Secret Invasion is a 2022 limited series from Marvel Comics, starring Nick Fury and Maria Hill. It's written by Ryan North, with art by Francesco Mobili and color art by Jordie Bellaire.
Set in the shared Marvel Universe, it’s a loose sequel to the original 2008 Secret Invasion event.
The original series saw the alien Skrulls, led by religious extremists, infiltrate Earth and use their shapeshifting powers to replace superheroes and other key individuals.
Things have changed since then. Earth has much better precautions against shapeshifters. Most Skrulls are now living peacefully as part of the united Kree-Skrull Empire. And S.H.I.E.L.D., the hi-tech spy agency that Fury and Hill used to work for, has now been disbanded.
Despite all of that, when Fury's called out to a suspected Skrull sighting, he still takes it very seriously. And perhaps that's wise...
The first issue was released November 2, 2022.
Secret Invasion contains the following tropes:
- Alien Invasion: Implied to be happening, with a new wave of Skrull infiltrators.
- Baby Talk: Mary, the youngest of the Stuart family, talks this way, addressing Nick as 'Mista Fuwwy'. As she's actually an adult Skrull impersonating a murdered child, it's all for show.
- Fantastic Racism: Deconstructed; Tony explains to Maria Hill that he used to be highly prejudice against Skrulls after their last invasion, but Squirrel Girl helped him see past this prejudice. Now he believes that coexistence is possible, and that skrulls are no more a monolith than other groups. Maria doesn't buy it and begins opening fire on his skrull employees. Which was a Secret Test of Character because Maria agrees and wants their help taking down the extremist invaders. She talks with Fury about how she almost let herself be consumed by prejudice.
- Funetik Aksent: Mary's dialogue in the first issue is written this way, as she's a small child using Baby Talk.Mary: You're gonna find him, yeah Mista Fuwwy? Pwease will you save my daddy?
- Kill and Replace: the fate of the unfortunate Stuart family, used as bait to trap Nick Fury. They're all dead before the first issue starts, and all but Mr. Stuart have been replaced by Skrull impostors.
- Not Himself: Nick Fury is called to a family where the father recently died under the belief he was a Skrull infiltrator. The mother's rationale is that he hasn't been the man she's loved for years, understood by Fury to be extreme denial over his death. Except not really. They're Skrulls that replaced the family.
- Paranoia Fuel: As with the original Secret Invasion, it's acknowledged that the Skrull replacement is prime fuel for paranoid anxiety. Maria lampshades they could psych targets out by numbering themselves one, two and four if they ever get captured.
- The Reveal: The end of the first issue shows that one of the Avengers has been replaced by a Skrull.
- Spotting the Thread: Fury realizes the Stuart family are Skrulls because they're dressed exactly the same as they are in an old family photo in the living. The one in the lead explains it was because it was a rush job.
- Trust Password: The Spy Speak variant. Maria and Nick have dealt with Skrulls and other imposters before. They have a subtle challenge and response pass-phrase set up. The Skrull replacing Nick doesn't know that, though.
- Unreliable Voiceover: Nick tells Maria how Mrs. Stuart had convinced herself that her dead husband was actually a Skrull, and that her real husband was still alive. He couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth, so ended up staying for dinner. At which point the flashback diverges - the narration talks about an uneventful meal, the comic itself shows him overpowered by Skrulls.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Maria Hill is incredulous to find that Tony has been secretly employing Skrulls for an indeterminate amount of time and helping them subvert detection tests. Tony justifies it by pointing out that skrulls in general aren't the problem, just the ones motivated to be a threat like any terrorist group or foreign government.
- We Are Everywhere: A captured Skrull teases Hill on how she can be sure she's gotten all the ones posing as Fury and others. Hill just snorts that the Skrull is trying to spread hysteria and make her think there are more of them then there are. However, as the first issue ends with the reveal one of the Avengers is actually a Skrull, it appears the agent really wasn't bluffing.
