The Skrulls are one of the most consistent and nefarious races within the Marvel Universe. Although there have been heroic Skrulls over the years, the Empire has repeatedly tried to take over the planet Earth. But what would have happened if they had succeeded?
In "A World Apart" from Exiles #8-10 by Judd Winick & Mike McKone, the multiversal-traveling Exiles ended up encountering a world where the Earth was taken over by the Skrull, the main antagonists in the original Secret Invasion crossover event and the upcoming Disney+ adaptation. Bearing a striking resemblance to the Sakaar of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they come complete with gladiatorial battles between super-powered beings and a blatant disregard for "inferior" life.
Who Are the Exiles and How Did the Skrulls Invade Earth?
The Exiles are a band of multiversal X-Men, united to help deal with cracks that have grown across the Marvel multiverse. Their work takes them to various unique realities across existence, helping right the wrong paths that these dark worlds have found themselves on. In Exiles #8 though, the team -- at this point consisting of versions of Blink, Mimic, Nocturne, Morph, Sunfire, and Thunderbird -- found a world unlike any they'd encountered before: Earth-5692. In this reality, the Kree-Skrull War escalated in a different manner, leading the Skrull Empire to expand more aggressively far earlier than they had in the core-Marvel Universe. This resulted in Skrulls arriving on Earth in the late 19th century instead of the 20th century.
With human technology not yet sufficiently advanced and with no super-hero population to fight back against the invaders, the Earth quickly fell under the control of the Skrull Empire. Resistance to the Skrulls barely lasted a decade before the Skrulls wiped out the last human militaries. Only a handful of people were able to remain in secret and fighting against the Skrulls. The entire planet was turned into an outpost within the Skrull Empire -- with their greatest resource to the Empire eventually becoming entertainment in the form of gladiatorial combat. Known as "the Games," this became the fate for any humans who developed powers -- either through supernatural means, mutation, or genetic alteration.
The Exiles Face Galactus After the Skrull Evacuate Earth
For three decades, the Games became one of the chief forms of entertainment through the entire Skrull Empire, with humanity finding a place as competitors in life-or-death struggles against one another. Only a handful avoid capture and work to free humanity, including Mister Fantastic and Falcon. When the Exiles arrive on this world, they're shocked to discover how powerful the Skrull Empire has become -- resulting in all but Blink and Morph quickly being captured and brought to the Games. The four heroes fight for months within the Games and quickly become champions in their own right -- with Mimic, in particular, proving to be incredibly capable thanks to his multiple powers. He even brings down the Skrull favorite champion known as the Captain -- this world's cruel version of Steve Rogers.
However, things take a massive change when Galactus and his herald Terrax make their way towards the Earth. Terrified, the Skrulls evacuate the planet en masse -- leaving the Exiles and humanity to deal with the world-devourer themselves, proving how little the worlds they conquer actually mean to the Empire. Luckily, the sheer power of the Game's competitors (combined with the Exiles expertise and experience) gives them the edge against Galactus. They're even able to force Galactus to retreat without the use of anything like the Ultimate Nullifier by deploying a particularly powerful bomb after breaching his armor -- albeit at the cost of Thunderbird, who is rendered comatose by being too close to the bomb when it goes off.
A Total Skrull Victory Can Only Be Bad for Earth and Its Heroes
While the world is ultimately saved from Skrull influence, it's notable that this is a world where the Skrulls fully won. All the potential humanity could have had to change the universe for the better was rendered moot the day the Skrull Empire invaded. Even their eventual victory over Galactus ends up being a pained one, with multiple heroes dying in the effort. It's proof of how dangerous a Skrull-dominated Earth can be, not just for humanity but for the universe. It's unlikely the humans will buckle under the Skrull Empire if they ever return to this world. If anything, they've set up an entire army of super-powered warriors to turn their full rage against the invaders.
While the Skrulls have attempted to take over the world in events like Secret Invasion while arguing they can bring peace to the world, all they do in worlds like this where is strip the planet of whatever resources they can and turn the human population into their servants. It's a dark reminder of what a Skrull-ruled world looks like, and what it could do to the Marvel Universe.