The shapeshifting alien Skrulls are among Marvel's most mysterious villians, but they're not without their odd weaknesses as Captain America has recently discovered. The aliens are capable of morphing into virtually any humanoid form, meaning that a Skrull can potentially be one's closest ally. But in A+X #14, both Captain America and the mutant Cyclops find a foolproof method to defeat the Skrulls - and it's quite unique among weaknesses in comics.
The Skrulls have a very long history in Marvel Comics, first appearing in Fantastic Four #2. The Skrulls were eventually revealed to be related to the Eternals; their ancestors were used as the base for experiments by the all-powerful Celestials (and the Prime Skrulls, the Eternals, and the Deviants emerged as three sub-species). The Skrulls are also known in the Marvel Universe for their ongoing war against the Kree species. Neither faction is painted as "good" or "evil", and the war has reappeared in various Marvel media, including the 2019 Captain Marvel film (although in that story, the Skrulls were depicted as the more heroic faction).
In the issue, Captain America is teaming up with the mutant Cyclops on a mission to weed out Skrull imposters (and par for the course of a Skrull-centric issue, neither trusts the other). Landing in Latveria, the domain of Doctor Doom, the two find a Skrull behind bars. After defeating the Doombots guarding the prisoner, Cyclops warns him not to shapeshift - but the Skrull is unable. "I've been in this cage for months, and besides I haven't eaten enough calories to shift anyway."
This effectively means the Skrulls' shapeshifting ability consumes energy in the same way a human exercises. Caloric intake is an important issue in comics as of late; some versions of Wolverine and other heroes with healing abilities must eat foods rich in protein to sustain their powers, and some versions of the Flash eat large amounts of food to maintain their speed (although the Speed Force is a catch-all explanation for speedsters' powers in the DC Universe). A Skrull without easy access to a sustainable food supply would most likely be unable to maintain a disguise for long.
The Skrulls have threatened the Marvel Universe frequently, most notably in 2008's Secret Invasion. They can replicate an appearance and vocal patterns perfectly - but the Skrulls are not without their weaknesses. Thus, Captain America can effectively prevent the Skrulls from shapeshifting by preventing them from ingesting enough calories - an odd weakness, but an effective one nonetheless.
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