The final time Nick Fury did something within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he was hitting a button on his pager to name Captain Marvel earlier than being turned to mud on the finish of Avengers: Infinity War (a film that got here out 5 years in the past). He attended Tony Stark’s funeral after coming again to life, however Spider-Man: Far From Home revealed that Fury has been vacationing on an area station known as S.A.B.E.R. since then and that any Nick Furys seen on Earth the place truly Talos, Ben Mendelsohn’s Skrull refugee from Captain Marvel, in disguise.
So, when Nick Fury comes again from S.A.B.E.R. right here, within the first episode of his very personal solo superhero story, and everybody insists that there’s one thing totally different about him—that he’s not as far forward of everybody as he was once, that he’s misplaced his proverbial fastball—it ought to carry some weight. We haven’t seen Nick Fury be Nick Fury in a very long time, technically! And the trailers for Secret Invasion have been so melodramatic!
And but…he nonetheless simply looks as if the outdated Nick Fury to me. That’s probably not a criticism, as Samuel L. Jackson appears to be having as a lot enjoyable as ever on this premiere episode (the dialog he has with Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill a couple of sure outdated euphemism for a spy that can be a racial slur felt like peak Fury banter), so it felt phony when each character stored saying, “You’ve modified, man.” If the concept is that that is a part of the “who are you able to belief?” theme of the present, then he ought to’ve been extra totally different. Quieter, meeker, slower on the uptake.
But earlier than Fury bought there, the episode began with Martin Freeman’s Agent Ross from the Black Panther motion pictures and Civil War assembly up with a paranoid agent (S.H.I.E.L.D.? Something else?) in Moscow who’s satisfied {that a} rogue faction of Skrulls is behind a sequence of seemingly unrelated terrorist assaults world wide. He is, in fact, utterly appropriate, and after Ross shoots him and runs away, Ross will get chased by Talos and splats on some pavement. When he dies, he’s seems to have been one of many insurgent Skrulls…however since no one actually acknowledges Ross once more, it’s not clear how a lot that is presupposed to matter. In different phrases, has Ross been a Skrull in different MCU appearances, or did a Skrull flip into him instantly earlier than this and the Ross from Wakanda Forever remains to be on the market?
Talos asks Hill to name Fury down from area and he presents some exposition: It’s been many years since Fury and Captain Marvel promised to search out the Skrulls a brand new house, and a few of them—particularly youthful Skrulls—are sick of ready. They’ve determined to wipe out humanity and take over the Earth from the shadows by means of a…secret invasion. Talos additionally notes that his spouse has died since Fury was final on Earth and that his daughter G’iah has gone lacking, and he factors out that Fury has been off since coming again to life after the “Blip” (a time period that also sucks—name it The Snap).
Fury goes for a stroll and will get kidnapped by Olivia Colman’s Sonya, an MI6 big-shot who knew Fury within the outdated Cold War days, and if she’s not a Skrull then I’ll eat my hat (or admit it in a later recap). She is aware of he and Talos are monitoring the insurgent Skrulls, which implies everybody appears to know that is occurring, which makes it bizarre that the man within the first scene couldn’t belief anybody together with his data of the secret invasion. Fury secretly vegetation a bug and leaves, however not earlier than Sonya joins the listing of individuals telling him he’s totally different now. She theorizes that Thanos’ snap broke his mind as a result of it proved that there’ll at all times be somebody extra highly effective than he’s.
Using a tip they gleaned from the bug, Fury, Hill, and Talos observe down an artwork gallery proprietor/bomb maker who handed off some bombs to Emilia Clarke’s character. Hill tails her by means of the streets of Moscow and will get bopped on the nostril proper as Talos exhibits as much as assist, and when he sees who he’s chasing, he realizes that she’s his daughter, G’iah. They have a heart-to-heart and he tries to persuade her to not be a terrorist, and it doesn’t appear to work, however then we later see that it did work and so they meet up at night time to speak about whether or not it’s dangerous to be a terrorist.
She gained’t again down, however she tells Talos that they’re planning to bomb a giant occasion the following day and that she’ll mark the bombs with infrared spray so he can hopefully at the very least cease them. Fury and Hill hang around at a bar and have a heart-to-heart of their very own, as a result of—get this—she thinks Nick Fury has modified in the previous few years. She says he used to be three steps forward of everybody else however clearly isn’t anymore, so possibly it’s time for him to pack it in. This is the one second the place that stuff feels a bit extra actual, since we’ve been following Hill and Fury since The Avengers a decade in the past and Smulders—even because the eternally icy Maria Hill—does appear genuinely harm that Fury deserted her for just a few years.
At the large bomb occasion the following day, Hill and Talos observe a few the tagged bombs whereas Fury is distracted by a Skrull that appears to be…distracting him, and simply when Fury realizes the Skrull he’s chasing is Gravik, the rogue Skrull chief, Talos and Hill notice their bombs have been decoys and the actual bombs go off. In the following panic, Gravik—as Fury—runs as much as Hill and shoots her, then runs off. The actual Fury holds Hill as she dies. Credits roll. Just wait till he lays his vengeance upon thee, insurgent Skrulls.
Stray observations
- Howdy everybody, I’m a Skrull impersonating Sam Barsanti and I’ll be guiding you thru Secret Invasion. If you ever see a mistake, like if I get confused by MCU continuity or I simply say one thing silly, know that it’s as a result of I’m a Skrull. Also, this is applicable to every part else I write. And every part I’ve written beforehand.
- Fury’s flashback to getting snapped particularly simply displaying him saying “motherf…” was cute.
- Fury does a giant exaggerated limp when he first arrives from area and somebody feedback on him not being a bodily risk… is {that a} trick? I’m banking on Fury truly being three steps forward and this was all to catch secret Skrulls off-guard, however I don’t know.
- Dermot Mulroney exhibits up for one second because the President, with Rhodey showing for 2 seconds to inform him that Talos and Fury went off the grid. God, I hope Don Cheadle will get an Emmy nomination for that.
- What are the chances the common Disney+ viewer/MCU fan clocks the joke about Sonya figuring a Black man strolling round Moscow is both Nick Fury or Paul Robeson? I needed to look it up, however I’m a Skrull.
- I don’t love the Secret Invasion occasion within the comics, for the report. I’ve nothing however good issues to say about that New Avengers staff, but in addition The Hood is in Secret Invasion and I hate The Hood. And that’s the true Sam’s opinion, not Skrull Sam.
