‘Secret Invasion’ using a regressive trope to raise the stakes confirms Marvel still has to grow up

Warning: The article contains spoilers for Secret Invasion.

Just when we thought that the MCU was done reverting to regressive cinematic methods, Secret Invasion’s very first episode went ahead and snatched away our rosy-tinted glasses. 

The much-awaited debut of Secret Invasion is finally here, and honestly, contrary to the negative reviews, the episode turns out to be rather well-written, exciting, and what we can call Marvel’s return to form. Unfortunately, all that hard work goes down the drain as the episode touches its concluding minutes with a twist that was not only unnecessary, but also blew a big crack in all the progress the MCU has accomplished so far. 

The opener sees Nick Fury return from space to deal with a Skrull rebellion that has grown to exponentially dangerous levels in his absence. Reuniting with Maria Hill and Talos, he crawls his way throw a haphazardly put plan, only to be reminded that he is yet to recover from whatever the Blip did to him. The fact that the trio is not prepared and woefully outnumbered becomes more than apparent towards the end, as Hill gets fatally shot by the Skrull leader wearing Fury’s face and dies.

So, not only did Secret Invasion bring back Cobie Smulders’ Hill just to kill her in the very first episode, the former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. only served as the means to motivate Fury — who has visibly lost his old zeal to win and confidence — to fight back against the forces conspiring against him. And here we thought Marvel was done turning female characters into damsels in distress, sacrifices to save the heroes, or in this case, tools to light a fire under its male characters. 

So, here is the understatement of the year — the fandom is not happy. 

It definitely doesn’t that Hill dies thinking she was shot by the real Fury. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Thus, when you sit down to watch the second episode next week and see Fury all gung-ho and ready to kick some serious ass, that he was jogged into action by Marvel killing yet another female character. Yes, we are still holding out hope that the Hill that died was just a Skrull impersonating her, but that “Guest Star: Cobie Smulders” during the end credits didn’t exactly spell a future for the character. 

Secret Invasion will air weekly, on Wednesdays, on Disney Plus.