Secret Invasion almost ripped off Call of Duty — and should have

Secret invasion is all about hidden identities and shapeshifting, but even after four episodes it still hasn’t really turned into a shocking conspiracy thriller. Sure, we’ve had a few revelations about politicians being secret Skrulls, and the US government vaguely blaming Nick Fury for Maria Hill’s death, but they could go a lot further.

[Ed. note: The following contains spoilers for Secret Invasion episode 4.]

In the fourth episode of the series, Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) and his men discuss speaking Russian in their next operation: an attempted assassination of the American president. It’s hard to miss just how evocative the scene is, whether intentional or not Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2‘s “No Russian” mission.

In the game’s mission, a terrorist leader, Makarov, reminds his men not to speak Russian during a terrorist attack on a Russian airport, hoping to blame America for the attack and start a war. The level was incredibly controversial at the time because it enabled players to shoot virtual civilians, but it’s also exactly the kind of politicization Secret invasion

Always pretends but shies away from it – it’s a show that’s about half measures.

This week gives us a prime example: Gravik may have hoped to blame the Russians for attacking the President during the planning phase, but then his mission seemingly failed. Throughout the assignment, he and his team often speak English. Then, as if his cover hadn’t been blown enough, He leaves and uses his strange Groot-esque tree arm powers. His team also commits to killing Talos instead of the President. Everything feels completely botched.

Let Gravik do evil and blame others for it! Even the only good framing job the series has had so far, Fury killing Maria Hill, is linked to blackmail footage from Rhodey – who is almost certainly a Skrull.

The premise of shapeshifters taking over the world sounds excitingly disturbing, but four episodes later: Secret invasion can’t quite make it up. It’s clear why the comic book version of Secret invasion

wouldn’t work in the series and why Marvel doesn’t want this series to be swamped with their most famous superheroes. But that doesn’t mean that Skrulls disguised as heroes shouldn’t commit assassinations and underhanded conspiracies around the world. As it stands, almost every moment of the show so far could have been about some anonymous terrorists instead of fleeing foreigners.

The point of introducing shape-shifting aliens to a world filled with characters we know and love is that they make you question the motivations of your favorite heroes. Would this guy really do something that horrible, or are they just a Skrull in disguise? How bad is the villain really? It’s all a way of pushing the audience out of their comfort zone. While the plot is reminiscent of Call of Duty, it doesn’t embody the gamble of that franchise’s infamous moment.

Modern Warfare 2The No Russian mission was controversial not because of the crimes it depicted, but because the game compelled players to participate. It’s unnecessary but effective, temporarily wiping away the “we’re the good guys” facade that players are usually safe behind in Call of Duty games. Sure, the mission could have been a cutscene instead, but if that were the case, we definitely wouldn’t be talking about it now.

The interconnected Marvel Universe may be too fragile to get there. Secret invasionThe reasons for avoiding something shocking seem to be harmful and connected to the brand. It seems Marvel isn’t willing to smear the image of any of its moneymakers with an atrocity lest they be needed for a Phase 9 spin-off.

I’m not saying that Secret invasion You have to go all-out on “No Russian” or get Skrull Captain America to kill civilians, but I think the show would have benefited if a minor hero had committed a war crime or two — or at least been blamed for it.