Nick Fury’s weak-sauce excuse in ‘Secret Invasion’ episode 5 defeats the purpose of the entire MCU

It’s the oldest problem in the MCU. As soon as the Avengers assembled for the first time, the question on every smart aleck viewer’s lips was always, “Why aren’t the rest of the Avengers doing something about this?” Whenever a hero saved the day on their lonesome without calling in the cavalry, it begged the question of why. Occasionally some halfway acceptable explanations have been offered, but more often than not, Marvel simply ignores the issue. I only wish Secret Invasion had followed the latter tradition.

In episode five, Nick Fury is forced into an impossible position as Gravik blackmails him into handing over The Harvest, a vial containing the Avengers’ DNA. When Sonya Falsworth asks Fury why he doesn’t just phone his “special friends,” Fury pulls out the oldest, hoariest cliché in the book: because it’s “personal.” Samuel L. Jackson himself must’ve been getting déjà vu, as I’m pretty sure he’s had to say this exact line a dozen times before in some of the lesser entries on his action movie resume.

Even worse, though, is Fury’s secondary excuse for the Avengers’ absence. Fury also argues that he needs to do this himself, as “we can’t keep depending on these superheroes to swoop in and save our asses.” Um, excuse me? This is coming from the same man who once started the Avengers initiative, whose entire purpose was — and I quote — to bring together a group of remarkable people to fight the battles “us ordinary mortals” never could.

Fury’s foresight in assembling the Avengers has been proven many times over these past 15 years, most notably with the heroes reversing the effects of the Blip — which brought back Fury himself, I might add — in Avengers: Endgame. The belief that the world needs the Avengers not only used to be Fury’s dearest-held belief, but it’s also the core tenet of the whole MCU; the lodestone upon which this ever-growing cinematic universe was built upon.

Let’s be honest, we all know that the Avengers aren’t in this show because Marvel didn’t have the budget to beam down Brie Larson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Holland — Secret Invasion cost well over $200 million as it is. Attempting to explain this away in such a half-hearted manner not only does a disservice to Nick Fury’s character, but also flies in the face of everything the MCU has told us until now.

Unless this is all preamble for the reveal that Fury is actually a Skrull in the finale, in which case I take it all back.