Warning: This article has SPOILERS for Secret Invasion episode 6
Summary
- G’iah, the new leader of the Skrulls in Secret Invasion, is now the most powerful superhero in the MCU, surpassing all the Avengers in terms of power.
- G’iah possesses the powers of several Avengers and other characters who shed blood at the Battle of Earth in Endgame.
- G’iah’s Super-Skrull form makes her virtually invulnerable, with Asgardian genetics, a healing factor, magic, and various super strength variations, making her pretty much unbeatable.
Marvel Studios just introduced the most over-powered superhero in MCU history obliterating every power ranking of the Avengers and their fellow heroes by making Emilia Clarke’s G’iah the ultimate Super-Skrull. Secret Invasion‘s final episode set up G’iah as the new leader of the Skrulls as Gravik was killed off (somehow) and Nick Fury left Earth once more to run SABRE’s space station with his wife. The episode also gave G’iah the powers of every Avenger (and several other characters) who shed blood at Endgame‘s Battle of Earth.
Previously, Secret Invasion confirmed Captain Marvel is the strongest Avenger, which episode 6 doubled down on by leading with her DNA as the selling point of The Harvest when G’iah tricked Gravik into dropping his guard. That reveal settled a decade-long debate and added fuel to cynical accusations that Brie Larson’s hero was always too powerful. After all, Thor is a literal God, Hulk is a near immortal monster who can change his power levels based on gamma radiation and rage, Captain America is the perfect super soldier, and all the magically powered heroes in the MCU had a strong case. And that’s without mentioning Thor’s “daughter” Love and America Chavez, who have Earth-shattering powers.
G’iah’s Super-Skrull Avengers Powers Explained
When Nick Fury (really G’iah) gives Gravik the Avengers DNA, he checks it on his Skrull super computer and reveals all of the characters included in The Harvest. Adding those to Groot’s DNA and the other specimens Gravik had already stolen himself, the list of G’iah’s power sources becomes eye-watering:
- Ghost
- Captain America
- Corvus Glaive
- Thanos
- Outrider
- Proxima Midnight
- Captain Marvel
- Abomination
- Mantis
- Drax
- Korg
- Ebony Maw
- Hulk
- Chitauri
- Valkyrie
- Thor Odinson
- Gamora
- Winter Soldier
- Cull Obsidian
- Frost Beast
- Groot
- Extremis
Nick Fury’s Avengers DNA Harvest clearly identified the heroes and villains who had enhanced genetics, leaving out the likes of Tony Stark, James Rhodes, Hawkeye, and Doctor Strange (whose powers are, of course, a product of his magical education). Interestingly, the DNA seemingly didn’t include either Black Panther or Scarlet Witch (or at least neither were shown): the former would essentially have brought the same powers as Captain America (though Winter Soldier was also included, so that can’t have been the reason), while Scarlet Witch may simply have been deemed too powerful. Some of her magic was also learned, which could put her in the gray area.
Every Power G’iah Uses Against Gravik
Having the Avengers DNA soup is only part of the story here, as the final battle between G’iah and Gravik shows off some of the powers they use in their Ultimate Super-Skrull forms. Several of them amount to “big muscly arms”, but here’s a rundown of the powers that appear:
- Super Soldier strength – probably from Captain America/Winter Soldier: When Gravik punches “Fury”
- Hulk Punch – when “Fury” delivers a haymaker to Gravik’s chin
- Groot’s stretchiness – Gravik transforms his right arm ready to fight
- Extremis – both Gravik and G’iah use this to flex multiple times (as well as healing themselves)
- Cull Obsidian’s super strength – Gravik transforms his left arm ready to fight
- Drax’s strength and durability – G’iah literally flexes her muscles
- Ghost’s phasing power – G’iah dodges a car Gravik throws
- Abomination’s super strength – Gravik transforms into a half-Abomination, half-Skrull monster
- Korg’s durability – Gravik transforms his left arm again (G’iah opies)
- G’iah’s ice blade hand – presumably taken from the Frost Beast’s Jotunheim DNA
- Telekinesis – Gravik throws rubble at G’iah after part-transforming into Ebony Maw
- Hulk kick – Gravik drop-kicks G’iah in midair with a beefy Hulk leg (complete with ripped shorts)
- Thanos’ super strength – Gravik changes his arm again into Thanos’ purple appendage
- Binary – G’iah unleashes Captain Marvel’s fully powered form (so does Gravik)
- “Go to sleep” – G’iah uses Mantis’ telepathic powers to knick Gravik out
- Energy blast – the killer blow on Gravik comes from a Captain Marvel energy blast that kills him
How Powerful Is G’iah’s Super Skrull Form?
Secret Invasion episode 6 makes G’iah more powerful than the Super-Skrulls of Marvel Comics, and places her right at the top of the power hierarchy of the MCU’s superheroes. On top of the powers shown in her final battle with Gravik, she is near invulnerable, has Asgardian genetics (so has decelerated ageing), Extremis’ healing factor, Ebony Maw’s considerable magical prowess and a catalog of super strength variations. She’s a one-woman walking army, and proves exactly how powerful she is by killing Gravik, who has exactly the same power level as her. Quite how she does so when Gravik has the Extremis healing factor isn’t actually explained, but Secret Invasion does seem to confirm Kingsley Ben-Adir’s villain is legitimately dead.
G’iah’s new form makes a mockery of the MCU’s attempts to limit its most powerful characters in the past. Captain Marvel, Vision, Thor and Scarlet Witch have all had their powers nerfed or limited for emotional reasons, while Hulk was massively softened by his own transformation into Professor Hulk. In contrast, G’iah’s emotion seems to make her stronger, as it’s Gravik’s goading of her that ultimately leads to her landing the killer blow on him. Right now, it’s hard to imagine any single character being able to defeat G’iah, unless the MCU introduces more cosmic powered characters. But then, there’s only so much escalation the franchise can take.
The one key thing to note is that the weird way Gravik is killed off without explanation of why his healing factor doesn’t save him opens the door for G’iah to actually have some limits. That at least should make everyone grateful for extremely sloppy writing, because otherwise the MCU would be saddled with an unkillable, unbeatable hero whose shadow will now hang over every single world-threatening catastrophe (just as the Avengers did previously).
What’s Next For G’iah In The MCU?
As Secret Invasion winds to a close, Olivia Colman’s Sonya Falsworth tracks G’iah down and seemingyl recruits her, offering her the chance to lead the Skrulls in exchange for the protection of the British government, provided she agrees to work as a hero on Earth’s behalf. G’iah seeminlgly agrees, as long as the deal doesn’t lead to the Skrulls’ exploitation as it had when Talos agreed to work with Fury, creating a new power axis in the MCU.
The problem for Marvel now is that it will no more be “where are the Avengers”, it’ll just be “where on Earth is G’iah?” whenever Earth needs a protector. And with G’iah’s power level in mind, no threat to Earth will really be credible, unless it’s a Galactus level event, because she’s just too powerful. The only solution will be to give her what she actually wants: peace with the Skrulls on their own home planet. But Secret Invasion decided not to wrap up that particular ending, so the problem will have to be dealt with (or ignored completely) in the future.