Kree–Skrull War

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"Kree–Skrull War"
Cover of The Avengers: The Kree–Skrull War trade paperback (2000)
Art by Neal Adams
PublisherMarvel Comics
Publication dateJune 1971 – March 1972
Genre
Title(s)

The "Kree–Skrull War" is a

Avengers #89–97 (June 1971 – March 1972).[1]

The "KreeSkrull War" is notable for its cosmic scope of interstellar warfare, enormous cast of characters, use of metaphor and allegory (for instance, to Joseph McCarthy and HUAC and the Arab–Israeli War),[2] and the introduction of the VisionScarlet Witch romance, which became an ongoing theme for the characters (and the Avengers) for years to come. The "Kree–Skrull War" is considered by critics to be a highlight of its era,[3][4] and is the culmination of a string of notable Thomas–Adams collaborations from this period, which began with their run on X-Men in 1969.

Publication history

Writer Thomas admits he had no "master plan" in writing the storyline other than that the two "rapacious, galaxy-spanning races ... would be at war in the far reaches of space, and that their conflict would be threatening to spill over onto the Earth, turning our planet into the cosmic equivalent of some Pacific island during World War II". In this regard, Thomas was inspired by Raymond F. Jones' 1952 novel, This Island Earth.[5]

In 2000, almost thirty years after the "Kree–Skrull War"'s original publication, Marvel produced a trade paperback collection of the entire story arc.

As part of 2020's Empyre event, a prelude one-shot called Road to Empyre: The Kree/Skrull War #1 details the origins of the millennia longstanding conflict between the two species.[6]

Plot

The

Rick Jones. It is later revealed that he conceived a child with the Skrull princess Annelle during this period of time. This is necessary, as Mar-Vell has inadvertently absorbed a lethal amount of radiation
from spending weeks in the Negative Zone, and it will prove fatal unless treated. With the aid of a scientist, the Vision drains the excess radiation from Mar-Vell.

A

molecules" (alternating between the same space, one on Earth and one trapped in the Negative Zone until swapping). Mar-Vell is successful, although while the portal to the Zone is open, the Avengers are forced to drive back the entity Annihilus, who attempts to escape the Zone. Mar-Vell takes advantage of the distraction to steal an Avengers quinjet, which is tracked once the Avengers realize that the Kree hero has absorbed a lethal amount of radiation. The flashback ends and the group are then attacked by a robot Sentry, who captures Mar-Vell and escapes. The Avengers are questioned by Mar-Vell's former colleague, Carol Danvers
.

The Avengers respond to a call from fellow member

Henry Pym, the pair were en route via ship to a research base in the Arctic Circle
, there to study the effect of oil exploration on the environment. The pair apparently found a lush island, and investigate as the Wasp and Yellowjacket. Yellowjacket guesses the truth and pushes the Wasp away before reaching the island. When he disappears, the Wasp in turn summons Goliath.

The Avengers arrive and are attacked once again by the Sentry, now aided by a

cavemen
, who now lust after Janet Pym. Quicksilver arrives and attacks, and Ronan ends the battle when contacted and advised of an impending attack by the Skrulls on the Kree homeworld of Hala. Lacking purpose, the Sentry self-destructs. The Avengers and Mar-Vell recover and find that Pym and the other scientists, like the environment, have reverted to normal.

Mar-Vell's existence is revealed when the scientists advise the authorities as to what they witnessed, and the "Alien Activities Commission" is formed, led by Senator H. Warren Craddock. The Avengers agree to participate in a

picket
Avengers Mansion and then force their way in to vandalize the building.

Avengers

cows. The cows fire energy beams that cripple the Vision who, while able to turn intangible, cannot move. Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch are captured when the cows turn into three members of the Fantastic Four, and then reveal they are in fact Skrulls, the ancient enemies of the Kree. At the same time, Danvers has led Mar-Vell to a Skrull vessel she claims to have found, and persuades Mar-Vell to build an "Omni-Wave Projector", a communications device that in the hands of non-Kree is a deadly weapon. Mar-Vell, however, sees through the deception (as no humans, only Skrulls, know his true name) and destroys the device, but he is captured by Danvers (now revealed to actually be the Super-Skrull
) and, along with Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, is taken off Earth.

Although injured, the Vision is able to return to Avengers Mansion, where founding members

Mandroids, sent by Senator Craddock to apprehend the heroes for failing to cooperate. Iron Man (secretly Tony Stark
) designed the Mandroids and overloads their armour with an electrical discharge.

At the same time

Attilan
. The Avengers aid Triton and, after locating Black Bolt, accompany the Inhumans to Attilan. Maximus is revealed to have entered into an alliance with the Kree, and in exchange for rulership uses Kree technology to control the population, intending to use them as soldiers against the Skrulls. The Avengers defeat Maximus and his minions, and after restoring Black Bolt to power leave (with Goliath) for Skrull space, intent on rescuing their comrades.

Mar-Vell is taken to the heart of the Skrull Empire and, after being advised that the captive Avengers will be executed, is forced to build another Omni-Wave Projector. The Avengers arrive in Skrull space, and hold off the alien fleet while Mar-Vell is forced to use the Projector, which casts a temporarily freed Rick Jones back into the Negative Zone. Jones is rescued from the Zone by the Kree ruler the Supreme Intelligence, who unlocks hidden mental powers (the Destiny Force) in Rick Jones himself, Rick then sends a wave of Golden Age heroes with the Avengers against the Skrulls, ending the war. The Destiny Force also reverts Senator Craddock on Earth to his true Skrull form, revealing he was the fourth Skrull from the Earth expedition, and he is subsequently killed by an angered mob. The heroes return to Earth to discover that the real Senator Craddock has been found, and the Avengers' reputation has been restored.[8]

The secret superhero group the

Illuminati are eventually revealed to have visited both the Kree and Skrull Empires and advised the aliens that involving Earth in their war would not be tolerated.[9]

Sequels

A supplemental story appeared in

Elektra Skrull's corpse to the group. Subsequently, they are attacked by a group of Super-Skrulls, including one who had been impersonating Black Bolt. This issue tied the Kree–Skrull War with the ongoing crossover storyline Secret Invasion
.

Tie-ins

The nature of Rick's strange power at the story's conclusion is revealed in Avengers Forever, where it is identified as 'the Destiny Force', the ultimate manifestation of human potential, with various other Avengers manifesting the power during the crisis.

During

Captain America Reborn, when Captain America was sent bouncing randomly through time by a weapon devised by the Red Skull
, during a brief visit to the time of the Kree–Skrull war, he took advantage of the opportunity to isolate himself and the Vision from the conflict long enough to give the Vision a message that the Vision would subsequently 'delete' from his conscious memory until the time came for him to recall it, allowing Captain America to communicate with the present without changing history.

In Marvel Team-Up #5, Spider-Man and the Vision learn that a Skrull scout from the Kree–Skrull War is interfering with the Vision's brainwaves.

Collected editions

The Avengers storyline was collected in a trade paperback:

  • The Avengers: Kree-Skrull War (208 pages, August 2000, )

In other media

Television

Film

  • Captain Marvel features the mythology of the Kree–Skrull War.[10][11] In the film, the conflict is depicted as one-sided, with the Skrulls being the victims of the Kree's genocidal war. The Kree Mar-Vell goes against her people and travels to Earth to help Skrull refugees escape from Kree forces. Carol Danvers was brainwashed by the Kree to fight the Skrulls. When she discovers the truth, she rebels against her former masters and helps the Skrulls find a new homeland.

References

  1. .
  2. ^ Latta, D.K. "The Avengers: 'The Kree–Skrull War: A Comic Book Classic Returns,'", February 26th 2001
  3. ^ Hill, Shawn, "Essential Avengers v4" (review), Archived 2008-11-23 at the Wayback Machine Comics Bulletin, (February 15, 2006): "This story set the standard for years to come.... You can see the model here for later stories involving the X-Men and the Fantastic Four in cosmic wars."
  4. ^ Sanderson, Peter. Marvel Universe (Harry N. Abrams, 1998), p. 127: "Running nine issues, much of it spectacularly illustrated by Neal Adams, the Kree–Skrull War had no precedent in comics.... With this story The Avengers unquestionably established its reputation as one of Marvel's leading books."
  5. ^ Thomas, Roy. "Afterword: A Splendid Little War," Marvel's Finest: Avengers: The Kree–Skrull War (Marvel Comics, 2000).
  6. ^ Stone, Sam (December 19, 2019). "Empyre: Prelude One-Shot Teases Premise Of 2020's Major Marvel Event". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  7. ^ Fantastic Four #2 (Jan. 1962)
  8. ^ Avengers #89 – 97 (June 1971 – March 1972)
  9. ^ New Avengers: Illuminati (vol. 2) #1 – 5 (Feb. 2007 – Jan. 2008)
  10. ^ Lang, Brent (July 22, 2017). "'Captain Marvel' Will Be Set in the '90s With Skrulls as Villains". Variety. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  11. ^ Sobon, Nicole (July 23, 2017). "Captain Marvel: Feige Reveals Kree/Skrull War Influences". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2017.

External links