John the Skrull is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

, first appearing in ''

Wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowle ...

'' #1 (November 2006), and was created by

Paul Cornell Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as ''Doctor Who'' fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield. As well as ''Docto ...

and

Trevor Hairsine Trevor Hairsine is a British comics artist, whose detailed style has been compared to that of Bryan Hitch. In August 2005 Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada named him as one of Marvel Comics's "Young Guns", a group of artists who have the qual ...

. As a

Skrull The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Skrulls first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They originated fro ...

, he normally takes the shape of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Fictional character biography

John Lennon was originally a member of the Skrull Beatles, a group of Skrulls who took on the appearances of the original Beatles, with John taking the form of John Lennon. The faux-Beatles were intended to take the place of the real Beatles, and use their positions to launch an early version of the Secret Invasion. John, however, thought the Skrull Beatles could do more than an alien invasion, and convinced their bosses to give them free rein. Much like the real Beatles, the Skrull Beatles eventually found their interests leading in different directions, leading to the band's break-up. John embarked on a relationship with Captain Boko of the Free Kree Liberation Army. Some time after the band broke up, John came to work for the British intelligence agency MI-13, investigating paranormal occurrences throughout the British Isles. In this capacity he met

Pete Wisdom Pete Wisdom is a fictional secret agent published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Excalibur'' vol. 1 #86 (February 1995), and was created by Warren Ellis and Ken Lashley. Wisdom is a British Secret Service agent with the mutant abilit ...

, and helped thwart, among other things, a

Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pr ...

invasion of Britain from an alternate universe. At the time of the

Secret Invasion "Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term in ...

, John, now considered a traitor by the Skrull high command, found himself a target. A Skrull agent posing as Mr. Grimsdale, the chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee, attempted to have the Skrull Beatles killed; only John survived this purge. The Skrull Grimsdale was unmasked and killed by Wisdom. John then joins Wisdom,

Captain Britain Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain Weekly'' #1 by writer Ch ...

, and

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

, all now recruited by MI:13 to fight off the Skrull attack on the

Siege Perilous In Arthurian legend, the Siege Perilous ( cy, Gwarchae Peryglus, also known as The Perilous Seat, cy, Sedd Peryglus) is a vacant seat at the Round Table reserved by Merlin for the knight who would one day be successful in the quest for the Holy ...

.Defense of the Realms: Cornell on "Captain Britain and MI:13"

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

, May 15, 2008 John and the others were captured by invading Skrulls in

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

, an interdimensional location central to British magic. While angrily insulting the captors, John is executed by a Skrull as an example. Ultimately, all British based Skrulls are killed via a deal Wisdom makes with formerly imprisoned demonic forces.

Powers and abilities

John's Skrull physiology enabled him to shapeshift into virtually any form that he chose. He normally favoured the shape of John Lennon, but has shown to grow wings and tentacles to better participate in battle.

References

External links

*
Super Spy Weekend: John the Skrull

, March 8, 2008.
Marvel Fandom: John Lennon (Skrull) (Earth-616)
{{Skrull Comics characters introduced in 2006 Marvel Comics superheroes Skrull