Secret Invasion (Marvel Event)
"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight issue limited series and several titles published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term invasion of Earth by the alien Skrulls. Capable of shapeshifting, the Skrulls have secretly replaced many of Marvel's heroes with impostors over a period of years, prior to the overt invasion. Marvel's promotional tagline for the event was "Who do you trust?"
After the Kree-Skrull War a group of Earth's superheroes - Iron Man; Mister Fantastic; Namor; Black Bolt; Professor Charles Xavier and Doctor Strange - band together as a group called the Illuminati to secretly confront the Skrulls. The characters attack the Skrull Empire, and warn that any further invasion attempts of Earth would mean further reprisals. The characters, however, are captured and intensely studied before escaping.
In a final battle Veranke is wounded by the Avenger Hawkeye, and then killed by villain Norman Osborn. A Skrull activates a booby trap placed on heroine the Wasp, although the blast in contained by Thor at the cost of her life. The last remnants of the Skrull armada is destroyed, with Iron Man locating the missing heroes. S.H.I.E.L.D. is dissolved by executive order of the President of the United States, while a last Skrull, posing as Avengers' butler Edwin Jarvis, flees with the child of hero Luke Cage. Norman Osborn forms a new version of the Avengers, calling the team the Dark Avengers.