Friday, April 04, 2008

Find the Skrull!

Today, I'm stealing an idea from SallyP, and exploring further the question:

Who in the DCU is actually a Skrull?

Mary Marvel, for sure. I mean, the one we've been reading for the last year bears no resemblance in personality to any previous version in the character's 60 some years of history. Not only is Mary Marvel a Skrull, she's a Skrull with disproportionately large breasts.

All-Star Batman. Duh.

Panda. Because characters as annoying as Panda never really get killed.

Jean Loring. Bwa-haha! Just kidding. No mere Skrull could be as crazy/evil as Jean Loring!

Every Aquaman since 1972.

Jason Todd and Stephanie Brown. The real ones had the decency to stay dead, and the wisdom to stay dead, since they worked much better as martyrs than as living irritants.

President Luthor. Because the real Lex Luthor wouldn't have bothered to take a step down into the presidency, then do nothing either evil or useful in four years. I mean, even George W. Bush did something evil or useful in four years...!

The Penny Plunderer. You don't think the real Joe Coyne got sent to the chair, do you? As if.

The married Orca the Whalewoman who got killed. The real Orca is in the sea where she belongs, making it with King Shark, the Shark, and Captain Mako.

Vibe. I mean, the one who got killed. The real one is working on his tan in Rincon and planning his triumphant return to the JLA.


Who do YOU think is a Skrull in the DCU
(and please support your assertion)?

37 comments:

The Shadow said...

Drury Walker, better known as Charaxes. Would the real Killer Moth sell his soul to Neron for more power? No way. He thinks he's got enough power already. The real KM is probably off hiding in some warehouse in Gotham, plotting his triumphant return.

Anonymous said...

The Max Lord who murdered Ted. That was no Max I'd ever seen before. The real Max was part machine and had a head that didn't twist all the way around.

And about Vibe... You know Scipio, I was going through my old JLD issues a while ago and have wanted to bring this up-

After JJ and the others recovered Vibe's body, they rushed it back to JLA Mountain (or Secret Sanctuary if you prefer) and put him in a cryogenic tube or something of the sort.

The attack on Vibe wasn't over for a half-hour (if that) before the League arrived on the scene, and J'onn is the only one who examined and declared Vibe dead- and we know Martians aren't immune to mistakes.

Basically, Vibe's body is still in that cryo tube or chamber- perfectly preserved for all these years, hidden away in the deep recesses of the old HQ. And being dead for thirty minutes is not a hard to reverse thing for the DCU (if he was even ever really dead to begin with).

Vibe's death was the first I ever experienced in comics and it both shocked and moved me when my father and I read it together. He was my favorite character at the time (I was eight).

-Citizen Scribbler
(Most Assuredly Not A Skrull)

Zaratustra said...

Of course, according to the sliding time scale, Lex was president for like three weeks.

Anonymous said...

Which is twenty days longer than GWB should have been.

Speaking of Lex, I nominate Byrne's Kingpin Klone for Skrullhood. The "Earth-One" Luthor did exist after the Crisis; immediately after the worlds merged, in CoIE #11, Batman visits Luthor in his prison cell. He has no memory of the big battle, but he is clearly the svelte, super-scientific, frequently incarcerated Luthor from Earth-One. Then the next time we see him he's somehow morphed into Donald Trump, never having been arrested before and packed on fifty pounds and rapidly-thinning hair. In the current DC universe Luthor is being portrayed The Right Way again; so I think the Luthor of 1986-2006 or whenever was definitely a Skrull. Or Martian. Or Durlan. Whatever.

Audie said...

"Captain Mako"?

Didn't realize you played CoH.

Dave said...

Hawkgirl.

Since The One Year Later jump and joining Meltzers JLA she hasn't acted much like the Hawkgirl I remember.

Anonymous said...

Robin. The Skrull-version is being extremely unlikeable over in Teen Titans, the real one is angsting in his own book and a clone of his younger self is merrily bouncing about Nightwing.

I see no other way a teenager can do all those things and also go to high-school. Therefore, there's a Skrull in the Batcave.

Anonymous said...

Superman is probably a Skrull. Or at least there's a real Superman and a Skrull Superman. This would explain how, for example, he can be fighting the Insect Queen and also off on Apokolips investigating New Gods murders. Or how in the JLA he remembers his youth with the Legion, but in Action Comics he doesn't seem to know Mon-El. Same with Batman (numerous concurrent adventures, often in different timezones, in varying stages of madness) and Nightwing (simultaneously on ops with the Outsiders and undercover in the mob).

Also: Supergirl. Is there any way she could possibly be human? Plus, there's no chance anyone's ankles could be that thin.

Anonymous said...

The second mostly useless Hourman Rick Tyler? (someone please bring back Hourman 1 or 3)

Jacob T. Levy said...

Black Canary. She was replaced immediately after quitting the Birds of Prey because staying on the team would be bad for her new 'daughter.' It was the Skrull who then immediately joined the JLA and showed no ability to lead it (that was her Skrull assignment!-- become leader of the JLA and botch the job) and got engaged to Green Arrow and stopped acting remotely like the real hero had acted, ever.

Diamondrock said...

Cassandra Cain Batgirl was a Skrull immediatly after OYL. Hell, she might *still* be a Skrull for all I know. That's the only way to explain how she learned Navajo.

(Skrulls all know Navajo, right?)

Anonymous said...

Leslie Tompkins. The Skrull kidnapped her before the whole War Games thing, and it's the Skrull that allowed Spoiler to die.

Scipio said...

You know, I can't disagree with any of this so far...

T said...

Power Girl in Brave and the Bold. It's like when an actor overplays a certain personality trait of a character.

Speaking of Lex, I nominate Byrne's Kingpin Klone for Skrullhood. The "Earth-One" Luthor did exist after the Crisis; immediately after the worlds merged, in CoIE #11, Batman visits Luthor in his prison cell. He has no memory of the big battle, but he is clearly the svelte, super-scientific, frequently incarcerated Luthor from Earth-One. Then the next time we see him he's somehow morphed into Donald Trump, never having been arrested before and packed on fifty pounds and rapidly-thinning hair.

I think it was probably an example of "post-Crisis time" smoothing itself out. The Skrull idea is a fun one, though ;)

President Luthor. Because the real Lex Luthor wouldn't have bothered to take a step down into the presidency, then do nothing either evil or useful in four years. I mean, even George W. Bush did something evil or useful in four years...!

Well, he did learn about the Imperiex War in advance and failed to warn the American people or any higher-ups about it. And he shot the guy who found out Superman's secret. Other than that, though...

I think the Superman writers of that time wanted to show that if a smart guy like Lex were president, he wouldn't be a particularly terrible one except when his hatred for Superman flared up. I think if Jeph Loeb had stayed on the Superman title longer, we may have seen Luthor use his discovery that Clark Kent is Superman for evil things.

Or how in the JLA he remembers his youth with the Legion, but in Action Comics he doesn't seem to know Mon-El.

Seeing as Geoff Johns had been involved in both, you'd think there'd be some consistency :p

SallyP said...

My God, who knew that those dastardly Skrulls really WERE invading the DCU?

(shakes fist at the sky)

Well, I definitely agree about Max Lord. I LIKE Max dammit. Max might yell at Beetle, but he would never have shot him in the head.

I also have my doubts about Black Canary. She's been acting awfully...tentative ever since she dumped the Birds of Prey to run off with Ollie and rule the JLA with an iron fist.

Anonymous said...

And what about Amanda Waller? The impossible changes in her weight and the fact that she seems to be losing her grip on "the game" over in Checkmate. The Wall I know always stands tall...

-Citizen Scribbler

Scipio said...

"he shot the guy who found out Superman's secret."

Actually, he didn't. That was an illusion courtesy of Manchester Black.

Jacob T. Levy said...

The Superman/ Mon-El issue is an old one; I don't remember how it got addressed in the Silver Age.

Superboy/ Superman should be working to free Mon-El from lead poisoning and the phantom zone, but should also remember that Mon-El is a Legionnaire who he knows in the future because he was stuck in the Phantom Zone for a thousand years. It's a real problem.

Anonymous said...

I'd say that post-OYL Bart Allen was a Skrull, but the Rogues took care of that little problem. Also, Wonder Girl's been a Skrull since the current Titans series started.

"Panda. Because characters as annoying as Panda never really get killed."

Okay, who is Panda? Because the only panda in any DCU I know was Green Lantern Genma in the Legion cartoon comic (and he was cool because he was a fanboy). How can anything panda-derived be annoying?

Gus Casals said...

The alleged Legion who showed up in the Lighting Saga are clearly Skrulls sent to confuse Supes and the readers, of course.
That means that the we just saw Skrull Karate Kid die ( he was dead already, after all ) and Skrull Single Damsel, who was such a bad Skrull that she forgot to refer herself and Lournu and started calling herself Una.
Real KK is still buried and his widow has a a fructiferous life as Sensor Girl, and Lu has both her bodies and is married to Chuck and running the Legion Academy. Or, if the Action continuity is to be believed, probably fled earth when this nonsensical xenofobia started ( Chuck is an earthman in a mixed marriage, after all )

Scipio said...

Panda is a colleague and friend of Ryan Choi's at Ivy University.

Or, rather, he was.

T said...

Actually, he didn't. That was an illusion courtesy of Manchester Black.

Oh wow, I had no idea. Was this revealed in "Ending Battle"?

Guess Lex kept his hands pretty clean during his presidency, then! Well, until the Kryptonite asteroid incident. He seemed a bit off there, however: I suspect that "Kryptonite/venom drug" was really concentrated Skrull milk.

Derek said...

Panda's still alive. They all are, I'm certain.

Unfortunately, I won't find out if I'm right, because I'm dropping All-New Atom.

To relate this to the topic at hand, I nominate Anyone Previously But No Longer Written By Gail Simone. This includes all the villains in Salvation Run.

Anonymous said...

Professor Hamilton aka Ruin (not!)
is also a good candidate

Anonymous said...

And what about Amanda Waller? The impossible changes in her weight

Two words, dude. Carnie Wilson.

Jon said...

Animal Man is still out there lost in space, it's his Skrull copy that's running around after Starfire (or *was* atleast. Has that horrible idea been wrapped up yet?)

Anonymous said...

Yes. I thought it was a pretty nice idea... who wouldn't at least entertain the thought of a daliance with Starfire?

Scipio said...

Um... me, for one.

Anonymous said...

I think it was probably an example of "post-Crisis time" smoothing itself out.

The standard apology for the gross mismanagement that immediately followed the first Crisis. No, I think it was something else entirely. If anyone could devise a means to shield himself from the effects of the merging Earths, it would be the man who once built a jet-pack out of odds and ends in a greasy spoon diner's kitchen with the police seconds behind him.

Anonymous said...

Oracle

She would control all information in the DC Universe. An obvious position of power that a Skrull will grab onto. Plus, no one ever actually sees her that often so she doesn't have to remain in her BG form.

Ella Cinder (CoH)

Anonymous said...

R J Brande. His origin was re written to make hima Durlan. Perfect disguise for an exposed Skrull.

The Snarky Geeks said...

I say Martain MAnhunter. Look at the chin they're drawing him with now.

collectededitions said...

The Seven Soldiers Guardian and the Newsboy Legion. No offense to Grant Morrison's creations, but everyone knows the real Guardian lives in the Cadmus Project and hangs out with Big Words and Dubbilex.

Anonymous said...

I just want to chime in and say that I miss the old Max too. Maybe it will be fixed in Booster's current series? Maybe? Please?

Yeah, not gonna happen. Unless I can start punching reality.

T said...

If anyone could devise a means to shield himself from the effects of the merging Earths, it would be the man who once built a jet-pack out of odds and ends in a greasy spoon diner's kitchen with the police seconds behind him.

Haha, good point. I remember that before Infinite Crisis, a lot of people suspected the impostor Luthor running the Society was the pre-Crisis Lex Luthor.

Anonymous said...

David is right about Hawkgirl, starting right when Chaykin took over the art. The sportsbra 34-A to frillybra 38-D breastages were the tip-off. Not that I, er, noticed these things hrmf harrumphgh no, that is, her uh her characterization, yes that's it! It changed, yes. Skrulliness for sure.

Anonymous said...

Chameleon Boy. Hide the Skrull in almost plain sight as a shapeshifter from a race of shapeshiftwers no one trusts.

I'd nominate J'onn as a green shapeshifting alien, except that the most powerful Skrull is the the Super Skrull and J'onn is a lot more powerful than Mr. Fantastic Four in one.

If anything, the Skrulls are some inferior genetic offshoot of the marians.