‘Secret Invasion’: Why Did Gravik Turn on Nick Fury & Go Bad?

One of the things that were never a secret in the storyline of ‘Secret Invasion’ was that the Skrulls were going to try to get what they wanted by causing the world to plunge into chaos so that it would be easier for them to take over the planet. The man leading the entire group is Gravik, who was shown in episode 2 as a younger version of himself meeting Nick Fury for the first time when they all made a pact to help keep Earth safe in exchange for a home. But why did Gravik turn on Nick Fury?

Gravik turned on Nick Fury because he had become tired of waiting for him to fulfill his promise of giving the Skrulls a home that they could call their own. He was a victim of the destruction of Skrullos in the past and was no longer willing to allow another species to dictate his life.

In a way, Gravik decided to take matters into his own hands by waging a secret war on the entire planet to take it for his people. That is why Gravik is now willing to kill innocent people willingly without remorse, as he believes that it is his right to lead the Skrulls in their invasion of Earth and make it the home planet that Fury never gave them. So, with that said, let’s look at what we know about Gravik’s betrayal.

Gravik had a traumatic past

The storyline of ‘Secret Invasion’ wasn’t exactly subtle in allowing us to see that Gravik is the main antagonist of the entire series. He is a Skrull idealist that was able to muster up thousands of Skrulls under his command to wage a secret war on the planet. And the goal was to destabilize the different nations of Earth while invading them from the inside so that they could take over the planet.

But Gravik’s story was shown early in episode 2 when Fury met up with the other Skrulls that Talos were able to call to Earth two years after the events of ‘Captain Marvel.’ In 1997, one of the Skrull leaders introduced Gravik to Nick Fury. Gravik was still a young boy then and was quite apprehensive of Fury’s friendly gesture toward him. And there was a good reason why he wasn’t quick to trust Fury.

Gravik was one of the many victims of the Kree-Skrull war that was responsible for the destruction of Skrullos, the home planet of the Skrulls. When he was introduced, it was mentioned that his parents died defending their home planet. However, Gravik could escape the destruction of Skrullos by piloting an entire ship on his own. In that regard, he was a strong and talented young man determined to accomplish a goal he set out to do.

Like many other Skrulls, Gravik experienced pain and loss when the Kree destroyed Skrullos decades ago. The difference, however, was that Gravik was quite young when he experienced traumatic events that shaped his entire being. As such, unlike the older Skrulls that were wiser and less idealistic, Gravik’s idealism led him to believe that he needed to take matters into his own hands to accomplish something.

So, when Gravik believed that the time was already right to act, he decided to lead a large group of Skrulls to take over the planet decades after Nick Fury met him and the other Skrulls that voyaged from different places in the galaxy to get to Earth. This time, Gravik was not about to let another species dictate his life in the same way that the Kree dictated his life when they destroyed his home.

Fury “abandoned” his promise

As mentioned, Nick Fury met Gravik and many different Skrulls back in 1997 when Talos was able to call them to Earth after the events of ‘Captain Marvel.’ Talos told all of the other Skrulls that he trusted Nick Fury even though he wasn’t the kind of person that would easily trust another man. However, he believed that Fury could be trusted, especially after he helped Talos back in the events of ‘Captain Marvel.’

Fury told the other Skrulls that he thought humanity and the Skrulls could coexist and work together. That was why he asked them to help humanity by disguising themselves as humans that he could use to infiltrate different positions of power worldwide. He promised these Skrulls that he could give them a home if they could promise to keep his home protected. As such, the Skrull leaders volunteered their services in the hopes that Fury could keep his promise of giving them a home.

Of course, three decades have passed since the events of ‘Captain Marvel.’ However, Nick Fury is yet to give the Skrulls their own home for reasons that we can’t really explain. We know that Fury was busy dealing with different threats to the planet, which explains why he formed the Avengers. And he might have actually pushed his goal of helping the Skrulls down his list of priorities.

Fury also went to space after the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ to deal with the fact that he failed to help the planet when it needed him most. Because he left Earth, the Skrulls felt abandoned by Fury. Gravik was affected the most by this as he thought that Fury would no longer fulfill his promise of helping the Skrulls find a home.

As such, Gravik made the call to wage a secret war on humanity by invading it from the inside in the hopes of getting the home that he and his people were denied. Instead of discussing things with Fury, he took matters into his own hands. And it was all because Nick Fury couldn’t give them the home he promised after making a deal with them three decades ago.

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