Review: Marvel’s ‘Secret Invasion’ a riveting sci-fi conspiracy thriller
As one of the most anticipated projects in phase five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), “Secret Invasion” exceeds expectations as a dark and gritty sci-fi espionage thriller with a hefty dose of alien conspiracy.
The limited series, which drops its first episode next Wednesday, June 21, 2023, leans into the mature themes and high stakes that made the MCU’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and even “Star Wars: Andor” so popular. And Secret Invasion is certainly Marvel’s most mature streaming series yet.
Inspired by the eight-issue comic crossover event from 2008, “Secret Invasion” follows Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) as he investigates and fights back against a takeover of Earth by a radical group of Skrulls. These green-skinned reptilian aliens were introduced in “Captain Marvel” as refugees after being displaced by the genocidal Kree-Skrull war.
In the 1990s, Captain Marvel (a.k.a. Carol Danvers) and Fury promised to help the remaining Skrulls find a new home. But that was decades ago, and many of the Skrulls hiding out on Earth are tired of waiting.
That’s where Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir), the leader of a group of young Skrulls who help orchestrate terrorist-style attacks to sow chaos and anger amongst humans, comes in. In the first five minutes of the first episode – which was released early to promo the series – Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) secretly meets with Agent Prescod (Richard Dormer) in Moscow. There, he hears Prescod’s theories about Skrulls masquerading as different international groups in order to start wars between countries.
On the other side of the fight is Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), one of Fury’s oldest Skrull friends. In the decades since “Captain Marvel,” Talos has lost even more, including his daughter G’iah (Emilia Clarke) to Gravik’s band of rebels.
While Fury has been working on the space station S.A.B.E.R., Talos and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) have been trying to get a hand on the growing chaos wreaked by Gravik. And when Fury finally arrives back on Earth, neither is convinced he’s ready for a fight of this magnitude.
After screening the first two episodes of the series, a few things stand out. “Secret Invasion” is a slow-burn political thriller with sci-fi undertones, but it quickly hooks you with steady, action-filled pacing.
The tagline of the series is the same as the comics: “Who do you trust?” In the show, there’s very little trust between the characters, even those who have been friends and allies for decades. Skrulls have the uncanny ability to shapeshift into exact replicas of humans. Even the most experienced agents like Fury can still be tricked.
Even for the viewer, there’s a sense of unreliable narration and fun confusion about who to trust as the “good guys.” This is a true Fury story, but it’s clear the former leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t have the same ferocity or swagger since the universe-shattering “Blip” of “Avengers: Infinity War.”
While Samuel L. Jackson shines as the grizzled Fury, Olivia Coleman, and Kingsley Ben-Adir are both scene stealers. Coleman plays Sonya Falsworth, an MI6 agent focused on protecting England’s security. She and Fury are technically on the same side of the coming war, but they are far from colleagues.
Ben-Adir portrays a mercurial and quietly ferocious antagonist with Gravik. Like any good villain, Gravik is a layered character who toes the line between being evil and doing evil in the name of protecting his own.
Emilia Clarke also shines in her first Marvel role as the disillusioned daughter of Talos who shares Gravik’s vision of a new, peaceful home for the Skrulls. But even in just the first two episodes, G’iah is conflicted about Gravik’s violent means to achieve a peaceful future.
“Secret Invasion” is a hard left turn for Marvel, whose recent projects venture well beyond Earth’s problems to explore the galactic and multiversal ones. The six-episode series does not feel like a comic book or superhero show (not that being a typical comic book story is a bad thing).
The series is grounded in reality, real-world fears about global war, and conspiratorial paranoia about body-snatching aliens invading Earth. Each episode raises the stakes even higher with edge-of-your-seat, non-stop action. No one is safe; no one can be trusted.
Marvel’s “Secret Invasion” premieres June 21, 2023 on Disney+.
