Who Is Gravik? Marvel’s Secret Invasion Villain Explained

Gravik is a new MCU character who debuted in Phase 5’s Secret Invasion. After Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced the development of Secret Invasion at Disney’s 2020 Investor Day, the highly-anticipated six-part Disney+ series premiered on June 21, 2023, marking the return of Samuel L. Jackson as the MCU’s Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn as the Skrull Talos, reprising his role from Captain Marvel. Based on the 2008 Marvel Comics series of the same name, Secret Invasion pits Fury and his allies against a rogue faction of shapeshifting Skrulls who have been infiltrating humanity for decades.

Many new and returning cast members joined Secret Invasion episode 1, “Resurrection,” set in the present-day MCU as a rebel faction of Skrulls begin to enact their plan to assume Earth as their new home and eradicate humanity. Along with Jackson and Mendelsohn, Cobie Smulders returned as Maria Hill, and Don Cheadle and Martin Freeman also reprised their previous MCU roles. Olivia Colman, Emilia Clarke, Dermot Mulroney, and Kingsley Ben-Adir made their MCU debuts in Secret Invasion, with the latter assuming the role of a terrifying new villain, Gravik, the powerful leader of the Skrull rebellion on Earth.

Gravik Is Not A Character From Marvel Comics

Marvel Studios usually adapts characters directly from the pages of Marvel Comics, of which they have over eight decades of material to bring to life in the MCU. However, Kingsley Ben-Adir’s character of Gravik is an entirely original character, created solely for Secret Invasion. This means that Marvel Studios has complete freedom when developing the backstory and motivation for Gravik, not being restricted by Marvel Comics lore or subjected to comparisons between the MCU and Marvel Comics versions. Creating an entirely new character for Kingsley Ben-Adir in the MCU also means that it’s unclear what to expect from the character as Secret Invasion continues to develop.

Secret Invasion episode 1 confirmed Gravik to be a Skrull, setting up the MCU newcomer as the primary antagonist of the Phase 5 series. For the live-action MCU, Marvel Studios has changed a significant portion of Marvel Comics’ Secret Invasion storyline, though Gravik could assume the role of Queen Veranke, who led the Skrull attack on Earth in the comics. The plot of Secret Invasion has been stripped-down to eliminate the wider-scale paranoia caused when prominent heroes were revealed to be Skrulls in disguise, though episode 1 saw Everett Ross outed as a Skrull, and even Nick Fury himself imitated by Gravik, feeding into the MCU series’ espionage thriller themes.

Gravik’s Role In Secret Invasion Explained

Though not much is yet known about Gravik, he was revealed to be the Skrull rebellion leader, fighting back against Fury and Talos after being patient for years while Fury failed to find the Skrulls a new home. Secret Invasion episode 1 revealed that Gravik has a huge Skrull following, said to be hundreds strong, with new warriors being created regularly within the walls of New Skrullos – the Skrulls’ home in an abandoned Russian nuclear plant. Gravik is an enigmatic and steadfast leader, and was hinted at being the killer of Talos’ wife and G’iah’s mother, Soren, who was last seen in Spider-Man: Far From Home’s post-credits scene.

Gravik’s rebellion appears to be a new one, as the Skrull was revealed to have previously had contact with Nick Fury before he left Earth to work on the SABER Space Station. It’s currently unclear exactly what their relationship has been like prior to Secret Invasion episode 1, but the very human connections between Gravik, G’iah, Talos, and Fury are paramount to Secret Invasion’s more grounded storyline. Questions surrounding Gravik’s character will surely be answered as Secret Invasion continues to release, and his past with Nick Fury and reason for turning on humanity may also be explored.

Everything We Know About Gravik’s Plan In Secret Invasion

Secret Invasion episode 1 saw Talos and Maria Hill call Nick Fury back to Earth out of desperation over the increasing movements of the Skrull rebellion. While the Skrull infiltration may have been slow and steady until now, Gravik is now putting his plan of domination over Earth into action. During the premiere episode of the Phase 5 series, Gravik and his forces acquired the necessary materials to create several bombs, detonating them in Vossoyedineniye Square. In the public eye, these attacks will be seen to have been carried out by Americans Against Russia (AAR), with Gravik and his forces attempting to kick-start a war between Russia and the United States.

Should this war unfold – which seems unlikely considering there are several upcoming MCU projects following Secret Invasion – the world would be enveloped in nuclear radiation. This would eradicate humanity from the planet, but since Skrulls are immune to radiation, they would be protected, allowing them to assume the Earth as their own. This is a drastic plan, but it appears that Gravik has been pushed to the breaking point, leaving him with no other option as his former human allies have failed him and his people. Secret Invasion’s high stakes storyline emulates that from the Marvel Comics storyline, while fitting into the vastly different world of the MCU perfectly.

Secret Invasion May Be Setting Up Gravik As Super-Skrull

Regularly appearing in Marvel Comics as an adversary to the Fantastic Four, the Super Skrull is a Skrull warrior who was imbued with the collective abilities of Marvel’s First Family, gifting him strength, flight pyrokinesis, invisibility, force-field projection, and elasticity on top of his innate shapeshifting abilities. Secret Invasion’s second trailer, released on April 2, 2023, seemed to tease Gravik as the MCU’s Super Skrull. The final shot of the trailer featured Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Gravik stretching his arm an extraordinary distance, seemingly attacking someone off-camera, in much the same way that Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mister Fantastic, would be able to do.

This tease set Gravik up to be an incredibly important MCU villain, suggesting he may stick around in the franchise beyond his appearance in Secret Invasion. Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four will release in Phase 6, and a variant of Reed Richards has already been seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so Secret Invasion could provide the biggest hint at the MCU’s new team by debuting the Super Skrull. Although episode 1 didn’t show Gravik to have any Super Skrull powers yet, Secret Invasion could lead into Fantastic Four, cementing the fact that the series is an MCU crossover event, with Gravik becoming a reoccurring MCU threat.