The Marvel Cinematic Universe has enough characters to fill countless armies and there are still a million familiar faces from the source material. The franchise has managed to adapt small figures into larger icons, but there are still so many to get through. When a big name joins the biggest media empire on Earth, people expect them to appear in a big role, but they're just as likely to elevate a minor figure.
Emilia Clarke is best known for her eight-year stint as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. A main role in the biggest fantasy TV epic of all time tends to drown out the rest of an actor's career, no matter how great they are in other projects. She's made her way into Terminator and Star Wars, but every actor seems to have a ticking clock over their head marking the time before they join the Marvel ensemble.
Who is G'iah in Marvel Comics?
G'iah was introduced in a 2019 comic called Meet the Skrulls. The story, by Robbie Thompson and Niko Henrichon, follows the Warner family. They're a relatively normal family, each member sporting a deep inner life and a solid bond. The patriarch works at Stark Enterprises, the three daughters attend school, and the mother of the family works in the office of a US senator.
It turns out that every member of the family is a Skrull in disguise, gradually preparing the Earth for invasion. G'iah is the mother, married out of both love and necessity to her husband Klrr. In their short run, Klrr and G'iah worked their way up until they were effectively impersonating Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. The mission went down in flames after the development of Project Blossom, a machine that could find hidden Skrulls. Klrr was betrayed and killed, but G'iah survived, left to wander an unfriendly world with her daughters.
G'iah's role in the MCU has been different so far. G'iah appears in Captain Marvel, but she's a bit too young to have much impact on the narrative. The MCU's G'iah is the young daughter of Talos, the Skrull commander who worked with Mar-Vell to save his people from the Kree. He hid out on Earth to get his hands on a light-speed engine, but he was exposed by Carol Danvers and Nick Fury. Years later, he would help Fury by impersonating him while he was on vacation. G'iah was very young when her home planet was devastated. She spent six years hiding in Mar-Vell's lab before she could be reunited with her father. She departs with her father seeking a place to live, and the trailers for Secret Invasion suggest that the search hasn't been successful.
What is G'iah's Role in Secret Invasion?
If the trailers for the upcoming series are to be believed, fans will see G'iah primarily in human disguise. She appears to be an ally of Nick Fury, but she spends most of her screen time in the trailer engaging in gunfights. The series takes place thirty years after the end of Captain Marvel, allowing G'iah to grow to adulthood as a refugee. That life has hardened her into a skilled warrior. The villains of the series are a group of insurgent Skrulls led by Gravik, all of whom seem specifically aggrieved by Fury. The invasion of the title seems more justifiable than it tends to be in the comics since the Skrulls are apparently still unable to find a proper home. Given Marvel's history with understandable villains, it's safe to assume that the good Skrulls will support humanity no matter how badly they're treated and the bad Skrulls will dare to fight for themselves. G'iah appears to be one of the good ones, but she has an edge to her as well.
G'iah didn't appear in the initial Secret Invasion crossover event. She was introduced half a decade later, but she follows a similar concept. Since Skrulls can transform to blend into their environment, they almost always appear as sneaky would-be invaders. The MCU has added a fair amount of sympathy to its portrayal of the species. Talos and his family were the first Skrulls introduced to the world on the big screen, and they're clearly decent people. Even Gravik and his army of terrorists seem to be framed as the logical consequences of Nick Fury's previous actions. They're ghosts from his past, and they're here to claim what they've been promised.
G'iah seems to be divided. She's noticeably upset by the treatment of her people, but she isn't interested in invading. This could stem from her positive interactions with humans in the past. She's a nuanced character, fighting to protect a world that has never given her and her species what they deserve. G'iah will be an interesting new addition to the MCU when Secret Invasion launches on Disney Plus in June.