Secret Invasion: why the Avengers do not intervene? The rotten explanation of episode 5
“It’s a personal matter. “Nick Fury delivered 10 seconds of vindication that struggled to hold water…
We know that Marvel wanted to make a spy series with Secret Invasion. A tense drama with geopolitical accents, more than an action blockbuster. It’s Nick Fury, the former boss of SHIELD, against the rest of the world and more, against the Skrulls!
A story of the MCU conceived as a solo mission and which, in fact, puts aside all the avengers and affiliates. This is beginning to raise serious questions, as World War III is imminently brewing… Even Sonya Falsworth, the boss of the British SIS, embodied by Olivia Colmanasks in episode 5 broadcast this week on Disney Plus:
“Fury, why haven’t you called on one of your “special” friends yet?” she says to her comrade, who is about to go on a suicide mission against the overpowered Gravik and his army… with a pistol.
“It’s a personal matter“, replies Nick Fury first, to justify that he wants to go solo. We understand this, since he has been intimately linked to the destiny of the Skrulls for three decades. And then the deaths of Maria Hill and Talos made the thing even more intense. Despite everything, it is not clear what he will be able to do alone, to stop Gravik’s destructive plan. But, against all odds, Fury refuses to call on the avengers. No beeper to ring Captain Marvel. No phone call to bring in Sam Wilson, the new Captain America. No message to call Ant Man to the rescue. Not even an email to she hulk or his cousin! He absolutely wants to manage the business alone. He justifies this in episode 5:
“We can’t keep relying on these superheroes to show up and save the day every time.”
Then, he explains that he also has his own strengths, namely intelligence and experience: “None of them had the life I lived. None of them can defend the world like me. The only power I have was put between my two ears by a single mother and around my finger by a much better woman than me. If that’s not enough, then there’s no hope. If that’s not enough, maybe I’m dust after all…“
It’s clear: Fury is next to his pumps. He’s really traumatized by Thanos’ blip and snap. Deeply marked psychologically, to the point that he needs to prove to himself that he is useful for something and that Man is capable of defending himself. Risk. Not to say completely irresponsible. Extraordinarily unreasonable. Because what is at stake is quite simply the survival of humanity! If Fury loses – and right now there’s no chance he’ll win – it’s World War III and the tens of millions of deaths that go with it. How can such a lottery be justified? Why not put the best chance on your side, to try to save the lives of so many people, just by accepting the help of a few avengers, at least those who live on Earth and who – by the way – are directly concerned by the threat of a world war? The excessive navel-gazing of Nick Fury, at this moment in the MCU, seems perfectly incomprehensible. And Sonya Falsworth (Colman) should smack him to put his thoughts in place and force him to “call on one of his special friends” instead of watching him lead the world to ruin…
For obvious narrative reasons, Brie Larson, Anthony Mackie, Mark Ruffalo Or Paul Rudd should logically land in episode 6, the grand finale of Secret Invasionto see next Wednesday on Disney Plus … But for obvious contractual and financial reasons, this will (probably) not happen.