The MCU must be careful with its covert intrusion detection

The MCU could replicate the comics' Secret Invasion Skrull reveal with the Disney+ Secret Invasion show, but that doesn't mean it should.

Marvel is adapting the Secret Invasion comic books with Disney+'s Secret Invasion series, which challenges the MCU in terms of Phase 4 reconnaissance. Similar to Captain America: Civil War, the MCU version of Secret Invasion is expected to be very different from the comics. While Marvel Comics' Secret Invasion involved not only the Avengers, but also the X-Men and Fantastic Four, the MCU's Secret Invasion will focus on Nick Fury.

Described as a spy thriller, Secret Invasion of the MCU could be a spiritual successor to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, also a spy thriller centered on Nick Fury. So far, War Machine is the only Avenger confirmed to appear in Secret Invasion, which doesn't mean other Avengers won't appear or be referenced. In fact, for Secret Invasion to have a similar impact as the comics, it has to affect the MCU in the long run.

Secret Invasion Means Marvel Can Retcon Most Of Phase 4

If Disney+ Secret Invasion somehow resembles the comics, Marvel could reshoot much of Phase 4 with the surprising "this character is actually a Skrull". In the comics, it is revealed that the Skrulls - whom the Avengers and Fantastic Four have faced in other moments - has infiltrated Earth for months. Thanks to their unique shape-shifting abilities, Skrulls are able to take on any human form, including superheroes. Marvel revisits several previous events by revealing that many characters are Skrulls, and the MCU can now replicate those characters in Phase 5's Secret Invasion.

By the time the Marvel heroes started to realize what was going on, a large portion of the Marvel Universe had been replaced by the Skrulls. Every time a character in Secret Invasion is revealed to be a Skrull, readers have to reconsider everything those characters have done in previous Marvel stories. Here's why Secret Invasion is so important to the MCU, both retrospective and future stories -- and why the MCU needs to be careful what it does with this story element, as it could break the franchise if overused, or used incorrectly .

Why The MCU Must Be Careful With Secret Invasion’s Skrull Reveals

MCU could replicate Secret Invasion's Skrull reveal - though that doesn't mean it should. In the comics, it's easier to identify certain Avengers as Skrulls for months, especially since The creative team at Avengers Comics is also developing Secret Invasion. Many of the Avengers and Fantastic Four comics prior to Secret Invasion were written with the future in mind, which is harder for the MCU to replicate. While Kevin Feige's MCU sandbox makes it so that no MCU movie or show contradicts the universe for any story, reconnaissance like the one in the Secret Invasion comics has to be planned for years.

If Secret Invasion is turned into an Avengers movie by the end of two or three phases, the MCU will have more time to set up future Skrull reveals. Since Secret Invasion on Disney+ is a smaller-scale story focused on the spy-thriller elements of The Invasion, it shouldn't try to replicate the shocking Skrull reveal in the comics. For example, if it's revealed after Avengers: Endgame that Doctor Strange has always been Skeletor, it wouldn't make sense for Doctor Strange to appear in Phase 4. Instead, the MCU's Secret Invasion should reserve its Skrull reveals for non-superhero characters.