Secret Invasion (2023)

Score: D (6.5/10)

Despite featuring moments of great tension and character exchanges, Secret Invasion ends up being an unexpected mess the further the narrative progresses. Each unexplained detail is worse than the last, culminating in the final episode being one of the worst MCU narrative decisions made so far.

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Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, commonly known as Fury, is one of the MCU’s defining characters. Fury started the Avengers Initiative and wouldn’t have brought the MCU to where it is in modern pop culture and the box office if he didn’t exist. However, fast-forwarding to 2023’s Secret Invasion, Fury is on his last legs. He’s grown soft after the fallout and effects of the Thanos Snap and grows ever wearier once he learns about the Skrull invasion. However, the Skrull invasion turns into a figure of speech and finds itself in an often aimless story surrounding Fury and his long-time frenemies.

The premise makes the limited series appear to be more of a spy-esque thriller than not. Luckily, the first few episodes deliver on its appearance. Seeing Fury make honest errors in judgment because of his newfound vulnerability makes the viewing experience enticing. Add in the all-empowering Gravik leading a Skrull rebellion to destroy humanity and Fury’s fallout with Rhodes and the United States, and there’s a legitimate dilemma Fury must solve. Fury’s past decisions come back to bite him more often than not, especially considering he’s the reason the Skrull rebellion started in the first place. The first few episodes also encapsulate the “trust nobody” attitude coined by Fury in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. However, one difference is that Secret Invasion drops the attitude by the series’ ladder half.

The latter half is the pinnacle of poorly planned and aimless writing. Several plot details desperately need elaboration and explanation, resulting in a narrative void of substance and espionage. Gravik, who maintains an intimidating attitude towards Fury and the audience, chooses to make himself a “super-Skrull” to annihilate the human race quicker(?), only compounded by the material he gets his hands on to do so. It results in a full-on superhero battle between two super-Skrulls, losing all sense of tone aligning with the series’ status quo. However, the limited series manages to retcon one person’s past six years of character development, making their past on-screen appearances null and void. On top of that, Fury then returns to space for peace talks as the “secret invasion” becomes an all-out war, all because a man Fury saves chose to despise and hunt down Skrulls for their rebellion’s inconveniences. Does it sound far-fetched? Absolutely. Does it make sense? No.

Secret Invasion ultimately does what the current and previous MCU phases do: make the overarching narrative convoluted and sometimes nonsensical. Fury, Gravik, and multiple supporting characters are the saving graces of the series due to each respective actor’s performances, but how the characters present themselves isn’t the issue here. The issue lies with the slowly degrading quality of the narrative throughout its six episodes, with the final episode being one of the worst examples of it. MCU productions like this help explain why the franchise continuously shoots itself in the foot. It manages to ruin great storylines and premises with rushed and messy writing because of the franchise’s fifteen-year-long state of being financially prosperous. I wanted to enjoy Secret Invasion, but the series makes too many mistakes to warrant a positive viewing experience.