Secret invasion on Disney+: The Marvel series that will finally agree with everyone?

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When he learns of a secret invasion of Earth that is changing the Skrulls, Nick Fury joins his allies – including Everett Ross, Maria Hill and the Skrull Talos who have settled peacefully on Earth – to join the fight against them. time. One goal drives them: to thwart this imminent invasion by all means and save humanity.

“Secret Invasion” Created by Kyle Bradstreet – Starting June 21 on Disney+ – Episodes Watched: 2/6

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As a gift from Iron Man, where his appearance in the post-generic scene paved the way for The Avengers, Samuel L. Jackson will reprise his role as Nick Fury for the fourteenth time in his career. But first, as the lead of a Marvel movie or TV series. Her accomplice Maria Hill is also back in the Cobie Smulders cover.

Like Martin Freeman (Agent Everett K. Ross, discovered in Civil War and seen in Two Black Panthers), Don Cheadle or even Ben Mendelsohn. Not surprisingly, Talos, a character introduced in Captain Marvel, is the Skrull, the central alien race in this story.

On the new side, Marvel offered itself an Oscar-winning royal actress (Olivia Colman), a Game of Thrones star (Emilia Clarke) and a rising star in Kingsley Ben-Adir, who was revealed as Malcolm X overnight. Miami.

Is it worth checking out?

For those who don’t miss any news in the MCU, the answer is yes. for others too. If the latest feature films (except for Guardians of the Galaxy 3) have somewhat dampened the enthusiasm around the universe, the first episodes of Secret Invasion are promising. And confirm the mainstream quality of the Marvel series.

Where movies fall into formula, the studio allows itself more freedom on the small screen by experimenting with different genres: sitcom with TV series (WandaVision), action thriller (Falcon and the Winter Soldier). A coming-of-age story (Ms. Marvel), a legal comedy (She-Hulk)… Success isn’t always there, but there are attempts.

And Secret Invasion is part of the register of geopolitical thrillers with paranoia. If the Skrulls were created during the Cold War, the crossover from which the series is inspired aimed to capture the post-9/11 atmosphere in the United States (with an invisible enemy operating from within), and the show remains in that spirit. even more relevant.

Thus the story begins in Russia, and the first words we hear are: “Imagine a world where information is not reliable. It’s not hard, huh? The news says one thing, the websites say another. Society is falling apart. We can only rely on our loved ones. Were they? Very transparent if not incredibly thin.

So is the decor, the atmosphere. And the first sequence shows that appearances are not to be trusted, including a familiar face for the MCU. The sequel is closer to the Marvel-style first mission: impossible to read again, his team is designed to avoid the attack. But things don’t go as planned.

While Marvel often pits very good superheroes against very evil supervillains, Secret Invasion moves in shades of gray where everyone’s intentions are unclear. Like Olivia Colman’s character, who seems to have a purpose of her own. Or Emilia Clarke, torn from her family and her attraction to Gravik’s ideas, the story’s designated antagonist.

We regret that the first episodes prevent us from sympathizing with the latter. Like Carly Morgenthau (Erin Kelliman) in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, her violent actions limit the scope of her discourse with the audience and make the whole thing a little more Manichean than expected. Even if it’s involved in some really strong choices made by the writers (and that’s rare in the MCU).

A secret invasion from the nuances will not be missed by some. On the other hand, the staging is uninspired (except for the action scene in episode 2), but we can only applaud the fact that the series does not feel obliged to lighten things up with unwanted humor. Or that he’s trying to shoehorn Easter eggs.

Nick Fury’s swan song?

In its first third, the show is engaging and worth it just for what it is, even if we doubt it will make an impact on the world (and open to The Marvels according to Samuel L. Jackson). And his forte is none other than Nick Fury. Often limited to cameos or brief appearances, he occupies the top of the accounts and the heart of the story here.

From Carol Danvers’ broken promise to the Skrulls, to the end of Captain Marvel, to the consequences of her choices and disappearing after snapping Thanos’ fingers, to her mystery (the ending of episode 2 will surprise many), the gaps. The former director of SHIELD takes up a large part of the story. The most important and emotionally absorbing.

Enough to make us dread a character’s death at the end of six episodes of this miniseries. Samuel L. Jackson is of course expected to appear in The Marvels in November, but the film may be set before Secret Invasion (its release has also been pushed back a few times) and she seems to wear less there, still wearing eye shadow.

By focusing on her, sometimes in an intimate way, the series seems to be preparing for her departure… unless it’s a false lead. Hopefully it won’t be revealed that the Nick back on Earth in the first episode is a Skrull who has taken on his appearance, or the features we’ve seen so far will be spoiled.

That the scale is smaller than the comic it’s based on is something everyone is ready for. But the show is positively surprising in its tone, efficiency, and the atmosphere of espionage and paranoia it develops without forgetting certain characters along the way.

Whether the other two-thirds live up to the first remains to be seen, as conclusions are never Marvel’s forte. But we may have a series that, if not unanimous, seems to have cards that are more pleasing to Moon Knight or Hawkeye. Judgment in a little over a month.