SECRET INVASION -- A Marvel Series Grounded in Reality That Looks and Sounds Great

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in Marvel Studios' SECRET INVASION, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Gareth Gatrell. © 2023 MARVEL.

Film fans and comic book aficionados were first introduced to the Skrulls in Captain Marvel in 2019. Led by Talos (played by Ben Mendelsohn), in a twist from the comics, they were peaceful, and the Kree were the evil race of aliens. The popularity of the comic book series Secret Invasion made it difficult to do the comic book series as a film or television series because of that fact. Marvel and Kevin Feige had defied the odds from the beginning of the MCU, so he has created a Disney+ series about Secret Invasion anyway, and he relied on one of his most reliable actors in the franchise to return and reprise his role: Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

Secret Invasion is a show rooted in reality. With the USA having multiple adversaries, including Russia, China, and Iran, it was easy for the creator of the series, Kyle Bradstreet, to set the show in a realistic world. With the help of director Ali Salim, he grounded the six-part series in a world we can all relate to. Throw in some CGI of actors transforming back and forth from Skrulls to humans, and you have an authentic spy-type show. That's what this series is in the end. 

Part of making the series as realistic as possible for audiences is casting great actors who give the show gravitas that it needs to be believed. Marvel and Kevin Feige have always gotten the best to portray roles in their films and television series, and this one is no better than the rest. It co-stars multiple Oscar and Emmy Awards winners in key roles, starting with Olivia Colman as an MI6 agent, Emelia Clarke as the daughter of Talos Giah, and Kingley Ben Adir — no stranger to chameleonic performances, because he's played Barack Obama and Malcolm X, and will be Bob Marley in a film later this year — as the leader of a terrorist group of Skrulls trying to start World War III between the USA and Russia. This great cast really brought their A-game to this show.

I was a big fan of the comic book series Secret Invasion because it wasn't like much I'd read before, and I love the fact that I didn't know who could have been a Skull or not. That series is vastly different from this one, though. This series has a few components that made it stand out. One of them is a flashback element, helping viewers get an idea of what the motivations of the main bad guy were, and how he is connected to Nick Fury. Why is this a fight? Nick Fury has to fight on his own without superheroes. That is an excuse not to have them in the series. From the two episodes of six I have seen, this is for a more subtle approach to the story from the popular comic book crossover series.

(L-R): Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos in Marvel Studios' SECRET INVASION, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Des Willie. © 2023 MARVEL.

A few things I noticed in the show that stood out to me while watching the first two episodes were the cinematography by Rami Adefaresin. He went against the grain in how he lit and made this series look. It has a gritty neo-noir look to it, with many scenes shot at night in dark alleyways or in London in the rain. The look of the show played into the whole Spy Game mixed with Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibe the showrunner was going for. The second is the score by Kris Bowers. He created an intense score that played into the whole trust issues of the series. The music was moody and atmospheric. I loved how it made me think about what was going on at various times. It's like a character in the show all on its own.

Samuel L. Jackson had had a lot of success in his career, but arguably he hasn't had as much popularity in his career as when he uttered those famous words at the end of Iron Man, "we need to talk about the Avengers Initiative." Those words in that scene launched his career into the stratosphere. This series allows him to be more dramatic than he has been in the MCU. He has been more comedic. It almost seemed as if he hadn't taken his role as Nick Fury as seriously as he should have. Maybe he's winking at the camera at various times in his MCU career. Well, that's not the case here. He brings his A-game, and that's one of the best reasons to see this show.

Secret Invasion is one of the best MCU series I've seen thus far. Grounding it in a realistic setting and using a spy or political thriller setting makes it stand apart from other MCU shows. Also, the look of it and the music give a feel and sound that is dramatic. Add in a stellar cast of actors who have won a bunch of awards or been nominated for awards, and you have a good mix. The best ingredient in this six part series is Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. He knows what he's doing with this character at this point in his career.  He brings everything he has to this character and this show. I'll just have to wait to see how it unfolds.

​Secret Invasion streams on Disney+ beginning June 21. Two out of six episodes reviewed.

Rating: 4/5