The MCU has been failing to cover itself in glory for quite some time now. In recent months Marvel has seen Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania get pilloried for poor writing and just generally being a bit of a dull watch (and that’s not mentioning the controversy around it caused by assault accusations against Jonathan Majors), bringing an inauspicious start to Phase 5 of its cinematic universe, carrying on from the underwhelming, confusing mess that was much of Phase 4. While the third and final entry into the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise took the heat off the studio for a short period of time, its flagship Phase 5 series Secret Invasion has once again brought out the detractors, failing to live up to its big names and bigger budget.
Among all the complaints (slow pacing, poor CGI, confusing storylines, plot holes so big even the Hulk could fall through them) a new consensus seems to be emerging among the fandom: that the show wasn’t just bad for the entirety of the MCU because of its startling implications, but barely made sense as a standalone series.
Now, Marvel content and logic haven’t always had the best relationship, especially since the notion of the multiverse became a key plank of the MCU. But even so, viewers should be able to at least grasp why a show or film is progressing in the way it is. Yet, as some redditors are now pointing out, one of the biggest plot points of Secret Invasion seems contradictory when put in the context of information the viewer has previously been given in other Marvel films. Considering how much of the dialogue ended up being poorly placed exposition, this is a near-unforgivable issue.
Secret Invasion follows Nick Fury and Talos as they (and several allies) attempt to stop a Skrull invasion of Earth. The Skrulls, led by the rebel Gravik, are able to shapeshift into any being they want to, although this ability only extends to physical appearance. That means that even if a Skrull morphed into the Human Torch, they wouldn’t be able to utilize his flaming powers. Gravik and his gang are highly aware of this, so they begin “the harvest.” This entails getting the DNA from several beings with powers, which in turn would allow Skrulls to take on the powers of these heroes and villains. This is also known as the Super Skrull project.
The notion of “the harvest” is vital to the show’s storyline as it allows the Skrulls to gain the physical power to match their ability to hide in plain sight. While the titular invasion of Earth was partly driven by a desire to take over the planet’s resources and build a new Skrull base after theirs was destroyed by the Kree (as well as some latent animosity towards Fury and other humans, driven by the poor treatment of Skrull refugees), the need for this DNA is just as much of a determining factor in their plan. After all, there’s no point in taking over a new planet if the Kree can just come and destroy it like they did Skrullos.
This all makes sense and was touched upon in the show. However, as some Marvel fans have pointed out, in the 2019 film Captain Marvel audiences were specifically told that Skrulls copied people down to their DNA. While the exact science of superheroes isn’t explained at any point in the MCU, longtime lovers of the comic franchise will know that a hero’s power and their DNA are intrinsically linked. This all means that Skrulls, if they do copy a person down to their DNA, should also get their powers.
With that all said, if Skrulls were able to do that in the first place then they probably would have had no problem fighting off the Kree. They certainly wouldn’t have had to surreptitiously invade Earth by posing as important figureheads, and instead would have likely just morphed into the Avengers and taken the planet by force. Basically, the entire premise of the show would have been nonsense, but at least it would have made sense in the grander context of the MCU. As it is, we’re left with a confusing storyline that contradicts itself, which is fast becoming a common theme in Marvel content — something the studio needs to be aware of.
