This article contains major spoilers for Secret Invasion.
We’ve learned a lot about Nick Fury in Secret Invasion. In other MCU movies, he’s an enigmatic and mysterious presence, knowing everyone’s secrets and being everywhere at once. Now we know his tricks, as his rise to power was fuelled by a shapeshifting Skrull espionage team feeding him information. Fury even has a secret Skrull wife, though as seen this week, they may be in need of some serious marriage counseling.
But fans have noticed a particularly ruthless side of Fury in Secret Invasion. The first episode saw his longtime partner Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill killed in front of him, with episode four seeing his friend Talos killed in front of his eyes. And Fury? Well, fans have noted he coldheartedly leaves the bodies of his friends behind and hits the bricks.
It seems heartless, but let’s put forward the defense case for Fury. Both scenarios are chaotic and dangerous, and Fury getting himself killed while trying to retrieve a corpse helps nobody. Fury’s entire MCU history has painted him as a man willing to do what others wouldn’t to get the job done, whether it be working outside the law, keeping secrets from his best friends, or quietly manipulating the disparate Avengers into working as a cohesive team.
The man is all about making tough calls, and while in an ideal world, you wouldn’t leave your buddies face down in the mud (figuratively speaking), sometimes you’ve got to see the bigger picture. That said, even if the above weren’t the case, Fury doesn’t really have a choice in these two specific Secret Invasion situations.
When Maria Hill is killed, he rushes to be with her during her final moments and has to be physically dragged away from her body by Talos. When Talos dies in episode four, both men are on a mission to protect the President, with Talos using the last of his strength to break through the bulletproof car window. Abandoning the President to retrieve his body would make a mockery of Talos’ final actions, so it’s very clear why he didn’t do it.
So before you come down hard on Nick Fury, maybe cut the guy some slack. Over the space of a few weeks, that guy has just lost his two best friends, been fired, and realized his wife was trying to kill him. And, on top of that, there’s an invasion of Earth underway precisely because of his broken promises. With all that on his shoulders, we’re prepared to let a few corpse-based whoopsies slide.
Secret Invasion airs Wednesdays on Disney Plus.
Published: Jul 14, 2023 06:13 am