Spoilers abound, you’ve been warned, do not pass go, etc. For real, if you haven’t seen “Beloved,” the fourth episode of Marvel’s “Secret Invasion” show, turn yourself around and watch before you read this story; thanks!
OK, as you know by now, Marvel’s Disney+ show, “Secret Invasion,” is Nick-Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)-centered show, but as the title suggests, it’s not really about Fury himself per se. Rather, it’s about the Skrulls and their “secret” invasion of Earth. As we know from the comics “Captain Marvel” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Skrulls are shapeshifting aliens who can seamlessly take on and mimic a human form.
READ MORE: Cobie Smulders Confirms Shocking ‘Secret Invasion’ Cliffhanger: “I’m Pretty Sure This Is It”
And as the events of “Secret Invasion” the series have revealed so far—something that was even unbeknownst to Nick Fury—that rather than hundreds of Skrulls clandestinely living on Earth since the 1990s, undetected and unknown by the rest of humanity, there have quietly been millions of Skrulls living on Earth since then (a surprising fact that wowed Fury in episode two and further estranged him from the friendly Skrull Talos played by Ben Mendelsohn). This intel, of course, changes everything.
The plot of “Secret Invasion” is that Nick Fury and Talos uncover a conspiracy by a group of renegade Skrulls— led by Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir)— who plan to gain control of Earth by posing as different humans around the world. Their plot is to pose as Russians and start WWIII with the Americans, and in the aftermath and fallout, the rebel Skrulls can take over.
They’ve already introduced Super Skrulls in the series—Skrulls who have the power to mimic the superpowers of those characters in the MCU— and now episode four has two major divulgences.
Let’s start with the least major reveal for now. Priscilla Davis/Varra (Charlayne Woodard) Nick Fury’s wife is a Skrull. Now, we learned this as far back as episode two, when we saw her shapeshift, but it was unclear if Fury knew. In “Beloved,” it’s clear that Fury has learned of this only recently, and he’s uncovered a greater plot: a Skrull assassination plan where she is tasked with taking Fury out. Varra explains that Davis was dying of a terminal illness (presumably during the Blip), and she offered to take on her identity. Davis agreed under three conditions. 1. Continue to be a child to her real parents, 2. Continue to be Fury’s romantic partner 3. Do no harm to Fury. Ultimately, she has to abide by that promise and can’t kill Fury. She purposefully misses a bullet shot, and Fury notes that Gravik’s Skrulls will come for her, and she’ll have to go into hiding. She understands, and this may possibly be the last of her.
But there’s much more to this surprise character declaration that has one of its own big reveals. The person that had tasked Varra with killing Fury was none other than James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle). That’s right, Rhodey, who currently serves as an envoy and advisor to President Ritson (Dermont Mulroney) in the series, is a Skrull. And it’s clear by the events of the episode, Rhodey not trying to protect the President in a third-act attack by the renegade Skrulls that he is working for Gravik. Like many other world leaders infiltrated by Gravik’s Skrulls, Rhodey is one of these interlopers.
The episode ends before we can get further answers—and it’s unclear if Talos dies in the melee, but probably not— but it’s clear Rhodey is a Skrull working on as an inside man on orders of Gravik’s plan to take over Earth. What isn’t clear nor revealed is when Rhodey was overtaken and impersonated by a Skrull and where the real Rhodey is. Also, this version of Rhodey does not know that Nick Fury knows he is a Skrull, and the former S.H.I.E.L.D. leader will likely use this to his advantage.
One possible theory is that Rhodey’s doppelganger started sometime after The Blip, but likely not during it (because where do you switch out Rhodey in “Avengers: Endgame,” a character still playing himself very much in character? Then again, there is a five-year gap to play with…). Rhodey’s last appearance in the MCU was in “The Falcon And The Winter Soldier,” and one could theorize he was assimilated after that point.
Certainly, this shocking twist also makes an upcoming “Armor Wars” movie that much more interesting. Originally created as a series, “Armor Wars” was going to adapt the Marvel Comics storyline of Tony Stark’s armor and technology falling into enemy hands (Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer character from “Iron Man 2” is heavily rumored to be a key player in the storyline). But now, they’ve concocted an interesting personal dilemma to it, too: Rhodey will not only have to be a hero and deal with the conflict of that movie—he’ll have to grapple with the knowledge that he’s been essentially in a coma for… years?… and that he’s essentially been a victim of an identity theft on a grander scale then any human being has ever faced. Depending on what happens in the rest of “Secret Invasion” and what the public potentially sees Rhodey doing—perhaps some awful, evil things—even with the truth coming to light, it seems fairly evident that the real Rhodey in “Armor Wars” is going to have be dealing with major trust issues, and a world that may not have much faith in him as a reliable hero (trust already being the major theme of “Secret Invasion,” but this will take it all to much more intimate and personal level).
Created by Kyle Bradstreet (“Mr. Robot“) and directed by Ali Selim (“In Treatment“), these are some bold moves in “Secret Invasion.” Now, does this mean Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) isn’t dead? And where is the real Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman)? Either way, while “Secret Invasion” has been plagued with middling reviews (including ours), this new disclosure at least ups the interest and intrigue by a factor of at least a few notches. Now let’s see if they can actually make the overall series a big winner in the scheme of things.