This column comprises spoilers for Secret Invasion and the general MCU. If you happen to’re not caught up, try our final problem of Streaming Wars: Streaming Is Damaged — The Strikes Can Save It.
Secret Invasion is responsible of rather a lot. It fridged Maria Hill, a personality with deep comedian roots who by no means as soon as obtained to be her personal particular person within the MCU; it completely wasted the unfathomable quantity of expertise at its fingertips (except Olivia Colman, who I wish to see do no matter she was doing right here in a characteristic size movie and her personal tv sequence instantly); and it dared to name itself a “spy thriller” and not using a single ounce of intrigue. However its biggest sin? Its biggest sin was proving the haters proper.
It had me within the first two episodes, I’ll admit. Loads of thrillers take a second to get rolling, favoring exposition early on to allow them to ship punch after punch because the story rolls on. Even in these first two episodes, although, I knew calling it “Secret Invasion” was going to be one of many MCU’s biggest missteps. If Captain America: Civil Struggle was a watered down adaptation, the Disney+ adaptation of Secret Invasion is simply water. However I believed it may need been in a position to survive that! I believed it might divert from the comics however nonetheless ship on the twists and turns it supposed to. As an alternative, Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D. — a sequence that I loved however featured the identical rattling plot each single season — pulled off extra attention-grabbing mysteries in its tenure with far fewer assets. (Sorry, Quake stans. I like her too, but it surely was by no means going to occur.)
For the previous a number of years, I’ve needed to take heed to everybody from the informal fan to critics new and outdated twist themselves in knots to insist over and over that Marvel post-Endgame was rubbish and the MCU was slipping. Now, whereas that may be true of the standard of a few of the movies of Section 4 (simply because it was true for Section 2), the tv choices that the MCU delivered to the desk from 2021-2022 have been a few of the greatest entries within the entirety of the franchise.
WandaVision knocked us off our ft, even when Wanda’s story was in the end squandered in Physician Unusual within the Multiverse of Insanity. (There may be not a single a part of me that doubts she’ll be again, don’t fear.) Loki introduced our favourite God of Mischief again into our lives and made us fall in love with him another time. And Hawkeye lastly gave Black Widow the eulogy she deserved whereas giving probably the most undervalued Avengers the highlight and at last introducing us to Kate Bishop on display screen. Moon Knight was beautiful and totally different and launched the Scarlet Scarab. Ms. Marvel introduced absolutely the pleasure that’s Iman Vellani into our lives. And She-Hulk: Lawyer at Legislation? She made swaths of sturdy, snarky girls who’re unafraid of their energy and sexuality really feel seen whereas telling an entire lot of dudes stuff that they need to have identified anyway however apparently wanted to listen to.
And let’s not overlook the particular displays in Werewolf By Night time — a stunning and absolute killer one-off that left us wanting extra — and The Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Particular. If the latter doesn’t make your grinchy coronary heart develop three sizes then I simply don’t know what to inform you.
How will you inform me Section 4 was unhealthy when it delivered banger after banger after banger within the tv division? Tv has all the time been handled as movie’s lesser sibling, however how that is still prevalent in 2023 after the facility of longform storytelling has been confirmed repeatedly each in and outdoors the MCU is simply baffling. (And don’t take this as some grand protection of Marvel or Disney. They’re multibillion-dollar corporations they usually’re gonna do exactly effective for an extended, very long time. What I’m defensive of is the tales, as a result of rattling they have been nice.)
Then in waltzes Secret Invasion, offering an entire lot of parents seeking to canine the franchise not simply new ammunition, however warranted ammunition.
It’s virtually baffling how unhealthy the sequence managed to be. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — which you’ll discover is the one live-action present lacking from the above gush-session over the MCU’s sequence — at the very least had the decency to be half a great story (and half a really unhealthy one). Secret Invasion is simply unhealthy, and in practically each manner.
At first, it was enjoyable to marvel what sort of loopy surprises it might have in retailer. Then it grew to become “okay, effectively… what are the cranky spy dads gonna do subsequent?” After which lastly it shifted to spending each second questioning why the one man who was appropriately mad at Nick Fury was so poorly written and the way everybody else across the former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn’t smacked him foolish but. At each flip it was somebody new telling him he couldn’t hack it, after which Fury persevering with to show all of the ways in which he couldn’t, in truth, hack it whereas everybody attention-grabbing round him died.
The struggles weren’t simply with the writing, both. Poor Emilia Clarke goes to be a meme for the remainder of eternity with that horrible Drax arm, whereas the scene the place (faux) Fury and Gravik have their coronary heart to coronary heart within the Extremis machine seems prefer it was edited by a excessive schooler.
When Bob Iger made his crappy remark saying that the MCU sequence had “diluted focus and a focus,” I believed he was simply making a fuss as a result of their films have been floundering. Now I’m wondering if he’d been made to observe regardless of the hell Secret Invasion was meant to be and was feeling further spicy. (Both manner, superhero fatigue is faux, Bob. Folks simply need good tales.)
Nonetheless, Secret Invasion leaves Section 5 in a rocky spot. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania may be higher than a lot of the web has managed to twist itself in knots over (you’ll be able to’t look me within the eye and inform me that was worse than Thor: The Darkish World, a film I additionally don’t hate), however Secret Invasion has managed to go from good will within the beginning episodes to the worst factor the MCU has ever accomplished by a rustic mile.
That mentioned, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 destroyed us all in the absolute best manner, and Loki Season 2 is true across the nook. There’s nonetheless loads of tales to be informed. Whether or not it’s Loki or if there’s one other launch date shuffle in our future, could regardless of the subsequent chapter is be miles higher than the waste of expertise that was Secret Invasion.
Amelia is the leisure Streaming Editor right here at IGN. She’s additionally a movie and tv critic who spends an excessive amount of time speaking about dinosaurs, superheroes, and people horror. You may normally discover her together with her canine, Rogers. There could also be cheeseburgers concerned. Observe her throughout social @ThatWitchMia
