This page may contain some of the same content as the Marvel Database article. A more complete and current article is at the Marvel Comics Database Deviant Skrulls. |

History
The ancestors of the Skrulls were allegedly created by the Xorrians (along with all humanoid life-forms, such as Kree and Humans) from their own DNA.[11][1] These Skrull ancestors resided on Skrullos, a planet in the Drox system. The Skrulls were once a peaceful race, until the Celestials arrived at Skrullos over a 100 million years ago. The Celestials went on to split the Skrulls into three races: the baseline Skrulls, with no special abilities but the potential to evolve, the Deviant Skrulls, with shapeshifting abilities, and the Eternal Skrulls, who were given longevity and super powers. Almost immediately, this led to war, in which the Deviant Skrulls exterminated the other two races.[12]
Thus all modern Skrulls are descendants of the Deviant branch. The Skrulls later split again, giving rise to the Dire Wraiths, a parasitic race that could still shape-shift and had use of magic, but were not as technologically advanced as the Skrulls. Dire Wraith's are analogous to the Skrulls as vampires are to humans.[12] At some point, the Skrulls became genetically frozen in place, unable to evolve further, as punishment for a single Skrull abusing the power of the Crystal of Ultimate Vision, located within the Citadel of Light and Shadow.[13] It no longer appears to be the case as an increasing number of Skrulls are born as mutants, possessing the K-gene which gives them mutations and/or superhumans powers resulting in Skrull Mutants.[14]
During the reign of Dorrek, 10s of millions of years ago, the empire reached neighboring galaxies becoming an intergalactic empire.[15] Skrull science is generally at a higher level than the science of human civilization, having achieved a high level of science before life emerged on Earth at least 2.5 billion years ago.[16] Skrull science created the first Cosmic Cube thousands of years ago, though it ended disastrously for the Skrull Empire. As upon becoming sentient the cube destroyed two-thirds of the inhabited worlds in the Andromeda galaxy, thereby plunging the Skrull Empire into a dark age of barbarism.[17][16] The Skrulls were ruled by an Emperor or Empress, who had absolute power.[5]
Biology
Reproduction
The Skrulls are oviparous.[2] Skrull females do not give live birth; instead, they lay eggs like their reptilian evolutionary ancestors. Skrull children are known as "hatchlings". Despite their reptilian evolutionary roots, however, Skrulls have hair and the females have mammary glands and nurse their young.[5]
Hybrids
Skrulls are capable of producing hybrid offspring with humans and Kree.[2]
On Earth-9997, it was revealed that Thanos was a hybrid of an Eternal and a Skrull, as his mother Sui-San was in fact a Skrull.[18]
A conclave called the Knights of Infinity are a nomadic band of Kree/Skrull hybrids who were gathered and created by the first of their kind; Dorrek Supreme, who is the heir to the throne of a Kree/Skrull alliance.[19]
Diseases and Genetic Conditions
Shape-Shifting Deficiency
An uncommon birth defect in Skrulls is being born without the ability to shape-shift. Skrulls afflicted with this abnormality include Raze,[20][21] Titannus,[22] and Talos the Tamed.[23][24] This genetic defect can also grant upper strength and endurance to some of those afflicted, including Talos the Tamed.[24]
Cancer
Skrulls are susceptible to various forms of cancer. The Super-Skrull contracted leukemia due to prolonged exposure to the radiation in the Van Allen Belts.[25] The Skrull prince Klundirk was also diagnosed with an unknown form of cancer.[26]
Tuberculosis
On Earth-829, Skyppi contracted a form of tuberculosis common to the Skrull species.[27]
Evolution and Mutation
The Skrulls are evolutionarily stagnant. They can not evolve naturally and can only move forward genetically through artificial means.[28]
Despite this, mutants (a.k.a K-class deviants) have been observed, particularly on Carpiax-IV, where Lord Merek's fecundity-supplement program resulted a higher number of K-class births. It was common to cull Skrull mutants in the interest of genetic purity. One group of Skrull mutants, Cadre K, was rescued and trained by Professor X.[29]
Alternate Realities
- Main article: Deviant Skrulls/Alternate Universe Skrulls
The Skrulls are present in many realities, with more or less important variations in their history, appearances, and biology.
Powers and Abilities
Powers

Skrulls using their shape-shifting to fly
- Shapeshifting: Skrulls are able to alter their forms into that of anything they can imagine, be it organic or inorganic. It must, however, be solid. They can also use their abilities to grow extra limbs. They have no apparent size limit, as they are been seen to assume the form of a common housefly[30], and shapes many times larger than their normal selves. Skrulls can also use their shape-shifting capabilities to change their sex: males can become females and vice versa.[31]
- Elasticity, Plasticity, Elongation: Their shape-shifting abilities allow them to alter their bodies in much the same way as Mr. Fantastic, so that they can stretch to great lengths, or form other shapes with their bodies, such as balls, parachutes, or anything else.
- Flight: They are able to fly by shape-shifting a pair of wings onto their back, or turning their arms into wings.[32]
- Size Alteration: They are also capable of altering their size independently of altering their form, allowing them to grow or shrink while maintaining their current form.
- Mimicry: Skrulls are cunning spies due to their ability to mimic sounds and voices. This is mainly used in conjunction with the shapes they shift into.
- Elasticity, Plasticity, Elongation: Their shape-shifting abilities allow them to alter their bodies in much the same way as Mr. Fantastic, so that they can stretch to great lengths, or form other shapes with their bodies, such as balls, parachutes, or anything else.
- Telepathy: Within the Deviant Skrulls there are a minority that possess telepathic abilities. They have been seen to serve the empire in the imperial court as "Priest of the Mind" and in the armed forces.[33][34][35]
Abilities
Weapon Formation: Skrulls are able to use their shapeshifting abilities to form weapons with parts of their bodies. For instance, they can shape their arms into blades or clubs including guns. This ability makes them dangerous hand-to-hand combatants.
Average Strength level
Unknown.
Weaknesses
Shapeshifting Limitations: Skrulls can only take on the appearance of person and none of that person’s characteristics or, in the case of superhumans, their powers.[36] When they imitate an inorganic object, they take on its appearance, but not its properties. The inability to replicate powers does not apply to genetically modified Super-Skrulls.[37]
There is a limit to the size of the object or person a Skrull can imitate. The average Skrull cannot distend his or her mass any more than 1.5 times as large a volume as his or her original volume, nor can he or she contract his or her mass any more than 0.75 a volume as his or her original.[5]
Very high decibel sounds have been shown capable of temporarily disabling a Skrull, and in the case of a Super-Skrull, will cause them to lose control of their powers.[38]
At the moment of death, Skrulls revert to their original form.[39]
Habitat
Habitat: Habitat of this race is unknown.
Gravity: Earth-like
Atmosphere: Earth-like
Population: Trillions (spread throughout the intergalactic Skrull empire)[2]
Planets
- Aks'lo - Paradisaical vacation planet, destroyed by the Annihilation Wave.[40]
- Hy'lt Minor - Home of K'eel R'kt, destroyed by the Builders.[41]
- Kral IV - The highly-unusual Kral system is populated by Skrulls fascinated with the culture of 1930s Earth and who have attempted to duplicate that time period. Skrull inhabitants of Kral maintain human rather than Skrull form.
- Skrullos - Original Skrull home-world.
- Tarnax IV - Former Skrull Throneworld, consumed by Galactus.[42]
- Tarnax VII - Home of Xavin; engaged in a war with the non-Skrull planet Majesdane.
- Throneworld - It can refer to either the former Throneworld, Tarnax IV, or the newer, unnamed Throneworld which was destroyed by Devos the Devastator.[43]
- Zaragz'na - Home of the Super-Skrull's son, destroyed by Annihilation Wave.[44]
- Satriani - Throneworld under Empress S'Byll and Queen Veranke.
- Tarnax II - The new throneworld under Emperor Kl'rt.
- Tarnax X - Base of operations for the religious sect Dard'van.
- Skrell - World dominated by the Skrull Scientist caste, where the organic supercomputer Intelligentsia is located.
Miscellaneous
Type of Government: Totalitarian monarchy under a single Emperor or Empress (succession disrupted by destruction of Tarnax IV, death of surviving royal family members, and ensuring civil wars, reinstated with the crowning of the new Emperor, Kl'rt I). Assisting the Emperor are ministers and councils.[1][45][46]. The empire itself is administrated by prelates and governors.[47][48] Throughout the Skrull empire, in every world that is ruled by the Skrulls only one race is permitted to represent the inhabitants of that world, the Skrulls.[49] Worlds that voluntarily joined the Skrull Empire are granted varying degrees of autonomy. It also maintains profitable trading relationships with pacifist worlds that the empire has peace treaties with.[17]
Level of Technology: Superior to Earth; Advanced warp-drive star-ships,[50] intergalactic subspace FTL (nearly instantaneous),[50] teleportation,[51] force fields,[52][53] cloaking technology,[54][53] miniaturization technology,[55] shape-shifting technology,[56] robots,[56] mecha (humanoid and multi-legged),[57][58] cybernetic technology,[59] planet busting weapons,[60][61] star killer weapons,[62] genocidal biological weapons,[53] intergalactic FTL subspace communications (nearly instantaneous),[63] intergalactic radar,[64] hyperspace radios,[65] intergalactic sensor grid,[66] intergalactic transportation beam,[67] missiles,[61] space torpedoes,[68] genetic manipulation/engineering (Super-Skrulls), quantum weapons,[43] interdimensional portals,[69], cloning,[70] and directed energy weaponry (either beam or pulse weapons and either particle, neutrino or photon weapons).[71][72][73]
Cultural Traits: Warrior Race. The entire Skrull economy is built around its military pushing their tendency to instigate wars and campaigns of conquest.[74] Universal conquest is their goal, to bring peace to the cosmos therefore they must conquer and subjugate every inhabited world in the cosmos.[68][46] Despite this many Skrulls live peaceful lives.[75] Many of them truly believe in their gods and have immense love for their families. Professor X could sense the goodness and nobility of the teeming mass of billions of Skrulls on Tarnax IV.[76] They are a species, that enjoys art and beauty, in which even it's warriors enjoy listening to the intricate social calls and mournful mating calls of wildlife.[77] Skrulls have a code of honor, though not all follow said code. Warriors have been known to meet enemies in equal numbers (e.g. one on one or a squad vs a team).[78][79] Respecting and honoring enemies of great valor and skill.[64][45] They are also known to repay their debts.[80] It is also a race which is known for being vengeful.[65]
Representatives:
- Emperor Dorrek - He reigned during the first Skrull contact with the Kree.[81]
- Emperor Dorrek VII
- Prince Dezan - The younger brother of Dorrek VII, he is a highly-unusual (for Skrulls) pacifist, and as such, was long imprisoned as a traitor to the Empire.[66]
- Super Skrull (K'lrt) - He was the first Super-Skrull, and was later crowned new Emperor of the Skrull Empire following the war with the Builders.
- Anelle - Princess and daughter of R'Klll and Dorrek VII. Super-Skrull wanted her for his mate. She died along with her mother and Throneworld.
- Hagar - The High Judicator, the leader of the Skrull judiciary.
- Jaketch - An apprentice executioner who shot Reed, Sue, and the Thing with an accelerated-aging ray. He detests Hagar and yearns for the day he can execute him.
- R'Klll - A Skrull Empress. She avenged her father by assassinating her husband, the Emperor Dorrek. Her reign following Dorrek's death was marked by several attempts at peace, the end of the war against Xandar, the treaty ending the war against the Kree, and the destruction of Throneworld. She died along with several billion of her people.
- Empress S'Byll - She acclaimed as Empress following successful restoration of shape-shifting abilities to Skrulls,[82] killed in destruction of new Throneworld by Devos the Devastator.[43][83]
- Jazinda - A Super-Skrull who is the daughter of Kl'rt.
- Ethan Edwards
- Flaw - Warskrull member of the Shi'ar Death Commandos.
- De'Lila
- Talos - A Skrull who cannot shape-shift due to a birth defect he had. The defect also gave him super-strength.
- Lyja the Lazerfist.
- Paibok the Power Skrull.
- Replica - Member of the Galactic Guardians, power mimicker.
- Skrull Cows - A group of Skrulls who initially tried to frame the Fantastic Four, but were eventually turned into Cows and slaughtered.
- Skrullian Skymaster (Sk'ym'x) - Member of the Squadron Supreme.
- Crusader
- Titannus - A Skrull who cannot shapeshift.
- Xavin - A Super-Skrull in-training.
- Cadre K - A group of Mutant Skrulls.
- Veranke - The former Skrull Queen. She posed as Spider-Woman and orchestrated the Secret Invasion.
- Criti Noll - One of the Skrulls who posed as Henry Pym during the Secret Invasion. He not only has the abilities matching Henry Pym, he also has the powers of Black Panther, Quicksilver and Vision.
- John the Skrull - The last surviving member of the Skrull "Beatles". A member of MI-13.
- Khn'nr - A Skrull who posed as the original Captain Marvel. He turned against the other Skrulls during the Secret Invasion.
- Pagon - A Skrull who posed as Elektra after Siri's demise. Killed by Echo as part of a suicide mission.
- Pitt'o Nili - A Skrull who posed as the Captain America (and brainwashed to be him) who came from a downed ship in the Savage Land. Killed by Shanna the She-Devil after being hit by a poisonous dart that has a huge effect on Skrulls.
- Kreddik - Skrull Ambassador to the Intergalactic Council.
- Krimonn - Conspired against Dorrek VII, failed, was condemned to be imprisoned in a crystalline form. The Grandmaster turned him into Doctor Spectrum's Power Prism.
Notes
- The Skrulls are somewhat associated with the Chitauri.
- The native language of the Skrulls is called Skrullos[31]
Trivia
- The adjective form is both "Skrull"Empty citation (help) and "skrullian".[84]
- The Deviant branch of their species;[5] it is kind of ironic that they considered Dire Wraiths as a "Deviant branch of Skrullkind",[6] and the Mutant Skrulls "Deviants".[14][85]
Recommended Readings
- Fantastic Four #2 - First Appearance
- Fantastic Four #18 - First appearance of the Super-Skrull
- Fantastic Four #37 - First look at the Skrull home-world.
- Avengers #89-97 First Kree-Skrull War
- Silver Surfer Vol 3 #1-31 Second Kree Skrull War
See Also
- Discuss Deviant Skrulls on the forums
- Appearances of Deviant Skrulls
- Media Deviant Skrulls was Mentioned in
- Race Gallery: Deviant Skrulls
Links and References
- Skrulls at the Marvel Universe Wiki
- Skrulls at the MarvelDirectory
- List of less well-known Skrulls on the Appendix at marvunapp.com
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Skrulls! #1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Marvel Fact Files #2
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #2; Dire Wraiths' entry
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #376, opposed to Mutant Skrulls
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol 2 #12; Skrulls entry
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Rom #50
- ↑ Ultimate Secrets #1
- ↑ Ultimate Fantastic Four #27
- ↑ Ultimate Fantastic Four #28
- ↑ Incredible Hercules #120
- ↑ Thor #215
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Silver Surfer Vol 3 #5
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men Annual #1987
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Uncanny X-Men #376
- ↑ Avengers #133
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Captain America Annual #7
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol 2 #12
- ↑ Universe X #X
- ↑ New Avengers Vol 4 #4
- ↑ Silver Surfer Vol 3 #89
- ↑ Skrulls! #1; Raze's entry
- ↑ Marvel Team-Up Vol 3 #12
- ↑ Incredible Hulk #419
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Skrulls! #1; Talos the Tamed's entry
- ↑ Alpha Flight #10
- ↑ Spider-Woman Vol 6 #3-4
- ↑ Hercules: Twilight of a God #1
- ↑ Skrulls! #1; Citadel of Light and Shadow's entry
- ↑ Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet #1
- ↑ Fantastic Four: Unplugged #4
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Runaways Vol 2 #8
- ↑ Young Avengers #11
- ↑ Fantastic Four #348-349
- ↑ New Avengers #44
- ↑ Secret Invasion: X-Men #4
- ↑ Fantastic Four #2
- ↑ New Avengers #40
- ↑ Runaways Vol 2 #18
- ↑ Mighty Avengers #16
- ↑ Annihilation: Super-Skrull #1
- ↑ Infinity: Against the Tide: Infinite Comic #2
- ↑ Fantastic Four #257
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 Fantastic Four #383
- ↑ Annihilation: Super-Skrull #3
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 Marvel Graphic Novel #1
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 Fantastic Four #358
- ↑ Fantastic Four #262
- ↑ Avengers #259
- ↑ Silver Surfer Vol 3 #13
- ↑ 50.0 50.1 Avengers #94
- ↑ Force Works #13
- ↑ Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #35
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 53.2 Venom: First Host #3
- ↑ Secret Invasion 6
- ↑ Fantastic Four #90
- ↑ 56.0 56.1 Fantastic Four #204
- ↑ X-Men Vol 3 #29
- ↑ Captain Britain and MI-13 #3
- ↑ Fantastic Four #18
- ↑ Black Panther Vol 4 #34
- ↑ 61.0 61.1 Runaways Vol 3 #12
- ↑ Avengers Vol 4 #18
- ↑ Avengers #258
- ↑ 64.0 64.1 Captain Marvel #2
- ↑ 65.0 65.1 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 2 #40
- ↑ 66.0 66.1 Avengers Annual #14
- ↑ Fantastic Four #32
- ↑ 68.0 68.1 Fantastic Four #206
- ↑ Captain Britain and MI-13 #2
- ↑ Deadpool Vol 2 #2-3
- ↑ Silver Surfer Vol 3 #6
- ↑ Avengers #96
- ↑ Secret Invasion: X-Men 1-Secret Invasion: X-Men 1
- ↑ Fantastic Four The Universal Guide
- ↑ Starbrand & Nightmask #6
- ↑ X-Men Vol 2 #90
- ↑ Venom: First Host #4
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #478
- ↑ Captain Britain and MI-13 #1
- ↑ Fantastic Four #37
- ↑ Avengers #133-134
- ↑ Silver Surfer Vol 3 #25
- ↑ Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
- ↑ Skrulls! #1; Flaw's entry
- ↑ A + X #16