Warning: Major spoilers for Secret Invasion to follow.
Secret Invasion has finally beamed itself down onto Disney Plus, and it didn’t let so much as five minutes pass before jumping straight into the game-changing revelations that will no doubt permeate the show’s six episodes as the nuances of the Skrull invasion unfold.
Indeed, in the opening scene of Secret Invasion‘s first episode, it was revealed that Martin Freeman‘s character Everett K. Ross, a CIA operative and ally of both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Wakandans, was a Skrull. After Skrull-Everett managed to make off with some Skrull intel intercepted by the now-deceased Agent Prescod, Talos pursued Skrull-Everett until he was cornered by a then-unwitting Maria Hill, where Skrull-Everett was shot dead and subsequently had his true form revealed.
This, of course, raises major questions about how long Everett was actually a Skrull; his identity could have been stolen as far back as Captain America: Civil War, or as recently as whatever off-screen events followed the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. And while it would be no easy task to pinpoint exactly when a Skrull took Everett’s place, there’s one thing we can say for sure; it makes a hell of a lot of sense.
Sowing political turmoil seems to have been a big part of the gameplan for Gravik’s Skrull rebellion, and Everett’s clandestine cooperation with Wakanda, whose political relationship with the United States is incredibly rocky at present, represents exactly the sort of string the Skrulls would want to have in their hands as they endeavor to destabilize and eventually devastate the Earth.
There’s no telling how many more secrets have yet to be uncovered over the course of Secret Invasion, but coming out of the gate swinging as Skrull-Everett K. Ross spells a hefty omen for what’s to come, and we’re only one-sixth of the way through.
Secret Invasion is now streaming on Disney Plus. New episodes will release every Wednesday until the series’ conclusion on July 26.