Super-Skrull

Superherobox|

caption=Cover of "Annihilation: Super-Skrull" #4.
Art by Gabriele Dell'Otto.
character_name=Super-Skrull
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Fantastic Four" #18 (vol. 1, Sep. 1963)
creators=Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
real_name=Kl'rt
species= Skrull
homeworld = Tarnax IV
alliances=Secret Defenders
United Front
aliases=Invincible Man, Captain Hero, Bobby Wright
supports =
powers= Combined powers of the Fantastic Four
Shapeshifting
Hypnosis|

The Super-Skrull (Kl'rt) is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in "Fantastic Four" #18 (vol. 1, Sept. 1963) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Fictional character biography

Kl'rt - more commonly known as the Super-Skrull - hails from the Skrull capital world 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, who was artificially augmented and given the combined abilities of the Fantastic Four. Kl'rt's power levels, however, exceeded the originals -stronger than Ben Grimm; superior flight and greater pyrokinetic ability than the Human Torch; better control of invisibility and telekinesis than Susan Richards; and an ability to stretch beyond that of Mr. Fantastic. The newly-named "Super-Skrull" also retained his innate Skrull 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. ["Fantastic Four" (vol. 1, Sep. 1963)] He is, however, sent back to Earth time and again, and battles other heroes such as Thor; ["Thor" #142 (vol. 1 Jul. 1967)] Captain Marvel. ["Captain Marvel" #2 - 3 (vol. 1, Jun. - Jul. 1968)] The Super-Skrull also acts as the Empire's agent on Earth during the Kree-Skrull War, and manages to temporarily disband the superhero team the Avengers and kidnap Avenger siblings the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. ["Avengers" #89 - 97 (vol. 1, Jun. 1971 - Mar. 1972)] With the war ending in a truce, the disgraced Super Skrull later sides with the Titan Thanos and aids him in his quest for the Cosmic Cube. The hero Mar-Vell, however, defeats both the Super-Skrull and eventually Thanos. ["Captain Marvel" #25 - 33 (vol. 1, Nov. 1970 - Apr. 1971)] After a skirmish with Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel, Kl'rt becomes trapped in the Van Allen radiation belt. ["Marvel Team-Up" #62 (vol. 1, Oct. 1977)]

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. ["Alpha Flight" #9 - 10 (vol. 1, Apr. - May 1984)] 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. ["Silver Surfer" #25 - 31 (vol. 1, Jul. - Dec. (last two issues in one month) 1989)]

Free again

At some point during Kl'rt's imprisonment in the Van Allen belt, 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 belt). ["Namor the Sub-Mariner" #15 - 18 (Jun. - Sep. 1991)]

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. [ "Avengers" Annual #14 (1985)] 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). 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. ["Young Avengers" #9 - 12 (2005) ]

Annihilation

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. ["Annihilation: Super Skrull" #3 (2006)] 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. ["Annihilation: Conquest":"Wraith" #1 (Jul. 2007)]

Secret Invasion

During the Skrull invasion of Earth, the Skrulls move quickly to take Nova out of the equation before he can return home and help defend his own planet. Luring Nova into an ambush on a remote planet under the ruse of an isolated Phalanx infestation, a group of Super-Skrulls launch an ambush. In the battle, one of the Super-Skrulls turns on his fellows, revealing himself to be Kl'rt, Nova's ally from the Annihilation War. Together, Nova and the original Super-Skrull defeat the attackers and travel by stargate directly to Earth where Nova intends to assist in repelling the invasion. Upon their arrival, however, Kl'rt attacks Rider declaring his loyalties to the Skrull Empire.

His attack on Nova reveals to be a charade, as Kl'rt shields Nova from the view of the Skrull invasion fleet, allowing Rider to return to his home world undetected. However where his true loyalties lies remains to be seen as while he helps Nova, he later targeted his own daughter Jazinda and fight She-Hulk at the same time. Yet while he defeated both women, he found he couldn't kill Jazinda and left.

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 possesses the Skrull's innate racial ability to shape-shift, as well as 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 has detailed knowledge of and access to technology centuries ahead of conventional Earth science.

Other Super-Skrulls

* Xavin: A "Super-Skrull in training," has the powers of the Fantastic Four but can only use one at a time. He is currently a member of the Runaways.
* Rl'nnd - A Skrull possesses the powers of Colossus, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine.
* Criti Noll - A Skrull who not only possesses the powers of Henry Pym, he also possesses Black Panther's quick reflexes, Quicksilver's super-speed, and Vision's density and mass control.

During "Secret Invasion", many Super-Skrull soldiers appear possessing the powers of multiple heroes which differ from soldier to soldier. For example:

* In an issue of Captain Britian and MI:13, there's a Skrull who possesses the powers of Morbius, the Living Vampire. In the same issue, there is a Super-Skrull with all the powers of the original Avengers, and one with the powers of the Champions (Hercules, Ghost Rider, Angel, Iceman and Black Widow). There is also a Squadron Supreme-Skrull with the powers of Whizzer and Hyperion.
* A Super-Skrull appearing in "Secret Invasion: The Amazing Spider-Man" possesses the powers of Hydro-Man, Venom, Rhino, Electro, the Lizard and Sandman.

Alternate versions

In addition to his mainstream incarnation, Super-Skrull has had been depicted in other fictional universes:

Earth-6309

In the "Earth-6309" reality, Kl'rt is the Skrull Lord of Colony UK7 and a Captain Britain Corps member. ["Excalibur" vol. 1 #49]

Marvel Zombies

In the "Marvel Zombies" universe, the Super Skrull is one of the many flesh-hungry super-villains rampaging across the earth. He teams with other zombie villains to battle zombie 'heroes'. He is destroyed in a conflict over who ultimately gets to kill and eat Galactus. Subsequent attempts by the Skrulls to duplicate the experiment that created him fail, but they are able to create a team of four Skrulls- one of whom is the alternate version of Lyja- who possess the individual powers of the FF, although they are transformed into zombies and subsequently killed by the new Fantastic Four consisting of the Black Panther, Storm, the Thing and the Human Torch.

quadron Supreme

The Skrullian Skymaster (real name Skymax),a member of the superhero team the Squadron Supreme, possesses the same powers as the Super-Skrull. ["Squadron Supreme: New World Order" (1998)]

Ultimate Super-Skrull

In the "Ultimate Marvel" universe, the Super-Skrull is 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 whose metagenes have been activated by "Skrull pills". Super-Skrull is killed when a non-super powered Ben Grimm strips him of his armor- with every other human on the planet dead, the Super-Skrull's suit no long has any powers to duplicate-, exposing him to harmful toxins and bacteria in Earth's air before Grimm travels back in time and erases the timeline where the Skrulls invaded Earth from existence.

Heroes Reborn

In Heroes Reborn, Super Skrull was a Skrull named Kl'rt who disguised himself as Wyatt Wingfoot and tricked Doctor Doom into capturing the Silver Surfer, and then transferred the power of Galactus' herald to himself.

Other Media

Television

* Super-Skrull appeared in the 1960's "Fantastic Four" cartoon.
* Super-Skrull appeared in the 1994 "Fantastic Four" series voiced by Neil Ross and later by Jess Harnell.
* Super-Skrull appears in the 2006 "" cartoon voiced by Mark Oliver.

Video Games

* Super-Skrull appears in the 1997 Playstation game Fantastic Four.
* Super-Skrull appears as a boss in "".
* Super-Skrull appears in the 2007 video game "".

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. He also makes an appearance in "X-Men: The Avengers : Friend or Foe?" (Gamma Quest Trilogy).

ong

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

ee also

* Xavin
* Rl'nnd
* Fantastic Four
* Skrulls

References

External links

* [http://marvel.com/universe/Super-Skrull Super-Skrull bio on Marvel.com]