Highlights
- The conclusion of Marvel's Secret Invasion sets up future MCU projects, including the fifth Thor movie, by revealing the public exposure of Skrulls on Earth and President Ritson's proclamation treating all off-world species as hostile.
- President Ritson's declaration of war on the rest of the universe could have significant implications for New Asgard and the Asgardians, who are now considered unwelcome on Earth.
- The setup created by Secret Invasion draws parallels to the comic book storyline Siege, suggesting that political leaders may want Asgardians, including Thor and Valkyrie, to leave Earth, potentially leading to a similar conflict in the fifth Thor installment.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Marvel’s Secret Invasion.The Secret Invasion series drew to a close with the defeat of Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir), closing out its major storyline in a satisfying way, but it also sets up events for future Marvel Cinematic Universe projects. While the one most often talked about is The Marvels since Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) plans to return to space, there is another MCU movie that could benefit from following the events of Secret Invasion, and that is the fifth installment of the Thor movies.
While Secret Invasion involves the tease of a global catastrophe - Skrulls taking over the planet completely - it does so on a smaller scale. Nick Fury and a handful of allies are the ones who combat the threat without teams like The Avengers (whatever that may look like after Avengers: Endgame) or the Guardians of the Galaxy stopping by to help. Despite no help from outside heroes, there’s no doubt that any of the heroes on Earth will witness the fallout of the Secret Invasion finale. One MCU hero in particular who should really be impacted by the Secret Invasion finale is Thor (Chris Hemsworth).
President Ritson Makes A Drastic Proclamation In Secret Invasion
As the events of Secret Invasion unfold, it becomes clear that the presence of Skrulls on Earth will no longer be a secret. They are exposed during news broadcasts that show footage of Skrulls attacking President Ritson (Dermot Mulroney) and his convoy. It’s made clear that humanity is going to turn on the Skrulls. Nick Fury even notes at multiple points in the series that he knew most humans wouldn’t be accepting of a new alien species that looked different living among them. President Ritson drives that point home in the season finale of Secret Invasion.
In the final episode, President Ritson gives a televised speech discussing his decision that all beings from another planet will be treated as hostile. He specifically cites all “off-world” species and calls them “enemy combatants.” He also tells Fury that alien beings can “get off my planet.” After the experience he had with one rogue faction of Skrulls trying to take over, President Ritson essentially declares war on the rest of the universe on behalf of Earth. That’s a risky move considering several people from other planets like Guardians of the Galaxy members and Asgardians have helped save Earth multiple times. Asgardians, or what’s left of them, have even made Earth their home.
How Will His Decision Affect New Asgard
Thor and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) made a new home for what was left of the Asgardian people in Norway. New Asgard is a thriving community that was last seen in Thor: Love and Thunder. The Asgardians, however, made this home following Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) Snap. Their people had already been targeted by Thanos while on a ship on the way to Earth, and then ended up in the middle of the battle for Earth as well. Valkyrie is recognized as the formal Asgardian ruler, representing the country at diplomatic meetings on Earth. President Ritson’s proclamation of aliens not being welcome on Earth essentially means Asgardians are unwelcome on the planet as well.
Asgardians are thought of as gods, but they’re really from another planet in another “realm.” They used to be able to use the bifrost to get to Earth, but it was destroyed along with Asgard. While much of their customs seem like magic, it’s really advanced science, something Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) notes in Thor: The Dark World. Certain Asgardians, who have lived for thousands of years, like Thor and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), are the inspiration for Norse mythology in the MCU. They are revered as gods, but they’re still simply “off-world” beings.
It begs the question of how Ritson’s proclamation will affect New Asgard. After all, Ritson is the President of the United States, not of the entire planet. Will his words speak for the rest of the planet? Asgardians have been welcomed on Earth, but as Fury has pointed out before, Asgardians look like humans, which is very different from the Skrulls. Asgardians just happen to be stronger and live longer lives. Some of them, like Thor, Valkyrie, and Lady Sif (Jamie Alexander), have trained as warriors have honed that strength and their fighting skills to be superhuman in their efforts. Can Ritson really bar them from Earth just because he didn’t like what the Skrulls did to him?
The Comic Book Story Thor 5 Could Draw From
The final scenes of Secret Invasion demonstrate that the footage of the Skrulls and the xenophobia that Ritson has stoked are already having an effect on the MCU. Vigilantes are shown going after human beings they suspect are Skrulls. In some cases, they’re right, but in others, they’re killing humans who were impersonated at one point, but have now returned to their lives. That sequence is a great snapshot of what’s potentially to come for any aliens on Earth, not just Asgardians.
The setup created by Secret Invasion is not unlike the Siege comic book storyline in Marvel Comics in 2010. Primarily written by Brian Michael Bendis, the four-issue miniseries tied into several other comic book titles at the time, creating a ripple effect in the comics. It featured Loki manipulating Norman Osborn into gaining political support for an attack on New Asgard, which was in the United States instead of Norway in the comics. The manipulations are very similar to what’s seen in Secret Invasion.
Norman Osborn presents Asgardians as a threat, and he tricks a member of the Warriors Three into battling a group of villains, creating an explosion that kills many humans. It’s that loss of life that gets him permission to attack New Asgard. The Asgardians being revered as gods doesn’t stop the attack. Though those events play out for the Skrulls (and with different characters) in Secret Invasion, it stands to reason that as human paranoia and distrust of Skrulls grow, their distrust of “off-world” beings will in general. Despite the strength of Thor and Valkyrie, political leaders could want Asgardians to leave Earth next.
Siege specifically uses the comic book character Sentry, who is a powerful hero that also houses an all-powerful Void who is a force of destruction. Sentry is controlled by Osborn and sent to lay siege to New Asgard. While that specific character hasn’t been a part of the MCU, it’s not hard to imagine another incredibly powerful character being manipulated by someone like Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) or Sonya Falsworth (Olivia Colman).
In fact, the character whose power is on par with Sentry in the current MCU is Super Skrull G’iah (Emilia Clarke), who just entered into an alliance with Falsworth in order to protect her people. Though she clearly wants to do what’s best for her people, G’iah has been placed in the middle of warring factions in the past, and she could be used in a similar Siege storyline for Thor 5 as well.
Secret Invasion is available to stream on Disney Plus.