Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 What if the ones closest to us, the ones we've trusted our whole lives, were someone else entirely?
00:05 What if they weren't even human?
00:08 Skrulls.
00:10 Hey, welcome back to Screen Crush, I'm Ryan Aery. So what if Secret Invasion was actually Avengers 5?
00:18 This is a story that would have been the perfect Avengers movie after Endgame. Now the reaction to Secret Invasion
00:23 wasn't great for so many reasons. The biggest letdown though is how one of the coolest
00:28 concepts from the comics was adapted. Secret Invasion is one of the best crossover events in Marvel Comics, and it's a story
00:35 that's fitting to a big-screen crossover event.
00:37 So we came up with how Secret Invasion should have been done in the MCU, and an Avengers 5 movie in Phase 4 would have fixed
00:44 so many things for the entire multiverse saga. Fury, why haven't you called any of your special friends down?
00:49 We can't keep depending on these superheroes to swoop in and save our asses.
00:53 Uh, what?
00:55 Alright, so we all know that Secret Invasion was really disappointing, so I'm not gonna pile on too much.
00:59 We've done that enough in past videos.
01:01 Instead, let's start by explaining why Secret Invasion should have been an Avengers movie. The comics version of Secret Invasion was about the Skrulls
01:08 invading Earth. What makes it so unique is the reveal that the Skrulls had shape-shifted into so many heroes.
01:13 But the really massive twist is that some heroes were replaced years before the event.
01:18 So that's like Rhodey was a Skrull since Civil War, right?
01:20 Yeah, well they tried to do the Skrull twist with Rhodey in the show, but they messed it up.
01:24 The reveal feels so empty and sloppy.
01:27 Some damn sloppy work.
01:28 Anyways, the Skrulls were a huge threat, so all of the Marvel heroes had to join forces to defeat them.
01:34 So you can see why Secret Invasion would have worked so much better as an Avengers movie.
01:38 The MCU making a small-scale show that feels cheap and insignificant ultimately feels like such a waste of this fantastic story.
01:45 And there are some good adaptations of the story. The animated show Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes did the story really well.
01:51 In fact, they even did some things better than the comics.
01:53 You lied to the Avengers, to the whole world, all using my face!
01:58 And Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. already made a much better version of Secret Invasion on television.
02:03 The fourth season deals with characters being replaced by impostors.
02:07 Now while it's robots and not Skrulls, the concept is still the same.
02:10 There is that intense paranoia. Characters we know and love might have been replaced.
02:14 Take for example one of the best scenes of the season.
02:17 Fitz and Simmons, a couple who are in love, can't trust each other because they believe that the other might be an impostor.
02:23 I know that bloody LFD, you're messing with him!
02:25 - It's not me, General! - Well, it's one of us!
02:28 This is exactly the kind of scene that would have saved Secret Invasion.
02:31 This is the staple of the body snatcher concept.
02:34 Somebody in this camp, being what he appears to be, right now that may be one or two of us.
02:38 By spring it could be all of us.
02:40 So how do we know who's human?
02:42 But this kind of thing is pretty much non-existent in the MCU's Secret Invasion.
02:46 I mean, for a show with shapeshifters, at no point does Fury or anyone else even suspect that the person they're talking with might be an impostor.
02:53 And this brings us to why we needed an Avengers movie in Phase 4.
02:57 Hey, why you wearing that headband? You gotta go to a montage or something?
03:00 [Avengers theme]
03:04 Haha, close. After this video, I'm gonna go work out.
03:08 Is that why you're drinking green water?
03:10 No, this is not green water. It's my daily dietary supplement called AG1. They're the sponsor of this video.
03:15 So, I've been drinking AG1 for about a year now and it's become a really important part of my daily routine.
03:20 Oh, what's it do?
03:21 Well, this is what we call a foundational nutrition drink.
03:24 It is the best way to make sure that you get all the vitamins and minerals that you need throughout the entire day.
03:28 It has 75 different ingredients including vitamins, minerals, superfoods, probiotics, and adaptogens.
03:33 That is why this is the best nutritional drink I've ever used for workout recovery.
03:37 I recover faster and the high magnesium cuts down on muscle soreness.
03:41 Like guys, if you've ever taken a break from working out and you're trying to start back, then this drink is for you.
03:47 It also gives me the energy that I need to finish out my workday, but it's not like a caffeine rush.
03:51 This is more of like a sustained energy throughout the entire day, which means I get more done, I'm not working late, and overall, my life's just better.
03:59 It's also very easy to use. You have one scoop inside 8 ounces of water.
04:02 I like to add some of this D3+ K2 Vitamin D supplement, which helps support your immune system.
04:08 And then you just put on the lid, give it a shake, and then you're done.
04:12 Plus, there are these travel packs, so even if you go off on vacation, it's easy to keep this as part of your daily regular routine.
04:18 So, that is easy.
04:20 So, if you sign up with the link in the description, you get a free 1-year supply of this immune-supporting D3+ K2 and 5 travel packs with your first purchase.
04:28 Just click the link in the description to get started on your first purchase of AG1.
04:31 Now, back to what I was saying.
04:32 Now, I understand why Marvel wants their Avengers movies to be these huge crossover events.
04:37 But, by the time Avengers Kang Dynasty comes out, it'll have been 7 years since Endgame.
04:42 7 years!
04:43 This is the same time gap between the first Avengers and Endgame.
04:47 It's been 84 years.
04:49 And it's more than just the long wait.
04:51 There's a bigger problem.
04:52 We don't know who the new Avengers even are.
04:55 Is there even a team, or is it just an army of heroes now?
04:58 What is the dynamic between these heroes?
05:00 Who's the Tony of the saga?
05:01 Who's the Steve?
05:02 Can these heroes coexist as a team in a world that has lost half the original Avengers?
05:06 We didn't even ever see Sam Wilson's Captain America, Captain Marvel, Shuri's Black Panther, and Spider-Man interacting.
05:11 Fighting on the same battlefield does not count.
05:14 We need at least one or two Avengers movies before Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars.
05:18 Because the way Marvel is doing it now, the new Avengers will assemble for the first time in a huge crossover event with dozens of other heroes.
05:25 And probably a bunch of nostalgia characters from the multiverse.
05:28 [Grunts]
05:29 [Sighs]
05:30 Okay.
05:31 Oh!
05:32 Oh, hello.
05:34 [Phone rings]
05:35 Hello.
05:36 What are you guys doing here?
05:37 The whole world's going to hell.
05:38 You're just going to sit there?
05:39 This eliminates the concept of a team of heroes.
05:42 It's another portal scene, but this time, like with the multiverse.
05:45 The Avengers are so much more than just team-up movies.
05:48 They define the themes and the stories for each saga.
05:51 They are integral for the overall story of each phase.
05:54 These are the heroes that the entire saga is revolving around.
05:57 The current saga feels so disjointed.
05:59 The stories and heroes feel disconnected.
06:01 There are no major events that tie everything together.
06:04 So, yeah, it's like the DCU.
06:06 Exactly.
06:07 You're so right.
06:08 High five.
06:09 The MCU kind of feels like the DCEU right now.
06:11 So, they need to do more Avengers movies.
06:13 That's it?
06:14 Yes.
06:15 And here's exactly how they should have done it.
06:16 This is where the fun begins.
06:17 Let's start with the legacy of the Avengers after Endgame.
06:20 One of my confusions with Phase 4 is why the Avengers are no longer a team.
06:24 Sure, Tony and Natasha are dead, and Steve is an old guy.
06:26 Hawkeye's retired, mostly.
06:28 And Hulk is kind of there.
06:29 Bruh.
06:30 And Thor is, like, off in space doing soul-searching.
06:32 But there are tons of other heroes who are technically Avengers.
06:35 So, why did none of them step up?
06:36 The implication is that without the Core Six, there is no glue to keep the Avengers active.
06:40 So, they just scattered back to solo heroics.
06:42 That's fine, but the heroes must know the value of having a team.
06:46 So, here's my in-universe explanation for what happened.
06:49 After Tony's death, he created protocols for the continuation of the Avengers.
06:53 Rhodey was tasked by his best friend to oversee Tony's plans.
06:56 But then, the Skrulls invaded, and Rhodey was replaced by a Skrull.
07:00 In this version, he was not a Skrull since Civil War.
07:02 This happened after Endgame.
07:04 The Skrulls used the blip as a cover for their invasion.
07:06 There was so much chaos, and in all that confusion, who could tell if someone was replaced by shapeshifters?
07:11 Now, I know that one of the great things about the comic story is that some heroes were Skrulls for years.
07:15 But I don't think this translates to the MCU.
07:17 It creates unnecessary retcons, and it ruins great moments like these.
07:20 Skrull Rhodey used his authority to ensure that the heroes remain divided.
07:27 He claimed that with so many god-like heroes, and without the Sokovia Accords,
07:31 they must hold themselves accountable, and only assemble when the world truly needs them.
07:35 Throughout Phase 4, there will be hints and breadcrumbs setting up the Skrulls.
07:39 For example, the plot of Wakanda Forever will have a small change,
07:42 where the war between Wakanda and Talekan starts because of some information that Everett Ross gives Ramonda.
07:47 But Ross was replaced, and the Skrulls wanted to start a war between Wakanda and Talekan to weaken both nations.
07:53 And now, Ross has Shuri's full trust.
07:55 The infiltration has begun.
07:59 The final show before Secret Invasion will be the Nick Fury show.
08:02 I would call it Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., or simply, Fury.
08:05 It will serve as a direct prelude to the Skrulls' invasion.
08:08 The show will be a buddy cop spy thriller with Fury and Talos going after a rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
08:13 This is someone from Fury's past, an agent that Fury mentored personally.
08:16 But the twist is that the agent is a Skrull.
08:19 So, here's the backstory for Secret Invasion, which the show will slowly reveal.
08:23 After the events of Captain Marvel, Carol helped the Skrulls search for a secret agent.
08:27 Carol helped the Skrulls search for a new homeworld.
08:29 But there were no safe worlds for the shapeshifting aliens.
08:32 Carol couldn't play chaperone for years, so she and Fury went with the less desirable solution,
08:36 integrating the Skrulls into other alien civilizations on several different planets.
08:40 And here, the story tackles the complicated issue of immigrants and displaced people.
08:45 The show kind of touched on it, but then they sort of made the refugees into evil terrorists.
08:49 Not great, Bob!
08:51 So, in our version, Fury used the Skrulls who lived on Earth as his spies.
08:55 However, Talos objected to Fury using the Skrulls too much
08:58 because he wanted his people to have a new start on Earth.
09:01 He didn't want his people to be defined by their ability to shapeshift.
09:04 Fury's sin is that after what happened with Hydra and Winter Soldier,
09:07 he took drastic measures to protect the world.
09:10 And one of them was using some Skrulls as spies and assassins.
09:13 One of these spies was Gravik, the rogue agent.
09:16 And then the snap happened and Fury and Talos were dusted for five years.
09:19 During that time, Gravik and other radical Skrulls took that opportunity to infiltrate humanity.
09:24 But they don't want Earth, they want its resources.
09:27 Not the conventional kind. They want the superpowers of the heroes.
09:30 They want the tech from Wakanda.
09:32 They want to create super Skrulls and then take their vengeance against the Kree Empire.
09:36 Because they believe that only once the Kree are decimated, the Skrulls will finally be free.
09:41 Free to take over the Kree's empire and have many, many safe worlds.
09:45 I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new empire.
09:51 Now Fury senses a plot by the Skrulls to take over.
09:54 I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi.
09:56 But he doesn't call the Avengers right away. He wants to keep it a secret.
10:00 It's his mess and he wants to protect the good Skrulls like Talos from prosecution.
10:04 Now at the same time, the paranoia kicks in and Fury cannot trust anyone.
10:07 Everybody can be a shapeshifter.
10:09 He can't even trust Maria Hill.
10:11 And here's the thing, she was replaced by a Skrull.
10:14 And she's actually leading the invasion from the S.W.O.R.D. space station.
10:17 The show ends with Hill sending the call to all Skrull operatives that the next phase of the invasion has begun.
10:24 And that gets us to Avengers 5, Secret Invasion.
10:27 The first half of the movie focuses on two factors.
10:30 The Skrulls creating a machine that will allow them to replicate superpowers.
10:33 The second story is about the new Avengers meeting and reacting to the Skrull invasion.
10:37 Now early in the movie, we can see the new Captain America, Sam Wilson, on a mission.
10:41 He fights a group of terrorists or something like that.
10:43 Nick Fury shows up and kills one of them and the body transforms into a Skrull corpse.
10:48 And this shatters everything.
10:50 Who can you trust?
10:52 I trust nobody.
10:54 Nick explains to Sam what's going on and urges him to assemble the Avengers.
10:57 Wait, you just said Fury didn't want anybody to know.
11:00 Did you forget that? Did you say that? Did you forget you said that?
11:02 Well, who said this is the real Nick Fury?
11:04 Wait, what? You called him Nick, not Fury. And then that means...
11:08 Yes, this is an imposter.
11:10 Nobody calls me Nick.
11:12 The real Fury is in hiding.
11:14 The Skrulls want all of the Avengers in one place so they can copy their abilities.
11:18 Sam brings the heroes together as he steps up as the new team leader.
11:22 Now, I don't think that the new Avengers need to be bloated with too many heroes.
11:25 It's a team, not an army.
11:27 The members of the new Avengers are Captain America, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Wasp, Shang-Chi, and She-Hulk.
11:33 But what about Thor and Doctor Strange? Where's Wanda and Vision? Daredevil? Ms. Marvel?
11:38 Well, Thor is off world with love and he should be part of the cosmic Avengers.
11:41 Doctor Strange is off to another universe dealing with incursions and he should deal with the multiverse.
11:46 And Wanda, she's kind of dead.
11:48 Is she there?
11:49 Okay, she'll be back, but this is too soon. And White Vision is way too confused to be part of the team.
11:53 I request elaboration.
11:55 Daredevil is a street-level hero who only appeared in shows so far.
11:58 I actually think that those street-level heroes can end up forming their own team on the TV side.
12:02 Now, as for Ms. Marvel, Kamala's the best, but I don't think she should join the Avengers, at least not yet.
12:07 I like the idea of her and Carol meeting for the first time in the Marvels.
12:10 And this way, their meeting might be more meaningful.
12:12 We're a team.
12:13 Oh, no, no, no, no, we're not a team.
12:14 We're not a team.
12:15 And I also think that Ms. Marvel should join the Young Avengers.
12:18 Professor Hulk, War Machine, Bucky, and even Hawkeye are in the movie and they would be part of the team as well.
12:23 But those are the eight new Avengers.
12:25 But here's a twist. Two of these heroes are Skrulls.
12:28 You already know Rhodey is one of them.
12:29 Hawkeye?
12:30 Nah, there's no way a Skrull can replicate his skills.
12:32 You're no shit!
12:33 The second Skrull is Hope.
12:35 So this creates a fun dynamic when Scott realizes the woman he loves had been replaced.
12:40 Anyways, this brings us to the second part of the movie.
12:43 The Avengers, who are still not fully formed by this point, are working on tech that will detect the Skrulls.
12:48 But there is immediate paranoia among the team.
12:50 Everyone is on edge because anybody can be a shapeshifter.
12:53 The Skrulls are here and they can look like anyone.
12:56 And Fury thinks one of you has been replaced by one.
12:58 Skrull Rhodey then reveals that he has info about where the Skrulls are located.
13:02 So most of the team goes on a mission.
13:04 While Fury, Hope, and Bruce are working on the Skrull detector.
13:07 Skrull Hope takes Fury and Bruce down.
13:09 This was all a trap.
13:10 The Skrulls need Fury's lab to finish their machine that replicates superpowers.
13:14 And right away they start making Super Skrulls.
13:17 Skrull Rhodey leads the heroes to an ambush.
13:29 There's a battle, but it's unlike anything we've seen in the MCU.
13:32 The Skrulls use their shapeshifting to mess with the heroes.
13:34 It's more of a horror scene than a fight.
13:36 The Avengers fight doppelgangers of their friends, of people they know and love.
13:39 They even fight copies of themselves.
13:42 It is chaos. Nobody knows who's real and who's the imposter.
13:45 "That man's an imposter. That man is the imposter."
13:48 Scott fights a Skrull who turns into Hope and he cannot fight the woman he loves.
13:52 Peter must face a Skrull in an Iron Man suit.
13:54 Or who knows, maybe it's a Skrull who looks like the Green Goblin if that's like, multiversally possible.
13:58 Carol sees a little Skrull girl who blames her for her past sins when she was serving the Kree Empire
14:03 and how she abandoned the Skrulls.
14:04 And Sam finds himself fighting Skrull Bucky who's wearing Steve's Captain America suit.
14:09 This symbolizes Sam's inner self-doubt about wielding the shield instead of Bucky.
14:14 The Skrulls defeat the new Avengers with paranoia, guilt and doubt.
14:17 Some heroes are captured and the Skrulls begin to copy their abilities.
14:21 The heroes who escaped start pointing guns at each other.
14:23 The paranoia kicks in and they are about to fight.
14:26 But then, Sam steps in and proves himself as the leader, not letting the paranoia destroy the new Avengers.
14:31 "Nothing come between us. Nothing tears us apart."
14:37 Later, the heroes meet the real Fury who introduces them to Talos and other good Skrulls,
14:41 proving that not all of them are invading aliens.
14:44 And Talos helped free Shuri and the real Hope from the Skrulls.
14:47 And with Talos' help, Shuri and Hope create a Skrull detector.
14:51 "It's me. Prove it. You're a dick."
14:55 "Okay."
14:57 So Shuri and Hope are the new science bros?
14:59 Well, more like science sisters.
15:01 This leads to the final battle where the new Avengers assemble to defeat the Super Skrulls.
15:05 These are the new Avengers for Phase 4.
15:07 In the end, the heroes defeat the Super Skrulls and free the captured heroes.
15:10 Many Skrull impostors are revealed, but not all of them.
15:13 The new Avengers are established and now there is a team in the multiverse saga.
15:17 The Skrull situation won't just fade away since there are many Skrulls who still need a safe world to call home.
15:22 And the Avengers won't repeat Fury's mistakes by forgetting about them.
15:26 And there are still some bad Skrulls out there who now have superpowers.
15:30 By the Avengers helping the Skrulls, nefarious forces will use the situation to turn the public on the heroes.
15:35 Thunderbolt Ross will assemble the Thunderbolts to serve as government-approved heroes.
15:39 So Phase 5 will adapt the story of Dark Reign from the comics,
15:43 and we already made a few videos about how that could happen.
15:46 All of it will lead to a clash between the Avengers and the Thunderbolts, or the Dark Avengers.
15:50 And this is something we've never seen in the MCU.
15:53 A team of heroes fighting a team of villains.
15:55 And after that, Phase 6 will go all in with the multiverse crisis,
15:59 and it ends with Avengers King Dynasty and Secret Wars.
16:02 The major difference is that this time there will be an established Avengers team that assembled in Phase 4.
16:07 So by the culmination of Phase 6, it will actually feel like the characters had a full story over the course of the entire saga.
16:14 And you know what? Maybe Marvel wasted Secret Invasion, but they can still do this story without the Skrulls.
16:18 Or how would that even work?
16:20 Well, what if there's an invasion from another universe,
16:22 where variants will infiltrate the universes by replacing heroes from Earth-616?
16:26 I mean, they all look the same, usually.
16:28 Maybe we should even explore that idea in a future video.
16:31 I'm Miles Morales.
16:39 Anyways, that's how we think Secret Invasion should have been done in the MCU.
16:42 Do you think it should have been the story of Avengers 5?
16:44 And who do you think should be on the new Avengers team?
16:46 Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below or @ me on Twitter.
16:48 And if it's your first time here, please subscribe and smash that bell for alerts.
16:51 For Screen Crush, I'm Ryan Airy.
16:53 [music]