WARNING: Spoilers for the Marvel’s Secret Invasion premiere below.
After disappearing into space following the devastating events of Avengers: Endgame, Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury returns to Earth in the premiere of Marvel’s new series Secret Invasion. However, by the time the episode is over, the seasoned spymaster is going is to find himself in a whole new world of hurt, and even worse, it’s largely his fault.
Following their introduction in Captain Marvel, the Skrulls have grown tired of waiting 30 years for Fury to find them a new home. In the shadows, a well-organized splinter group of the shape-shifting aliens have begun influencing world events by infiltrating global spy agencies, including S.H.I.E.L.D. In the first few minutes of the show, Martin Freeman’s Agent Ross is revealed to be a Skrull, raising serious questions of how long has he been replaced and where the original Ross is.
Not helping matters is Fury’s current state. He’s tired, weary, and visibly broken from failing to stop Thanos. The once-resourceful spy is off his game, and his years of seclusion are about to cost him dearly. After falling for a Skull trap, Fury, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) get lured to the scene of terrorist bombing that they fail to prevent, causing massive casualties.
In the chaos, the leader of the Skrull resistance, Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) disguises himself as Fury and shoots Hill in the final moments of the episode. She dies in the real Fury’s arms as the episode fades to black, which sent Marvel fans reeling on social media. Smulders’ character has been kicking around the MCU since the very first Avengers movie, and Secret Invasion showed fans that the series will not shy away from dropping bodies.
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