Secret Invasion: Who Is The Skrull Emperor And Could We See Them In The Marvels?

Contains spoilers for "Secret Invasion," Season 1, Episode 2.

In the second episode of "Secret Invasion," Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) flees Moscow's wreckage. Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) then casually mentions the existence of an off-world Skrull colony. Since this information comes during a string of revelations — like how there are at least a million Skrulls living on Earth because they assumed Nick Fury had given up on finding them a new planet — it's not treated as vital trivia. But it is interesting to learn, especially considering how Talos casually namedrops an unexplained character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Without subtitles, it's hard to parse Talos' words. But it's clear that the colony is under the leadership of a Skrull emperor, and that makes his proclamation worth discussing. 

According to the comics, Skrull follow an emperor or empress from the royal family. With "Secret Invasion" being intentionally grounded, it's unlikely for Talos to elaborate any further on the subject. Since there's not a single set ruler of the Skrull in the Marvel comics canon, we'll have to make some educated guesses as to who they are here. But if there was ever going to be a project that covered a Skrull royal family in better detail, it would be "The Marvels."

The official plot synopsis for "The Marvels" confides that Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) will seek to course-correct a "destabilized universe." But it's unclear whether that's in reference to the fallout from the Kree's galactic onslaught or the consequences of Thanos (Josh Brolin) using the Infinity Gauntlet. Either way, "The Marvels" will take our heroes across the stars to assist wherever they can. But it would be in theme for Carol and company to make their way to a Skrull colony amidst a pit stop during their intergalactic road trip.

In the comics, the most notable Skrull leader is Empress R'Kill and her husband, Dorrek VII, whom she married after he killed her father. (Yes, seriously.) In fairness, if you listen hard to Talos in Episode 2, it almost sounds like he's saying Dorrek. Regardless, the name he speaks isn't R'Kill. It sounds more like "George" than anything else.

However, it's also difficult to make direct correlations between the Skrull empire in Marvel comics and the Skrull colony in the MCU: One is a massive tyrannical space dictatorship and the other is a refugee camp. But if the emperor that Talos mentions is anything like R'Kill or Dorrek VII, and if the off-world Skrull colony is anything like the Skrull empire, then whoever accidentally stumbles across it is in for the fight of their lives. The Skrull don't mess around when it comes to invasions.