Warning: The following contains spoilers for Secret Invasion Episode 2.Secret Invasion episode 2, “Promises” has a dual purpose. Not only does it pick up right after the events of the series premiere, but it also fills in some of the gaps in the Marvel Cinematic Universe following the first appearance of Skrulls in Captain Marvel. While filling in those gaps and moving the story forward, the episode also gifts the audience with a few Easter eggs.
Easter eggs in the second episode of Secret Invasion are not heavy, but they do reveal more of the connective tissue in the MCU. Most of the references found are to the larger MCU, not the comic books. There is one comic book Easter egg, however, that is an interesting one for fans.
The 1995 Opening Is From Captain Marvel
Though Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) and G’iah (Emilia Clarke) both appear in the first episode of Secret Invasion, this episode kicks off with footage from Captain Marvel to remind fans of exactly who they are. The reminders of Captain Marvel’s events segue into 1997, revealing who Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) is and how long he’s been on Earth. Those flashbacks aren’t just connective tissue though. They also set up the Council of Skrulls seen later and the reveal of Nick’s Fury’s wife, laying the foundation of the episode while giving the audience previous MCU footage.
Skrull Emperor Drogge
Talos references that there is a Skrull colony run by Emperor Drogge. The Skrulls do have an emperor in the comics, but his name isn’t Drogge. Instead, his name is Dorrek, and the name is passed down to new Emperors, who usually have a similar war-like mentality as Gravik.
Dro’ge, however, is a Skrull in the comics. He’s the leading scientist of the Imperial Court in the comics, and his name is definitely a tease at what’s to come in the episode, even if he never appears. Dro’ge was tasked with getting DNA samples from captured heroes who came to the Skrull homeworld. He experimented with their DNA to create Super-Skrulls with special abilities, which appears to be exactly what someone else is doing in the episode.
Rhodey References His Suit Multiple Times
Rhodey (Don Cheadle) is not in War Machine mode in this series, which is very different from how the audience sees him. Though he’s used to being a mediator for Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) with the government, here, he’s actually working for the government in a more official capacity. He’s clearly missing the action-oriented nature of being War Machine though. He references his suit multiple times throughout the episode, reminding himself and the audience that he isn’t just a negotiator.
Hydra And Alexander Pierce
When Rhodey and Fury meet up, the two discuss the “new” threat to Earth. They both reference Hydra, which was the biggest internal threat on the planet for two of the Captain America movies. Fury also mentions Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), who, like the Skrulls, embedded himself into the organization he wanted to take over. He was the primary antagonist for Hydra in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Fury notes that the Skrulls are even more dangerous than Hydra, however, since they can shapeshift into whomever they want, including Fury's own allies.
As a side note in this particular scene, it’s also revealed that Rhodey has known about the Skrulls looking for a home for 15 years, which means he’s known about them almost the entire time he’s been fighting alongside the Avengers even though, presumably, no one else did.
Why Fury Won’t Call The Avengers
Fury makes the point that he won’t call the Avengers because he doesn’t want the Skrulls to impersonate them and make the world think the Avengers are terrorists. This is a nice nod to Avengers like Mockingbird being replaced by Skrulls in the comics. It also provides an in-universe reason to keep most of the MCU movie characters out of the series.
Groot
While G’iah eavesdrops on a scientist and one of Gravik’s followers, she discovers that the scientists is getting DNA from various beings for some sort of experiment. When searching the computer files, one of the DNA specimens she comes across is Groot. It’s not clear if this is the Groot known to the MCU for being a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, or another of his species, but it does not his home planet of Planet X, just like in the comics.
Frost Beast
Frost Beast DNA is also one of the beings G’iah finds a log of in the computer. The last Frost Beast on Earth was during the events of Thor: The Dark World. As the Aether caused the lines between reality to blur while it was in Jane Foster’s (Natalie Portman) possession, items and living beings from Thor’s world ended up on Earth. A Frost Beast was last seen chasing birds down a street after the Aether was contained, so it’s likely the DNA sample came from the one on Earth.
Cull Obsidian
Cull Obsidian is also listed as one of the DNA samples, and that is one of the most interesting ones. Cull Obsidian is one of the loyal followers of Thanos. He was on Earth for the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame as part of the big battles. A Skrull would have had a chance to get a sample of his DNA if they were present for the battle or part of the cleanup.
Extremis
There’s also a DNA sample listed in G’iah’s search that simply reads Extremis, though it’s not clear who the sample was taken from. Extremis is the serum used in Iron Man 3 when an attempt was made to create a new version of the super soldier serum. It caused people who used it to combust. The serum was stabilized at some point because Pepper Potts had Extremis in her system at the end of the movie, but never utilized those abilities after the events of the movie.
These different DNA samples from beings across the MCU timeline indicate that Gravik’s plan to create a machine that uses them has been in place for years. It seems like it’s following the development of the Super-Skrulls, Skrulls who not only copied someone’s appearance and memories but also their powers, from the comics.
Secret Invasion is available to stream on Disney Plus with new episodes dropping weekly.