SPOILER Secret Invasion (2023)

I'm not gonna do a full analysis here, but figured we could at least have a space to discuss this show.

So far... it's fine. Pretty much what I expected it would be, other than

Spoiler

Maria's death

. That spoiler tag is the last one you'll get, be ye warned.

Anyway, just a few random thoughts:

- Guys, I've seen so much talk about whether or not Ross has always been a Skrull. It's... silly. Like, sure, technically that's possible, but let's use Occam's Razor for a moment and assume the least. We know the Skrulls can take anyone's shape, and we know that the person doesn't have to be dead for them to do so (someone even take's Fury's shape in this episode). It's far more likely that a Skrull just took the shape of a relatively well known and influential S.H.I.E.L.D. figure like Ross for a moment, rather than a character we've known for five and a half years (and longer in MCU in-universe time) being under cover for that long... especially since it's implied that the Skrull resistance is relatively new anyway. Very silly theory, I'm embarrassed by how many seem to think it's confirmed.

- Is Fury a skrull? The show seriously seems to want us to think so. Personally, I doubt it, but I think the unease is the point.

- Is Maria really dead? Meh, I kinda hope so. I know Live Model Decoys are a very S.H.I.E.L.D. thing to do, but in the MCU these agents are just humans. Someone has to die at some point, right?

- I'm usually against too many cameos, but I wouldn't mind seeing some heroes show up in this one. Something as relatively big as Secret Invasion could use some Avengers or others to help out, especially since the show lead is Team Founder Nick Fury. Getting the band together is kinda his thing, and if Maria is really gone, then he needs allies.

- Finally... we're getting Super Skrull, right? Like, this is the obvious time to introduce him. If so... are we also getting the Fantastic Four? I feel like they're the Mephisto-level near-impossible longshot, but... it would be a good way to tie my final two points together.

 

I think I've heard she's super small.

I feel like it's noticeable in early GOT, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the showrunners pulled some interesting POV and costuming stuff to make Daenerys seem more imposing on screen as she gained power.

 

Hmm...

these episodes all kinda run together for me, but a few thoughts since last time:

- While I was (kinda) right about Super Skrulls, we got them a lot sooner than I expected.

- Still think the "were they always a Skrull?" thing is super silly. Now I see people theorizing that Rhodey has been a Skrull since before Infinity War. It's just... no. While technically possible in-universe, Marvel would never do this. This small spinoff show isn't going to rewrite a major(ish) character's backstory that far. The earliest I could see Rhodey being a Skrull is his Falcon + Winter Soldier appearance, but even then I'm skeptical. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't impersonated by the Skrulls until pretty much right before the show began.

- Man, I'm faceblind enough that I can't tell a lot of people apart. With stuff like the Na'vi, or the Skrulls? Forget it.
One of them got shot at the end of the episode. Was it Talos? I think so, but I have no idea.

 

Final thoughts...

This series wasn't terrible. I think that calling it "Marvel's Andor", as I was tempted to do early on, is a bit too generous. But it managed a tone that was sometimes more mature than the MCU typically is.

Jackson did a great job, as did the actress playing Priscilla.

I did have some frustrations with the series, though...

- My biggest frustration is how this... well, I realize this is a melodramatic way to phrase it, but this kinda breaks the MCU. In a way similar to Winter Soldier, but WS actually made it work. After the Hydra reveal, SHIELD was dissolved and the MCU was forever altered, and Secret Invasion kinda does similar stuff, but it's so much messier. Now, anyone can have been a Skrull (with some potential exceptions), and can be in the future. I guess that's always been the case, but precedent is set now, and in a super messy way. Fans even think that Rhodey was a Skrull during Infinity War and Endgame... which, while I don't believe is the case, is at least certainly a possibility now. And on top of that, now super powers are relatively easy to steal and replicate. All you need is some of Captain Marvel's blood, and you can get her powers? Good god. So now, ANYONE in the MCU can be a skrull, and anyone's powers can be taken.

- On top of all that, it wasn't really much of the thriller it should've been. Gravik's plan was relatively simplistic, and Fury's actions often made even less sense (including Gai'ah's weirdly complicated maneuver of actually giving Gravik the formula, instead of just beating the everloving whatever out of him). The nuance and subterfuge that Winter Soldier had really isn't anywhere to be found here.

- Having the Skrulls be "bad guys"... seems kinda iffy after their portrayal in Cap Marvel. I get that they're a rogue faction, but I'm not sure I love the political implications of it.

- That said, the final few minutes of the world dealing with the Skrull issue were far more compelling than the rest of the show. And I appreciate that it was left very much unresolved, but I hope this plot thread is picked up again eventually. It deserves to be addressed, if not fully closed, in the future.

- Why weren't other heroes involved (other than D+'s budget)? I don't think the show did a very convincing job of making the case that Fury needed to do this alone, and Carol at least would've been invested in this. I'd have even been happy if the show gave Fury some roster of C-tiers to work with, kinda like how She-Hulk did so well.

- Finally... the Super Skrull thing was actually kind of clever at first. I do think that it would've been far better to wait until the addition of the Fantastic Four to bring in this character, but giving him similar powers with the likes of Groot's extendable arms, Extremis fire, Cull Obsidian's strength, etc... that was clever, and I appreciated it. Giving him EVERY power though, just seemed like overkill. It's an interesting idea, and made for a cool fight scene, but I'd have rather seen it done with someone like Rogue. And I'm not necessarily of the opinion that Gai'ah is now the most powerful being in the MCU... I think of it like how Ditto isn't necessarily the most powerful Pokemon. She has "every" power, but that doesn't mean that she's as skilled or strong with them as those she's taken them from. More accurately, she's the most versatile character in the MCU... but given how poorly defined that serum was, it certainly seems like a messy way to handle it.

- Honestly, despite my gripes, I'm probably more far optimistic about Secret Invasion than the average MCU fan. Given the pretty negative attention the series received, I wonder if this series now poses a risk to Secret Wars' box office, despite the two not actually being all that connected?