Devil-Slayer ( Eric Simon Payne ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character exists in Marvel's main shared universe , known as the Marvel Universe .
86-601: Devil-Slayer was created by David Anthony Kraft and Rich Buckler . According to Kraft, Devil-Slayer was a tweaked version of a character he and Buckler had created in Demon Hunter (1975) for Atlas/Seaboard Comics . On his first day back in the Marvel Comics offices after the collapse of Atlas/Seaboard, Kraft bumped into Buckler in the hall and the two discussed bringing back Demon Hunter. Kraft recounted, "I changed his costume colors, Rich changed his costume design
172-573: A symbiote . A group of genetically-bred Skrulls called the Warskrulls began infiltrating the Shi'ar Empire. They used a Nexus Amplifier to assume total physical discorporation of their targets, adopting their superpowers along with their physical appearance. They captured and replaced the Starjammers with members of their race, as well as key components in government. The Warskrulls, acting under
258-779: A Skrull dies, they revert to their original form. The Skrull species speak a variety of languages and dialects, including: Skrullos, Skrullian, the Irdu dialect, the Tligi dialect and the Frti dialect. While the Prime Skrulls had their own language, however, it was forgotten as their species was extinct. Since the Skrulls are a warrior race, it is hard for them to grasp almost any kind of representational art. The main Skrull religion
344-579: A coalition of demons known as the Six-Fingered Hand . Despite the passing nature of his abilities, Eric's wife Cory chose to stay with the cult leader. As the Defenders returned to Doctor Strange 's home after this confrontation, they were called into action again by the Avengers . The town of Citrusville , Florida had vanished, into a gigantic hole resembling a six-fingered hand. Eric and
430-513: A few needed to keep working the ship. The group, however was eventually defeated by a group of X-Men ( Darwin , Havok , Marvel Girl , Nightcrawler , Professor X and Warpath ). These Warskrulls are, however, revealed to be cyborgs. In the Secret Invasion series by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Yu , a flailing Skrull Empire, under the leadership of newcomer Queen Veranke , made an all-out effort to infiltrate and conquer Earth. It
516-553: A genetics bomb, which, when it exploded, made all the Skrulls lose their shape-shifting abilities. Whatever form they were in, they were stuck in at the time of the explosion. In desperation, since without their shape-shifting powers they were vulnerable, they managed to kidnap the herald of Galactus Nova in an attempt to get Galactus to destroy Kree worlds for them. Their plot failed when the Silver Surfer helped Galactus rescue Nova in exchange for his freedom from Earth. When
602-482: A great tour of the universe was undertaken, led by Emperor Dorrek. Finally, the Skrull delegation reached the planet Hala, home to the then-barbaric Kree and the peaceful Cotati , and held a contest to determine which of the races would represent Hala to the Skrull Empire. Seventeen members of each race were taken to different uninhabited planetoids, where they were left with sufficient supplies for one year. At
688-435: A human being. The Skrulls later developed the ability to render themselves undetectable when using their shapeshifting abilities, even from telepaths and those with superior senses. Reed Richards discovered a method to use technology to negate this ability and reveal a disguised Skrull's true form. Courtesy of their advanced technology, the Skrulls have also been able to augment their abilities in certain warriors, such as
774-526: A little bit, we changed his name, of course - but if you look at his backstory it's a direct continuation from the Atlas issue." The character first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #33 (April 1977). Plans for Devil-Slayer to star in additional issues of Marvel Spotlight were halted by the series's cancellation, with Devil-Slayer's debut being the final issue. However, shortly after that he was added to
860-486: A number of Southern Knights reprints in the form of graphic novels, one-shots, and limited series. Though 1988 saw them also introduce Julie Woodcock and Brian Stelfreeze 's CyCops , none of their comics publications sold as well as Southern Knights , and by the end of that year they had stopped publishing any other titles. In mid-1989 Southern Knights was canceled as well, and the Comics Interview imprint
946-479: A plasma rifle. On at least one occasion, he used a staff that conferred upon him a degree of invulnerability and generated energies that he could absorb to enhance his psychic abilities. David Anthony Kraft David Anthony Kraft (May 31, 1952 – May 19, 2021) was an American comic book writer, publisher, and critic. He was primarily known for his long-running journal of interviews and criticism, Comics Interview , as well as for work for Marvel Comics in
SECTION 10
#17327799661431032-751: A race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . They first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby . They originated from the planet Skrullos and their empire is located in the Andromeda Galaxy . Their infiltration of Earth was a major event in the Marvel Comics universe as shown in the crossover event Secret Invasion . The Skrulls have made numerous appearances in animated television and video games before making their live-action cinematic debut in
1118-731: A ranch in South Dakota, while another group of Skrulls remain undercover on Earth as the "Warner" family, who are gathering data for the next Skrull invasion. The Warner family participate in day-to-day life, but end up stranded on Earth, completely cut off from the Empire. During the search of the Infinity Stones in the Infinity Countdown storyline, Razor reveals the true origin of the Tree of Shadows; according to Razor,
1204-454: A result, the Skrulls excel at spying and infiltration. Skrulls are also able to use their shapeshifting abilities to form weapons (e.g., blades and clubs) with parts of their bodies, making them dangerous hand-to-hand combatants. Their sexual dimorphism is roughly the same of a human being, with the exception that the males are mostly bald and have no facial hair, while females have full head of greenish-black hair , but their sexual orientation
1290-603: A shard of the Nexus of Realities, and then becomes Payne with his partner Sorrow. Nighthawk mentioned he had talked to Eric Payne and that he was willing to join a new team of Defenders. However, when Richmond suggested it to Initiative boss Tony Stark, he declined the offer. Shortly afterwards Eric is seen as a member of the Hawaiian Initiative team, the Point Men , serving the team as their "Monster Hunter". When
1376-622: A sixth sense that can detect mystical influence on people or creatures, useful for tracking and finding demons. He also had some degree of telekinesis and telepathy, the latter of which he typically used to mask his costume with an illusion of civilian clothes. The nature and extent of Payne's current powers remains unrevealed. Payne could also reach into the folds of the cloak and draw out an endless supply of weapons from any time or place. He typically used melee weapons such as swords, axes or maces, but has also removed from it more modern weapons such as automatic rifles and even futuristic weapons such as
1462-508: Is an example of a Martian Skrull. In the alternate universe limited series Earth X , Thanos dwelled in the Realm of the Dead with the entity Death. It is revealed his mother was a Skrull and Death used her secret to make him believe that Death was his mother. In the one-shot issue Hulk: The End , an alien Recorder robot tells an elderly Bruce Banner , the last human on the planet, that
1548-834: Is eventually revealed to be the Cotati, who are returning, as well as the Celestial Messiah. In the Kree/Skrull Alliance, Dorekk VIII has gained Captain Glory, Mur-G'nn, Tanalth the Pursuer, and the Super-Skrull as his inner circle. When the Avengers learned about the Cotati's true motives, they decided to work together to fight the Cotati and prevent them from eliminating all animal life. As Dorekk VII allows
1634-512: Is later moved from Skrullos to the more central Tarnax IV, with their empire encompassing over fifty worlds. The Skrulls also created the first Cosmic Cube , which later became the Shaper of Worlds ; the Shaper related that, upon attaining self-awareness, he lashed out blindly, destroying two-thirds of the Skrull Empire and casting the civilization back into barbarism (suggesting this occurred before
1720-484: Is more complex, since they can change their genders at will. Indeed, Xavin once casually said that, for a Skrull, changing gender is comparable to a human being changing their hair color. As for their reproductive system, just like the other reptilians, the females do not give live birth, but instead lay eggs and the newborns are known as "hatchlings". However, despite being reptilian, the females also possesses hair and mammary glands to nurture their newborn, just like
1806-566: Is one of the many magic users approached by the Eye of Agamotto as a potential replacement. Devil-Slayer (wearing a totally new costume) is recruited by Wonder Man (whose ionic energy leaking powers were affecting his judgement) to join his Revengers . He and the Revengers were defeated by the three Avengers teams and remanded to the Raft. When he was interrogated, Devil-Slayer stated that he joined
SECTION 20
#17327799661431892-646: Is the "Dard'van Sect", their "True Faith", which worships Sl'gur't and Kly'bn. It is unknown about the relation between Zorr'Kiri and the actual pantheon. In Deadpool vs. Thanos #3, it is revealed that the Skrull equivalent of Hell is called the Shapeless Wastes. In Amalgam Comics , the Skrull are the native inhabitants of Mars (having amalgamated DC's Green Martians with the Skrulls). Mister X (the Martian Manhunter and Professor X )
1978-813: The Deviants , and the Eternals . Eventually, the three branches battled with one another and the Deviant branch – due to possessing the innate ability to shapeshift – were triumphant, and wiped out all members of the other two races until only two were left: the Skrull Eternal Kly'bn , and the Prime Skrull of the original non-Deviant Skrull race. Kly'bn implored them to spare his life, as killing him would kill part of their heritage. The Deviants' leader Sl'gur't eventually fell in love with Kly'bn, with
2064-770: The Marvel Cinematic Universe film Captain Marvel (2019). Skrulls have also appeared in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and the Disney+ series WandaVision , What If...? (both 2021) and Secret Invasion (2023), and the film The Marvels (2023). The Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby . The Skrulls next appear in Fantastic Four #18. The four who impersonated
2150-589: The "Road to Empyre ," Teddy Altman is made a mysterious offer at the cost of leaving Billy Kaplan . He accepts the offer which was to become the new ruler of the Kree -Skrull Alliance, adopting the mantle of "Dorrek VIII," and beginning the preparations of invading the Earth for "the final war." General G'iah, under the alias of "Gloria Warner", sends an encrypted message to the Skrull High Command about
2236-539: The "Xenogenesis: Day of the Demons" storyline, issues #58–60. Kraft combined music and comics in his scripting of the Marvel Super Special #4 featuring The Beatles . Marvel Super Special #7, an adaptation of the film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , by Kraft and artists George Pérez and Jim Mooney was promoted on the " Bullpen Bulletins " page in Marvel Comics cover-dated January 1979. It
2322-490: The 1977 "Scorpio Saga" story-arc (issues #46, 48–50). In The Defenders , Kraft wrestled with large philosophical issues: the temptations of power, the Cold War and nuclear power, sibling rivalry, and growing old alone. Scorpio also listened to a record by Edgard Varèse . Kraft also merged his interests in music and comics by inserting multiple references to the band Blue Öyster Cult into his Defenders stories specifically
2408-776: The Black Panther to wield the Sword of Space, Captain Glory has a private chat with Tanalth the Pursuer and his scans reveal that she is not a Kree. It is revealed that Tanalth the Pursuer is actually Empress R'Klll in disguise, having survived the destruction of Tarnax IV. When Captain Glory states that her grandson spent too much time with the humans, R'Klll notes that it brought out the Hulking's heroism and states that they will have to do something about that. Skrulls are green-skinned reptilian humanoids with large pointed ears, red or green eyes, and chins with several vertical folds in
2494-569: The Celestials made an appearance, this scared the Skrulls into starting a second war with the Kree to show they were not powerless. The attack was first made by Kylor, one of five governors claiming to be Emperor. He had a spy in the Kree Empire, Nenora, who gave him the early edge. They tried to hide their secret weakness at all costs from the Kree. Kylor was eventually betrayed by Nenora, as
2580-719: The Clegrimites, Gegku, Krylorians, Wilameanis, and Xandarians . The Skrull-Xandarian war with the Xandarians recently ended with the destruction of Xandar by the supervillainess Nebula . Skrulls are, meanwhile, involved in numerous other activities. They were revealed to have conquered a medieval planet and abandoned it after its inhabitants perished. Skrull Prime Ten battled the Fantastic Four and Captain Mar-Vell. The Skrulls sent their own representative to witness
2666-643: The Devastator that she was still alive. Paibok, with the assistance of Devos, awoke Lyja from her comatose state and gave her the power to fly and fire energy blasts from her hands (she called herself "Lyja the Lazerfist"). These powers were later revealed to come from a special device implanted in her. Joining them in search of vengeance, the three arrived on Earth, and battled the Torch at Empire State University. The Torch panicked, used his nova flame and destroyed
Devil-Slayer - Misplaced Pages Continue
2752-512: The Fantastic Four were able to locate the Skrulls and tricked their leaders into believing the Earth was full of threats. The fleet left and Mr. Fantastic made three of the four Skrulls that were left behind shape-shift into cows and he hypnotized them to remember nothing about their true heritage. In retaliation, the Skrull Emperor Dorrek VII dispatched Kl'rt, a Skrull who was made into the Super-Skrull, to Earth to defeat
2838-516: The Fantastic Four. Kl'rt possessed the combined powers of the entire Fantastic Four (in addition to shape-shifting and hypnotism ), and he held the team at bay until Mister Fantastic discovered the source of his power and used a miniature device to jam the ray, before the Human Torch imprisoned him inside a crater. The Super-Skrull posed as the jailed Dr. Franklin Storm , after transporting him to
2924-506: The Human Torch and the two eventually married one another. The long-running facade eventually came to light and the group discovered that the real, human Alicia was actually being held captive by the Skrull nation and Lyja defected, having fallen in love with the Human Torch . The Fantastic Four rescued her, but Lyja seemingly died in the process as she sacrificed herself to save Johnny when Paibok attacked. Paibok later revealed to Devos
3010-521: The Japanese God of Evil Amatsu-Mikaboshi took over their Pantheon, leading to the events of Chaos War . After the events of Secret Invasion , the Skrulls, now reduced in numbers, became very segmented with various factions rising up around Warlords that began plotting to rise back to power by orchestrating events for their own benefit. During the Infinity storyline, several planets that
3096-525: The Kree's activities. By this time, however, it was too late. The Kree were now advanced and audacious enough to attack the Skrulls in their home galaxy. During the millennia that followed, the Kree aggression forced the Skrulls to become a militaristic civilization, and the Skrulls eventually developed the vicious streak needed to conduct intergalactic war. Their entire culture was remade in the warrior image. The Kree–Skrull War continued for thousands of years with only brief interruptions. The Skrull Throneworld
3182-442: The Revengers in order to make a reality where the Avengers were held accountable for their actions. Eric Simon Payne is a trained soldier and hit man, proficient in nearly all forms of hand-to-hand weaponry and an above-average marksman. As Devil-Slayer, Payne uses a mystical device called a shadow cloak. The cloak can elongate itself and respond to his mental commands, forming whips and grappling opponents and objects. The inside of
3268-467: The Shi'ar was able to grasp one of the seeds of the Tree. His physiology, fear and beliefs shaped the birth of the most vicious killing machine the universe had ever seen, the first Raptor and while the Skrulls, being shape-shifters, were still able to hold out against the Shi'ar, they eventually were nevertheless slaughtered by Raptor Prime, a creature of instinct and adaptation which quickly learnt to use their enemies' shape-shifting abilities as well. In
3354-545: The Skrull Throneworld, and battled the Fantastic Four as the Invincible Man. Another Skrull, ultimately caused the death of Dr. Storm by attaching a bomb to his chest before he was transported back, but Storm turned to the floor, saving the Fantastic Four. The Fantastic Four later traveled to Tarnax IV and found the Skrull responsible for the murder of Susan and Johnny Storm's father (which turned out to be
3440-659: The Skrull Warlord Morrat). Skrulls were involved in other events, such as sending the Super-Skrull to battle Captain Mar-Vell , and abducting the Thing as a contestant in the Skrull Games. Later, the cosmic being Uatu the Watcher adjudicates a duel between champions from both races: Colonel Bel-Dann of the Kree and Warlord Raksor of the Skrulls. After one year of conflict, the duel remained deadlocked and
3526-559: The Skrull fleet, Galactus devoured Tarnax IV, killing 7 billion Skrulls, including R'klll and Princess Anelle. With the destruction of the central government, the Skrull Empire collapsed into hundreds of bickering factions. Their galaxy was filled with Governors who declared themselves to be Emperor of the Skrulls and soon, a civil war began. The Shi'ar maintained a heavy presence in the former Empire as well, constantly dealing with pockets of resistance. Later, Reed Richards discovered that yet another Governor-turned-Emperor, Zabyk, had created
Devil-Slayer - Misplaced Pages Continue
3612-456: The Skrulls have allied themselves with someone powerful and the only thing he knows is that there are 12 mutants that cannot be harmed and that something terrible is going to happen. Fiz also reveals the existence of a subtype of Skrulls that possess innate powers like Earth's mutants. Deemed outcasts by the other Skrulls, they were hunted by the Empire. After the eventual defeat of Apocalypse, Professor X went into space to train them, giving them
3698-621: The Skrulls settled on began being targeted by the Builders and while the Silver Surfer tried to save most of them, the Skrulls' population was once more decimated. Kl'rt the Super-Skrull later represented the Skrull Empire as a member of the Galactic Council. After the Avengers' victory over the Builders and Thanos, Kl'rt becomes the new Emperor of the Skrulls, where they settle on Tarnax II. Meanwhile, Cadre K had settled on
3784-466: The Super-Skrull and Prince Klundirk. In an alternate universe, Skyppi suffered from a form of tuberculosis which was common to the Skrull species. Just like the Kree, the Skrull were evolutionarily stagnant, unable to evolve. However, over the millennia Skrull mutants have been born with the K-gene (as opposed to the human mutant X-Gene), meaning that now this might not be the case anymore. After
3870-642: The Super-Skrull, Power Skrull and the Warskrulls—all elite groups who, with special encoding, are able to emulate the powers as well as the appearance of their biophysical templates or are bestowed entirely unique supertropical abilities all their own (in the case of Paibok). The Skrulls have been shown to suffer from various diseases. Some Skrulls are born with a defect that makes them unable to shapeshift, however, this defect also enhances their strength to those Skrulls including Titannus, Talos and Raze. The Skrulls can also suffer from cancer , as shown with Kl'rt
3956-546: The Surfer, he allied himself with the Skrulls to save Zenn-La from destruction. To restore their powers, the Super-Skrull's DNA needed to be transferred to S'byll, because only a female could spread the ability to the other Skrulls. The Surfer helped them to power a machine that would return the Empress' shape-shifting abilities. The device was successful. With this power, she was able to restore every Skrull she touched and became
4042-701: The Tree of Shadows was created eons ago by one of the Elders of the Universe known as the Gardener, who tried to bring life to the Null Space and planted it in the Darkforce Dimension . Eventually the Null Space and the Tree of Shadows were discovered by a more prehistoric version of the Shi'ar and the Skrulls, a find that erupted in a war between the two alien races. The war raged until one member of
4128-420: The assailant to a Kree family. After G'iah's daughters prevent her from retaliating against them, the patriarch of the Kree family that blew up their motel room suddenly receives a message on his Kree-tech cellphone by Dorrek VIII, stating to all Kree and Skrull soldiers in the field that the Kree and Skrull armadas have united to face a common enemy. They are coming to Earth to destroy them as he speaks. The enemy
4214-421: The campus. Alongside Devos and Paibok, Lyja witnessed a battle between the Fantastic Four and an alternate Fantastic Four. However, Lyja still bore feelings for the Torch and once again betrayed her cohorts to side with the Fantastic Four. This ended with the Fantastic Four destroying the "Skrull War World", the Skrulls' largest attack ship. A group of Skrulls traveled to Earth, where they began plotting to invade
4300-440: The cloak served as a portal to other dimensions. By wrapping himself and/or others in folds of the cloak, Payne can teleport to and from other dimensions and could even teleport limited distances on Earth by entering and exiting at different locations. Time also runs differently inside the cloak, allowing Payne to place injured people in a form of stasis if he so wills. Payne had also developed certain psychic abilities. He possesses
4386-399: The combined forces of Deathbird and the X-Men and later the Shi'ar vowed to weed out any other Warskrulls. Some time later, a Skrull called Paibok the Power Skrull mounted a campaign to invade Earth, using another Skrull called Lyja as an infiltrator. The plan involved secretly replacing the real Alicia Masters , the Thing's blind lover. The plan fell through when she instead seduced
SECTION 50
#17327799661434472-419: The cyborg Jocasta to aid 3-D Man and the Skrull Kill Krew . He spends some time teleporting the Krew and their ever-increasing allies across the country to kill Skrulls who have infiltrated the Initiative teams. As forewarned, he runs out of power and faints, leaving the final few confrontations to the speedsters the Krew have recruited. After Doctor Strange loses his position as Sorcerer Supreme, Devil-Slayer
4558-407: The direction of the paramount among them, posing as a Shi'ar called the Chamberlain, began committing murders and even genocide upon various Shi'ar affiliated races, such as the P!ndyr, in the name of the Shi'ar Empire. One Warskrull replaced the Imperial Consort, Professor X , called himself Warlord, and took mental control over Lilandra , the Majestrix of the Shi'ar. They were eventually defeated by
4644-436: The end of that period, whichever group had done the most with themselves would be adjudged the most worthy. The Kree were taken to Earth's Moon where they built a great city, while the Cotati were taken to another barren world in a different solar system and used their abilities to create a beautiful park. Realizing that the Cotati were going to win, the enraged Kree killed all of them. When the Kree revealed that they had solved
4730-403: The fate of the Phoenix , at her trial by the Shi'ar. There is a lone appearance of Queen Akilll of the Skrulls. A lone Skrull poisoned Vera Gantor to force the Avengers to seek the Resurrection Stone on his behalf. The Skrulls sent General Zedrao to give the dying Captain Mar-Vell the Royal Skrull Medal of Honor. The Skrulls had captured a Kree spy who had infiltrated into the Skrulls by using
4816-762: The first story drawn by John Byrne for Marvel Comics: "Dark Asylum," published in Giant-Size Dracula #5 (June 1975). In the early to mid-1980s Kraft wrote children's storybooks featuring Marvel characters such as Spider-Man , the Hulk , and the Fantastic Four for the Children's Press , Marvel Books and Simon & Schuster . During this same time he wrote the interactive game books Ghost Knights of Camelot for Avon, and Robot Race for Scholastic books. In 1983–1984, Kraft wrote World's Finest Comics for DC Comics , including that series' issue #300 (Feb. 1984). After that, Kraft did occasional comics writing, but mostly focused his energies on publishing and criticism. In 1995, Kraft worked as story-editor and scripter for
4902-442: The forces of Annihilus . The Annihilation Wave 's superweapon, the Harvester of Sorrow, physically destroys dozens of Skrull planets. In the aftermath, the Skrulls unsuccessfully attempt to convince the Hulkling to become their new Emperor. A group of Warskrulls attacked a remote Shi'ar space station and took it over. Disguised as Shi'ar, they were taken aboard the space station willingly and slaughtered all those aboard, except
4988-448: The form of the Air Force soldier, he targeted Devil-Slayer personally. Balthazar tricked Devil-Slayer into a bar full of disguised demons where Eric's drink was altered, thus removing his psychic powers. Despite this, Devil-Slayer held his own, using his magical accessories to battle the demons successfully. Balthazar and Eric were drawn into the Borders of the Land of the Dead , where stood many of his Defender allies, now seemingly dead. It
5074-412: The immediate conflict by revealing to the Avengers' ally Rick Jones that he had vast mental potential, which was then used to freeze all combatants in place. The Supreme Intelligence announced that, while the Kree and Skrulls had reached genetic dead ends, the human race displayed incredible untapped potential. It is revealed years later that the conflict produced a Kree-Skrull hybrid, the Hulkling , who
5160-568: The knowledge that Nenora was actually a Skrull gave them the advantage. S'byll gave her shape-shifting abilities back to her, crippling her and showing the Kree her true self. A peace treaty was created. The Skrulls eventually broke that peace treaty, as they kept their military drive and prefer to fight rather than negotiate. Among the other races contained within the Skrull Empire are the Druff, Guna, Kallusina, Morani, Pheragot, Queega, Tekton, and Yirbek races. Other races remain independent, whether through treaties or open resistance. Such races include
5246-437: The late 1970s and early 1980s. Before his comics career, Kraft worked as a rock and roll journalist . In September 1976, he became editor of FOOM with issue #15, Marvel's self-produced fan magazine , lasting as editor until the magazine's final issue (#22) in 1978. Known for his offbeat approach, Kraft first made a name for himself as a comic book author with his work on Marvel Comics ' The Defenders , particularly
SECTION 60
#17327799661435332-400: The lineup of the Defenders . In September 2008, Marvel released a limited series under their MAX imprint titled Dead of Night Featuring Devil-Slayer . It starred a new Devil-Slayer named Danny Sylva, the great-nephew of the original Devil-Slayer. The series was written by horror novelist Brian Keene and illustrated by Chris Samnee . Eric Payne was born in Queenstown, Illinois. He
5418-399: The members of the Fantastic Four next appear in The Avengers #92. The concept of the Skrulls would be explored and used throughout multiple storylines, spin-off comics, and derivative projects. Millions of years ago, in the main Marvel continuity, the Celestials perform genetic experiments on the reptilian ancestors of the Skrulls, resulting in three branches of Skrulls: the Prime ,
5504-436: The name Cadre K. Cadre K and Xavier returned to Earth during the Ruul 's attempt to overtake the planet by turning it into an intergalactic prison. A wounded Z'Cann attempted to pass on vital information to Rogue . Their physical contact affected Rogue's powers for some time. The information was received and the X-Men were reunited with Bishop . The Skrull Empire is the first of the major interstellar empires to be invaded by
5590-448: The new 3-D Man arrives in Hawaii, Devil-Slayer informs him that he has sensed portents of doom all day. When 3-D Man identifies team member Magnitude as a Skrull impostor, the Skrull attacks and severely wounds the other Point Men, Star Sign and Paydirt. The Skrull is killed, and Devil-Slayer uses his Shadow Cloak to teleport Delroy to Camp Hammond before taking Star Sign and Paydirt to a hospital. Devil-Slayer later appears in Utah with
5676-455: The newspaper-comic-strip reprint magazine Comics Revue , and trade journals such as the trade text 100 Hot Tips from Top Comics Creators (1994). In early 1985 Comics Interview Group branched out into comic books by taking on Henry and Audrey Vogel's Southern Knights (previously a self-published series). In 1986 they expanded their comics lineup with M.I.C.R.A. and Aristocratic Xtraterrestrial Time-Traveling Thieves , and began publishing
5762-435: The planet Skrullos, and were originally a mercantile civilization, primarily interested in free trade and willing to share their technology with all races they deemed worthy. When they encountered a new race, they simply transformed themselves to resemble that race. The Skrull Empire that resulted from these contacts was based on free trade and mutual cooperation. Eventually, the Skrulls developed long-distance space travel;
5848-426: The planet once again. They were, however, at some point approached by Apocalypse , who wanted to lure together 12 powerful mutants that he needed to ascend to godhood. At the same time, the body of the Living Monolith, who had been hurled out into the far reaches of space by Thor , is found and brought back to Earth. On Earth, a mutant Skrull named Fiz snuck into Xavier's mansion to tell them urgent news of trouble:
5934-409: The presence of the modern superhero . In 1958, Skrulls attempted to sabotage Earth's space program. They battled the 3-D Man , and set the Cold Warrior against the 3-D Man. Later, a small scouting party used their shape-shifting powers to impersonate the Fantastic Four , committing crimes so the country would turn against the Fantastic Four, the only ones with the power to stop them at the time. But
6020-425: The progress of Project Blossom. Her mate, Colonel Klrr, uses the alias of "Carl Warner" and they have three daughters named Alice, Ivy, and Madison. After losing her husband to their handler and rescuing Ivy, General G'iah obtains a sample of a Cotati from a lab while explaining the history of the Kree and the Skrull's feud. At their motel, they are ambushed by a Kree operative. General G'iah leads her daughters to track
6106-421: The question of who would represent Hala to the Skrulls by destroying their opposition, the Skrull delegates were appalled and vowed that Hala would forever be banned from their circle of favored worlds—so the Kree massacred them as well, took over the Skrull landing spaceship by force, and developed their own technology from it. Because of the immense distances involved, decades passed before the Skrulls learned of
6192-521: The rest of the group confronted a possessed Man-Thing and then traveled through dimensional realms in order to find the source of the problem. During Eric's time with the Defenders, he helped confront a host of demons, including Balthazar, who had taken over the form of an Air Force commander. The Defenders almost died when Balthazar convinced innocent Air Force pilots that they were spies. Though his demon compatriots were eventually sucked back to their own realm, Balthazar somehow stayed on Earth. Still in
6278-530: The short-lived animated series G.I. Joe Extreme . Kraft was the co-writer and editor of Yi Soon Shin: Warrior and Defender by Onrie Kompan Productions, LLC. In 1974, Kraft founded the specialty science fiction publisher Fictioneer Books. Over the years, Fictioneer published books by such authors as A. E. van Vogt , Robert E. Howard , Jack London , Otis Adelbert Kline , and Don McGregor . Fictioneer and its imprint Comics Interview Group published magazines including David Anthony Kraft's Comics Interview ,
6364-548: The skin below their mouths. Skrulls are known for genetic and molecular instability and genetic diversity, due to Celestial experimentation creating the Skrull Deviants . The Skrulls are known for their physical malleability and ability to shapeshift to any size, shape, or color at will, taking on the appearance but not the characteristics of other beings and objects. Skrulls are able to assume virtually any form, be it organic (e.g., cows ) or inorganic (e.g., lamps ). As
6450-465: The true Empress of the Skrulls. She and the Super-Skrull waged war with the Kree with the help of the Silver Surfer. She replaced the Super-Skrull with Captain Reptyl and he helped to change her into an emotionless reptile. But Reptyl was betrayed by one of his own and the Skrull fleet was utterly destroyed by the Kree. S'byll and the Silver Surfer went alone to attack the Kree homeworld of Hala. Gaining
6536-550: The two eventually becoming the gods of the Skrull pantheon. Taking the name the Prime Skrull, the last original Skrull escaped to Earth in the 20th century and later became a member of the Underground Legion. From that point on, the Skrulls began to expand their territory. The Deviant branch later split into two more groups, the modern Skrulls and an anomaly called the Dire Wraiths . The Skrulls originated from
6622-611: The war with the Kree broke out). The Kree Accuser Ronan had wrested control of the Kree Empire from the Supreme Intelligence and attacked the Skrulls, reigniting hostilities. The Avengers become involved once the Super-Skrull kidnapped Captain Marvel and, in turn, they battled a Kree Sentry robot, three of the four original Skrulls that had fought the Fantastic Four, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, rogue Inhumans and legions of Skrulls. The Supreme Intelligence ended
6708-797: Was never published in the U.S. "because the book was late and the movie proved to be a commercial failure," according to a contemporaneous news account. Kraft wrote the Man-Wolf feature in Creatures on the Loose and Marvel Premiere and featured the character in The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #3 (1981). He wrote the entire run, except the first issue, of Savage She-Hulk , which ran from 1980 to 1982. Kraft worked on such titles as Captain America and scripted
6794-631: Was a member of a demon cult called the Agents of Fortune, who helped him unlock the psionic potential of his brain and gave him a mystically created dimensional cloak. He later turned on the cult and, with the aid of the Defenders , he battled Vera Gemini and the Xenogesis and helped prevent the cult's mystical plans from being realized. He assists the Defenders in confronting a cult leader named David. This man had been granted temporary mystical powers by
6880-437: Was again devoted solely to magazines and trade publications although they would co-publish Southern Knights No. 35 and 36 in 1992. In 1983, Kraft founded David Anthony Kraft's Comics Interview , which ran for 150 issues between 1983 and 1995, and garnered Eisner and Eagle Award nominations. As suggested by the title, each issue of Comics Interview was filled entirely with in-depth creator interviews. Since 1974, Kraft
6966-424: Was here that Balthazar was seemingly slain again. There are indications he has returned another time, but this might be Payne's mental instability. Eric questions his tragic life, and reconciles with his wife, then turns himself in for his past crimes. He later helps war-torn Potega, but loses his shadow-cloak, and then rededicates himself as a hero. Devil-Slayer was later remitted to an asylum, where he discovers
7052-455: Was revealed that the Skrulls had infiltrated Earth for quite some time by capturing and replacing many of Earth's heroes. They followed this infiltration with their main assault group. This wave of Skrulls then formed new versions of the Super-Skrull , with each possessing the abilities of several different heroes. Their invasion ultimately failed, costing the life of Veranke, and reducing their numbers even further. Even their gods were slain, and
7138-476: Was the literary agent for the estate of pulp author Otis Adelbert Kline . Kraft counted science fiction author Leigh Brackett , Stan Lee , and writer E. Hoffmann Price as mentors. He lived in Clayton, Georgia . Kraft died from COVID-19 on May 19, 2021. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Bush-Kraft and son, Bryce William Davidson Bush. Skrull The Skrulls ( / s k r ʌ l z / ) are
7224-550: Was the child of one-time lovers Captain Marvel and the Skrull Princess Anelle . The Skrulls became aware of Earth when they discovered a space warp linking Earth and Throneworld. Later, they discovered Earth possesses an equidistant link to Hala. They see Earth as a world to conquer, but they are content to hold off a full invasion . Because of their caution, the Skrulls have sent only a handful of scout warriors to infiltrate Earth, but failed to take into account
7310-407: Was the entire Skrull race. She assumed power of the Empire and wished to keep it for herself. It was Empress S'byll who stepped up to control the Skrulls and finish the war. She was able to resurrect the Super-Skrull and he returned to find the empire in shambles. They tricked the Silver Surfer into attacking a Badoon fleet, which he was not aware were allied with the Kree. Since the Kree waged war on
7396-561: Was ultimately abandoned, with no resolution. Years later, during a conflict with Xandar that included the Fantastic Four and the Champions of Xandar , Emperor Dorrek VII's wife Empress R'klll staged a coup and killed him to become ruling Empress. Empress R'klll's reign was short-lived, however, as the greatest blow to the Skrulls arrived in the form of the World Devourer Galactus . After his Herald Nova annihilated
#142857