John the Skrull

John the Skrull
John the Skrull. Art by Leonard Kirk.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Wisdom #1 (November 2006)
Created by	Paul Cornell (writer) Trevor Hairsine (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	unknown
Species	Skrull
Team affiliations	Skrull Empire MI-13
Notable aliases	John Lennon
Abilities	Shapeshifting Flight

John the Skrull is a fictional character, a superhero published by Marvel Comics. He first appears in Wisdom #1 (November 2006), and was created by Paul Cornell and Trevor Hairsine. As a Skrull, he normally takes the shape of John Lennon.

Fictional character biography

As yet, his birth name and background has not been revealed. In 1963, four Skrull agents were sent to Earth, ordered to disguise themselves as the Beatles and facilitate a Skrull invasion of Earth. However, the four "Skrull Beatles" decided that they would rather remain on Earth, where there was "money and power", rather than help the Skrulls conquer it. John, notably, fell into a relationship with a Kree, Captain Boko of the Kree Liberation Army.

Some decades later, John came to be in the employ of the British secret service agency MI-13, investigating paranormal occurrences throughout the British Isles. In this capacity he met Pete Wisdom, and helped thwart, among other things, a Martian invasion of Britain from an alternate universe.

At the time of the Secret Invasion, as the Skrull Empire mounts a new invasion of Earth driven by religious prophecy, John, considered a traitor by the Skrull high command, finds himself a target. A Skrull agent posing as Mr. Grimsdale, the chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee, attempts to have the Skrull Beatles all killed as potentially disloyal to the British; only John survives this purge, and the Skrull is unmasked and killed by Wisdom. John then joins Wisdom, Captain Britain, and Spitfire, all now recruited by MI:13 to fight off the Skrull attack on the Siege Perilous.

He is killed by Skrulls in issue #4.

Powers and abilities

• John's Skrull physiology enables him to shapeshift into virtually any form that he chooses. He normally favours the shape of John Lennon, but has been shown to, for example, grow wings and tentacles to better participate in battle.

References

• John the Skrull at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• Super Spy Weekend: John the Skrull, Comic Book Resources, March 8, 2008.