WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Empyre #3, by Al Ewing, Dan Slott, Valerio Schiti, Marte Gracia and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now
While there are plenty of dangerous and fearsome villains in the Marvel Universe, it's rare that they actually massacre their own people. It usually takes a special kind of villain to engage in that level of destruction. But even the most self-proclaimed noble warriors can sometimes decide the "greater good" is worth some terrible sacrifices. Now, Empyre #3 reveals the Super-Skrull essentially slaughtered his fellow Skrulls, all in a bid to wipe out the Cotati.
SUPER-SLAUGHTER
The Super-Skrull has a long and complicated history. As a recurring foe of the Fantastic Four, he's performed plenty of despicable acts in the past. But he could usually try to justify his actions to himself and to others as being for the betterment of the Skrull Empire. However, that defense doesn't work this time around. When Hulkling goes against the suggestions of his advisors and instead sends his sword to be used by Black Panther, Tanalth forces Super-Skrull to finally confess what the Pyre is.
The Pyre is the ultimate weapon of the Skrulls, a device that causes energy to build uncontrollably in the heart of a star. When it reaches critical mass, the celestial body explodes. Described as Astronuclear War, even the Skrulls resist the idea of using the weapon in their wars against races such as the Kree. But among the Cotati's first targets was the Kral System, a peaceful realm where Skrull artists studied the cultures of Earth. With many cities already overrun by the Cotati influence, Super-Skrull determined that the spread of the Cotati was inevitable. Super-Skrull decided to end any potential spread of the plant-species by activating the nearby sun and turning it into a weapon of mass destruction, killing billions of Skrulls in the process.
Super-Skrull even believed that this act could halt their Cotati completely before they spread back to Earth. But an enraged Hulkling points out that Super-Skrull was too late when he performed the atrocity, meaning it was a worthless gesture. A horrified Captain Marvel points out that this means the Super-Skrull is personally responsible for the deaths of billions of innocent Skrull. That makes him one of the most successful killers in galactic history, putting him on par with the likes of Thanos and Annihilus in terms of sheer body count. But Super-Skrull argues that his actions saved the lives of trillions of more species across the galaxy, even if they came at a terrible cost. He also argues out there are no civilians in the Skrull Empire -- just future warriors.
Hulkling is furious with this revelation and the idea that Super-Skrull is trying to push him to activate a similar tactic against the Earth to wipe out the Cotati once and for all. But if the heroes of Earth want any chance of keeping the Pyre from to be used to save the rest of the universe, they'll have to act before Hulkling uses the weapon to become a mass murderer, just like Super-Skrull.