MCU’s Phase 4 Most Exciting Show Can Avoid Civil War’s Biggest Problem

The next major comic book saga to be adapted for the MCU will be Secret Invasion, and the Disney+ show has everything to avoid a Captain America: Civil War problem. The series led by Samuel L. Jackson and featuring Emilia Clarke and Olivia Colman will be inspired by the 2008 comic book miniseries and promises to delve deeper into the history of the Skrulls. With no release date announced so far, Secret Invasion has the potential to be a spy thriller in which everyone is a suspect.

In the comics, Secret Invasion was one of the first major events following Civil War. The story sees the Skrulls infiltrating Earth and replacing several important humans and superheroes. Now heading to the MCU’s Phase 4, Secret Invasion can not only adapt an important arc from the comics but also fix a previous MCU mistake when it comes to translating specific stories to the big screen.

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One of the biggest criticisms regarding MCU’s Civil War was that a saga so important to Marvel comics was reduced to a Captain America solo movie only. Changes to the source material are always necessary, but there comes a point where too many changes can mischaracterize the original work. More than not being a faithful adaptation, one of Civil War‘s main problems is that it didn’t have many long-term consequences for the MCU, with the heroes linking up a short time later to fight Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. Secret Invasion, which is also a relatively recent famous saga, can solve those two problems: there will be a lot more time to develop the story since it’s a TV format, and the fact that there isn’t an Avengers movie around the corner can make the consequences of Secret Invasion be felt for a longer period.

Secret Invasion won’t necessarily be a fully faithful adaptation of the comic book saga, but the fact that the MCU has chosen the Disney+ platform to adapt the saga is good news. The highlight of Secret Invasion in the comics was precisely the exhausting feeling of everyone being a possible Skrull, and that would be something very difficult to achieve in a two-hour movie. A three-act story has very characteristic pacing, and the MCU movies themselves are often criticized for having a predictable third act. The MCU shows on Disney+, however, are more unpredictable in terms of the format. A possible Nick Fury investigation of the Skrulls’ invasion could take several episodes and not really be completed until the series finale.

A longer runtime also helps Secret Invasion to have consequences for the overall MCU. The Disney+ shows will introduce new names for the franchise such as Emilia Clarke’s mysterious characters, and the TV format offers more time to develop and set up those characters for a possible future in the MCU. There is also a greater unpredictability factor to Secret Invasion when compared to Civil War. Because it was a Captain America movie, Civil War was already expected to focus on Steve Rogers’ point of view. In Secret Invasion, however, many other characters can shine alongside MCU’s Nick Fury.

Not much is known about Secret Invasion yet, but the show has all the ingredients to be a better adaptation than Captain America: Civil War was. One could argue that the TV format is better suited for certain comic book arcs and characters, and shows like WandaVision and Loki are good examples of that. How Secret Invasion will fare both as a standalone product and as an adaptation of the comics is something audiences will only discover when the show premiers.

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