Hank McCoy (Before the Fur)

This Skrull business. Very compelling re-write weirdness, yes? The Skrulls have always been one of those ideas that just didn’t seem to quite fit in that well in the landscape of the Marvel Universe. They go way back- I mean, I think they got introduced in like the second issue of Fantastic Four, or something like that. But whenever you start writing about advanced intergalactic civilizations in comic books, things start to get a little bizarre. To begin with, there’s the “suspension of disbelief” factor- I mean, if everyone and their mother just saw the Fantastic Four, or the Justice League, or whoever fight off some Skrull/Kree/Apocalypse invasion, wouldn’t that essentially change the world? Wouldn’t governments all over the place start emulating their technology and so on? And they do in said comic books, to the extent that each individual writer decides they want the United States and other world governments to be science-fiction-ey. But still, it seems like the spiritual, technological, and political implications of discovering life in the rest of the universe is somewhat understated. Besides that, whenever you start writing stories about outer-space and alien races, you probably just reaching that point where you’re just slamming way too many genres into one sitting to do anyone any good. It’s kind of like Star Wars- you ever notice how Star Wars is an amalgam of every science-fiction idea EVER? You know, as the quasi-wizard ninja-monks with laser swords run into battle against soulless android killing machines and their alien insectoid masters, while receiving air support from clone troopers in their futuristic fighter craft? It’s a little much- isn’t it? Seems to me, stories involving Skrulls have always been the same way. But I will say this- it is really great to see a concept like this, the fact that this whole race can change shape, and really see it taken to a whole new level. The Skrulls have always just sort of been sad foot soldiers that get knocked around by the hero of the week- it’s nice to see them get some prime treatment for a change! This is some scary shit! Marvel tried the whole alien-invasion stick once before on the mass crossover level, a storyline called Maximum Security. It bombed miserably- I don’t know why, either. The concept wasn’t BAD per se. Earth became a dumping grounds for alien criminals. I think editor problems and politics hurt the whole thing coming together. So far, Secret Invasion has been compelling. I have few complaints. I would go into great detail, but I would ruin much of the story for you. So I’m afraid today’s entry is somewhat rambling. But I just want to point out the latest cover to Black Panther and say: THIS is what HAPPENS when you screw with Black Panther. He comes and he just straight up KILLS your ass. TAKE NOTE. Also, his wife’s hot. Take note.