Secret Invasion might be struggling against Marvel paradoxes that unknowingly hacked away its chances at winning, but it is sure as hell leaving no stone unturned in one-upping Kang with every single episode. The supposed-to-be-scarier-than-Thanos Kang, who could rewrite timeless and erase universes, would be doing himself a favor if he opts for a crash course in “how to be a villain” from the Skrull leader, Gravik.
Some would argue that Kang killed Avengers in alternate timelines, but did that supposed murderous whim translate to the screen when the supervillain made his first appearance? Nope. First impressions are everything, people and Kang sadly misses the mark by 1000 miles. Hence, enter Gravik with his basic 101 on what makes a villain truly terrifying.
Kang killed ants, Gravik killed 6000 in his first episode
Apart from his petty threats and grand announcements of all those he killed, all Kang managed to annihilate were a few inhabitants of the Quantum Realm and well, ants, before the latter overpowered him as well. When it came to facing to Ant-Man and his gang, Kang, for some inexplicable reason, ditched his weapon and his powers to indulge in a fistfight with them.
And then we have Gravik, who killed 2000 people (a number fake Rhodey said would be tripled after the rumble was cleared). Even since then, he has killed the likes of Maria Hill, Talos, and anyone who dares to stand in his way. He is also not above keeping countless humans captive and infiltrating their lives for his misguided mission.
Gravik’s minions get things done
In case, we forget the badly CGI-ed M.O.D.O.K. and his minion butt, we can’t forgive the fact that he was useless and got nothing done. For all his pointless efforts, he only got sucker-punched by Cassie and received a very bad speech from Scott Lang. I still cringe thinking a supervillain like Kang had a goon like M.O.D.O.K. at his command.
Despite not being a multiversal villain, Gravik has an impressive network of Skrulls in place ready to do his bidding and actually get things done.
Talking about Gravik’s minions…
There is no better way to prove you are a monster than by brutally executing your own people
When Gravik’s subjects do dare to rebel against him or disappoint him in any way, he ends the possibility of that happening ever again by brutally squishing it then and there — episode five is a big example of that. He ruthlessly kills his Skrull minions when they dare to speak against him, slitting the throat of the one who tries to kill him.
And now, he is using his own people as leverage, ready to annihilate them all if it means getting his hands on The Harvest and defeating Fury.
Don’t scream out your splendid plans
Kang was giving out his plan to leave the Quantum Realm and what he had in mind to make it happen to anyone who was listening, making it very easy for the heroes to wreck it. But Gravik, the true mastermind, has been pulling unexpected tricks out of his Skrull pocket in every episode. The man (er.. Skrull) is playing on so many fronts — distracting Fury with false plans and defeating him at every turn, infiltrating the biggest organizations, perfecting the Super Skrull serum, keeping tabs on his spies, etc. Kang, we hope you’re taking notes.