The MCU Must Be Careful With Its Secret Invasion Retcons

Marvel is adapting the Secret Invasion comic book arc with Disney +’s Secret Invasion series, which creates a challenge for the MCU in of Phase 4 retcons. Similar to Captain America: Civil War, the MCU’s version of Secret Invasion is expected to be significantly different from the comics. Marvel Comics’ Secret Invasion involved not only the Avengers but also the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, whereas the MCU’s Secret Invasion will focus on Nick Fury.

Described as a spy-thriller, the MCU’s Secret Invasion can be a spiritual successor to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which was also a spy thriller with Nick Fury at the center of the story. So far, War Machine is the only Avenger confirmed to be in Secret Invasion, which does not mean other Avengers will not appear or be referenced. In fact, for Secret Invasion to have a similar impact to the comics, it must affect the MCU in the long term.

Secret Invasion Means Marvel Can Retcon Most Of Phase 4

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If the Disney+ Secret Invasion plays out similarly to the comics on some level, then Marvel can retcon most of Phase 4 with surprising “this character was actually a Skrull” reveals. In the comics, it was revealed that the Skrulls - who the Avengers and the Fantastic Four had already faced in other moments - had infiltrated Earth for months. Due to their singular shapeshifting abilities, the Skrulls were able to assume the form of any humans, including superheroes. Marvel retconned several previous events by revealing that a lot of characters were Skrull, which the MCU could now replicate with Phase 5’s Secret Invasion.

By the time the Marvel heroes began to realize what was happening, a significant portion of the Marvel universe had already been replaced by Skrulls. Every time a character was revealed to be a Skrull in Secret Invasion, readers had to reconsider everything those characters had done in previous Marvel stories. That is why Secret Invasion was so significant for the Marvel universe, both retroactively and for future stories - and why the MCU needs to be careful with how much it plays into this element of the story, as it could sabotage the franchise if overused, or incorrectly used.

Why The MCU Must Be Careful With Secret Invasion’s Skrull Reveals

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The MCU can replicate Secret Invasion’s Skrull reveals - though this doesn’t mean it should. In the comics, it was easier to establish that certain Avengers had been Skrulls for months, especially because the creative team for the Avengers comics was also developing Secret Invasion. A lot of Avengers and Fantastic Four comics prior to Secret Invasion had been written with those future reveals in mind, which is more difficult for the MCU to replicate. Though Kevin Feige’s MCU sandbox makes it so that no story no MCU movie or show contradicts the universe, retcons like the ones from the Secret Invasion comics would have to be planned for years.

If Secret Invasion was adapted as an Avengers movie at the end of two or three phases, then the MCU would have had more time to set up future Skrull reveals. With Disney+’s Secret Invasion being a smaller-scale story focused on the spy thriller element of Secret Invasion, then it should not try to replicate the shocking Skrull reveals from the comics. For example, if it was revealed that Doctor Strange had been a Skrull since after Avengers: Endgame, then none of Strange’s appearances in Phase 4 would make sense. Instead, the MCU’s Secret Invasion should reserve its Skrull reveals for non-superhero characters.

Next: Marvel’s Real Secret Invasion Was Teased In Spider-Man: Far From Home