Okay, do we need an introduction for this Disney+ Marvel catch-up? I don’t think we need an introduction for this Disney+ Marvel catch-up… Here’s my 2023 & 2024 Disney+ Marvel Catch-Up!
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Secret Invasion – Established Characters
Nick Fury
It’s taken me 3 years to get to this series and it’s as bad as I feared. Nick Fury is more washed up than Luke Skywalker and Han Solo ever were (Indiana Jones too, so I hear, although I’m not really across that franchise. But Disney has a habit, ey?). My research indicates that critics praised Samuel L. Jackson’s performance; but I hope that was for “every odd scene” because there’s not much going on here – and if anything, you’d praise Jackson for trying to elevate this thin material with his natural charm. This Nick Fury is racist too, relying on his “help a brutha” swagger any time he thinks he’s talking to James Rhodey. Fury is going out sad and I feel like this comes out of nowhere. Nick Fury has been up against it before, but he was never tired or ashamed of his problems like this. It’s a choice – a writing choice – and it’s really bizarre. Then when it comes to Gravik (the villain) broaching his misgivings about Fury’s military past, we never experienced it – if Fury did weaponize and manipulate the Skrulls for personal gain, then yeah, he’s a loser, but we’ve always known Fury as a hero; curious about his backstory, but it’s a choice to write him this way, and I don’t like it. I always had the idea that Nick Fury should’ve been the one to uncover Wakanda in the way that Martin Freeman’s character does in Black Panther, as part of a redemption arc; because at that point in his story, S.H.I.E.L.D has been busted by H.Y.D.R.A and the government, his babies are split (the Avengers), and so wouldn’t it be grand for him to be the one to broker Wakanda’s true power to the world’s stage? That would’ve put him back on top. Also, you’re going to have a black Marvel movie without Nick Fury?! That’s foolishness 💁♂️ This Skrull story also feels like (is) a Cold War story, and it screams like it’s twenty years too late in the MCU timeline. Like, why are the Skrulls threatening to take over Earth now of all times, right after Earth’s Mightiest Heroes just literally saved the galaxy? Isn’t that anger misplaced? Stoopid. But, if this story did take place 10 years after Captain Marvel, with the next generation of Skrulls maturing and impatient with waiting for their own planet, then that would make sense. Ah, but then we would have a terrorist war plot around the time of September 11, so that’s dicey. Yeah, I get it – Secret Invasion, stuck between a rock and a hard place. But ultimately, the Skrull storyline has to be the weakest of the MCU that I’ve come across so far; and since I’ve seen The Marvels already, I know the two projects barely even line up to be relevant anyway. Big waste of time. At least we got closure on the Skrull surprises in Spider-Man: Far From Home that completely undercut that movie’s seriousness – I wish we could cut that awful teaser for Secret Invasion out entirely.
James Rhodes
I love Rhodey. He’s dull, and rigid; but he’s an underrated hero of this MCU franchise. I love that Rhodey is in this TV show, as an influential figure of the U.S. government. He’s a superhero with a very important day job – and he’s the most reluctant superhero of the lot 😂 But I’d heard Rhodey’s “surprise” was the worst of the entire MCU… and, of course, I have to agree. Because Rhodey is not really even in this! His cameo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier bares 10x more impact that his contribution here. I’m glad that Don Cheadle got a paycheck, and got to act villainous for six episodes, but this Skrull could’ve worn the face of anybody and we still would’ve achieved the same result. You can probably tell this isn’t Rhodey from the first conversation, when he dismissed Fury with contempt; but knowing ahead of time, I’m not sure exactly when the surprise it supposed to come. Thankfully, there’s enough murkiness to be uncertain as to when Rhodey first becomes a Skrull – the show’s director has suggested that it’s directly after Captain America: Civil War, but fuck that noise, and I’m believing that it’s only for the length of this series, so every other Rhodey moment stays intact. Oh, but Rhodey does discuss being changed with Nebula in Avengers: Endgame… and he gives Captain Marvel a pensive look in the scene where… no, no, no, no, no, I won’t go down this path, because it undoes Rhodey’s best heroisms.
Talos
Ben Mendelsohn breaks into the MCU again, but geez, the series doesn’t use him well either. Talos is just another thinly developed characters uniting unceremoniously with the others to let this product down as a whole. Due to budgetary requirements, I’m sure, Mendelsohn rarely transforms into green Talos, and so he’s just, a guy. I don’t want to use the term “lap dog”, but it is revealed that he’s essentially been Fury’s lap dog, playing spy with no real ambition or purpose. And he is now like the Robin to Nick Fury’s Batman in an old crusty situationship. It seems he brokered the deal to allow the Skrulls to stay on Earth, and then very willingly went into complete servitude for Fury out of amnesty. No wonder Gravik is pissed and identifies a lack of leadership at the top. That’s a long time for Talos to be meek, with a real stagnation of goals. Couldn’t Fury have asked Thor to search for a deserted world after first contact with the Asgardians? But the Skrulls also do have another home planet in The Marvels, founded by Captain Marvel, and I don’t think this million Skrull invasion and that colony are even in contact with each other 😕 I would describe Talos as bleak and boring.
Maria Hill
And well, if this story was set in the past, like I think would be better, then Maria Hill wouldn’t be in it, would she? I’d be fine with that. Some other underling could get shot. Yet, here she is and so let’s acknowledge her death. Maria Hill: not as resonating as Agent Coulson, but most definitely in the same league. Solemn to see the end of her arc, but nice to see the series make a point of it, so she’s not another lose end. R.I.P.
Everitt K. Ross
Yes, he shows up, but he’s another one not really here. He’s a Skrull, mostly. Everitt K. Ross – just happy for the exposure, I imagine.
Rick Mason
It was only through my research did I realise that this guy was a returning character. Completely forgettable in both outings. He’s the S.H.I.E.L.D agent that helps Natasha Romanoff while she was a fugitive in Black Widow, and aids Fury on a plane here. I knew the show was making a big deal of him, but I didn’t have the recall to understand why. Now we know.
Secret Invasion – New Characters
G’iah
I’ve already said Gravik had a right to be perturbed by Talos, and we should find G’iah smack-bang in the middle of their political ideations, making her an interesting character… And she very well could’ve been, but I fail to see beyond the Emelia Clark of it all ☹️ In reality, G’iah is very terrible, conveniently good or bad whenever the plot dictates. I was interested in the element of her being another child of war, caught betwixt the rebellion of the Skrull’s next generation and her father’s honorable ways; but she’s either too integral to the Skrull’s plotting, or too stupid not to side with her father. I don’t feel the conflict within her coming across the screen. I reimagine her human image bald, as a sign of Skrull rebellion that confirms to her that the humans of Earth would not accept her natural form as they stop and stare. I also imagine G’iah completely unsure of herself, downtrodden. And then it might be tragic when Sonya Falsworth scoops her up off the street to fill her head with more nonsense and a new war to fight in. ADDITIONALLY: I almost completely forgot that G’iah is now also a super-Skrull with all these different powers 😮 Because the meme is that the MCU forgot about that too. And thankfully? Maybe it’s best we sweep G’iah under the rug with no need to revisit her again.
Gravik
Simply, I don’t have a problem with him. A precocious kid who is sulky about an unkept promise for his kin; who sees the ugliness in the human race and wants to take over the world. The actor, performance, and characterisation beyond that isn’t memorable though. Gravik should be a punk, with spikey hair, nose chain and all, in my reimagining. And he could be as brash as the Bushmaster from Luke Cage, arrogantly mistreating the Skrull code of the ways that he thinks make him noble.
Sonya Falsworth
It makes sense that Nick Fury would have a United Kingdom counterpart that he can have robust spirits with. I wonder what the hierarchal structure was in that show Agent Carter, and if that same actor aged up, could’ve served here. Nonetheless, Olivia Coleman brings her quippy brassy best, and I don’t mind Falsworth with her minor part to play.
Varra / Priscilla Davis
Now, these are the choices I can get behind! We knew Nick Fury had a wife, and she is retroactively made a Skrull, where it’s believable that she could’ve been all along. I like this detail. I support this detail. She is not the same Skrull who introduces Gravik to Nick Fury as a young boy though, but she damn well could’ve been, highlighting a connection there, and another reason why Gravik could feel his Skrull-kind have fallen in line behind Fury. Apart from some lovely to-and-fro with Fury about if he would’ve ever loved her in her true form (and the bastard can’t even commit to an answer) she shoots up her forever home, and that’s about it; and it’s all really weird. Here we have this soft heartfelt lady, who turns super-soldier with G’iah (whom she also apparently doesn’t know), just out of nowhere. So, I support this character but… 😕
Random Skrulls
There’s a whole network of recurring faces in Gravik’s New Skrullos, including his second-in-command, Pagon, and the one we see first join the community at the gate in episode one, Beto. But the only other Skrull I could care to note is Shirley Sagar, who is the only one to disobeys Gravik at the council. She then informs Talos of the upcoming betrayal. She could be the only viable Skrull character moving forward.
President James Ritson
The MCU has a President of the United States! I wonder if he will be used in future projects 🤔Congratulations, Dermot Mulroney, for making the MCU.
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Loki (Season 2) – Established Characters
Loki
I won’t lie, I spent a lot of this series going, “…I don’t get it…”. This multiversal complexity has never been my most excitable element of the MCU. The time-slipping, the looping timeline, the threat of more and more branches – I felt Loki (Season 2) was playing fast and loose with the logic of the TVA, which was already a whacky concept, even if it was acknowledging it. I’m not even sure if Loki was permitted to use his magic in the TVA the first time around, but here, he can. Part of my trouble also comes from the fact that too much time has passed between my viewing of both seasons – mostly due to me, but also by the very nature of how television seasons work. Loki also spends so much of this season problem solving, that I think there’s very little character development here, at least compared to the wealth of last season. The most pressing point comes when Sylvie asked Loki repeatedly, “what do you want?” and the answer, is time with the friends he cherishes most. I was thinking that, you know, Loki and Mobius do make some cute friends 😍 I think, by the end of this season, it all makes enough sense, but I’m not sure I like the paradoxes created by Loki pruning himself in the future to be able to live in the past, and so forth 🤷♂️ Or Loki being able to go back centuries to learn physics and showing up again unchanged; virtually the same Loki with the same personality. I also thought it was completely obvious that you can’t widen a physical implement for something of infinite size – like, der, showrunners. Call me the Poindexter 🤓 Loki then chooses to be the arbiter of all the timelines in a way to keep free will alive and save entire universes from needing to be pruned. Phew, hefty responsibility. He’s putting those Godly powers to use, and perhaps not completely selfless, as he’s given a new meaning to ruling the galaxy. I like it.
Mobius M. Mobius
I think there’s a really telling scene with Mobius, where Sylvie scolds him for wanting pie while entire civilisations may go under. Mobius has sunk into this humdrum life and never challenged himself to look beyond it… Yet, I’m not sure if this character development is congruent with the insightful good guy we see in Season 1. And I was kind’ve with Mobius later on, when he didn’t need to know what his life was like on the sacred timeline either. But seeing that he was a Jet Ski salesman makes a lot of sense and calls back to that what he’s passionate about.
Sylvie
After completing Season 2, I still maintain that Sylvie is the best invention of the Loki series. She has a subdued presence here, but that’s because she’s already completed her mission – killed the head of the TVA, and now just wants to live a quiet existence along any branch she chooses from the multiverse. It’s so funny, because for years, I’ve daydreamed about what I’d do if I ever went back in time, and I would happily work at McDonald’s too, I reckon; for crust and collectables, while I invested and gambled on sure things. So, Sylvie is bringing my imagination to life 😇
Hunter B-15
Still a loyalist, with a mighty heart that you’d want by your back. She does quickly see the other side of the quarrel with General Dox though, after first accusing her of mass genocide. That’s not an argument you’d think one would give up quickly 😀 Hunter B-15 is like, “yes, I guess she’s just doing her duty 🤔”. I remember Hunter B-15 as a cog in the first season of the TVA, so with her running the show in nearly every single conflict, I think contributed to making this show seem smaller than I remember it being beforehand. She also doesn’t really do much in the finale, but she’s to become the new director. And from here, she helps save the day in Deadpool & Wolverine (spoiler alert) so this steppingstone is just a steppingstone to be stepped on ahead of her movie debut. Beautiful.
Casey
I have no memory of Casey from Season 1 of Loki at all 😕 An analysist, with nothing much else to add but another presence. I really like the revelation that everyone at the TVA are all reused variants, and Casey’s jail-breaking other is the wildest deviation from the person we know.
Ravonna Renslayer
It’s a huge downfall for Ravonna; once leader of the TVA, now bunking in the shadows to stay concealed. Yet, we learn just how important she is to the creation of Victor Timely, and the maintenance of the sacred timeline. I feel Ravonna was much more formidable in Loki (Season 1), and this is a less memorable, more desperate, change-up for her.
Miss Minutes
Miss Minutes is conniving and sassy. The definition of malicious malware. But again, I feel like Miss Minutes’ goose was plucked in Season 1, and here we just learn more of her true knowledge and relevance amidst the creation of the TVA. She packed much less of a punch here.
He Who Remains / Victor Timely
Just who is He Who Remains? Is he Victor Timely at the end of time? I spent a lot of the season thinking that possibly couldn’t work, and that he must be a variant from a different branch, other than the sacred timeline. But then Victor Timely takes a big hit of that temporal radiation that may just give him the strength and knowledge he needs to complete the research and find a way to sit outside of time. If this is so, then Loki (Season 2) creates a time-loop whereby He Who Remains dies and sets off a chain reaction where Ravonna Renslayer gives Victor the information he needs to help him build the TVA again. I didn’t think the MCU did time loops, with the way Avengers: Endgame goes about explaining time; but here we are. And this works fine, making He Who Remains and Victor Timely the end and beginning of the Kang dynasty. The TVA is now tracking all the Kang variants to prevent the multiversal war He Who Remains warns about, and that we expected to see in the next Avengers movie, which we won’t. In fact, since plans have changed, it seems the only Avenger to tackle a Kang variant now will be Ant-Man, and he won the day with an army of ants 🙃 I suppose now is as good a time as ever to reflect on this storyline that never was. I know I was certainly skeptical of it; I’d written before about how I wasn’t captivated by Jonathan Majors yet, across Loki (Season 1) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. I think this was a combination of the spluttering characterisation, the multiversal head spin of a concept, AND the fact that we just had Thanos, who was a simple epic success. Kang was looking like the Jared Leto stepdown to Heath Ledger’s Joker. But I did also applaud the way the MCU was introducing Kang, with obscure ties to Loki and Janet Van Dyne as first contact. Loki (Season 2) gives me the best sense of what the full scope of the vision for the character might’ve been – with Ant-Man’s first-hand experience, and Loki somehow coming back to Earth to warn Thor about all he knows. But alas, it will never be, and Doom will now lead the charge as the Avengers’ next mighty foe. Good luck.
Loki (Season 2) – New Characters
Hunter X-5/Brad Wolfe
It’s a worthwhile thought that a TVA worker would want to insert themselves into the sacred timeline and reap the rewards. Hunter X-5 is like The Matrix’s Cypher, played like a weaker fool of the TVA. I like the chain reaction that occurs in that his desertion leads Mobius and Loki to track him, and therefore discern General Dox’s plan.
General Dox
There’s a nice little arc in here for this side villain. General Dox takes her job to the extreme, pruning branches significantly. But she makes peace with Hunter B-15 before standing by her duty against Ravonna Renslayer. There’s a nobility amongst her bitterness, played finely by Kate Dickie.
Judge Gamble
Judge Gamble is just the authority figure when Hunter B-15 still needs another authority figure.
Ouroboros
Ke Huy Quan is just fun 😄 And the MCU was right to snap him up just after his Oscar winning campaign for Everything Everywhere All at Once. What’s funny to me is how the show makes a big deal out of how Ouroboros hasn’t left the repairs room in years, and then he’s all over the TVA thereafter, as the best brain in the organization, fixing everything. I thought it was strange that seemingly Ouroboros was the only person of the TVA not to have their memory wiped, when He Who Remains rebranded the organisation without his face; but he plays a pivotal part in the time loop “science fiction” we have going on here, and that is, that Ouroboros is able to know how to save the TVA multiple times, and perhaps therefore protecting He Who Remains if Loki so chooses. I don’t know how much this all makes sense, or if I’m making it make sense to me.
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Part 2 will feature Echo and Agatha All Along!
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