This Avengers Hero Was Very Likely a Skrull During Endgame, Confirms Marvel
Written by Luck Wilson on July 26, 2023
During the Secret Invasion finale, Marvel confirmed one Avengers hero was a Skrull during Avengers: Endgame.
One of the selling points of the MCU’s latest streaming series was the promise of some of the franchise’s biggest heroes being revealed to have been taken over by a race of shape-shifting aliens known as Skrulls.
After perhaps not quite reaching its “crossover event series” branding, some heroes did end up getting Skrull reveals, including Don Cheadle’s Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes (aka War Machine).
However, one of the biggest questions coming out of Rhodey’s shape-shifting reveal was just how long James Rhodes had been a Skrull within the super-powered universe.
How Long Was Rhodey a Skrull In the MCU?
Warning – The rest of this article contains spoilers for Secret Invasion.
For those wondering how long Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes had been a Skrull within the MCU, the Secret Invasion finale seemingly confirmed his Skurll switch happened sometime before Avengers: Endgame.
Toward the end of the streaming series’ final episode, Emilia Clarke’s G’iah can be seen helping the real Rhodey from his Skrull imprisonment beneath New Skrullos.
Clarke’s Skrull hero tells the armored Avenger that he had been held hostage for “a long time.”
Rhodey is unable to walk and is wearing a hospital gown during this, meaning he was likely kidnapped and swapped out by the Skrulls after his accident during Captain America: Civil War sometime when he was receiving treatment/physiotherapy.
With Civil War taking place in 2016 and Secret Invasion in 2025, Rhodey may have been kept as a Skrull hostage for as long as nine years. It also would have meant the character missed Thanos’ attack on Earth, the Blip, and the death of his longtime friend, Tony Stark.
James Rhodes’ Skrull Secret
Hearing just how long James Rhodes has been imprisoned by the Skrulls will shock some, but it all seems to be true.
It is worth noting that Skrull rebel leader Gravik (played by Kingsley Ben-Adir) was working with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury up to the harvest of Avengers DNA after Endgame, so some may question why Rhodey was kidnapped so early.
Well, during Secret Invasion it is mentioned that Gravik has had spies roaming Earth since at least the first Avengers film, so taking and simming Rhodes could have been one of his first acts as a Skrull aggressor.
From now on, it will be interesting to see how this extended absence from the universe will impact Don Cheadle’s Marvel hero.
The character has been a part of some pretty major events since he was seemingly swept away and swapped out with a Skrull.
What happens when he finds out Tony has died? Or that half the universe was blipped away?
Surely, some of that will be addressed in the future, especially with the character headed for his first solo movie in the upcoming Armor Wars.
Secret Invasion is available to stream now on Disney+.
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