The following contains spoilers from Secret Invasion, Season 1, Episode 2, "Promises," now streaming on Disney+.
Many fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe awaited Secret Invasion to catch up with fan-favorite characters like Maria Hill and Nick Fury. However, the daughter of Talos and Soren, G'iah, is being deliberately underused by the series. She is in deep with Gravik and the Skrull terrorists, but she also seems to be working her own agenda. While snooping through Gravik's files, she discovered a clue for MCU fans about how a major Marvel Comics villain, the Super-Skrull, could arrive.
The series premiere of Secret Invasion includes two major revelations. First, Talos's wife, Soren died off-screen between the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home and Secret Invasion. The second is their child, G'iah, who ran away and joined Gravik and his terrorists. She has conflicting loyalties, it seems. Talos tells her about her mother's death, and she breaks down. She seemingly turns against Gravik, but she actually further sets up her father, Nick Fury, and the now-late Maria Hill. In Episode 2, she slips away from an operation to rescue a Skrull operative to speak to someone on the phone in Russian. It's possible this was the same person that Sonya Falsworth was talking to before taking over the torture and interrogation of the operative, Brogan. However, her discovery of a series of computer files provides the best evidence of the Super Skrull's arrival in Secret Invasion and the MCU.
How Will the Super Skrull Fit Into Secret Invasion?
The Secret Invasion trailer showed Gravik in a brief scene using some kind of power that made his arm appear tentacle-like. It was possible this was just a power Skrulls have in the MCU since everything else about the aliens differs from the comics. However, G'iah's snooping reveals Gravik got this power from a more familiar MCU character. G'iah starts her investigation by following Pagon into a lab run by Rosa and Victor Dalton, or at least the Skrulls who duplicated them. The three talk about "harvest" sites, though a later computer search reveals what they're after: Super DNA.
While snooping on a computer in Gravik's office, G'iah sees a collection of DNA samples used in Dalton's experiments. All of them should be familiar to MCU fans. There is a sample of DNA from a "Flora Colossus" species -- Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy. The Skrulls also seemed to get ahold of the hand of Cull Obsidian that was severed by Wong's portal closing in Infinity War. They have DNA from a Jotunheim frost beast, suggesting the creature left on Earth at the end of Thor: The Dark World met a gruesome fate. Lastly, the Skrulls also have a sample of Extremis, the fiery super-soldier serum Aldrich Killian injected himself and others with in Iron Man 3.
Looking back at Gravik in the trailer, it's clear that his tentacle-like arm situation is a very Groot-like ability. Under interrogation, Brogan reveals that Gravik is building a machine "to make [the Skrulls] stronger." When Gravik tells the Skrull Council he has a plan for the Avengers, it seems that plan is turning himself, at least, into the Super Skrull.
The Super Skrull Is an Anti-Hero Who Fought The Fantastic Four
While there were a number of Super Skrulls in the comics version of Secret Invasion, the original character was an antagonist to The Fantastic Four. Named KI'rt, his powers mimicked the members of Marvel's first super group. He could stretch like Mister Fantastic, turn invisible like Susan Storm, flame on like the Human Torch and possess the Thing's strength and invulnerability. However, his powers were given to him by Skrull technology without the need for DNA from Earth's heroes. A popular character, KI'rt has sometimes worked as an anti-hero, fighting other villains for his own reasons.
Still, there are some parallels between the loss of his family and Gravik's story. With the help of Extremis, Groot DNA and Cull Obsidian's powers, Gravik is very close in his power set to his comics' counterpart. Gravik will be able to muster the powers of these MCU characters in a way similar to how the Super Skrull in the comics does. He also may be able to pick up more abilities should other MCU heroes get involved in Secret Invasion's struggle. Gravik, it seems, will be the first Super Skrull in the MCU. However, there may be more in this series and when The Fantastic Four eventually arrives in the MCU.
Secret Invasion debuts new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.