Now that it’s finished its run on Disney+, this seems like the perfect time to look back at Secret Invasion, the latest of Marvel’s TV shows. The series, which follows Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury as he discovers Skrulls secretly living among humankind, was often riveting as it showed off Marvel’s ability to tell a story that was more of a conspiracy thriller.
Now, we’re taking a look back at the best characters we met on the show, including some new entries and some who are old Marvel standbys.
Note: This article contains spoilers for Secret Invasion.
7. G’iah
In some ways, G’iah is the pivotal character in Secret Invasion. She spends the early part of the series working as a rebel before realizing that Gravik might be taking things too far. As the daughter of Talos, we also get to see how their relationship evolves over the course of the series, even as she continues to work as a double agent.
Although G’iah is a key character in the story, though, we don’t get to see much of her personality beyond her relationship to the plot as a whole. Emilia Clarke does her best with the material she’s given, but G’iah ultimately feels like she’s underserved by Secret Invasion as a whole.
6. Rhodey
One of the most recognizable and long-lasting characters in Marvel history, Rhodey is foundational to everything we know about Marvel. That’s what makes it so satisfying when the show reveals that Rhodey is actually a Skrull named Raava, and has been for some time.
This reveal allows Don Cheadle to play his double agent status beautifully, including one incredibly tense scene between him and Fury in which neither character is willing to be totally open with the other.
5. Gravik
Thanks in part to a pretty excellent performance from Kingsley Ben-Adir, Gravik has managed to quickly become one of the most compelling villains in the history of Marvel. Leading a Skrull effort to find a home on Earth for his people, Gravik can generate the powers of other famous MCU characters, and becomes a major threat as a result.
More importantly, though, Gravik has real, concrete motivations, and while his methods may be severe, we understand where he’s coming from, and why he feels like he’s been driven to do terrible things to protect his people.
4. Sonya Falsworth
We don’t get a ton of Olivia Colman’s Sonya Falsworth in Secret Invasion, but what we do get is a wonderful reminder of what an outstanding performer she is.
Playing the head of MI6 who works as both an adversary and ally to Fury, Falsworth brings some delightful chaos to every scene she’s in, and the writing takes full advantage of Colman’s innate charms and skills as an actress. She may be underutilized, but we can hope we’ll be getting Sonya back at some point down the road.
3. Priscilla Fury
Like many of the characters in Secret Invasion, we eventually learn that Fury’s wife, Priscilla, is actually Varra, a Skrull spy sent to Earth after the events of Captain Marvel.
In spite of the deceit at the heart of their relationship, though, Nick and Priscilla grow genuinely fond of one another, so much so that Priscilla ultimately sacrifices herself when she’s ordered to kill him. It’s a tender moment that helps us to better understand the relationship between them, and how it has grown in the decades since Captain Marvel.
2. Talos
As a Skrull general who remains loyal to Nick Fury, Talos is is both a source of sanity on Secret Invasion and a delight in his own right. Played by Ben Mendelsohn, Talos spends Secret Invasion fighting for what he believes is right, and sacrificing along the way to live up to his ideals.
He’s the kind of character every Marvel story needs, and that’s especially true of Secret Invasion. He doesn’t have any powers other than those that every Skrull has. Instead, what he has is genuine conviction in the things he’s fighting for, and a hope that he can build a better world for his people.
1. Nick Fury
After more than a decade in the MCU, Marvel finally decided to give Jackson his own show, and the results are exactly as great as you might expect. Fury is carrying the weight of everything he’s already been through here, and he’s central to every twist and turn that the story ultimately takes.
In spite of the numerous appearances Fury has made in the MCU over the course of every single one of its phases, Secret Invasion is the first time he’s been asked to take center stage. Jackson is more than capable of handling all of the plot turns in the show, and even more crucially, he makes us care about who Fury is when he goes home at the end of the day.
All episodes of Secret Invasion are now streaming on Disney+.
