Secret Invasion

This Wednesday, the final episode of Secret Invasion aired on Disney+. Secret Invasion follows Nick Fury as he returns to Earth to fight an army of rebel Skrulls bent on ruling the Earth. I have read the Secret Invasion comic and really enjoyed the storyline so I was very excited to see the MCU version of it. It was also marketed to be a Nick Fury character study which I was very excited about as well.

I appreciate that this show tried to do something different. It decided to branch away from the typical humor and lighter tone of the MCU and instead decided to tell a dark paranoid thriller. I thought this was a very effective choice especially due to the villains in it. You are constantly in suspense about which people are really with different reveals causing you to question previous events in the MCU. Each level brings in some great political thriller elements and really keeps the suspense going. I enjoyed that this show gives us a more in-depth look at Nick Fury as it explores events from his past as well as past and current relationships. Samuel L Jackson, as always, does a great job with the character. The show also allows us to see a more vulnerable and broken Fury which really helps him grow as a character. I also really enjoyed the dynamic between Talos and Fury. Finally, I thought the motivation of the Skrulls was well handled. I wasn't sure how they were going to be villains when Captain Marvel makes them out to be the good guys but this show provides a very good reason and motivation for making the Skrulls do bad things.

Unfortunately, this show truly failed to meet the hype of the storyline. While I did like the small-scale spy thriller story we got, it feels a bit like wasted potential. Secret Invasion is a huge story in the comics but in the MCU it gets downgraded to a mediocre TV show. The show also limits itself by only being 6 episodes. Some so many different characters and relationships could have gotten more depth but they couldn't because of the length constraint. The episodes also really fail to build as the season goes on it. The is a connected story but the episodes don't feel like they are building up to something big. It just feels like the show is moving from event to event with nothing to draw you to the next episode. Finally, I found the finale very disappointing. It tries to resolve the entire show into a 30-minute episode with a rushed conclusion and a generic CGI battle.

Overall, while the tone was well done, turning this storyline into a TV show was just such a waste and further confirms Marvel is in a slump.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+ Recommendation: Watch if you are a die-hard MCU fan