Marvel Fans Are Celebrating Secret Invasion’s 1 Year Anniversary By Tearing It Apart Again

Emilia Clarke's Marvel character, Nick Fury, and James Rhodes in Secret Invasion

Marvel’s Secret Invasion hasn’t aged well one year after its release, and MCU fans are having a field day with the 2023 Disney+ series. Based on the ambitious comic book storyline of the same name, Secret Invasion follows Samuel Jackson’s weary Nick Fury as he faces the threat of the invading Skrulls, who try and fail to take over Earth using their shapeshifting abilities. While this premise sounds very similar to the original comic storyline, the MCU series’ scope can’t hold a candle to the source material.

This and other criticisms have been reawakened across social media by Marvel fans on Secret Invasion‘s first anniversary. On a second or third watch, there are still several elements of the show that don’t sit right with viewers. More than any other MCU movie or show, Secret Invasion has clearly frustrated many fans with baffling ideas and questionable execution. Check out some of the posts below:

X user AVON highlights Secret Invasion‘s slow pace and excessive dialog, with plainly delivered exposition that takes up most of the show’s runtime. Yet, Secret Invasion doesn’t clear up many of the questions it poses. Apart from the details about Rhodey’s replacement that AVON mentions, Secret Invasion also doesn’t explain why the Skrulls have waited so long to attack, and why Nick Fury returns to Earth to make the conflict worse or why he leaves before it’s resolved.

X user 3WProductions asks one of the most repeated questions about Secret Invasion: Why is it called Secret Invasion? In the comics, the Skrulls secretly infiltrate governments and superhero teams before they’re discovered and have to resort to physical combat. In the MCU’s Secret Invasion, only a few people are replaced by Skrulls, and they have little to no impact on the plot. Secret Invasion‘s tagline reads “who do you trust”, yet the show doesn’t feature any betrayals or plot twists involving the Skrull’s shapeshifting abilities beyond Rhodey’s Skrull replacement, which comes out of left field at the end.

Reddit user striking-complaint40 summarizes the problem with Secret Invasion‘s characters: none of their actions mean anything in the end. Nick Fury doesn’t barely plays any role in the Skrulls’ conflict despite being the protagonist, and he remains unchanged by the time he returns in The Marvels. G’iah and Talos’ Super Skrull abilities also have little to do with Secret Invasion‘s “mystery” premise, and their bombastic final fight doesn’t have any emotional weight. What’s worse, Talos and Maria Hill’s deaths seem arbitrary and contrived.

Reddit user leviathan0999 points out that Secret Invasion‘s premise is particularly difficult to execute, as it requires plenty of narrative foundations in previous MCU projects. In fact, Marvel Comics’ original Secret Invasion storyline received similar criticism back in 2008. The shocking reveal of certain characters’ Skrull identities meant that fans had been following a fake version of their beloved heroes for a while, and that they had no way to suspect it beforehand. Likewise, a proper invasion plot would have been hard to implement in the MCU’s Secret Invasion adaptation without replacing important MCU characters one, two, three, or more projects in advance.

Secret Invasion Is Still Marvel’s Lowest Rated MCU Era Show

Secret Invasion Holds The MCU’s Worst Review Records

Skrull Raava revealing herself in Secret Invasion

Following Secret Invasion‘s finale in June 2023, critics, fans, and general audiences issued a verdict. As a result, Secret Invasion broke three negative MCU records — with a 57% critics score, Secret Invasion became the lowest-rated MCU series and the only Rotten MCU show. The Secret Invasion finale’s 13% score also became the lowest-rated MCU episode released so far. As of its first anniversary, Secret Invasion‘s critics’ score has dropped to 53%. The second lowest-rated MCU show, Echo, sits at 71% — a full 19% above Secret Invasion.

The highest-rated MCU project to date is Ms. Marvel , with a 98% critics score and an 80% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Four Marvel projects have received lower Rotten Tomatoes scores than Secret Invasion, two of them shows released outside of the MCU’s main continuity: Eternals, with a 41% critics’ score; Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, with 46%, Iron Fist, with 37%; and Inhumans, with 11%. However, all of these titles have a considerably higher audience score. In the case of Secret Invasion, a 45% audience score proves that Secret Invasion was poorly received across the board.

Secret Invasion may remain the MCU’s lowest-rated show for a long time, not only because Marvel’s quality is expected to rise following an unfortunate streak of poorly received releases, but also because Marvel is shifting focus away from the high number of Disney+ shows that characterized Phases 4 and 5. Marvel Studios will choose and develop each Disney+ show more carefully and devote more time to their production. This change will likely make a new critical flop like Secret Invasion unlikely to break its undesirable records anytime soon.

Related Posts

After 35 Years of Solitude, Keanu Reeves Finds Joy in a Family Waiting to Welcome Him Home

For over three decades, Keanu Reeves was Hollywood’s enigmatic loner, a man whose quiet walks home after grueling film shoots became as legendary as his roles in…

BBC’s Spine-Chilling New Horror Unleashes a Twisted Crime Family Saga: Love, Power, and Terror Collide in a Darkly Hilarious Nightmare You’ll Regret Missing!

The air grows thick with tension as the BBC sounds the alarm for its latest cinematic venture—a horror movie that dares to plunge into the shadowy depths…

Alexandra Grant: What Makes the Woman Who Captured Keanu Reeves’ Heart So Special?

Keanu Reeves, Hollywood’s beloved “Internet’s Boyfriend,” has long been a figure of fascination, not just for his blockbuster roles in The Matrix and John Wick, but for…

🚨 Netflix Goes Wild with Kaitlin Olson’s Return as the Chaotic Genius We Can’t Stop Watching – ABC’s Groundbreaking Comedy Dominates Charts with Over $43 Million Investment!

In a move that’s making waves across streaming platforms, Netflix is experiencing a massive surge in viewership, and it’s all thanks to the explosive return of Kaitlin…

An Unlikely Duo: How a Timeless Love Story of Motherhood and Age Gap Drama Is Shaking Up Netflix and Redefining Family Bonds!

In an era where Netflix has become a global powerhouse for delivering the most gripping and emotionally-charged stories, one show is stirring deep conversations about family, relationships,…

47 Ronin 2 Set to Begin Filming, Promising to Redeem 2013 Flop with Keanu Reeves’ Explosive Return

The samurai epic 47 Ronin (2013), despite its dazzling visuals and star-studded cast, remains one of Hollywood’s most infamous box-office bombs, marred by critical backlash and a…