With two episodes left in Secret Invasion, I have little hope that the show will deliver any meaningful events that can alter the course of the MCU. If anything, I’m even more worried about the Secret Invasion finale considering an MCU teaser that’s floating around out there, concerning an overall MCU plot detail that might not be immediately obvious to everyone watching Secret Invasion on Disney Plus. And that spoiler bothers me so much because I’m worried that we’re in store for a lackluster season finale from Secret Invasion.
Before I explain, know that big Secret Invasion spoilers might follow below.
I’m a big fan of MCU spoilers, and I don’t mind knowing what will happen in a TV show or movie before watching it. The spoilers do not ruin the fun for me. But going into Secret Invasion, I didn’t have any story leaks to rely on for this adventure. That’s rare for the current MCU, as everything usually leaks.
However, there was one big Secret Invasion spoiler that Marvel delivered on its own, unprompted. A spoiler that I addressed before the show premiered, as I was trying to make sense of what was going on.
Nick Fury in The Marvels
Marvel released the first trailer for The Marvels in mid-April, nearly two months before the Secret Invasion release. The Marvels premieres on November 10th, and it’s the final MCU adventure of the year.
I explained at the time that the Secret Invasion promo clips and the first The Marvels trailer gave us two different versions of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). One looked like time hadn’t been kind to him and lacked the iconic eye patch. The other looked like the Nick Fury we’ve come to know and love since the first Iron Man.
I said at the time that Secret Invasion probably precedes The Marvels on the MCU timeline. We now know that the action in Secret Invasion happens at some point in 2026.
Therefore, by the time we get to The Marvels, the whole “secret invasion” would be over.
I also said that I wished Secret Invasion would give us the ultimate twist: the Skrulls replacing Fury with one of their own. That the Fury in The Marvels might not be a human. But that would have meant taking a big risk. The other explanation would be that Fury defeated the Skrull rebellion and then he moved on to his Avengers-related activities.
The Secret Invasion finale
Fast-forward to the present day, and I know what happens in the first four episodes of Secret Invasion. That makes me see The Marvels trailer in an entirely new light. And I’m not happy about it.
I no longer expect huge plot twists from Secret Invasion that can rechart the MCU. Rather than Fury being a Skrull in The Marvels, I expect a much simpler end to this personal quest of his.
I think the finale will give us Fury and his newest ally, G’iah (Emilia Clarke), defeating Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) and his followers. The secret invasion will come to an end.
What bothers me now is Fury’s attitude in The Marvels. He looks like his former self. I don’t want to say happy, but he’s wearing the eyepatch again. And he’s working with superheroes again. Whatever happens in Secret Invasion, by the time we get to The Marvels events, Fury seems to be completely over it.
This contrasts with Fury’s overall demeanor so far in Secret Invasion. He’s clearly suffering from a form of PTSD after the recent events. He doesn’t project the same strength, and he’s closer to retirement than managing Avengers again.
Add to all of that suffering what happened so far in Secret Invasion. Nick Fury just lost Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders). And Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) is probably dead too. In the process, he might have broken up with his wife, also a Skrull.
Finally, at least one Avenger was a Skrull; that’s War Machine (Don Cheadle), of course. And the world was on the brink of World War 3. Not to mention that it’s all Fury’s fault for the Skrulls going rogue.
These events should leave another big mark on Fury. Even if he ultimately manages to beat the Skrulls, which he will undoubtedly will. Yet The Marvels trailer tells us that Fury is about to suit up as his former self, eyepatch included.
With all that in mind, The Marvels teaser trailer gives us a Fury that behaves more like the old Fury. I am aware that the trailer shows only a few scenes featuring Fury. And that MCU trailers are misleading.
Still, with the Secret Invasion finale almost upon us, I already worry about a disconnect between the Fury in the TV show and the Fury in The Marvels. Hopefully, I am wrong, and Marvel can explain everything. Hopefully, the Fury in The Marvels will not be the same Fury we saw all these years.