Marvel recently had their panel at SDCC 2022, where they announced their plans for the next few years, including a lot of the titles that will be making up Phases 5 and 6. There are a lot of big event stories that will be exciting to fans of the comics, and they seem to be setting their ambitions high for the storylines they plan to follow. One of these, and one of the more anticipated upcoming releases, is aSecret InvasionDisney Plus series, which is set to be released in Spring 2023.
Secret Invasionis one of thebig comic storylines, and so it’s no wonder that the MCU has decided to finally tackle it, especially with the introduction of the Skrulls inCaptain Marvel. However, there are some fans who might not have delved into the comics yet and who may not be as familiar with the story. What exactly isSecret Invasion, and why will it (presumably) have a massive effect on the MCU going forward?
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Secret Invasionis a comic event wherein it’s discovered that there has been a Skrull takeover on Earth, and that many of the Marvel heroes had been kidnapped and replaced by Skrull impersonators in preparation for this global siege. The Skrulls decided to take Earth as their own afterGalactus destroyed their home planet, but they were having trouble doing so because of the amount of super-powered individuals on the planet. This is why they targeted superheroes for the invasion and decided to take their places instead.
The Skrulls are most known for shape-shifting, and this ability has already been seen in the MCU. (In fact the plot ofSecret Invasionwas even hinted at inSpider-Man: Far From Home,when it is revealed that the Nick Fury and Maria Hill that appear in the film were actually Skrulls the entire time.) There are also the Super-Skrulls, which areSkrull super soldiersthat have been genetically engineered to be able to not only mimic the appearance of superheroes, but their powers and abilities as well. The original Super-Skrull (named Kl’rt) has the abilities of all four members of the Fantastic Four. These Skrulls are an even bigger threat than the normal ones, and it’s very likely that they could be making an appearance in the TV series.
The takeover happens without anyone realizing until it’s too late. When the remaining heroes finally clue in to what’s been going on, they are unprepared to fight the Skrull forces, who have now had years to ready themselves for the war. SHIELD has been compromised, and no one knows who’s a Skrull and who isn’t, which really ramps up the tension. They are finally able to hold off the invasion, but it comes at the cost of many lives and ends upaffecting the Marvel universemassively going forward. Thus, it’s likely that the same could be the case with the TV series.
One of the important players inSecret Invasionis Nick Fury, who is instrumental in staving off the Skrull attacks. He is the one person who sees the invasion coming and is able to do anything about it before it happens. At the time, he was in hiding after theevents ofSecret War, and he compiled a team of heroes in secret to help fight against the upcoming Skrull invasion. Members of this team included Phobos, son of the Greek god Ares; Yo-Yo Rodriguez; and Daisy Johnson, who fans might also recognize fromAgents of SHIELD. This team is one of the main elements that fights off the Skrulls, though they are so secret that no one even knows they were involved.
It seems likely that Nick Fury’s storyline in the MCU so far is leading up toSecret Invasionsimilarly to the comics. He is dead to the world afterCaptain America: The Winter Soldier, and has been hiding out in secret since. The last time the audience saw him — during theend credits sceneofFar From Home —he was in space, presumably setting up SWORD, an agency like SHIELD that is based in space (and was a major plot point inWandaVision). Fury has been aware of and working with the Skrulls since the 90s, and the whole plot ofCaptain Marvelwas to show that they weren’t the bad guys, so it might seem strange to have them revert to being the invading force. This is a major reason why the MCU version ofSecret Invasionmight differ from the comic storyline in certain ways.
The effects of theSecret Invasionstoryline impacted the future comic storylines in many aspects. TheSecret Invasionstory is followed byDark Reign, a comic run in which Norman Osborn takes control of SHIELD after taking the credit for repelling the Skrull armies, and remakes it into a new (and much more militaristic) organization called HAMMER. This is also when he forms the Dark Avengers, a team where more villainous characters (like Bullseye,Venom, and even Norman Osborn himself) disguise themselves as heroes and take over the law.
It will be interesting to see howSecret Invasionaffects the MCU as a whole. Because it’s a TV series and not a film, there’s a possibility that its reach could be smaller. However, Marvel hasn’t been shy about their TV shows being just as influential to the overall story as the movies are. It’s likely that at the very least, it will bring Nick Fury back into the fold of the MCU, and it might even create someshocking momentsif characters that have been in the MCU for a while turn out to be Skrull imposters. As of right now, nothing concrete is known about the plot, but judging from the comics storyline, theSecret Invasionseries is sure to be a massive story point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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