Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Episode 1 of Secret Invasion.It’s time for anotherDisney+series in theMarvel Cinematic Universe. StarringSamuel L. Jacksonas Nick Fury,Secret Invasionis directed byAli Selim. The first episode, “Resurrection,” is written byKyle BradstreetandBrian Tucker, bringing Fury front and center for the first time. Jackson is joined byCobie Smulders,Ben Mendelsohn,Emilia Clarke,Kingsley Ben-Adir, and more, and the series kicks off with no shortage of nods and references for keen ears and eyes. Let’s get into it.
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Title Cards
Intertitles, more commonly known as title cards, are the placards of text that appear on-screen, usually to indicate time and location. It may be easy to disregard the craft behind a title card’s design, but they can often convey more than simply information. When done with intent, the manner in which a title card enters the frame, or the specificity of its look, can set the mood for what’s to come. Right away, the title cards we get inSecret Invasionare reminiscent of the ones we got in theRusso Brothers’Captain America: Civil War, which is right in line with the more serious, political tone ofSecret Invasion. Despite centering around a shape-shifting alien species, this feels like one of the moredown-to-Earth MCU entries of late.
Everett Ross Is…a Skrull?
Agent Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), whose status as an agent was likely recently stripped, opens the events ofSecret Invasionby meeting in Moscow with someone named Agent Prescod (Richard Dormer). We first met Everett Ross inCaptain America: Civil War, where he served under Thaddeus Ross to aid the implementation of the Sokovia Accords. Since then, he’s served a significant role in bothBlack PantherandBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, as an ally to the Wakandans. At the end of the latter film, his secret partnership was discovered by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who had him arrested. Okoye (Danai Gurira) rescued him, but it ended there, so his status with the U.S. government is up in the air. After a skirmish with Agent Prescod that’s followed by a chase through the city, “Everett Ross” is killed by a fall,which reveals him to be a Skrull. The question is: how long has there been an imposter Everett Ross, and is the real one still alive?
Nick Fury & Maria Hill Post-Blip
We’ve got S.H.I.E.L.D. We’ve got S.W.O.R.D. We’ve got S.A.B.E.R. Ever since the events ofAvengers: Endgame, S.A.B.E.R has been the space station refuge of Nick Fury. His presence inSpider-Man: Far From Homewas a Skrull performance carried out by Talos (Mendelsohn), andWandaVisionconfirmed thatFury has been busyworking at the space facility. From the trailer forThe Marvels, we know S.A.B.E.R. will continue to play a role in the MCU, and from the scenes between Maria Hill (Smulders) and Fury, it’s clear that Fury’s been off-world for years. The world is still rebuilding since The Blip, and there’s a tone ofabandonment and resentment coming from Hilland some kind of regretful defeat surrounding Fury.
Nick Fury’s Scars
While it’s not a subtle, hidden aspect ofSecret Invasion, considering it’s on full display, Nick Fury appearing sans eye patch connects us back toCaptain Marvel,where Fury first met the Skrullsand began his space-related adventures. “Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye.” Fury told us inCaptain America: The Winter Soldier. InCaptain Marvel, we learned that someone was Goose the Flerken, an alien creature that resembles a cat. Skrulls are notoriously terrified of Flerkens, so there’s a chance they (or Goose) could make an appearance.
Sonya Falsworth & Union Jack
Academy Award winner and overall beloved iconOlivia Colmanplays an MI6 figurehead named Sonya Falsworth. While this character was madespecifically forSecret Invasion, the name is worth noting. Way back in Phase One,JJ Feildportrayed James Montgomery Falsworth, a member of Captain America’s Howling Commandos. In the comics, James Montgomery Falsworth becomes the hero known as Union Jack. Could Sonya Falsworth have a familial connection? By the way, she gives us a nod toSpider-Man: Far From Home, scolding Fury for the battle with Mysterio that destroyed her “very expensive flat.”
New Skrullos & Fracking Pods
“Home in my own skin.” The Skrulls, we learn, are impermeable to the radiation of nuclear waste, so an abandoned facility in Russia is where Gravik (Ben-Adir) and his followers have made their base: New Skrullos. Skrullos was the homeworld of their people, and now they aim toeliminate humans and grow New Skrulloson Earth.
At this base, we see the Skrulls using the fracking podsthat were introduced inCaptain Marvel. They have a way of infiltrating a captive’s mind, and here the Skrulls use them to allow their warriors to become convincing human imposters, both physically and mentally.
Pagon, Zirksu, & Kreega
We’ve got a lot of SkrullsinSecret Invasion, more than we even know, but three particular Skrulls made for interesting Marvel Comics references. Pagon (Killian Scott) is seenserving closely alongside Gravik, and it’s a fitting position, considering Pagon played a prominent part of the comics’Secret Invasionstoryline. Imitating Elektra, he was the first Skrull that the Avengers found infiltrating their ranks.
Two extremely brief references come in the form of Zirksu (Mark Lewis) and Kreega (Irmena Chichikova). Zirksu made various minor appearances throughout Marvel Comics (at one point impersonating Richard Nixon), and Kreega was a Super-Skrull, a much more powerful version of the alien species. Their credited names may just be a nod to fans, but there’s a chance that their storylines could be pulled from later.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Director R. Keller
Calling back toCaptain Marveland acknowledging an important part of Talos' history, Fury uses the name Kellerwhen referring to Talosin Russia. R. Keller served as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the 90s, and he’s the one that Talos impersonated, providing the blueprint for his human form. If the real R. Keller is still alive, does he know that a Skrull has been walking around looking like him for decades? (R. Keller shouldn’t be confused with another Agent Keller, played byLucas Bryantin theAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.television series.)
Soren & G’iah
Early on in the first episode, we learn that Soren, Talos' wife, has passed away. Soren was played bySharon BlynninCaptain MarvelandSpider-Man: Far From Home, and Talos alludes to the fact that her death was at the hands of Gravik. This news gives a heavy blow to G’iah (Clarke), who we learn is the daughter of Talos. She left her Skrull family to work for Gravik and his antagonistic revolutionaries, and her scenes with Talos reveal that she viewsher fatheras far too merciful.
The Death of a Phase One Character
It’s less of an Easter egg, as it’s the climactic conclusion ofSecret Invasion’s first episode, but the death of Maria Hill should weigh just as heavily on us as it does Fury. Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill has been with ussince the first phase of the MCU, first appearing in 2012’sThe Avengers. With her demise, she marks Phase Five’s first death of a hero that has been with us since the very beginning.
