Secret Invasion References Memorable And Not-So-Memorable MCU Creatures To Set Up Its Latest Twist

This article has spoilers from the second episode of Marvel's "Secret Invasion" series. Beware!

From the beginning of Marvel's "Secret Invasion" series on Disney+, it's clear that no one is to be trusted. Everett Ross turned out to be a Skrull in the premiere's opening sequence, and we don't know how long the agent has been compromised. Meanwhile, a sect of rogue Skrulls led by an extremist called Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) have made it their mission to take over Earth and claim it as their new home, and thanks to a betrayal by Talos' (Ben Mendelsohn) daughter G'iah (Emilia Clarke), the Skrulls have already taken out Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), making things personal for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). But if the second episode of "Secret Invasion" is any indicator, G'iah may not be all-in on Gravik's plans for the future. 

In "Secret Invasion" episode 2, G'iah is wondering what Gravik isn't telling her. In the nuclear facility that the Skrulls have holed up in, there's a husband and wife team of Skrull scientists who are conducting some kind of experiment involving alien DNA. When G'iah digs a little deeper into the Skrulls' computer files, she sees a short list of creatures that fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will instantly recognize, which would seem to hint at something big in store for Gravik as the show's villain.

When G'iah stealthily looks at some computer files that she's not supposed to, she discovers a list of creatures that include Groot and Cull Obsidian. Obviously, Groot is everyone's favorite tree-based alien, and it would seem that he left a bit of his DNA on Earth at some point during the events of "Avengers: Infinity War" or "Avengers: Endgame."

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If you don't recognize the name Cull Obsidian, aka Black Dwarf, he's one of the members of the Black Order, the four children of Thanos. Cull Obsidian lost his arm when it was cut off by a magic portal in a battle with Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Wong, and Spider-Man on Earth in "Infinity War." 

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Also on the list is Extremis, the nanotechnology created by Aldrich Killian in "Iron Man 3." In the sequel, the Extremis tech allowed a person to heal wounds, including the entire regrowth of limbs, and it gave them super strength and an exothermic ability. 

Those are all obvious references, but there's also a deep cut for those keeping track of all the MCU's dangling threads. Another item on the list that G'iah sees is a Frost Beast from Jotunheim, the world of the Frost Giants. If you don't recall that creature, we saw one in "Thor: The Dark World" sent by Jotunheim's leader Laufey to kill Thor, Loki, Sif, and the Warriors Three. Thor dispatched that one, but during "The Dark World" climax, the portals of the Convergence opened by Malekith resulted in a Frost Beast being brought to London and left behind when all the action was finished. There was even a post-credits scene that showed the creature still trouncing around London. 

So why is Gravik keeping track of all this DNA? The answer may lie within the "Secret Invasion" trailer and Marvel Comics.

During "Secret Invasion" episode 2, a random Skrull is violently interrogated by Olivia Colman's character Sonya Falsworth. When she learns about the experiments that the Skrull scientist couple are doing, the low-level Skrull says, "I think he's trying to make us stronger." 

If we take that into account, then it makes the above shot from one of the "Secret Invasion" trailers all the more intriguing. In this quick moment, Gravik extends his arm, and out of it shoots what appear to be vines or tree limbs, just like when Groot extends his arms for long-range combat. Yes, it would seem that Gravik may not be trying to make all the Skrulls stronger, but he may be trying to give himself the abilities of a variety of aliens, turning him into an even more formidable foe. And there's a history of this happening in Marvel Comics.

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, there is a character named Kl'rt, also known as the Super Skrull. First appearing in "Fantastic Four" #18, Kl'rt is given the combined abilities of the superhero quartet, but on a higher level. He's stronger than The Thing, has superior flight and pyrokinetic abilities above Human Torch, can easily control invisibility and force fields better than Invisible Woman, and can stretch further than Mister Fantastic. Since there's no "Fantastic Four" in the MCU yet, it makes sense to repurpose this character in this fashion. 

Is Gravik being set up to become the MCU's version of the Super Skrull? Will he be the only one to be given superhuman abilities taken from alien DNA left behind on Earth? We'll have to wait and see how the rest of "Secret Invasion" plays out.

New episodes of "Secret Invasion" hit Disney+ on Wednesdays.