Reptilians, Skrulls, Chitauri, Oh My!

In hardcore conspiracy theorist circles, one of the most prevailing and popular theories is that of the "Reptilians."

In brief, the theory goes that there are reptile-like "shape-shifters" who have infiltrated our society. The origin of these green shape-shifters depends on who's telling the tale. Some say that they are fairly recent visitors from another planet, others claim that they are indigenous to Earth and evolved from dinosaurs parallel to human development. But a key part of most of these theories circles around the creatures' ability to take the form of other humans.

Reptilian

According to popular conspiracy theorist/new age dude David Icke, the Reptilians have committed their deception at the highest levels of government and high society. From the Wikipedia entry on Icke:

"In 1999, he published The Biggest Secret, in which he wrote that the Illuminati are a race of reptilian humanoids known as the Babylonian Brotherhood, and that many prominent figures are reptilian, including George W. Bush, Queen Elizabeth II, Kris Kristofferson, and Boxcar Willie.^"

The idea of the "Illuminati" is another quite popular both with Icke and conspiracy circles in general. It is also the name of the comic that more or less "officially" kicked off Marvel's "Secret Invasion" series of books, a series that concerned a shape-shifting alien race called "Skrulls" who had infiltrated the Earth ages ago, impersonating human beings.

Skrull

It would seem that the Reptilian theory is quite similar to the crux of the "Secret Invasion" plot -- that green shape-shifters from another planet have taken the guise of prominent world figures and plan to take humanity over from within.

Now, the Skrulls, as far as I know, were invented in the early 1960s by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They predated the Reptilian theory by several decades. It might even be possible that the champions of the theory have simply been influenced by the comics of their youth but don't consciously remember it.



None of this is to say that the "Secret Invasion" plot was ripped off of a popular conspiracy theory (though if he did, it would be nothing to be ashamed about -- Grant Morrison has been doing the very same thing for years). The archetype of the green invader from another planet, the reptile-appearing alien, and the extraterrestrial shape-shifter covertly disguised as human has been with us for some time. In the end, unless you are a talented folklorist, it might be impossible to tease out where these ideas all started.

For example, regard the 1980s ABC miniseries "V," in which Reptilians in human "skin" set out to enslave humanity:



Now flashforward to another ABC show this Fall, the sitcom "The Neighbors." It also features Reptilian-looking aliens who masquerade as humans, the Zabvronians:

Only this time around, they are portrayed truly as our "friends":

 
A final point that brings this discussion all the way back to David Icke. In the "Avengers" movie, the Skrulls were replaced with their "analogues" if you will, the Chitauri:

 

In Marvel's alternate Earth "Ultimate" line of comics, the Chitauri are a version of the Skrulls, and are shapeshifters:

But I have heard of the Chitauri way before I read either the "Ultimate" comics (first published in 2002) or watched "The Avengers." And that's because I viewed the series of interviews David Icke had with Zulu Shaman Credo Mutwa, released on a videotape/DVD called "The Reptilian Agenda" in 1999.

Here is Mutwa's illustration of the alien race called the Chitauri, his knowledge of which he claimed to have received through his ancestors:

 ...and that's where I'll end this post.