The 5 Marvel paradoxes that unknowingly designed ‘Secret Invasion’s inevitable downfall

Quantumania drowned for its CGI and disconnected storyline, Eternals got beaten for trying to cram centuries-old characters and their loaded history into one film, She-Hulk majorly lost at character development and trying too hard to laugh at itself. But strangely, Secret Invasion, Marvel’s latest, has all those loopholes covered and yet it is dying one episode at a time.

The series has a stellar cast — Olivia Coleman’s gleefully evil Sonya proves how adored Harry Potter’s Umbridge would have been if she hadn’t been after the good guys. We have a well-paced enticing storyline, no over-reliance on CGI, no desperate bid to over-stuff unnecessary cameos, etc. And yet it continues to not attract the needed fanfare. Why?

Nick Fury’s appearance in The Marvels

Secret Invasion is less about Skrulls invading Earth and more about Fury processing his suppressed trauma of being turned into dust during the Blip and coming back to life to a very different life. But the trailer of The Marvels confirmed that whatsoever Fury is going through at this point and the journey he embarks on to be his old self is not going to affect the upcoming film in the least. This makes the Disney Plus series merely a filler for many.

The Black Widow effect

While Phase Four’s first film Black Widow had its own set of problems, it was plagued by the fact of Natasha Romanoff getting her solo film way too late in the MCU. While Fury will remain a significant presence in the MCU, his getting to shine in a solo project was not only extremely delayed but also came at a time when the fandom has been burned a few times too many by the latest projects — starring well-established superheroes — to invest in the series. 

Fury’s absence from the majority of Phase Four films and shows certainly didn’t help either.

Secret Invasion’s connection to Captain Marvel 

Even though Captain Marvel remains one of MCU’s highest-grossing films, Brie Larson continues to receive flak for her portrayal of Carol Danvers. To this day, nothing divides the fandom like the topic of the Oscar-winning actress playing Captain Marvel. 

Though Larson also has a big chunk of Marvel fans, the residual dislike from the remaining fans — on top of everything else going against the series — didn’t do Secret Invasion any favors as a sequel to the 2019 film.

MCU and its many Phase 5 promises

Given all the multiversal shenanigans Marvel promises in its Phase Four and Five, it is hardly anywhere near giving us a proper taste of the chaos it plans to unleash. Then there are the big announcements about the X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc., and except for a few Easter eggs, we haven’t really delved into their arrival. 

For Secret Invasion to steer completely clear of it all, without so much as a hint of the multiversal drama threatening to tear Earth-616 apart? Tisk, tisk.

The projects that came and drowned before

Other than a few exceptions, Marvel has been failing spectacularly in renewing the faith we had in it before Phase Four and has already blown a lot of chances with the likes of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, etc. 

While Secret Invasion is bereft of the Avengers — and for good reason — Marvel has betrayed the trust of its followers way too many times (in quick succession) for its new offerings to not get the side-eye.