‘Secret Invasion’ being honest about its cost-cutting measures is a relief after so much bad CGI

Warning: the following article contains light spoilers for episode one of Secret Invasion.

Secret Invasion‘s first episode has just landed on Disney Plus, and it wasted little time catching viewers up with what has been going down in-universe. As viewers follow both sides of the imminent face-off between the human race and the Skrulls, they’re given a key piece of information that, against all odds, is bringing relief to all corners of the Marvel fandom.

As Emilia Clarke’s character, G’iah, shows the ropes to a newcomer in the Skrull extremists’ home base, she helpfully explains that their warriors prefer to keep their human “shells” on at all times. Why is that? Because the longer they keep it on, the harder they are to detect, apparently. Of course, dropping this piece of information in the premiere is an obviously convenient way to explain away the reduced amount of prosthetics and CGI on the show. Luckily, though, fans are thankful for this decision.

The heavy (and frankly poor) use of CGI in recent superhero projects such as The Flash and Quantumania has left most viewers disappointed. In light of that, it’s smart of Secret Invasion to outright admit it will be avoiding CGI and prosthetics whenever possible. The show cuts back on costs and the viewers don’t have to look at prosthetics and make-up-covered faces every two minutes; it’s a win-win.

All that said, Secret Invasion‘s debut episode already displayed some of the show’s faults. Between the reliance on regressive tropes and a highly controversial A.I.-made credits sequence, the lack of Skrull skins should be the least of the series’ worries.