The Marvels’ Major Missing Character Proves Secret Invasion Truly Meant Nothing

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Marvels.
Summary

• The Marvels ignores key elements of Secret Invasion, suggesting that the series is practically meaningless in the MCU.
• The poor reception to Secret Invasion perhaps made Marvel Studios want to distance future MCU projects from the series, but completely ignoring it may not be the best choice.
• The Marvels sets up a potential continuation of Secret Invasion's storyline through the inclusion of Valkyrie, hinting at the Skrull refugees finding a new home in New Asgard and potentially leading to further conflicts.

By omitting one major character, and ignoring several set up storylines, The Marvels has proven that Marvel Studios recent Secret Invasion series is practically meaningless in the MCU. Secret Invasion hit Disney+ in June 2023, marking Samuel L. Jackson's first solo project as the MCU's Nick Fury, the former Director of SHIELD and new Director of SABER (Strategic Aerospace Biophysics and Exolinguistic Response). Secret Invasion was supposed to directly lead into the events of Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels, which released on November 10, 2023, but the recent film seemed to completely ignore the events of the Disney+ series, most notably by failing to include one major Secret Invasion character.
After the release of Secret Invasion, the series quickly became one of the MCU's lowest-rated projects, with specific criticism falling on the series' poor visual effects, slow-burn storyline, and rushed ending. Marvel Comics' Secret Invasion event was an epic crossover storyline, but Marvel Studios' adaptation stripped the narrative to its bare bones, and the series perhaps suffered because of this. The poor reception and disappointing performance of Secret Invasion left the future of its major set up storylines uncertain, and The Marvels' release has exacerbated this confusion, as the Phase 5 film missed the opportunity to address Secret Invasion directly.