Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Inverse
Inverse
Entertainment
Dais Johnston

'Secret Invasion' Squandered All Its Potential in a Single Climatic Scene


Secret Invasion made it clear it was Nick Fury’s final fight, his moment in the spotlight to fight evil without the Avengers behind him. Over the course of six episodes, we saw drama build from the loss of his colleagues Maria Hill and Talos to the reveal that his best friend, James Rhodes, was a Skrull the entire time.

But the main threat to Fury was always Gravik, the leader of the Skrull rebellion. In Episode 6, we finally got to see them face off... but the scene soon came to a screeching halt because of an issue that haunted the entire series.

Gravik in Secret Invasion’s final confrontation.

When Nick Fury finally enters the reactor where Gravik has been running his operations, the two have a tense conversation about Fury’s failure to keep up his end of his bargain with the Skrulls. He gets vulnerable, even admitting that when he started to be Blipped away, the only thing he felt was relief. This is a man with major survivor’s guilt, who feels so responsible for so many people that he felt relief at disintegrating.

But that vulnerability is instantly negated by the reveal that Nick Fury wasn’t even Nick Fury, but G’iah disguised as him, faking her way through radiation sickness and that emotional monologue.

Who we thought was Nick Fury was actually G’iah, disguising herself so she could defeat Gravik.

The moment is what’s wrong with the entire show: every scene that could be emotionally genuine is immediately undone with a gotcha reveal. Nick Fury’s tense relationship with his wife? He’s not a distant husband worn down by the stress of his job; it’s because she’s a Skrull. His touching conversation with Rhodey about what it’s like to be a Black man fighting for justice? Meaningless to Rhodey, who’s actually a female Skrull.

Now, in what should have been the final showdown between Fury and Gravik, Fury’s not even there. Instead, he’s busy stopping a missile strike on Russia, a job Sonya had in hand. What should have been Nick Fury’s compelling solo story became a cheap bait-and-switch that turned good character moments and tense, paranoid scenes into lazy plot twists that served no greater purpose. Fury, the man who gave us the Avengers, deserved better.

Secret Invasion is streaming on Disney+.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.