Secret Invasion confirmed that a major character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a Skrull, and its season finale revealed just how long they’ve been carrying on this deception. Viewers were concerned about the length of the impersonation as, in Marvel Comics, Secret Invasion had long-lasting implications for the Marvel universe. Some characters, like Spider-Woman, were confirmed to have been Skrulls for years. Given that the Secret Invasion TV series is very different from the comics and is fairly self-contained, it was initially unclear if this would happen with any prominent MCU characters.
Spoilers ahead for Marvel’s Secret Invasion
However, the show confirmed that at least one major MCU character and member of the Avengers was replaced by a Skrull. In Secret Invasion episode 4, “Beloved,” audience suspicions were confirmed when it was revealed that Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) was being impersonated by a female Skrull named Raava and was a part of Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir)’s rebel faction. He is especially dangerous as a Skrull because his government ranking gives him direct access to the President of the United States and the ability to manipulate national or even international affairs.
Meanwhile, despite a few slip-ups, such as calling Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) by his first name, this Skrull seemed very adept at impersonating Rhodey. It was almost like she had been doing it for some time.
How long has Rhodey been a Skrull?
In Secret Invasion episode 6, “Home,” the show seemingly confirmed how long Rhodey has been a Skrull. At the end of the episode, G’iah (Emilia Clarke) defeats Gravik and goes to the Skrull compound to free all of the humans that the Skrulls were holding captive while impersonating them. Viewers will quickly recognize characters like Vasily Poprishchin (Uriel Emil) and Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) as they regain consciousness. Meanwhile, Ross quickly sees that Rhodey is beside him and asks, “How long have you been in here?”
Rhodey doesn’t answer, but when he tries to walk he stumbles and nearly falls before G’iah catches him, telling him, “You’ve been held hostage for a long time.” He appears to be in quite a bit of pain and remains propped between two soldiers as they make it out of the compound. Viewers may notice a key detail: Rhodey appears to be wearing a hospital gown. The last time we saw Rhodey in a hospital gown was in Captain America: Civil War, after he suffered a severe spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down before Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.)’s tech allowed him to walk again. So, it seems that the Skrulls snatched him when he was in the hospital recovering from his injury, meaning he has been a Skrull for almost a decade.
In an interview with Marvel.com, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige previously confirmed that Rhodey had been a Skrull for some time. “[We want audiences to] understand exactly how long he’s been a Skrull,” Feige said. “We like the idea of fans going back and watching some of the other appearances of Rhodey and realizing that that wasn’t him.” This initially led media outlets to speculate that Rhodey could have been a Skrull as early as the beginning of Phase Four. However, it has now been confirmed that he was a Skrull for much longer—since Phase Three. This means he missed a lot of events, including the death of Tony Stark, the Blip, and the passing on of Captain America’s mantle.
The reveal is really quite heartbreaking as one can’t even imagine how lost and bewildered he will feel realizing he missed an entire decade of his life and lost his best friend during that time. Additionally, he may still have some recovering to do from his injury, as now we’re not sure if it was even the tech that helped him walk again or just that he’d been replaced by a Skrull. Then, there’s the matter of what all Raava has done as Rhodey, with 10 years to manipulate and influence the U.S. government and the Avengers. The length of time Rhodey has been gone is quite shocking and will likely have long-lasting effects on the MCU.
(featured image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
