The “Kree-Skrull War” was one of the Avengers’ first major events, and to this day remains one of their biggest. It kicked off in Avengers #89 and wrapped up in climactic fashion in Avengers #97. This nine-issue war, as the name implies, brought the reader into the universe-spanning, eons-long war between the Kree and Skrull empires, which inevitably dragged Earth into the middle. This major event featured a massive cast of characters and brought the Avengers to the farthest reaches of Marvel’s cosmic space, while introducing important concepts such as the Wanda-Vision romance and, important for today, the Destiny Force.
Way back on December 7, 1971, Avengers #97 was released and concluded the war in the most epic way possible. This cosmic battle turned the world against the Avengers, tore them apart from within, nearly destroyed Captain Marvel, and threatened to destroy the entire world in more ways than one. Yet, this cataclysmic brawl between two goliath empires was resolved not by the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but by Rick Jones, who revealed power unlike anything seen before as a spectacular homage to Marvel’s roots.
A War That Started With Three Cows
The “Kree-Skrull War” spawned out of an unintentional unresolved plot point from Fantastic Four (1961) #2. The FF battled four Skrulls and ended the issue by turning their assailants into cows. However, the final panel showed only three cows, which led to wild speculation and opened the door for writer Roy Thomas to tell this story. The remaining, unchanged Skrull impersonated Senator Craddock to turn the public against the Avengers and freed his brethren, who broke up the team from the inside. At the same time, Ronan the Accuser tried to overtake the Earth, but this just led to the planet being dragged into the ongoing war between the two empires, especially since Captain Marvel was the number one target.
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In the end, it all came down to Rick Jones, who was transported into the Negative Zone by the Supreme Intelligence while the Avengers stopped planet-destroying missiles from impacting the Earth. Just when it looked like Rick was done for, he unlocked what the Supreme Intelligence called humanity’s ultimate potential in evolution, later named the Destiny Force. With this power, Rick could make his thoughts a reality. To save the universe from endless conflict, Rick imagined the most heroic things he could: classic Marvel Heroes of the Golden Age. Captain America, Namor, Blazing Skull, Fin, Patriot, and the original Human Torch, Vision, and Angel. These imaginations stomped Anihilus, then Rick halted the war itself, though it drained him of his power.
The Ultimate Homage to Heroes
This war was a major event that paid homage to nearly all of Marvel’s most popular and essential aspects up till then. The Avengers represented the then-current Earth-based heroism, Captain Marvel represented the cosmic side of things, and Rick Jones brought back the classic, war-focused Golden Age heroism. Each of the heroes was essential in defeating the Kree and Skrulls and ending the war, and the fact that it was the Golden Age heroes who did it is the perfect capstone to their careers.
The Golden Age of comics was heavily defined by World War II, and thus, the majority of their heroes focused on the war itself. These wartime stories spawned some of the most beloved characters out there, including Captain America and the rest of his wartime companions. They were massively successful, but as war stories became less relevant and less popular, the majority of these heroes faded from the limelight and Marvel entirely. The majority of them were too closely tied to war stories to make the transition to traditional hero work, and so characters like Patriot and Blazing Skull passed into obscurity.
Their return here, as Rick’s embodiments of heroism to save the day, is the ultimate homage because it saw their return to not just comics, but ending the biggest war of all. These heroes were created in war, and so it’s fitting that their reappearance brought an end to Marvel’s biggest cosmic war they could imagine. They had one final chance to fight one last war. This was their swan song and let them go out in cataclysmic, glorious fashion, save the day one final time in a way only they could. It was the ultimate tribute, and one heck of a sendoff for the beloved characters.
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