Highlights
- Secret Invasion disappoints fans and critics, breaking an MCU record for the lowest-rated Disney+ episode with an abysmal 13% on Rotten Tomatoes.
- The show fell short of expectations, with poor execution and a lack of tension, despite being anticipated as a gritty spy thriller with potential.
- Controversial decisions, including the use of AI in the opening sequence and early reveals of Skrull identities, contributed to the negative reception.
Secret Invasion was highly anticipated, and fans had high expectations for the Marvel Studios series. However, after continuing to disappoint fans and critics alike, the show ended up breaking an MCU record that will be hard to beat.
Secret Invasion is loosely based on the comic book event of the same name where Skrulls have infiltrated the highest ranks on Earth, including the Avengers. Fans were excited to watch a show completely different from recent MCU projects. Some even thought it had the potential to be the MCU's version of Andor. The series was expected to be a gritty spy thriller with little to no superheroes and grounded in the characters involved. However, the execution fell far below fans' expectations for the series.
Fans hoped the Secret Invasion finale could save the series after the first five episodes received poor and mixed reviews. Instead, the final episode of Secret Invasion was the worst critically reviewed MCU Disney Plus episode on Rotten Tomatoes, which currently has an abysmal 13% with only 8 reviewers. Before Secret Invasion airing, that title was held by episode 6 of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which received a 70% from critics. Every Secret Invasion episode was lower than any other MCU Disney Plus show's episode.
Secret Invasion is the lowest-rated MCU Disney Plus series in terms of Rotten Tomatoes critics rating at a lackluster 57% and is the only series that is rotten. Its highest-rated episode was episode 1, “Resurrection,” with 52%. Episodes 2 and 5 were tied with 50%, and episodes 3 and 4 were tied with 38%. In addition to the MCU's lowest-rated series, 2023 also saw the MCU's lowest-rated movie, with Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania receiving a 46% critics score, barely beating Eternals' 47%.
From the beginning, the series received backlash from fans due to controversial decisions, including the Secret Invasion opening sequence being made with AI and killing off a beloved character in its first episode. Secret Invasion has been received so poorly by critics for a few reasons. First, the series promised a political thriller with high tension that never manifested. The tagline of the show, “Who do you trust?” loses a lot of meaning when there are only a handful of possible people who can be Skrulls, and it becomes clear who is and who isn’t a Skrull early on in the show.
Before its premiere, Game ZXC's Secret Invasion review gave the first two episodes two and a half stars out of five. The review stated, “Ostensibly billed as something akin to a spy thriller, Secret Invasion fails to capture the high stakes and palpable tension of the genre.” With The Marvels supposed to be a sequel to Secret Invasion, some fans do not have high hopes.
Secret Invasion is currently available for streaming on Disney Plus.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes