Nick Fury is back on Earth and seeking answers in the latest Marvel and Disney+ Original Series, “Secret Invasion.” After learning that Talos had been posing as Nick Fury while Fury was off-world, Fury is called back because the Skrulls are getting antsy. They had been promised a world of their own in the 1990s, but more than quarter century later, they are upset about the lack of progress and are ready to take over Earth.

(This will be a spoiler filled review of episode 1. If you haven’t seen it yet, but want a spoiler free synopsis, check out the one Roger posted.)

Marvel is again trying to get gritty which worked well for them in the series they made for Netflix in the days before Disney+. While the ultimate villains appear to be an intergalactic threat, the first episode focuses on the street level side of it as Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Talos work together to try to stop a planned bomb threat by the Skrulls who are no being led by a radical frustrated with lack of progress on a new home world. One of the radicalized Skrulls is also Talos’ daughter, first introduced as a child during the events of “Captain Marvel.”

The true standout introduction in episode one is Olivia Colman as Sonya Falsworth. It’s clearly established that Fury and Sonya had some kind of working relationship in the past, but they also clearly don’t see eye to eye. Whether Falsworth is working with the Skrulls or just looking to benefit from their actions is unclear. She comes across very similar to Val who may not be evil but is willing to do evil things and work with evil people to get what she wants. I look forward to more interactions between Olivia Colman and Samuel L. Jackson over the next five episodes.

The first episode ended in a way I never expected. With a series about Skrull impersonations, I expected some high stakes like someone being impersonated for years and Fury to lose people along the way, but I didn’t expect the first death of the season to be who it was or when it was. That was a big move that implies something big for the future of this series and how it plays into the overall MCU going forward.

This series hasn’t seen the best reviews overall from some people who got early screeners, but I enjoyed this episode. I liked the gritty feel. I liked the street level stakes. I liked seeing Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelson, Emilia Clarke and Olivia Colman in the same series. Will this be the best of the Marvel series on Disney+? I doubt it. Will it be the worst? I also doubt that. But there’s massive potential, and I like where it could go from here.

Rating: 3.5 stars

What did you think of the first episode of “Secret Invasion?”

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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