'Secret Invasion': Is There A Downside To G'iah's New Powers?

WARNING! SPOILERS for Secret Invasion 1x06, 'Home'

Following the action packed finale of Secret Invasion, it seems we may have a new candidate for most powerful character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After planning a clever switcheroo on Gravik by posing as Nick Fury, both G'iah and Gravik are transformed into true Super Skrulls, granted a massive collection of new powers from the Harvest, DNA collected from the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and other MCU creatures and villains following the final battle seen in Avengers: Endgame.

G'iah defeats and kills Gravik, avenging the deaths of her parents, and, since Gravik had killed most of his followers in episode five, ends the threat his uprising had posed. She goes on to form an alliance with Acting MI6 Director Sonya Falsworth, in the hope of making Earth safe for those who remain.

With her massive new power set, including the powers of Captain Marvel, it would seem G'iah has a solid claim to the position of the MCU's most popular character. However, some fans have spotted a potential issue among the young Skrull's new powers that may force her to temper her use of them.

The first Super-Skrull formula

Prior to obtaining the Harvest in the finale, Gravik had already announced and enacted an early version of the Super Skrull program. He used himself as the first test subject, revealed during his meeting with Talos in Secret Invasion's third episode, 'Betrayed'. The following episode, 'Beloved', reveals that G'iah also put herself through the original Super Skrull process before attempting to flee New Skrullos.

This earlier version of the experiment, while not as expansive as the Harvest, still, among other things, granted the subject the abilities of Groot's species, the Flora Colossi, along with the power of Extremis. While Extremis allowed G'iah to survive her attempted murder by Gravik, it may eventually go on to cause issues.

What We Need To Remember About Extremis

First seen in Iron Man 3, Extremis is a form of nanotech based genetic engineering initially created by Dr. Maya Hansen, with Aldrich Killian providing funding and alterations to the project when it reached human testing. Extremis boosts a user's physical strength, grants exothermic powers, and the ability to instantly heal physical damage, even regrowing lost limbs. Unfortunately, the Extremis experiment was highly volatile and unstable. Some test subjects exploded upon injection, while other users deteriorated over time, until their bodies were destroyed.

Tony Stark created a counter formula to stabilise the effects of Extremis, which he used to save Pepper Potts after she was injected. However, as Extremis was for the most part deemed too dangerous, it is not known whether Stark bothered to keep a supply of the counter formula, or passed on knowledge of how to create it before his eventual death in Avengers: Endgame. A possible Extremis user appears in the Cage Fight scene in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and some expanded universe MCU material implies that Princess Shuri of Wakanda took an interest in Extremis and it's potential uses if stabilised, but currently, Pepper Potts remains the only confirmed survivor of a pure Extremis infection.

Why this could be a problem for G'iah

Admittedly, it is possible that Gravik had already incorporated a stabiliser for Extremis into the Super Skrull program, or believed that it would not have the same adverse effect on Skrulls as it does on human users. If the latter is true, it may be a case of arrogance on his part. A new theory proposes that unstabilised Extremis may actually have a worse effect on Skrulls than humans, due to the Skrulls' inherent genetic instability as shapeshifters.

Some fans believe that Gravik's mental stability took a hit in Secret Invasion's latter half, as he became laser-focused on his own desires for power rather than the uprising's supposed goal of making Earth a home where the Skrulls could be themselves, culminating in his slaughter of most of his followers in episode five. While it is highly possible that Gravik's true goal was always more personal than he had allowed his followers to believe, some fans have blamed Extremis for the change in his behaviour.

If this is the case, the effects of Extremis may be something G'iah will have to worry about, perhaps forcing her to limit use of her powers. And really, it makes sense to give such an extensive power set a weakness or disadvantage. Hopefully, we'll learn more whenever see G'iah next.