standing member of the team and even a lover of the Hulk, she has some of the juiciest connections for the aliens to exploit. There’s even that gap of two to three years between Captain America: Civil War and IW in which she could’ve been switched. The same goes for Falcon, another member of Cap’s Secret Avengers who’s been in hiding of late. Bucky, meanwhile, wouldn’t really make sense as he was frozen in Wakanda for too long and has a lot of eyes on him already.
So, how’s that for a working theory? It’s all just speculation for now, of course, but we’ll no doubt learn more when Captain Marvel lands next March followed by Avengers 4 in May.