Disney's Investor Day laid out an epic road map for fans with the new plans for Pixar, the Star Wars Universe, and last but not least, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The MCU is set to embark on a rollicking ride over the next couple years with WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki and She-Hulk on the TV side of things to name a few, while the film world will be driven by the likes of Captain Marvel 2.
However, there was also a major bombshell dropped with the revelation that the 2008 comic book event Secret Invasion will be adapted into a series, starring Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, both reprising their roles from the Captain Marvel movie. With that in mind, let's dissect what this story was about.
WHY DID IT HAPPEN?
The crossover was helmed by Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Francis Yu, Mark Morales and Laura Martin and took place after the Skrulls decided that Earth was their birthright. Following the Kree-Skrull war, the Illuminati, which included the likes of Iron Man, Reed Richards, Namor, Black Bolt, Professor Charles Xavier and Doctor Strange, feuded with the empire.
However, the Illuminati were captured and studied, all before breaking out and returning home to a planet that would be infiltrated. After the Skrull throneworld was destroyed by Galactus, the Skrull princess Veranke took charge of her people and decided the next course of action would be to take revenge and claim Earth, leading to her posing as Spider-Woman. Many other agents would be seeded out in various pockets of the planet with plans to destabilize the superhero community coming together. It even linked back intricately to Civil War.
HOW DID IT TAKE PLACE?
It was a combination of luck and strategy to be honest, with Veranke/Spider-Woman forced to be part of the New Avengers after she just wanted to do recon. This allowed her a prime seat for the heroes' plans, and when she revealed the dead Elektra as a Skrull, she turned hero against hero, sowing discord at all ends. The likes of Black Bolt and Henry Pym were also replaced, with critical facilities being weaponized or attacked, and the Skrull soldiers themselves being imbued with superpowers from the planet's defenders.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier was one such location, along with the Raft prison, Baxter Building and Thunderbolts mountain, as Veranke played a smart game of chess. The Skrulls knew that in the wake of Civil War, it'd be easy to pit heroes against heroes once more, except this time the entire fraternity was a bit more vulnerable as Iron Man felt guilty over Steve Rogers' death, not to mention people hated him. Bucky Barnes was also adjusting to his role as the new Cap, and Thor was yet to help the heroes out after Asgard was reborn, plus he was still pissed Stark cloned him. All of this division made the community susceptible to attack, and the Skrulls took advantage of this.
HOW WAS THE PLANET SAVED?
Reed Richards figured out a way to detect the aliens. The Hood's crew joined while Fury, hidden since Secret War, entered with his Secret Warriors. The various factions touched down, realizing differences had to be set aside. The Skrulls did turn Wasp into a bomb but while she died, Thor was able to contain the damage.
The big move, however, came in New York when Norman Osborn arrived with his Thunderbolts and used stolen intel to make a weapon. He killed Veranke and took plaudits for saving the day. The invasion was stopped with many heroes who were missing, such as Mockingbird, coming back for a second shot at life. As for Osborn, he got the keys to Earth, taking over S.H.I.E.L.D. and turning it into H.A.M.M.E.R. as part of the Dark Reign storyline where Stark and other heroes became wanted by the law.