A poorly received MCU Phase 5 entry wasted its chance to be a key crossover event and an accurate adaptation of a famous Marvel Comics storyline.

The MCU’s Phase 5 could have had a huge event in Secret Invasion, but instead wasted all its potential. Throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s dozens of movies and shows, Marvel Studios has adapted multiple comic book storylines, including Age of Ultron, Civil War, and Infinity Gauntlet (as the MCU’s Avengers: Infinity War). While different in a variety of aspects, the MCU’s adaptations of classic stories have respected the plot and themes of the source material. However, Secret Invasion‘s unanimously negative reception is patent proof that it falls very short of a proper live-action translation.

Marvel Comics’ original Secret Invasion storyline follows Earth’s heroes as they uncover the Skrulls’ plan to take over Earth following the Kree-Skrull War. The Skrulls succeed in infiltrating superhero teams, governments, and organizations like SHIELD until the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, led by Nick Fury, face the Skrulls head-on. With the help of Reed Richards’ Skrull-detecting device and Norman Osborn’s counterattack as the Thunderbolts’ leader, the Skrull threat is finally put to an end — an extremely different turn of events than Secret Invasion‘s rushed ending.

Secret Invasion Missed Its Chance To Be A Proper MCU Crossover Event

Secret Invasion Could Have Been The Mutliverse Saga’s First MCU Crossover

In Marvel Comics, Secret Invasion is a wide-ranging crossover event that involves most of the MCU’s Earth-based heroes and many of its cosmic characters. Skrulls successfully infiltrate the Avengers, posing as major heroes such as Spider-Woman, Hank Pym, and Elektra. The conflict also involves the Illuminati, the Fantastic Four, the Young Avengers, and the Thunderbolts, and its aftermath includes the rise of the Dark Avengers and the Siege of Asgard. After Secret Invasion, Earth sets up defense systems to prevent future invasions, but the Skrulls continue to be a threat and impersonate important characters on various occasions.

The scale of the MCU’s Secret Invasion is nowhere near as big as its comic book counterpart. The Skrulls barely impersonate James Rhodes and Everett Ross, and the conflict ends before any superhero gets the chance to intervene. The uncertainty of who’s secretly a Skrull isn’t really developed either, as the Skrulls are more focused on straightforward attack strategies rather than on slowly infiltrating human society. And despite the creation of two MCU Super Skrulls who wield the power of multiple characters, Secret Invasion‘s climax sees G’iah escape after Gravik’s death, with Nick Fury simply watching their short battle unfold.

Secret Invasion Could Have Been A Proper Nick Fury Solo Project

Nick Fury Has Been Sidelined In The MCU For Years

Secret Invasion’s basic concept has all the makings of an Avengers movie — or even an entire MCU Phase — but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been a standalond project that did Nick Fury justice. After meeting the Skrulls in Captain Marvel and swearing to find them a new planet, Nick Fury seemed to be on a path to solve Secret Invasion’s main conflict peacefully. With his signature wits, Nick Fury could have helped world governments accept Skrulls as refugees, or convinced the Skrulls to adapt to human society without the need to overtake Earth.

Instead, what Nick Fury ends up doing in Secret Invasion is leading Maria Hill to her death, creating Super Skrulls, and leaving Earth after President Ritson declares war on all aliens. Fury’s decision to take matters into his own hands costs many lives on both sides, and his promise to the Skrulls lies broken. Nick Fury fails on every front in Secret Invasion, which is only worsened by the fact that Secret Invasion was the Multiverse Saga’s best chance to give Nick Fury some long-overdue prominence after several years of small roles.

Secret Invasion Missed The Chance To Properly Link To The Marvels

The Marvels Completely Disregarded The Events Of Secret Invasion

Captain Marvel introduced the Skrulls and tied both Carol Danvers and Nick Fury to their conflict with the Kree. Years later, The Marvels brings both heroes together in a battle against an alien warlord who wishes to exact revenge on Captain Marvel for destroying her planet, similarly to how the Skrulls wanted to invade Earth after the Kree took over their homeworld. Surprisingly, Nick Fury makes no mention of the Skrulls, nor does he update Carol Danvers on the existence of a Super Skrull who wields her power. In fact, Fury doesn’t even mention Earth after he returns to SABER.

Secret Invasion and The Marvels could have been a springboard for the Super Skrulls ahead of the MCU’s 2025 The Fantastic Four movie. In Marvel Comics, the Super Skrull Kl’rt adopts the powers of all four members of the Fantastic Four and becomes one of their biggest enemies. The Skrulls’ comic book lore also includes their Celestial origin, which divides the Skrulls into the Shapeshifting Deviant Skrulls and the regular Celestial Skrulls, the latter of which are exterminated. Unfortunately, neither Secret Invasion nor The Marvels explore the Skrulls’ history beyond what had already been established.

Secret Invasion Was The Ideal Place To Integrate The Agents Of SHIELD

Agents Of Shield’s Kree Lore Could Have Played A Role In Secret Invasion’s Plot

Secret Invasion overlooked the Kree’s history just as much as the Skrulls’. Agents of SHIELD revealed that Kree Reapers made genetic experiments on Earth long ago, creating Inhumans and Hydra. Considering Secret Invasion’s premise and the Skrulls’ motivations, the integration of the Kree’s secret influence on Earth could have been seamless, and it would have been a first step toward the introduction of Agents of SHIELD into the MCU’s main timeline. The fact that Nick Fury already had ties to the show’s characters after his Agents of SHIELD appearances played in the favor of at least one cameo as well.

Ultimately, Secret Invasion didn’t connect to Agents of SHIELD in any way, and the ABC series remains disconnected from the MCU’s Earth-616, though Kevin Feige’s confirmation that all Marvel movies and shows ever made are part of the same multiverse suggests that the Agents of SHIELD can still show up in a future MCU installment. Meanwhile, Agents of SHIELD has its own take on Secret Invasion in the form of its season 4 “Life Model Decoy” storyline, which leaned on its impersonation themes with much more time and care than Secret Invasion.