Marvel Comics has revealed that the shape-shifting Skrulls have been attempting to conquer Earth for longer than anyone had thought. The Skrulls are a truly fearsome foe, possessing advanced technology and natural shapeshifting powers allowing them to infiltrate a planet’s defenses in order to bring it down.
The Skrull have long looked on Earth with an envious eye, and as a result countless different teams of heroes – from the Avengers to the Fantastic Four – have wound up repelling Skrull scouting parties or even full-scale invasions. The most famous was the so-called “Secret Invasion,” which saw the Skrulls successfully infiltrate both SHIELD and the Avengers. The Skrulls almost succeeded at that time, with the heroes barely emerging triumphant.
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But this week’s Ruins of Ravencroft: Sabretooth #1 reveals that the Skrulls have been trying to conquer Earth for longer than anyone had guessed. The issue features excerpts from the journal of Jonas Ravencroft, the man who founded the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane, which is famous for holding Carnage prisoner. There have always been legends the Ravencroft Institute was built on cursed ground, but Jonas reveals the truth; it’s been at the center of secret, terrible events in Marvel history for centuries, possibly even millennia. One of these appears to have been a forgotten Skrull invasion.
It seems that the first Skrull invasion happened in the year 1891. What’s more, the person shown in the foreground is actually Jonas Ravencroft himself, suggesting he played a role in this forgotten Secret Invasion. It’s interesting to note the timing because this mysterious attack on Earth took place just seven years before H.G. Wells wrote his classic The War of the Worlds; Ruins of Ravencroft: Sabretooth may be subtly hinting that Wells was involved in the invasion as well and that it loosely inspired his book. Hopefully, this will be further developed, whether in flashbacks or a dedicated miniseries, because this is a fascinating glimpse into the secret history of the Marvel Universe.
But were the Skrulls the only ones who attempted to conquer Earth back then, or did the planet get drawn into the Kree-Skrull War, which was raging even a century ago? The timing of this revelation is particularly interesting because the upcoming Empyre event will see the New Avengers Hulkling lead the united Kree and Skrulls in their next invasion of Earth. It’s entirely possible Marvel intend to further explore this mysterious, forgotten invasion – and that the Skrulls’ defeat in the 1890s could hold the key to beating them in 2020.
Ruins of Ravencroft: Sabretooth #1 is on sale now in comic book stores.
