The MCU just faced its seventh alien invasion in a new Disney+ show, and it might even be the most lethal yet. Across the 50+ movies and Disney+ shows in the MCU, Earth's heroes faced countless threats, including many from the stars. Alien races such as the Kree, Skrulls, and Chitahuri have been among the most famous otherworldly beings to be featured in the MCU, with more expected to be introduced in Phase 7 and beyond as cosmic storytelling only grows more important.
Next up, Earth-616 will face threats not from space, but from the Multiverse, when Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom arrives in Avengers: Doomsday amid looming Incursions wreaking havoc across universes. But as fans wait for the December 18, 2026 release and the Multiversal chaos it will bring, the MCU's recent animated Disney+ show, Eyes of Wakanda, dove into the African nation's history. At least, the Black Panther spin-off was expected to be that simple, but it instead ended with ties to the far-future and the MCU's seventh alien invasion that is yet to come...
Every Alien Invasion That Has Happened In the MCU
Deviants - Millions of Years Ago
The Deviants were genetically engineered by Arishem the Judge to eliminate predators on Earth and allow mankind to flourish, while also preparing the planet for the Emergence of the new Celestial Tiamut. However, the Deviants lost their way and sought to wipe out life on Earth, prompting Arishem to create the Eternals.
The Deviants' leader, Bill Skarsgard's Kro, was trapped in ice for over a thousand years while most of his kind were wiped out by the Eternals. When the Emergence was impending, Kro was freed and fought the Eternals with his legions of Deviants in locations around the world, only to be defeated by Thena.
It's unclear how many humans and other lifeforms were killed by the Deviants over their many years fighting the Eternals on Earth.
The Frost Giants - 965
Over a millennium before the present-day MCU in 965 AD, Asgard was at war with Jotunheim and the Frost Giants. Laufey, king of the Frost Giants and Loki's biological father, invaded Tonsberg, Norway, and planned to plunge Earth into a new ice age using the Casket of Ancient Winters.
While the people of Earth would have been unlikely to fend off the Frost Giants successfully, Odin came to their aid with an army of Asgardians who pushed them back to Jotunheim and took the Casket, leading to a peace agreement.
King Laufey is believed to have murdered hundreds of human villagers during his attack on Norway before Odin arrived to put an end to the invasion, having also been aided by members of the Eternals in the conflict.
Skrulls - 2018
After the shape-shifters' homeworld was destroyed in the Kree-Skrull War, they struck a deal with Nick Fury to help find them a new home in exchange for assisting him in his spy network. Ultimately, Fury fell victim to the Snap in 2018, and, during his absence, Talos called over one million Skrulls to Earth.
These Skrulls distributed themselves around Earth and shape-shifted their way into society, with members of the Skrull Council weaseling their way into positions of power, even replacing an Avenger across as many as six MCU projects.
Years later, the rogue Gravik sought to lead an invasion of Earth and seize control of the planet, only to be thwarted by Nick Fury and Emilia Clarke's G'iah. While the plan to claim Earth was shut down, there are still Skrulls scattered across the planet, which may be resolved in Phase 7 after 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars.
Loki & The Chitahuri - 2012
The MCU's most famous alien invasion and the first major one to take place on screen came with the Battle of New York in The Avengers. At the behest of Thanos, Loki invaded Earth in May 2012 with a Chitahuri army.
The reptilian warrior race aided Loki in his mission to conquer Earth and recover the Tesseract, aka the Space Stone. While they arrived through a portal equipped with a massive Chitahuri fleet, Chariots, and cybernetically-augmented Leviathans, the Avengers ultimately thwarted them and closed the portal.
Not only did the Battle of New York lay waste to the U.S. city, leaving a long clean-up and repair process, but it also resulted in 74 deaths and more injuries.
Dark Elves - 2013
Having already launched a surprise attack on Asgard, the Dark Elves, led by Christopher Eccleston's Malekith, invaded Earth during the events of Thor: The Dark World, utilizing an Infinity Stone in their mission.
Malekith took his Dark Elf army to Earth in hopes of dispersing the Aether, better known as the Reality Stone, upon the Nine Realms, thus plunging them into eternal darkness and chaos, which they saw as the universe's natural state.
The Dark Elves invaded Earth with advanced T-shaped ships capable of travelling the Nine Realms while wielding energy weapons, blades, shields, and grenades that could generate black holes. However, they were thwarted as Earth was aided by Thor and the Asgardians, who killed Malekith and most of the Dark Elves.
Thanos, Black Order & Outriders - 2018 & 2023
Earth was attacked by Thanos and the Black Order in 2018 and 2023, as depicted in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, as part of the Mad Titan's mission to acquire the Infinity Stones and use them to restore balance to the universe.
The first time in 2018, Thanos' invasion took place against Wakanda, where the Avengers fought off Josh Brolin's Mad Titan, as well as his powerful Black Order and an army of mindless Outriders. Unfortunately, the Avengers couldn't stop Thanos from acquiring the six stones and snapping away half of all life.
While the Avengers' Time Heist culminated with them restoring the other half of the universe, it also brought a 2014 Thanos and his legions to 2023. Once again, Thanos was backed by the Black Order, Outriders, and this time, the Chitahuri, who were defeated thanks to Iron Man's famous sacrificial snap.
The Horde - 24th Century
Marvel Studios' newest Disney+ series, Eyes of Wakanda, confirmed Earth-616 is destined for more alien invasions, including one from the insectoid being the Horde in the 24th century that would even threaten the advanced African nation.
Originally, the Horde fought its way through the whole world until reaching Wakanda, which was unable to fend off the alien invasion alone. That was until the future Black Panther and Queen Mother time-traveled back to the past to restore a sequence of events that would see the African nation open itself up to other countries, with a united Earth able to defeat the Horde.
The Last Panther described the results of The Horde's original attack as leaving Wakanda as a "graveyard" and the "site of [their] final defeat," noting that their attack "killed [them] all." These giant, locust-like creatures could blast devastating, fiery beams that destroyed everything in their path.
