‘Secret Invasion’ Splits Fans With Controversial MCU Death

Is this classic fridging?

Secret Invasion Samuel L Jackson Nick Fury Skrull

Secret Invasion promised to bring the stakes of a political spy thriller to the MCU with Samuel L. Jackson’s first solo project as Nick Fury. However, not all fans are happy with what character Marvel decided to kill off in the series’ first episode.

Readers beware! The article below contains spoilers for the first episode of Secret Invasion on Disney Plus! Read ahead at your own risk!

Secret Invasion promised the return of many fan favorite MCU characters who may not have gotten the most screentime. One of these characters is Maria Hill played by Cobie Smulders, who has served as a fairly prominent supporting agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. ever since the first Avengers film as the right-hand woman to Nick Fury after Phil Coulson’s death. Smulders has promised that the series would show a brand new depth for her character, though it seems she won’t be explored as deeply as many fans would hope.

The first episode of Secret Invasion saw the death of Maria Hill at the hands of Gravik, played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, after he pretended to be Nick Fury during a hectic bombing in Russia. Many fans have accused this death as being another example of “fridging”, which is the act of killing a female character, not to further her own story or as a logical extension of the narrative, but to add weight and drama to the story of a male character which in this case was Nick Fury.

Some fans have hope that this death is simply a fake-out on the part of Marvel. In the original Secret Invasion comics and the animated Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes adaptation, Maria Hill was shot but was saved by the reveal that she had used an LMD (Life Model Decoy) to escape. Sadly, with Secret Invasion only having six episodes, it seems unlikely that they’ll introduce perfect robot clones when they have so much ground left to cover in the series.

How Marvel is adapting Secret Invasion

Secret Invasion is based on the comic book storyline of the same name, which was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu . The story revolves around a group of Skrulls, an alien race that has the ability to shape-shift and take on the appearance of anyone they want. The Skrulls have infiltrated Earth’s society and are secretly replacing key figures with their own kind in order to take over the planet.

‘Secret Invasion’: Ben Mendelsohn Teases Talos’ Evolution

The full Secret Invasion cast also includes Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Kingsley Ben-Adir as Gravik, Emilia Clarke as G’iah, Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross. Olivia Colman, Dermot Mulroney, Killian Scott, Christopher McDonald, Carmen Ejogo and Charlayne Woodard are also on board in undisclosed roles.

Stuned for all the latest news regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content.

Anthony Singletary

Anthony Singletary

Anthony has always had a love for stories. An aspiring screenwriter and video editor, he takes pride in connecting fans with the latest heroic news!