Secret Invasion: What Are 'Skrull Cows' And How Could They Change The MCU?

We've all heard of aliens stealing cows, but in the MCU, the cows might be aliens themselves. Though the shapeshifting aliens known as Skrull were first introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with "Captain Marvel" in 2019, the intervening years haven't delivered any major payoff to the concept until now. With the release of "Secret Invasion," MCU fans will finally get to learn what the mysterious aliens have been up to since they arrived on Earth in the 1990s. Samuel L. Jackson stars as Nick Fury, but as we've seen in "Spider-Man: Far From Home" and elsewhere, there's a Skrull impersonating him.

Oddly, there's one bit of seemingly random comic book trivia that could play a role in "Secret Invasion," and it has to do with cows, of all things; Skrull cows. Yes, that's right — cows that are Skrulls. We're about to get into some very weird stuff from the comics that might be about to impact the MCU in a major way, so buckle up.

The short version of the story is strange but simple: Reed Richards caught some Skrull spies, hypnotized them, and turned them into cows, causing an intergalactic war. The long version is a lot more complicated, but we've seen some hints that it could matter a lot to the MCU, so let's dive in.

Before discussing how Skrulls became cows, let's refresh our memory on their powers. After interference with their species by the Celestials millions of years ago, Skrulls can shapeshift into almost anyone or anything, be it another superhero, your mom, or an inanimate object. That means they can be hiding anywhere in plain sight, not only impersonating someone like Everett Ross or Nick Fury but even taking the form of a paperweight on his desk.

So when a bunch of Skrulls turned up on Earth and impersonated the Fantastic Four in an attempt to undermine them and make an invasion of Earth easier, Reed Richards didn't take it well. He hypnotized the spies into believing they were cows, which caused them to shapeshift into cows. Those cows were then sent to a farm, where they were slaughtered and turned into beef, causing painful mutations to those who ate the alien meat.

But as with many comic book plot points, this one has been revisited over the years. One version of the story had the Skrull cows mate with real cows, and the resulting mutations were caused when people drank their milk. Most notably, those who consumed Skrull meat or milk gained the ability to see a disguised Skrull.

No matter which version you read, one thing remains constant. The Skrulls were understandably horrified and aggrieved at the cruel and unusual punishment inflicted on their spies by Richards, and they vowed revenge. But why are we bothering to rehash this weird bit of comic book lore? Well, Marvel has dropped several hints that the Skrull cow debacle could soon be drawn on for "Secret Invasion" and other Skrull-related stories.

Marvel may be about to draw on the strange Skrull cow saga from the comic books for upcoming events in the MCU, and we've noticed a few pieces of evidence that point toward the changeling bovines.

First, we know that the Fantastic Four will soon join the MCU, with the team's self-titled movie due to arrive in 2025. That means the Skrulls' oldest enemies will be there to confront them, and if the story goes as it has in the comics, a few of those Skrulls are destined to be served up medium rare.

That might not be compelling evidence on its own, but what seemed like a throwaway line from "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" may be an additional clue. In a scene where the Global Repatriation Council is discussing how to handle the refugee crisis that emerged after people were resurrected from the Blip, Ayla Perez (Jane Rumbaua), the GRC representative from the Philippines, says, "We are not rounding them up like cattle." Despite being a common turn of phrase, that could be a veiled reference to the Skrull cows. But what really gives this theory legs is a recent five-minute teaser for "Secret Invasion," we see that the Philippines was the site of a recent terror attack, probably perpetrated by Skrulls.

With the Skrulls planning an invasion of Earth, what better time to attack than in the aftermath of the Blip? Earth is in chaos, and people who were dead for five years are alive again. It would be trivially easy for a Skrull to slip into the life of a Blip victim, leaving everyone around them none the wiser.

But all of that is merely a distraction from the real question: if you eat a burger made of Skrull cow, will it still taste like beef?