Believe it or not, we’re already two thirds of the way through Marvel’s Secret Invasion, with just two episodes left to go following this Wednesday’s fourth installment. And yet it almost feels like the series is still ramping up rather than racing ahead to the finish line, not just in terms of its twisty-turny storyline but also in terms of its struggles to make an impact on Disney Plus users.
After initial reactions were wildly positive, calling it Marvel’s answer to Andor, first reviews for Secret Invasion were surprisingly savage, reducing it to the lowest-rated MCU Disney Plus show on Rotten Tomatoes. Then more bad news came when its premiere failed to even earn 1 million viewers domestically across its first five days on streaming.
To be fair, episode 2 managed to become the second most streamed title of the week, behind only Netflix’s Extraction 2, and actually managing to beat the recent Black Mirror season six into third place, but the general ambivalence surrounding the series remains: fans have previously lamented the fact that Marvel took a comic book event that could’ve been the next Avengers movie and turned it into a show that “no one cares about.”
That’s a bold claim, of course, but it’s clear that Secret Invasion is not making the kind of impression on people as previous MCU shows, like WandaVision, Loki, or even The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. So what’s going on here? Well, one option could be that Marvel curiously kept promotion to a minimum until very shortly before its release. One the one hand, this cleverly reflected the secrecy and mystery in its plot, but on the other, it allowed the show’s entire existence to slip many people by.
What’s more, Secret Invasion came a full eight months after She-Hulk: Attorney-At-Law, the last Marvel streaming show. You might think this would leave folks hungry for more, but what if it actually weened them off their need for more MCU TV content? Then there’s the issue with the show’s unique title, which may be likewise causing problems with brand recognition.
Secret Invasion is actually the first Marvel Studios production not to feature a character or team name in the title. Combine that with the darker, grittier tone of the show and it’s just about possible that some Disney Plus users might not even realize it’s part of the MCU. On the other hand, more casual fans might even find its title confusing, if they’re somewhat aware of Avengers: Secret Wars and don’t fully understand the difference between the two projects.
Perhaps, and it almost feels sacrilegious to say it, Samuel L. Jackson as a leading man is not all that much of a draw for audiences. He’s obviously a beloved supporting actor in everything from Star Wars to his many Quentin Tarantino roles to naturally the MCU itself, but perhaps the idea of Jackson’s Fury getting his own show just wasn’t as appealing as, say, Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight. Remember, the only Marvel series to have a weaker opening than SI was Ms. Marvel, starring complete newcomer Iman Vellani.
Whether it is due to any one of these reasons, a confluence of several, or just part of a general downward trend when it comes to interest in Disney Plus series (don’t forget how The Mandalorian season three fell under the radar too), Secret Invasion is a worrying sign for Marvel’s future on the small screen, even if those who are watching it believe it to be an encouraging step back towards greatness for the MCU.
Secret Invasion continues Wednesdays on Disney Plus.
