| Veranke | |
|---|---|
 Veranke as the Skrull Queen. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | New Avengers #1 (January 2005; as Spider-Woman) New Avengers #40 (June 2008; as Veranke) |
| Created by | Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Jim Cheung (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Veranke |
| Species | Skrull |
| Place of origin | Tyeranx Seven Province |
| Team affiliations | |
| Notable aliases | Skrull Queen, Jessica Drew /Spider-Woman, Skrull Empress, Silver Scorpion, Carol Danvers |
| Abilities | Shapeshifting Spider-Woman's powers |
Veranke is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The queen of theSkrull Empire, first introduced under the guise ofSpider-Woman (Jessica Drew), she is the main antagonist ofSecret Invasion in which she leads her empire to invade and conquer Earth.
Veranke's first official appearance is inSecret Invasion #1, but was disguised as "Spider-Woman" inNew Avengers #1 while her character is named and fleshed out inNew Avengers #40.
Veranke was a Skrull princess who scolded EmperorDorrek VII from the Tyeranx 7 province after theIlluminati escape from the Skrull palace for not heeding the words of the Skrull prophecies, which state the attack upon the palace will be followed by the Skrull homeworld's destruction, the coming of a "wave of devastation" through Skrull space, and the need to take "a world of blue" as their new home. As Dorrek VII ignores her warnings, Veranke declares if Dorrek VII is unable to heed the writings of the Skrull's scriptures and the Skrull people's will, then he is not fit to rule. For her defiance, Dorrek VII banishes her to a prison planet, brushing her off as an insane fanatic and a traitor.
Years later, the Skrull throneworld is destroyed byGalactus; believing that only Veranke can lead them, the Skrulls rescue her from exile and she is anointed as their Queen. Veranke declares that the scriptures foretell Earth as the Skrull's new homeland. The Skrulls undergo a major operation to take over Earth through infiltrating Earth's facets, thereby weakening Earth enough to employ a military invasion to conquer the planet. To set an example for her people, Veranke also decides to participate in the invasion and asks which of Earth's heroes would be ideal for her to impersonate.Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman is recommended as the prime choice thanks to Skrulls posing asHydra agents having learned of her status of a double agent ofNick Fury.[1]
After successfully assuming Drew's identity, Veranke takes up the latter's new position at theRaft and was stationed there whenElectro unleashed a mass break-out attempt of the prisoners inside. This event unintentionally led to theNew Avengers's reformation, which she later joins afterSteve Rogers / Captain America offers membership to her.[2] Fury instructs her to continue working for him as a personal agent, now within the New Avengers,S.H.I.E.L.D., and Hydra simultaneously; she eventually confesses thistriple agent arrangement to theAvengers.
During an adventure with the New Avengers, Veranke learns of her rule's greatest threat:Dorrek VIII / Hulkling of theYoung Avengers and the son of the Kree heroMar-Vell and the Skrull princessAnelle who is a likely heir to the throne. During the invasion, she orders Dorrek VIII to be executed; unbeknownst to her, he survives.
During theHouse of M storyline, it was revealed that Veranke, along with all the other undercover Skrulls, knew that the world had been altered. She tries to assassinate theWanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch but is unsuccessful and deconstructed in a way similar toClint Barton; both come back afterward. In the aftermath, news reaches her that the Skrull Empire itself has almost entirely been destroyed by the Annihilation Wave, killing billions of Skrulls and fulfilling another tenet of the prophecy. Distressed by the realization that they are now all that is left of the Empire's legions, Veranke and her agents are more determined to continue their takeover of Earth.
Soon afterPeter Parker / Spider-Man's identity is revealed to the world during theCivil War storyline,Tony Stark / Iron Man discloses her triple agent status toMaria Hill. Troubled by her potentially treasonous allegiance to Fury, Hill orders her apprehension. While disguised asSybil Dvorak, she is captured and taken aboard a S.H.I.E.L.D.Helicarrier. Deploying an EMP, a Hydra commando team disables the Helicarrier and rescues her. She makes her way to the hidden base of Captain America'sSecret Avengers and pleads to join the resistance, having lost her connection to S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fury.[3]
Afterwards, Veranke travels alongside the New Avengers to Tokyo to fightElektra and theHand, but is unable to preventMaya Lopez / Echo from killing the SkrullPagon, which reveals the Skrull infiltration. As the New Avengers ponders the next move, Veranke defeats the Skrull posing asWolverine in front of Iron Man in a move designed to sow distrust amongst the superhero community, leaving bad feelings on many fronts.[4] Veranke also joins the government sanctionedMighty Avengers under the guise of throwing the Skrulls off balance.[5]
A meeting among the Skrull agents on Earth is held where Veranke is apparently in attendance, referred to as "Empress" by theSkrull posing asEdwin Jarvis.[6]
In theSecret Invasion storyline, "Jessica Drew" is informed of the crash-landing of a transport ship of Skrulls impersonating various superheroes (includingPitt'o Nili as Captain America) in theSavage Land. She in turn tips offLuke Cage about this information as she supposedly more trusting over Iron Man while theSkrull posing asDum Dum Dugan destroys the Peak space station ofS.W.O.R.D.[7]
After the Skrull invasion of Earth begins, Veranke is seen in the Savage Land, where she confronts and attacks Echo, repeatedly striking with venom blasts and then slamming her opponent into a nearby tree trunk.[8] She then insinuates Iron Man is a Skrull sleeper agent, and kisses Iron Man for supposedly having "earned the queen's love".[9]Black Widow plans to attack while Veranke talks to Iron Man, but is distracted by Skrulls posing asBeast andJean Grey, and Veranke disappears and escapes while Black Widow kills the Skrulls.[10]
Veranke arrives at Camp Hammond and theShadow Initiative attempt to assassinate her.Thor's presence is known and she assembles her troops for the final battle. The New Avengers, the Mighty Avengers, Nick Fury's commandos, the Young Avengers, the Initiative,the Hood's crew, Thor,Captain America, and theThunderbolts all assemble. Veranke later reveals that "He" (a figure mentioned repeatedly by Skrulls throughout the storyline in the phrase 'he loves you') is a reference to "God" as she leads an army of Super-Skrulls against the superhumans of Earth.[11] During the fight, the real Wolverine confronts Veranke and impales her through the shoulder with his claws. Moments later,Hawkeye is injured, which prompts Ronin to kill four Skrulls before seemingly killing Veranke with a shot to the face. Veranke survives the attack, but is killed byNorman Osborn.[12]
During the "Dark Reign" storyline, Veranke is seen inErebus, gambling or lingering for resurrection. She is later seen inPluto's jury atZeus's trial.[13]
The "Devil's Reign" event revealed that Veranke's body was secretly preserved. She is revived and set loose by MayorWilson Fisk to get revenge on Spider-Woman.[14] Veranke, despite some difficulty, is defeated by Drew andCarol Danvers.[15]
Like all Skrulls of Deviant heritage, Veranke is capable of shape-shifting her form into whatever she chooses, be it humanoid, non-humanoid, or even inorganic. Unspecified developments in genetic engineering within the Skrull race has allowed the Skrulls (including Veranke) to go undetected in human form from Iron Man's technological scans,Charles Xavier's mental scans, Spider-Man's Spider-Sense, Wolverine's animal senses, andDoctor Strange's magic. Veranke's shape-shifting abilities also allow her to form weapons such as blades on her body. Veranke also has a great deal of knowledge concerning Skrull prophecies.
She displayed Spider-Woman's powers which include superhuman physical abilities, flight, and the ability to generate electricity and pheromones.
As Jessica Drew, she initially had only limited gliding ability, enhanced by the small wings that are part of her Spider-Woman costume which Hydra further tampered with her metabolism, providing her with self-powered flight. The range of her flying capabilities is still undetermined.[16] She displayed powers that helped her and the other Avengers escape fromDoctor Doom's technological device by creating a Venom blast explosion — this use of Spider-Woman's powers was noted as inconsistent with her files on S.H.I.E.L.D.[17]
An alternate universe version of Veranke appears inSecret Wars. This version originates from the Warzone, a reality in which the Superhuman Civil War never ended, and sabotagespeacemaking efforts to benefit from the war.[18]
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