Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Secret Invasion Episode 3.With the release of “Betrayed,” the third episode ofSecret Invasion, we’ve reached the halfway point of theMarvel Studios/Disney+limited series. The spy-thriller tone has been dialed up quite a bit, with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) racing to counter the threat of Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) and his Skrull rebellion.Last week, the series introduced us to the secret Skrull Council, featured Gravik on the hunt for a mole in his ranks, and revealed the marriage that Fury’s kept hidden all these years.
Spotting and pondering on the references placed throughoutSecret Invasionis oddly more enjoyable than the averageMCU Easter egg hunt. Fan service is decidedly kept to a minimum, with the connections to established heroes and the events of past films arising almost exclusively when they’re in service of the plot, and this episode is no exception.
RELATED:Nick Fury Was Impersonated by a Skrull Long Before ‘Secret Invasion’
Super Skrulls
You heard it hear first — literally. When Gravik is introducing the new piece of DNA-altering technology to the Skrull council, the term “Super Skrull” is mentioned for the first time. Although it’s been increasinglyalluded to throughout the series, this scene confirms exactly what Gravik has been up to in New Skrullos. The names ofSuper Skrullsfrom the comics have been teased, mostly as inconsequential nods, and now it seems the MCU will be adapting their stories rather loosely, with Gravik intending to transform the entire Skrull rebellion into an army of Super Skrulls.
The Healing Properties of Extremis
It’s now evident that the work of Rosa (Katie Finneran), under the direction of Gravik in New Skrullos, has found success. After the confrontation between Talos and Gravik, a meeting that saw Talos considerably outnumbered, an undeterred Talos leaves a parting gift for Gravik before exiting — a knife through the middle of his hand. Gravik pulls his hand away, the knife rips its way through his flesh, and the familiar fiery glow of Extremis engulfs and repairs his wounded appendage.
Rivaling the healing capability of theEternals' Ajak (Salma Hayek), the Extremis project returns to the MCU following a long hiatus after its premiere inShane Black’sIron Man 3. Developed by Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) in collaboration with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), Extremis was a genetic modification program that granted subjects self-healing properties, including the ability to regenerate entire limbs, paired with a supernatural set fire-breathing and blasting powers. The Super Skrulls are confirmed to have the healing aspect down; if the fire-breathing comes along next,Fury’s got more than trust issues to worry about.
Dreykov of ‘Black Widow’
In a flashback scene between Fury and Varra (Charlayne Woodard), who would take up bothFury’s hand in marriageand the name Priscilla, we find ourselves in New York City in 1998. She’s been working among the group of Skrulls that have agreed to aid Fury and the humans of Earth, in exchange for Fury and Captain Marvel’s help in finding a new home planet. Varra’s clearly seen some success in her missions, as she slips an envelope to Fury and whispers to him, “This should put Dreykov’s men on their heels.” The envelope, stained in blood, sits under Fury and Varra’s hands as they linger on top of each other for an intimately prolonged moment, only adding to the notion thatcloseness with Furyalways comes with some bloodshed.
It’s more than a moment of backstory for Varra and Fury, though. The exchange forms a tie betweenSecret Invasionand 2021’sBlack Widow, in which Dreykov (Ray Winstone) served as the film’s central villain – the Soviet General that led the Red Room and its horde of brainwashed Black Widows. That film took place squarely in between the events ofCaptain America: Civil WarandAvengers: Infinity War, but this nod shows that Dreykov had been active for years prior to his final confrontation with Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson).
The Skrull’s Surviving Human Captives
When G’iah (Emilia Clarke) sneaks to the fracking pods, in search of the code that will abort the missile strike headed for a United Nations plane, we’re offered a confirmation that opens up some questions and possibilities. The fracking pods were introduced inCaptain Marvel, when the Skrulls used one to infiltrate the mind of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), andGravik has a whole fleetof them at New Skrullos. In the pods, which contain the captive humans the Skrulls are out impersonating, we see some familiar faces, including political pundit Chris Stearns (Christopher McDonald) and U.K. Prime Minister Pamela Lawton (Anna Madeley).
Why not just kill the prisoner after assuming their identity? It could be inferred that these humans are kept alive so that their brains can continue to be accessed. We saw in the first episode that their minds can be downloaded, at least to some extent, but their survival implies that the Skrulls need to keep them alive to maintain a full reach into their memory. Does this mean that the real Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) is still alive?
Nobody Calls Me Nick
There are many theories onhow to spot a Skrull, whether it be their clothing or their ability to retain certain facts, but Fury has a fool-proof method of his own. As he made clear to Danvers inCaptain Marvel, anyone who really knows him refers to him simply as Fury. When a Skrull named Bob Fairbanks (David Bark-Jones) impersonatesTalos, attempting to trick Fury over a call with, “Sorry, Nick” followed by instructions leading him toward a trap, Fury clocks his mistake and knows immediately that he’s dealing with a Skull. “Nobody calls me Nick, Bob.”
Priscilla & The Man on the Phone
At the tail end of the episode, we see that Priscilla, whose identity as a Skrull has never been hidden from Fury, has been carrying a massive secret. It appears she’s working as a double agent, aiding the efforts of Gravik and his rebellion all along. On a phone call, she asks to speak to Gravik, but when she’s denied, she follows the instructions that she’s given anyway. Unless our ears are deceived, the man on the phone sounds exactly likeColonel Rhodes(Don Cheadle), suggesting that the Rhodey we’ve seen inSecret Invasionthus far has been a Skrull all along.The confrontation and sudden firingof Fury came as a shock, so this would explain the out-of-character behavior of Rhodey in the previous episode.
