Marvel Aliens and Anatomy

[StoneGold]

Specifically, if they are reptiles, why do Skrull women have boobies? With no milk, they seem like a fairly useless appendage.

[SpaceDog]

"Reptiles" is a term referring to Earth creatures. Probably it is just a general term used by humans to categorize Skrulls based on visible traits. Perhaps they are simply reptile-like creatures that also breastfeed their young. They are from another galaxy, after all. I'm no Skrull expert though. Has it ever been said that they are exactly like Earth reptiles?
The short answer is, of course, that breasts are never useless when you're a comic book artist.

[StoneGold]

"Reptiles" is a term referring to Earth creatures. Probably it is just a general term used by humans to categorize Skrulls based on visible traits. Perhaps they are simply reptile-like creatures that also breastfeed their young. They are from another galaxy, after all. I'm no Skrull expert though. Has it ever been said that they are exactly like Earth reptiles?
The short answer is, of course, that breasts are never useless when you're a comic book artist.
Englehart did a whole thing with them in Silver Surfer back when he was writing it about them being reptilian, evolved from reptiles. Part of why they find the mammalian Kree so abhorant.

[foxfire]

I love pop culture aliens in general... so many of them are damn huminoids. I remember Stan Lee used to come up with silly little explainations of why aliens could speak or understand English... does anyone else still do that?

[SpaceDog]

Have there been numerous examples of female Skrulls with breasts? Crowd shots, etc? I'm guessing yes, but if there are only a few, maybe they were shapeshifting to look more humanoid?
Maybe male Skrulls, though they are disgusted my mammals in general, are oddly drawn to that one trait, so the females morph themselves some boobs?
Or maybe Skrull breasts serve a completely different purpose! I'm sure somebody can come up with what that might be. Do male Skrulls have nipples?

[StoneGold]

Do male Skrulls have nipples?
Off the top of my head, I don't know. I can think of a book or two I could probably check on that, but hell, let's face it, half the time, human males aren't drawn with nipples when their shirts are off. They're kind of like Spider-Man's underarm webbing that way.

[DDM]

The Celestials did a similar experiment on the Skrulls as they did on the Homo Sapiens on Earth. However, it had a very different outcome. The shapechanging Skrulls evolved as a result of the Celestials' experiments. They eventually became the dominant race since they killed the Deviant & Eternal versions of themselves.

A Skrull can transform into anything be it animal, vegetable, mineral, or even inanimate objects for an indefinite period of time. Originally, the Skrulls were not a military race until they met the Kree. Afterwards, the Skrulls learned much of space travel from the Kree's space ships. As a result of the Kree-Skrull War, the Skrulls became more Imperial in their government in order to fight the Kree.

The hatred for the Kree persists to this day. But with the Skrull homeworld consumed by Galactus, the Skrull Empire fractured & fell into ruin.

I don't think Skrulls are "reptiles" in the coventional Earth term. Skrulls are more human-like in their actions. Originally, the Skrulls were analogous to the Soviet Union.

[StoneGold]

I don't think Skrulls are "reptiles" in the coventional Earth term. Skrulls are more human-like in their actions. Originally, the Skrulls were analogous to the Soviet Union.
Not reptiles, but reptillian. Like I said earlier, Englehart went into some specifics in his run on Silver Surfer. All the reptile species, including some very reptilian characters like, well, Cap'n Reptyl, were fighting alongside of the Skrulls in some sort of... generally shared trait species solidarity or something.



Although if the Skrulls were Soviets, what the hell were the Kree? And what does it say when the Skrulls eventually won the Kree/Skrull War?

[DDM]

Although if the Skrulls were Soviets, what the hell were the Kree? And what does it say when the Skrulls eventually won the Kree/Skrull War?

The Kree are still at war with the Skrulls. When did it end? Both the Kree & Skrulls are genetically dead ends though. The Kree is too reliant on the Supreme Intelligence. And the Skrulls are too reliant on their shapechanging abilities.

Captain Marvel became an Earth hero, but this made him an outcast on Kree-Lar (the Kree's home planet); however, the Supreme Intelligence still found Captain Marvel useful for his needs. The Kree may have been analogous to the Soviet Union as well. Captain Marvel was originally intended to be a double agent spy for the Kree.

[Cthulhudrew]

Specifically, if they are reptiles, why do Skrull women have boobies? With no milk, they seem like a fairly useless appendage.

They aren't reptiles- at least not entirely. They have, as you point out, mammalian characteristics. This was touched on in their OHOTMU entry way back when, and can be read about in their entry in the Marvel directory here. (http://www.marveldirectory.com/alienraces/skrull.htm)

In short, they do lay eggs, but they also nurse their young.

[StoneGold]

The Kree are still at war with the Skrulls. When did it end?
Englehart ended it in Silver Surfer. Turns out, the leader of the Kree was a Skrull in disguise who got trapped in her Kree form when the Skrulls lost their shape changing abilties. Although IIRC, in a lot of ways, it was the Supreme Intelligence throwing the war so he could go back in power, which lead to the Kree/Shi'ar War in Operation Galactic Storm, which ended up being the Supreme Intelligence's way of wiping the Kree slate clean so they wouldn't be genetic dead ends. But it was this big, huge cosmic deal, with the Stranger and the Living Tribunal showing up to cast judgement on the whole thing. And Mantis, because it was Englehart, and Mantis always has to show up, even if it makes no sense.

But while they may not be particularly friendly towards each other, the Kree (or Ruul, or whatever) and the Skrulls haven't had open hostile combat with each other since like 1998, 1999 our time.