Will Captain America and The Avengers Battle the Skrulls?

I took a trip downtown during my lunch hour today and was treated to a full hour of Avengers action.

As soon as I parked my car and walked down to the E. 9th set, the street exploded and the ground shook. Yes, another day of Joss Whedon and company blowing up Cleveland.

Soon after the explosion, I was able to find a good spot to watch Chris Evans, as Captain America, rehearse a scene the crew would shoot a little later in the afternoon. Here's the video:



You can see the scene in this great video from hschneider0917:



You know what this looks like to me? Like the scene the production was rehearsing in Parma early last week. That's when we first saw a picture of Captain America's shield. Evans, most likely, was standing atop a car in that photo, looking much like he does here.

In the above video, we get a glimpse of our baddies. Sort of. We actually see two stunt men dressed in motion capture suits. That's what all those white dots are. Which means they will likely be replaced with CGI when all is said and done.

Possible Skrull weapon?

And that big weapon on the baddie's arm on the right of the video? That's the thing that prop guy is holding in the picture on the left.

I don't know about you, but that looks ... well, alien in origin.

And if you don't know anything about evil aliens in the Marvel universe, know this. One alien race bothers the Avengers like no other. The Skrulls. And these pointy-eared, green goblins are nothing more than a bunch of no good shapeshifters. Their most recent attack on Earth was a secret invasion that nearly destroyed the planet. 

A toy Skrull and his laser pistol thingy.

That tale was written by Brian Michael Bendis, a Cleveland native and a well-known comic book writer. Truth told, Bendis now writes several Avengers titles. He's also a consultant on the film.

But back to that gun. It looks alien, right? And maybe it belongs to the Skrulls. But is there any indication that that's they're style? Well, it doesn't look exactly the same - but the form and function seems similar to the Skrull weapon on the right. Right?

Chris Evans as Captain America rehearsing

And really, if the premise of this film is that there's a threat so large that the greatest heroes on Earth must ban together to save the world - well, it can't be as simple as the Hulk on a rampage. It's gotta be an all out attack of some kind.

Now, I love the idea that film might borrow from Bendis's Secret Invasion. The idea that shape shifters have infiltrated our military, our government, even SHIELD HQ ... well, that adds a layer of intrigue that could make the film more than a mash-up of Marvel movies. Especially if it turns out that, say, Pepper Potts, is an alien.

So, I'm calling the big bad in The Avengers are the Skrulls. I can't call this a spoiler, because it's all speculation. But it's just all addin' up for me.