Alright Marvelites, as we get closer to the Secret Invasion, I'd like to drop another name into the Green Hat. Today my suspect is Charles Xavier himself. Does anyone remember after that whole Onslaught fiasco Xavier was imprisoned, formed a new Brotherhood of Mutants, and then left Earth so that he could teach a generation of mutant-Skrulls how to use their powers? Well, although hard to swallow, the editors said okay and it happenned. Although Xavier returned several years ago from the Skrull Empire (after it was devoured by Galactus of course), what if the real Xavier was still out there. That would explain his idiotic behavior as of late, and why Cyclops now seems to be a more capable leader than ol' Baldie. This is about the only excuse I'll accept now because of Marvel's recent defamation of Xavier's character. I hate it when writers take pieces of stories told twenty-plus years ago and introduce elements that wouldn't have made sense then, and certainly wouldn't now either. Niles Caulder (Chief of DC's Doom Patrol of the 60's) had the ambiguous morality in a wheelchair role already panned out long before the need to darken Xavier's personality. Anyways, if you're going to tie the X-Books into this Secret Invasion and want sweeping ramifications, then making Xavier a Skrull is the best way to do it. What do you think?

Okay Ogres, today's new suspect: Winter Soldier. Is it just me, or wasn't WWII like 60
years ago? Well, Bucky Barnes was a teenager when he fought alongside Cap and the Invaders, so that would make him like nearly eighty years old. He looks good for eighty. Afterall, he wasn't frozen in a block of ice, just brainwashed by the commies. Hmmm, wouldn't it be nice if death really meant something in comics. I bet the Skrulls don't think so. And if Winter Soldier ain't Skrull, than how about Red Skrull, er.. I mean Red Skull. He's got his deck stacked awful nice, maybe then he'd change his name to Green Skull.

Oh, and back to Rob's comment about turning back to human when a Skrull dies. Way back when Wolverine was replaced for months by a Skrull (you know, the first time they tried this trick), his body didn't revert back until the autopsy, when Beast or Xavier pinched some gland or nerve somewhere. So, not even Steve Rogers is safe from my libelous claims at Skrulldom.

That's a good point about the Wolverine Skrull. Yeah... who knows what the old Marvel Mayhem has in store for us, but man... what a ride they give us! Like Aunt Esther said on the Church's Chicken commerical... ""GOTTA LOVE IT""! [;)]

Another Skrull revealed in Avengers The Initiative Annual #1, this week. The issue also has a twist that might bring the Iron Man Skrull suggestion back to the top of the stack.

He never left the top of my stack, because the only argument as to why he wouldn't be is due to it being way to obvious.

Alright Ogres, you've heard my shpeal, so now's the time to make your own speculations on who our secret invaders would seem to be. If there is at least one in every major book my guess is as follows:
New Avengers - how about the whole damn team except for maybe Wolverine because they've done that already and Spider-Man because it brings back too many painful memories of a Clone Saga. Dr. Strange, Ronin, and Luke Cage top my list, but we'll see. Spider-Woman almost seems to obvious.

Mighty Avengers - Well Tony certainly tops my list, but Ms. Marvel is a close contendor.

X-Men - Storm is my #1 suspect, but any member of the New Starjammers would work smoothly into the storyline, as well as Mystique or Gambit from the Sinister's most recent incarnation of the Marauders.

Fantastic Four - Definately not Reed, but maybe Franklin? This book will perhaps hold the biggest surprise to me at least.

Initiative - who cares? There will be so many unveiled in this book it would be easier to speculate who is not a Skrull than vice versa.

Surely I'm not the only Ogre with a theory, so howzabout you all share your's with the rest of the group.