With the theatrical releases of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3” earlier this year, Marvel Studios returned with its first Disney+ release since August 2022’s “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” in “Secret Invasion” this past summer.
“Secret Invasion” is the first streaming release for the studio of 2023 while also being the first of Phase 5 amidst “The Multiverse Saga.” The series is a sequel to 2018’s “Captain Marvel” with the events of the six-episode show setting up future projects such as “The Marvels” and “Armor Wars.”
The series sees Samuel L. Jackson returning to reprise his role as Nick Fury, last seen in 2019’s “Spider-Man: Far from Home,” who is looking to uncover a conspiracy by a shapeshifting alien species called the Skrulls in their goal to conquer Earth. Aiding Fury is Talos, played by a returning Ben Mendelsohn. Talos is Fury’s Skrull friend who has been impersonating the former Avengers leader so that he can handle issues in space. Notable actors starring in the show are Don Cheadle, returning as Rhodey or War Machine, Emilia Clarke’s G’iah and Olivia Coleman’s Sonya Falsworth.
The show’s premise is who the central characters can trust as Fury returns to Earth in the first episode and learns that shapeshifting Skrulls live amongst humans in plain sight. However, Jackson’s portrayal of Fury in this show is different than that of his portrayal in previous Marvel Cinematic Universe projects. He is older, seems two steps behind and is a shell of his former self.
These character defects are constantly referred to throughout the series and taken advantage of by the antagonist of the series, Gravik, a former spy protege of Fury who has usurped Talos as general of the Skrulls. While also leading the rebel Skrulls to conquer Earth, he is also relying on the brilliant minds of Skrull scientists to extract DNA from known super-powered figures in the franchise to empower his species. In working towards achieving this, Gravik becomes the first “Super Skrull.”
With each passing episode, Fury seems to be losing the fight to Gravik as many in his personal life, like his friends and family, get involved and die due to the threat that Gravik imposes. These shocking deaths span throughout the series until Fury pulls his last ace up his sleeve in Talos’ daughter, G’iah, to help neutralize this threat.
The series ends, however, with the issue at hand still at play. Skrulls are still looming in the shadows amongst humans and impersonating beloved heroes. No character is safe or left off the docket, as this series reveals that a significant character in the MCU has been impersonated and imprisoned by Skrulls for several years.
We will see if Fury references this issue in his next project, the direct sequel to both this series and “Captain Marvel,” “The Marvels,” releasing on Nov. 10, 2023. Until then, fans of the MCU will have no choice but to theorize which characters have been Skrulls and for how long.
