This article contains spoilers for Secret Invasion episode 3.
Now at its halfway point, Secret Invasion is starting to properly reveal just how instrumental the Skrulls have been in the composition of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it. The web of intell the shapeshifters have provided to Fury over the past three decades almost surely had direct consequences in the creation of the Avengers, and an Easter egg in the latest episode of the show proves it.
Observant fans picked up on the reference immediately from the apparently unassuming, albeit very flirty, diner scene between Fury and his future wife Priscilla (aka Varra) set in the late 90s. Before the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent takes a seat, Varra hands him an envelope with important information which, she says, “should put Dreykov’s men on their heels.”
No, that wasn’t just a random name. Dreykov is, indeed, the repulsive villain from the 2021 film Black Widow which finally gave us the origin story of Natasha Romanoff. As fans will recall, Dreykov was in charge of the Red Room — the secret Soviet Union/Russian training program that turned young girls into skilled spies and assassins known as Black Widows — until Natasha, Melina, and Yelena destroyed it in 2016, killing him.
This nod was likely just a fun callback to one of the Avengers as has happened before in the show. Although it probably won’t play into any future storylines in Secret Invasion, it does put into perspective the role the Skrulls played in helping Fury’s career.
New episodes of Secret Invasion drop every Wednesday on Disney Plus.
