18 Years Ago, Marvel Brought Back Multiple Dead Heroes (And Killed More) in the Only Way That Made Sense

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As a long-time Marvel fan, I’ve seen a lot of heroes come back from the dead, and it’s usually pretty wild! But about 18 years ago, Marvel did something that actually felt clever. Back in the early days, bringing someone back always needed some big, complicated explanation involving either really advanced tech or magic. I remember Wonder Man dying in Avengers #9 way back in ’64, and it turned out the energy powering his abilities somehow kept a part of him going, even though he seemed gone. And then there was Jean Grey – they had to rewrite things to say that the Dark Phoenix was just a copy, and the real Jean was still out there somewhere. It was a bit much, but at least they tried to make it fit!

Okay, so back in 2008, Marvel dropped a huge bomb with the first issue of Secret Invasion. The big reveal? The Skrulls had been secretly living among us, replacing some of Earth’s most famous heroes! It totally flipped the script on a lot of character deaths – turns out many of those ‘dead’ heroes were actually Skrulls, and the real heroes were the ones being held captive. It was a genuinely shocking twist that changed everything!

Secret Invasion Brought Several Heroes Back From the Dead

The crisis began with Elektra’s death, quickly followed by the shocking discovery that she had been a Skrull in disguise. Iron Man, realizing something was different about the Skrulls – they were now undetectable – shared this with Reed Richards and Hank Pym, asking them to investigate. This created a major problem, as Hank Pym himself was secretly a Skrull. Soon after, a Skrull spaceship crashed in the Savage Land. Both the fugitive New Avengers and Iron Man’s team arrived on the scene, but before a fight could break out, the ship opened, revealing a group of familiar Marvel heroes.

The story uncovered the true identities of the Skrulls who had been living on Earth. Elektra was the first hero revealed to be a Skrull, kicking off the entire plot. Black Bolt’s reveal as a Skrull and his betrayal of the Illuminati were significant, as the Illuminati’s actions had originally motivated the Skrulls to attack. Hank Pym was also a Skrull, and he similarly betrayed Reed Richards early in the story.

The biggest surprise of the storyline was the reveal that Spider-Woman was actually a Skrull – and not just any Skrull, but their queen, Veranke. It came out that she had been a Skrull imposter ever since joining the New Avengers. Even more shockingly, Hank Pym had been a Skrull for years, secretly working with Iron Man during the entire Civil War. The story also revealed that a character previously thought to have returned from the dead – Mockingbird – had actually been a Skrull operative sent to create suspicion, particularly between her and her ex-husband, Hawkeye. Numerous other heroes were also Skrull imposters, including Jarvis, Mar-Vell, Longshot, Brother Voodoo, Dum Dum Duggan, Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, and several members of the Fifty State Initiative.

After it was revealed that many heroes had been replaced by Skrulls, some of the original Marvel heroes returned, like Spider-Woman and Elektra. Sadly, some remained dead, such as Captain Mar-Vell, while others perished during the conflict. These included Janet Van Dyne, who was tragically killed when a Skrull disguised as Hank Pym used her as a bomb, and Jarvis, who was killed by Bullseye once the Skrull impostor was discovered.

The MCU Failed Secret Invasion on Disney+

Adapting Secret Invasion as a movie simply wouldn’t have worked. The story had too many complex elements and details to effectively fit into a standard film runtime. A streaming series felt like the right approach, and when Marvel announced it, fans were hopeful. Unfortunately, the result was a major letdown, becoming one of the most disappointing projects in the MCU and one of the worst Marvel series ever released on Disney+.

The project didn’t succeed for several reasons, but a major one was budget. After the conclusion of Avengers: Endgame, the studio limited the number of heroes they could use to reduce costs. While the comics have shown ways to revive characters, this story only brought back one – War Machine – by revealing that Rhodey (and Everett Ross) had been replaced by a Skrull. The one significant death in the series was Maria Hill (played by Cobie Smulders), a moment that was widely criticized by viewers.

Rather than depicting a full-scale Skrull invasion, the story shifted to focus on Skrulls living in secret and the fear they inspired in humans. While this was a strong narrative concept, calling it Secret Invasion ultimately set it up for failure. The result was a disappointing adaptation that lacked the impact of the original comic book storyline, simply drifting through a plot with occasional bright spots – like its exploration of prejudice, a theme that would fit well in future X-Men films – alongside significant weaknesses, such as a lackluster portrayal of the Super Skrull.

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2026-04-03 01:41