Secret Invasion

"Secret Invasion" was a Marvel Comics crossover event that unfolded from April to December 2008, written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Leinil Francis Yu. The core story ran through an eight-issue limited series of the same name, supported by numerous tie-in books. The plot centered on a covert, long-running takeover of Earth by the Skrulls—alien shapeshifters who, over several years, had secretly replaced many of the Marvel Universe's superheroes with impostors before launching an open assault. Marvel promoted the event with the tagline "Who do you trust?".

A six-episode television miniseries, loosely adapted from the comic and produced by Marvel Studios for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, premiered on Disney+ in June 2023.

According to writer Brian Michael Bendis, the Skrulls' motivation stemmed from the destruction of their empire in the 2007 "Annihilation" storyline. He explained that the Skrulls believed Earth "is religiously and rightfully theirs," and that clues to the plot had been planted in the limited series Secret War and the first issue of New Avengers. The limited series concluded this plot, which Bendis described as "a hell of an end."

In November 2007, several ongoing titles and mini-series were branded as tie-ins under the tagline "Secret Invasion: The Infiltration." The Avengers titles provided additional plot material and linked the various series. Other Marvel titles featured variant covers showing characters as Skrulls. Bendis stated the series would not explore the invasion's origins but instead rewind from the point a character joined a team to show how and when they were replaced, and the effects of their actions from that impostor's perspective.

The Marvel website hosted two online-exclusive e-comics: Secret Invasion Prologue, a seven-page comic revealing the replacement of a previously unknown Skrull agent, and Secret Invasion: Home Invasion, a MySpace video blog about a teenager named Kinsey Walden and her fears about her brother's strange behavior, supported by comic pages from writer Ivan Brandon and artist Nick Postic.

The plot began after the Kree–Skrull War, when Earth's superheroes Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, Namor, Black Bolt, Professor Charles Xavier, and Doctor Strange formed a secret group called the Illuminati to confront the Skrulls. They attacked the Skrull Empire, warning that any future invasion of Earth would bring reprisals, but were captured and studied before escaping. Princess Veranke, a successor to the Skrull throne, claimed a prophecy foretold the annihilation of the Skrull homeworld.

Emperor Dorrek exiled her for inciting religious extremism. After the cosmic entity Galactus destroyed the Skrull Throneworld, Veranke became Empress by lineage and led an invasion of Earth, using knowledge of superhumans gained from studying the Illuminati. The Skrulls captured several heroes and infiltrated Earth's defenses, with Veranke herself posing as Spider-Woman. A breakout of supervillains at the Raft prison forced her to join the New Avengers.

After the Civil War, Elektra, leader of the Hand, was revealed to be a Skrull named Pagon after dying in battle with the New Avengers. Veranke took the corpse to Tony Stark (then leading the pro-registration Mighty Avengers) to sow distrust. She then joined the Mighty Avengers, claiming it would throw the Skrulls off balance. Posing as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Skrulls attempted to mine vibranium in the Savage Land and battled the New Avengers before being killed. The Illuminati fought an impostor posing as Black Bolt and two new Super-Skrulls with all-new powers.

The invasion destabilized the superhuman community: simultaneous strikes disabled the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier and the orbiting base The Peak; a breakout occurred at the Raft; the Baxter Building was transported to the Negative Zone; Thunderbolt Mountain was attacked. In the Savage Land, Avengers were attacked by Skrulls posing as heroes, and Reed Richards was wounded by the Skrull Criti Noll (posing as Hank Pym) moments after he devised a way to identify the shapeshifters.

After multiple battles in Manhattan and the Savage Land, Mr. Fantastic developed a device to detect the aliens. Crime lord the Hood aided the heroes, deciding "no more Earth is bad for business." Veranke regrouped with her forces in New York City for a final battle against the combined Avengers, now joined by Nick Fury and his new Commandos, Thor, Daredevil, Ka-Zar, and teams like the Young Avengers and Thunderbolts. Hawkeye wounded Veranke.

Criti Noll activated a booby trap on the Wasp, but Thor contained the blast at the cost of her life. Norman Osborn then shot and killed Veranke using a weapon he created with intelligence stolen from Deadpool. The remaining Skrull armada was destroyed, and Iron Man located the missing heroes. The President dissolved S.H.I.E.L.D. by executive order.

A last Skrull, posing as the Avengers' butler Edwin Jarvis, fled with the child of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, but was killed by Bullseye shortly after returning.