‘Secret Invasion’ Episode 1: All 16 MCU Easter Eggs
We already know that the MCU has always been a treasure trove of different references and easter eggs because all of the different series and movies are connected to one another. That means that references should be made to the other projects under the MCU banner. Of course, there are also instances wherein easter eggs reference the comics or even the previous MCU projects.
That said, we know that the events of ‘Secret Invasion’ are somewhat going to be important to the future of the MCU because of how it helps set up some of the events that will be seen in the upcoming ‘The Marvels’ movie. With that said, let’s look at all of the different MCU easter eggs shown in ‘Secret Invasion’s’ first episode.
16. Civil War location cards
Location cards have always been important in MCU movies that have different settings all over the world. In ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ we saw how location cards were used to show us where the different events were taking place. That was the same style that was used in ‘Secret Invasion.’
We first saw this in the cold open of ‘Secret Invasion’ episode 1 when fake Everett Ross (more on that later) met with Agent Prescod regarding his conspiracies involving the Skrulls. The cold open allowed us to see that this meeting was in Moscow, and the location card used the same style as ‘Civil War.’ And that’s because ‘Secret Invasion’ has dark undertones similar but darker when compared to ‘Civil War.’
15. Prescod and the Skrull invasion
As mentioned, the cold opening of ‘Secret Invasion’ involved a scene between fake Ross and Agent Prescod. That was when Prescod tried to explain his theory regarding an impending attack by the Skrulls, who he believed were planning to take over the entire world. And he referenced many things from ‘Captain Marvel’ while explaining his theory.
Prescod uncovered a theory that pointed to the possibility that the Skrulls were silently invading the planet by putting their people in powerful worldwide positions. While the Skrulls have been around since the events of ‘Captain Marvel,’ Prescod believed that the invasion was related to the promise made by Nick Fury and Carol Danvers about finding the Skrulls a new home, only for them to fall short of that promise.
14. The 30-year conspiracy theory
With the references made to the ‘Captain Marvel’ movie, ‘Secret Invasion’ also talks about a supposed conspiracy that Prescod believed started 30 years ago. We know that Talos is a peace-loving Skrull, but that didn’t stop Prescod from believing that the other Skrulls were more than willing to push the entire planet to the brink of war so that they could take over.
Prescod referenced Fury’s actions three decades ago when he promised to find a new home for the Skrulls. But because Fury was yet to fulfill his promise, Prescod believed that the Skrulls were taking matters into their own hands and had been preparing to mount an invasion for three decades.
13. The S.A.B.E.R. reference
We know that S.A.B.E.R., an organization headed by Nick Fury and based in outer space, will be very important in the future of the MCU, especially in the upcoming ‘The Marvels’ movie. We also saw Fury inside the SABER space station during the post-credit scene of ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home.’
The cold open of ‘Secret Invasion’ referenced S.A.B.E.R. when Prescod was discussing his theory regarding the Skrulls. The fake version of Everett Ross mentioned that Fury was off-world because he was overseeing SABER.
12. Fake Ross
As mentioned, Agent Everett Ross was seen in the cold open of ‘Secret Invasion’ when he met up with Prescod to discuss the Skrulls theory. This confused many people because we know that Ross was charged with treason during the events of ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,’ which took place before the events of ‘Secret Invasion.’
That was when it was revealed a few moments later that this version of Everett Ross was a Skrull. Some fans think that Ross was always a Skrull, but the truth is that this was simply a fake one. The real Everett Ross was broken out of prison by the Wakandans in ‘Wakanda Forever’ and is likely taking refuge in Wakanda while the events of ‘Secret Invasion’ occur.
11. The return of Nick Fury
In ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home,’ we saw that Nick Fury, that assisted Peter Parker the entire time, was actually Talos in disguise because Fury was off-world. He had been off-world ever since the funeral scene of ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ which means that the real Fury had nothing to do with any of the events of both Phase Four and Phase Five.
However, ‘Secret Invasion’ allowed us to see the return of Nick Fury. He returned from space to meet up with Agent Maria Hill and his good friend, Talos, to discuss matters related to the upcoming invasion that the Skrulls had been planning.
10. Soren’s fate
We met Soren in ‘Captain Marvel.’ She was the dear wife of Talos and was one of the Skrulls that Nick Fury formed a good friendship. But we learned of her fate early in ‘Secret Invasion.’
One of the reasons why Nick Fury returned to Earth after spending years in outer space was that Talos was not entirely in the best state after his wife’s death. That means that Soren was killed off-screen, as the only thing that Fury could do was to console his good friend. Later in the episode, we learn that the Skrull rebels were responsible for Soren’s death, which is why this fight against the Skrulls is personal for Talos.
9. Thaddeus Ross is yet to be president
Phase Five will include the movie ‘Thunderbolts,’ following a group of former villains formed by Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. In the events of ‘Thunderbolts,’ Ross is said to take over the role of president of the United States. This makes things interesting because we all know that Thunderbolt isn’t the biggest fan of superhumans.
However, in ‘Secret Invasion,’ the president’s role belongs to President Ritson, who hired James Rhodes (War Machine) as one of his advisers. We saw them in a scene wherein Rhodes told the president that Fury went down from S.A.B.E.R. without authorization. That means that the president believes that Fury has gone rogue. Of course, this might be Ritson’s last appearance as president.
8. Kree-Skrull war reference
During the middle of the events of ‘Secret Invasion,’ we learned that the Skrull rebels had established a settlement somewhere in Russia called New Skrullos, located in an area high in radioactivity. Of course, Skrullos is the name of the planet which the Skrulls originated from.
The name of New Skrullos refers to the war between the Skrulls and the Kree in the MCU, as we all know that they don’t really like one another. It was this war that destroyed Skrullos and forced the Skrulls into hiding. That is why Skrull refugees are hiding out on Earth.
7. Sonya Falsworth
Unlike a lot of the different characters in ‘Secret Invasion,’ Sonya Falsworth was created for the MCU and was not based on any character that you can read about in Marvel Comics. That means she is unique and likely related to an existing Marvel character we’ve seen. We believe that it might be James Montgomery Falsworth, who was a member of the Howling Commandos that Captain America once led.
Sonya appeared in the first episode of ‘Secret Invasion’ as an MI6 agent. She kidnapped Nick Fury and told him he wasn’t ready to go back on the field to fight the Skrulls because he wasn’t mentally and emotionally stable.
6. The mind probes
One of the devices that the Skrulls used back in the ‘Captain Marvel’ events was the mind probe, which allowed them to probe into people’s minds. In that case, they used it to find the location of the Tesseract from Carol Danvers.
The same device returned in ‘Secret Invasion’ when the Skrulls of New Skrullos decided to use it against a human. One of the Skrull warriors impersonated a human and used a mind probe to steal his memories. As such, while the Skrulls cannot copy memories when they copy appearances, they can use the mind probe to steal a person’s memory.
5. Skrull longevity
During one of the scenes of ‘Secret Invasion,’ Nick Fury joked about Talos and his strength for a Skrull that was already 136 years old. That was when Talos commented that he wasn’t even 40 years old in human years.
As such, it is clear that the Skrulls have lifespans far beyond what human biology can reach. This could mean that the Skrulls can live for hundreds of years, considering that 136 years old for them isn’t even 40 in human years. And this would allow us to consider how long Skrulls have been on Earth.
4. Fury’s Avengers reference
Concerning what we said about Talos’ age, the friendly Skrull told Nick Fury that he wasn’t about to go on his midlife crisis shopping because he wasn’t even 40 years old in human years. That was when he asked Fury what he got for his midlife crisis shopping spree.
Nick Fury replied that he got the Avengers for his midlife crisis shopping spree. This indicates that Fury probably thinks that forming the Avengers resulted from a midlife crisis, considering that the Avengers didn’t exactly work out in terms of its longevity. Of course, we know that the Avengers were effective, especially back in the events of ‘Endgame.’ It’s just that they haven’t been visible since Tony Stark’s death and Steve Rogers’ retirement.
3. Keller reference
When we first met Talos during the events of ‘Captain Marvel,’ he wasn’t revealed to be a Skrull. Instead, he was actually a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent named Keller. To be more precise, Talos was impersonating a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent named Keller.
In ‘Secret Invasion,’ Fury and Talos interrogated a Skrull impersonating a Russian artist. That was when Fury referred to Talos as Keller because not all of the Skrulls knew of Talos’ human disguise. Of course, the Russian artist eventually revealed that he knew that Keller was actually Talos the entire time.
2. Maria Hill and the Snap
Nick Fury and Maria Hill went to a bar during the middle portion of episode 1 of ‘Secret Invasion.’ That was when they talked about Fury’s decision to leave the planet and leave his active role as an operative. Hill mentioned Thanos’ Snap and how it changed Fury.
We know that Fury and Hill were together when they were both snapped away by Thanos. But while Hill remained the same after the Blip, Fury changed and decided to leave the planet. Hill referenced the Snap because she felt that after returning during the Blip, Fury became an emotionally and mentally damaged old man.
1. Maria Hill’s death
The final scenes of ‘Secret Invasion’ episode 1 allowed us to see Fury, Talos, and Hill working together to try to stop a bombing that the Skrulls had planned during a celebration in Moscow. They failed because the Skrulls had anticipated that Fury was about to meddle with their affairs. That was when the bombs went off and killed a lot of people.
Amidst the confusion, Gravik was impersonating Nick Fury when he shot and killed Maria Hill. The real Nick Fury saw what happened to Maria, and he was devastated when he realized that the one person that has been there to support him the entire time was now dead. Before that, Hill told Fury that she felt abandoned by him when he left Earth. So, as Hill was dying in the arms of the fake Fury, ‘Secret Invasion’ was referencing how Fury was the reason why Hill died.
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