Secret Invasion Ep 1 is the first chapter in an American superhero television miniseries created by Kyle Bradstreet for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics storyline of the same name. It is the ninth television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) produced by Marvel Studios, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It follows Nick Fury and his allies, who attempt to thwart a Skrull invasion of Earth. (Wikipedia)
S P O I L E R S
Secret Invasion Ep 1 is jarring to watch, even for a longtime MCU fan. When did the Skrulls become the bad guys? At the end of Captain Marvel – set in the 1990s – Captain Marvel set out for space with the Skrulls to find them a new home. What happened? Never explained. Our next encounter with Skrulls is in Spider-Man: Far From Home, where we discover that Nick Fury and Maria Hill are the Skrulls Talos and Soren in disguise, under orders from the real Fury while he is away commanding a Skrull spaceship.
So there is a gap between an understanding that the Skrulls – besides Talos and Soren – were in space and what is depicted here – hundreds of renegade Skrulls threatening the Earth. How did we get from that scernario to this episode? Not explained at all!!! Not only that but it seems now that Fury was in space building S.A.B.E.R.? So which is it? Was he with the Skrulls or with S.A.B.E.R.? Utterly confusing.
Even setting aside all this tedious mess of a back story, Secret Invasion Ep 1 is inherently illogical. Talos and Maria Hill cotton on to a ‘secret invasion’ conducted by renegade Skrulls led by Gravik. But how ‘secret’ can it be when these renegade Skrulls are using abandoned Russian nuclear sites as headquarters. Surely, the intelligence services of Russia, USA and UK would be aware of this threat?
Instead, we are led to believe that Fury, Hill and Talos – three unaffiliated individuals – would be sufficient to address this threat by themselves? Where are the superheroes? The new Captain America? The Winter Soldier? The Hulk? Doctor Strange? Ant-Man? Nothing is explained. In addition, there is the obvious narrative that Fury has lost his mojo, he is no longer the man he was post-blip – so presumably the rest of this miniseries will tell that story?
In the final analysis, Secret Invasion Ep 1 is only the first chapter and there are still five more to get things right. Considering the recent track record of the MCU, we are not expecting much…
Watch now on Disney+
… still there’s more …