The failure of Secret Invasion is the culmination of a pattern that Marvel has engaged in lately that makes many of its projects feel like they were written by committee. Specifically, Marvel Studios seems to be trying to emulate its own former glory found in a Phase 2 standout, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Even at the time that Captain America sequel came out, the idea of a soldier betrayed by his own government that is being controlled by a secret organization, in this case, Hydra, was a somewhat well-trod plot in espionage tales in general. However, because it was relatively new in the world of Marvel, and because The Winter Solider was anchored by the commanding direction of Joe and Anthony Russo, as well as strong performances by Chris Evans and company, the film turned out to be a critical and financial success, making $714 million worldwide, according to The Numbers. Indeed, it is considered by many to be one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s strongest outings to this day.
With that success, a disturbing trend began to emerge, especially in the post-Avengers: Endgame era. Similarities in tone and storyline to The Winter Soldier seemed to keep popping up, such as in Black Widow, with its mind-control subplot that mirrors the arc of Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, and the Disney Plus series Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which touches on the same theme of a government that has turned its back on those who fought its wars. Neither of those projects blew audiences away, but they aren’t necessarily the most hated projects in the MCU’s history either.
The Super Skrull that broke the camel’s back
Perhaps one of the reasons Secret Invasion fell on its face so hard is because they simply drew from that same spy plot well to the point that it completely dried up and audiences finally got fed up once and for all. It’s a failure especially notable due to Samuel L. Jackson’s prominent return as Nick Fury, as he once again goes through the motions of reacting to a government that betrayed him, just like in The Winter Soldier.
We commend Marvel for trying out different and unique storylines with other shows and movies in the modern era, such as the philosophical Eternals and the psychological WandaVision. However, peppered throughout Phases 4 and 5 have been a number of retreads we’re frankly sick of seeing over and over again. For instance, not only is Secret Invasion guilty of the whole covert-organization-taking-over-the-government subplot, in this case, the Skrull rebellion, but it also featured the old cliché of two similar super-powered beings who are rivals floating in the air and shooting energy blasts at each other found in the cringey finale that saw a face-off between the Super Skrulls, Emilia Clarke’s G’iah and Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Gravik. Not even The Winter Soldier was guilty of that Marvel stereotype and the movie is close to a decade old at this point.
At the end of the day, The Winter Soldier did not reinvent the wheel. However, it did offer something new at the time within the world of Marvel. There are a myriad of other reasons why Secret Invasion failed in comparison, but its lack of originality is definitely at the top. Just leave the original alone, guys, it can’t be beaten!
