In the Eye of the Beholder Part 1
By: Paul Hebert |
Tuesday June 17, 2008 |
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A conspiracy of Bendis proportions... |
| For anyone who hasn't been paying attention to the current news from the Marvel Universe, the Skrulls are large and in charge. Brian Michael Bendis, the creative talent behind the hugely successful House of M series, has brought readers to the ultimate climax of this mind warping roller-coaster ride with the arrival of Secret Invasion. Using advanced genetic techniques created from experiments done using clones of the Illuminati (Tony Stark, Namor, Professor X, Dr. Strange, Black Bolt, and Reed Richards), the Skrulls have been able to infiltrate human society and, for the first time, remain undetectable. But as they say, the truth is in the eye of the beholder, and the eyes are the windows to the soul. One of the most noteworthy aspects of the Skrull species is their tendency towards green ryes, especially in their native forms. Could it be that something so simple, and yet easily overlooked, could be a key to unlocking the secrets of the invasion? If we must start somewhere, it is only fitting that we begin at the beginning. In 2004 Nick Fury held a Secret War against a terrorist organization safe-housed in Latveria. Nick enlisted the help of Spider-man, Wolverine, Captain America, DareDevil, Luke Cage, Black Widow, and Agent Daisy Johnson (The self proclaimed Quake) to help stage a private war on terror. In the end Nick had Daisy crush the enemy forces, literally, with her Earthquake powers and mind-wiped the entire team. Still, you can't keep a good terrorist down, and one year later saw the entire affair brought to light and Nick Fury on the run. During the entire saga, all the members of the Secret War are attacked and eventually converge on Nick Fury for the truth, everyone except for the Black Widow. The Black Widow was the source of the intel on the terrorists activities, and she was there when Daisy Johnson brought down the house, yet she was unmentioned during the events a year later. Could it be that the Black Widow herself was a Skrull agent? If so, that would mean that Nick Fury was goaded into making an assault that would eventually lead to his dismissal from SHIELD and a life on the run, and a Nick Fury without the constant protection of SHIELD is an easier target for replacement. All we have to do is look at the cover for our clue, as the Black Widow is depicted in all her glory with blazing red hair and emerald green eyes. Eyes that should have been brown. Furthermore, it is later revealed that Nick Fury’s girlfriend, Valentina, is also a Skrull agent. Nick Fury ends up killing the invader and, now realizing that a greater conspiracy is in work, leaves to form a new team of heroes for the coming war. This is an important clue to the Skrulls future actions, as Nick provided Valentina valuable information in his private dealings, including the truth about Spider Woman being a double agent and his evaluations of the Sentry. Later, strange events begin happening to members of the Avengers, cumulating into an all out attack on Avengers Mansion. The attack is a bizarre affair, beginning with the appearance of the deceased Jack of Hearts, who explodes and kills Ant Man in the process. Next the Vision crashes a quinjet into the mansion, and after apologizing for what he is about to do, releases Ultrons onto the already distraught Avengers. An unexpected rage overcomes She-Hulk, who rips the body of Vision in half, ensuring his death. As the Avengers finally take down She-Hulk, a Kree attack squad appears. Hawk Eye, seriously injured in the battle, sacrifices himself in a suicide attack on one of the mother-ships. The ships leave, signaling the arrival of Dr. Strange, who admits to the Avengers that everything that has happened has been caused by the Scarlet Witches magics. But here are where things get interesting. Leading up to the destruction of the Avengers, Captain America begins seeing the Scarlet Witch everywhere, originally as a hallucination, and finally as his secret love interest. A Scarlet Witch with green eyes. A quick check with the Marvel Database shows that, as I suspected, Scarlet Witch was born with blue eyes, not green. Could it be that the Skrulls were setting up the Scarlet Witch to attack her own teammates, or vice-versa. It is essentially a win-win situation, either the Avengers died or the Scarlet Witch died, either way a threat was eliminated. The question becomes mute at this point as Magneto appears and, after retrieving the Scarlet Witch, takes her to Professor X on Genosha. After 6 months of trying to help heal the damage to the Scarlet Witch, Professor X summons the X-men and the Avengers in order to determine a new course of action. Convinced that they mean to kill his sister, Quicksilver convinces Scarlet Witch to use her powers, with some stolen help from the Professor, to make the world a better place for them and their friends. With a bright flash of white light, the world is changed, the House of Magnus rules and Mutants are the dominate species on earth. The fly in the ointment, as it were, is long time problem causer Wolverine. Due to the nature of the Scarlet Witches reality change, Wolverine regained all of the memories he has always fought to retrieve. As a result; Wolverine has perfect knowledge that the world is a lie and that the Scarlet Witch is behind it all. With the help of Layla Miller, Wolverine is able to return the memories of the real world to the Avengers and the X-men, and together they once again face down the Scarlet Witch. Sadly, the good guys lose this one, and Scarlet Witch changes the world back to it's original state with but one change, “No more mutants”. Only those present with the Scarlet Witch, protected by the combined efforts of Emma Frost and Dr. Strange, retain any knowledge of the events leading to what has been dubbed The Decimation. It is clear that the Scarlet Witch responsible for the House of M is the same green eyed version that attacked the Avengers 6 months earlier. It is possible that the Skrull Witch is suffering from complications of the procedure to make her resemble the Scarlet Witch, much like the revealed Skrull Captain Mar-Vell. Even if the Skrulls had no direct involvement with the House of M, none can doubt that they benefited from the experience. With over 90% of the Mutant population gone, most of Earth has become defenseless to the incoming invasion. Due to the loss of his powers in The Decimation, Quicksilver steals the Terrigen Mists, a material that can cause mutations in those exposed to its presence, from the Inhumans. Eventually the Mists fall into the hands of SHIELD, who promptly begin mutating volunteers in an effort to create a loyal, super-powered army. In retaliation for the theft, Black Bolt orders an attack on America with an ultimatum for the return of the Mist, or face an all out war. Ignoring the threat of War, SHIELD continues their experiments until Black Bolt, leading an assault force of Inhumans, retrieves the Mists from SHIELD. But once again tragedy strikes as the mutated volunteers stage their own assault, destroying Attilan, the city Black Bolt rules. In the confusion the psychopath Maximus, Black Bolts brother, breaks free of incarceration, takes the throne, and seals Black Bolt into prison. It has been revealed that Black Bolt was an early replacement by the Skrulls, possibly as far back as the Skrull/Kree war. I want to take a moment and note that, at the time of his discovery as a Skrull, Black Bolt was sporting a pair of green eyes. This explains why Medusa is no longer able to interpret her husband Black Bolt's motives. Even more telling, the theft of the Terrigen Mists gives the Skrulls a legitimate reason to stage a conflict between the Inhumans and the Earth, ensuring that neither side will be willing to trust the other during the coming invasion. After the deaths of a school full of children during the live filming of a Super Hero reality TV show, the American public can no-longer trust their masked heroes. Tony Stark and Reed Richards lead the charge with the Registration Act, which requires all super-powered begins and costumed heroes to register themselves with the government or be considered criminals subject to immediate arrest and incarceration. Capitan America, feeling that this is a basic violation of American Rights, commands a group of renegades against the registration act. The end result is one that was never before imagined in the history of Marvel Comics, a full out superhero civil war. In the end, Captain America could no-longer abide the destruction their war was causing to innocent civilians, and turned himself over to Tony Stark for trial. Sadly, the Marvel Universe suffered a terrible blow when Captain America was assassinated outside the court house on the day of his trial. The events of the Civil War have left a permanent scar in the superhero community, and despite the surrender and death of the Captain, the Renegades continue to fight for their rights to secrecy. Little time is given to the heroes to mourn the death of one of their own as the Hulk has re-appeared leading an alien army and demanding retribution. It is revealed that the Illuminati attempted to send the Hulk to a uninhabited world so that he would no-longer be a threat to mankind. However, through a series of accidents, Hulk lands on the world of Sakaar, and eventually becomes the emperor of the entire planet. The Hulk, who was once known as the angriest being in the universe, finds contentment with his newfound friends and, more importantly, his pregnant queen. All this comes to an end as the ship that carried the Hulk from Earth explodes, killing all of the inhabitance of the city, the queen, and Hulks unborn child. Blaming them for the deaths of his family, Hulk pits the members of the Illuminati against each other in a gladiatorial arena. After a tremendous battle, and the revelation that the Illuminati are not wholly responsible, the Hulk allows himself to be defeated in order to protect the Earth from further harm. That's not all. It only gets better. Read Part 2. |
