The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to be turned upside down by the Secret Invasion, a series that follows Nick Fury on a mission to stop invading Skrulls from taking over Earth. This conspiracy has been years in the making and will surely shock many MCU fans, but this makes sense. After all, the comic series the show was based on kickstarted the invasion in a truly shocking and unexpected way.
Part of what made Secret Invasion (by Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Francis Yu, Mark Morales, Laura Martin and Chris Eliopoulos) such an engaging read was how Marvel Comics built up to the invasion over the course of multiple series. When the Skrull Empire was forced to go on the offensive, many heroes were blindsided and even injured in various attacks. However, more chilling than the Skrulls' sudden reveal was the subtle tease of an invasion that began with the death of Daredevil's iconic ally, Elektra.
How Did Elektra Kick Off Secret Invasion?
At some point over the course of the previous several years, a Skrull named Pagon had taken Elektra's place. As part of Pagon's deep cover operation, she remained a member of The Hand, and kidnapped Echo as part of her duties. This led to the New Avengers tracking Echo down in a rescue attempt and Echo stabbing Pagon in the gut in New Avengers #31 (by Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Francis Yu, Dave McCraig, Richard Starkings and Comicraft's Albert Deschesne). When she died, Pagon reverted back to her Skrull form, ending the battle between the heroes and The Hand abruptly as everyone present recognized their common foes.
From that point on in Secret Invasion, tensions ran high and trust was in short supply. Heroes doubted one another and were divided against each other. However, this didn't hinder the Skrull's plans at all, as sleeper agents like Jarvis and Sue Storm revealed their Skrull identities and incapacitated major heroes like Reed Richards. While this was always the Skrulls' endgame, Elektra's death forced the Skrulls' hand and kickstarted a major invasion of Earth.
Elektra's Skrull Imposter Sent Ripples Through the Marvel Universe
Elektra's reveal as the Skrull Pagon was more than a typical death and the reactions of the Avengers and The Hand proved that. More so than a sense of damage control after the reveal, a sense of fear was felt throughout the heroes and villains that saw the Skrull's body. The reason for this was because every one of them knew the Skrull's capabilities and how, if one had infiltrated their ranks, there was a chance there was way more.
What made Elektra's reveal so scary was that she was a lower-tier character in the Marvel Universe. This implied that the Skrulls had infiltrated so much, they already took over some of the biggest names and were already working into characters who were street-level. Plus, Elektra was a part of The Hand, meaning that even the most dangerous organizations were likely under Skrull control. In the end, it wasn't Elektra that shook the Marvel Universe, but what her Skrull imposter represented and how behind the heroes and villains of Earth were in stopping it.