Despite introducing the Super Skrulls to the MCU's Phase 5, Secret Invasion failed to include the supervillain's biggest weakness from Marvel Comics. The debut of the Super Skrulls in the MCU was teased throughout Secret Invasion, Samuel L. Jackson's solo Disney+ series as Nick Fury that aired its finale on July 26, 2023. Early on, it was revealed that Gravik, the Skrull rebellion leader portrayed by Kingsley Ben-Adir, had enhanced himself with samples from Groot, Thor's Frost Beast, Cull Obsidian, and Iron Man 3's Extremis. Secret Invasion's finale saw both Gravik and Emilia Clarke's G'iah power-up as Super Skrulls, however, enhanced with the abilities of several notable MCU characters.

Marvel Studios' Super Skrulls were adapted from Marvel Comics Kl'rt, who made his first appearance in 1963's Fantastic Four #18. In the comics, Kl'rt was a decorated Skrull warrior who was chosen to be imbued with the collective abilities of the Fantastic Four in an effort to bring the team down. Since the Fantastic Four haven't yet been introduced to the MCU, Secret Invasion's Super Skrulls were instead enhanced with the numerous DNA samples in the Harvest, collected after Avengers: Endgame's final battle, including the likes of Captain America, Thanos, the Hulk, and Captain Marvel. With differing abilities to Marvel Comics' Super Skrull, Secret Invasion's version also has different weaknesses.

Secret Invasion Made G'iah Too Powerful

Shortly after the release of its finale, Secret Invasion was named as the lowest-rated Disney+ series in the MCU, with scrutiny falling on the final episode of the series. This particularly concerned the empowering of Gravik and G'iah and their massive CGI battle, which arguably detracted from the emotional impact and more grounded tones of the series. Despite being met with criticism, Secret Invasion episode 6, "Home," introduced two new incredibly powerful characters to the MCU, and since G'iah eventually dispatched Gravik, she now survives as the only Super Skrull in the MCU. Not only that, however, but she is also potentially the MCU's most powerful character.

Some of the most impressive characters from the MCU's past had DNA samples included in the Harvest, the coveted vial that had been hidden by Nick Fury following the Battle of Earth. Among them were a number of super soldiers including Captain America, the Winter Soldier, and Abomination, several members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and every member of Thanos' Black Order, as well as the Mad Titan himself. Captain Marvel's cosmic Tesseract-fueled abilities seal the deal, making G'iah the most overpowered character in the MCU, and on top of that, it's unclear whether G'iah actually has any weaknesses, unlike her Marvel Comics counterpart.

Marvel Comics Had The Perfect Answer To Fixing G'iah's Power Problem

Unlike Secret Invasion's G'iah having her DNA altered to gift her MCU heroes' abilities, Marvel Comics' Super Skrull creation was very different. Kl'rt's abilities were not innate, but instead augmented by a power energy beam that connected Kl'rt to the Skrull homeworld, no matter how far he traveled. This beam allowed Kl'rt to express the powers of the Fantastic Four and take on Marvel's First Family, paving the way for a new Skrull Empire. While the Super Skrull had a huge amount of power in Marvel Comics, the fact that his abilities were augmented by an energy beam meant that he had a weakness that the Fantastic Four could exploit.

In 1963's Fantastic Four #18, the eponymous team attached a device to Kl'rt that blocked the energy beam from gifting him his abilities, allowing the team to capture and imprison him. Something similar would have worked well to solve G'iah's overpowered problem in the MCU's Phase 5. G'iah appears to want to use her abilities for good rather than villainy, but the fact that she has quickly become the MCU's most powerful character could pose a problem to Earth's Mightiest Heroes or the Fantastic Four in future MCU projects. Secret Invasion could have solved this overpowered problem by having G'iah's powers be limited by an energy beam, but failed to.

Secret Invasion Missed A Chance To Set Up The MCU's Fantastic Four

Adapting the Super Skrull's abilities to better fit the MCU made sense for Secret Invasion, as it wouldn't have made sense to introduce the Fantastic Four's powers before the actual team debut. However, had Secret Invasion introduced the idea of cosmic energy gifting the Super Skrulls their powers, Marvel's First Family could have been teased in a much more subtle way. In Marvel Comics, the Fantastic Four gain their powers after being exposed to cosmic rays while on a mission to space, so hinting at cosmic rays in Secret Invasion would have been a great way to start to pave the road for the Fantastic Four's debut in the MCU.