Small Details You Missed In The First Secret Invasion Trailer
Drips of information about the upcoming Marvel series "Secret Invasion" have found their way to the public via both news outlets and other MCU films since it was first announced by Disney in December of 2020. Samuel Jackson and Cobie Smulders will star as Nick Fury and Maria Hill in their third MCU series together — "What If?" and "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" are the others — on top of his nine and her six appearances in the film universe. We also have been long aware that Ben Mendelsohn will make his third showing in the Marvel universe as the Skrull Talos.
In the "Spider Man: Far From Home" post-credits scene, it's revealed that Fury and Hill were actually Talos and fellow Skrull Soren throughout the events of that film; they call the real Fury, who is seen sunning himself on a virtual reality beach from the safety of a Skrull ship. He jumps to his feet to look for his shoes, declaring himself ready for action and presumably kicking off the events of "Secret Invasion."
Disney+ just released the first teaser courtesy of D23, and while it's less than two minutes long, it does provide some additional clues as to what the series has in store. Here are some of the small details you might have missed.
Shape shifting among the Faces of Freedom
In one brief sequence, Talos questions Kingsley Ben-Adir's unknown character in a casual dining hall surrounded by diners and a handful of floor-to-ceiling portraits of old white men all tagged as "the faces of freedom." As Talos moves to threaten Ben-Adir, the innocuous-looking crowd all morphs into copies of the villain and stands ominously around Talos.
Only one of the portrait subjects' names is legible, and his reads "Smerkov." That doesn't correspond to any existing real-world figure or Marvel character, meaning we can probably assume that the other three vaguely historical looking gentlemen pictured are also fictional and representative of no single individual.
One painting sits off by itself on a side wall and appears to show a Renaissance-era figure with curly red hair in front of a floral hedge or bush. The other four are painted more formally: what appears to be a relatively modern government official in black bow tie, a curly-haired man in late 18th- or early 19th-century garb and disapproving look, the aforementioned Mr. Smerkov, and a man dressed in an ornate red military coat.
Never a good sign when a raven shows up
In one very brief sequence, Fury rests on a leaf-covered brick patio with one foot propped up on a dingy fountain base or birdbath, looking up at a raven perched in a tree above him. Fury looks like he is stopping to catch his breath, and a raven appearing overhead can't make him feel any better about whomever or whatever is chasing him. Ravens are most commonly associated with either impending doom or a tragedy in the near past, but according to World Birds, "Raven symbolism is also tied to shape-shifters and they are thought to be spell-casters."
That raven could be signaling to Fury that something terrible is either just about to happen or has just gone down; or it could be a Skrull, hovering there over Fury and watching him. Whether the bird appears to provide assistance or surveillance is also not yet completely clear, although Fury does at least appear to be allied with Talos throughout the entire trailer, so he presumably has at least a few Skrull buddies on his side.
From Russia without much love
There aren't many about the setting of "Secret Invasion," but sharp eyes will no-doubt catch a couple of clues pointing to a few Russian locations. On the door of the bar where Fury meets Hill for the first time in many years hangs an inkjet printout of a sign with Russian wording on it that translates roughly to "Thank you for not smoking!" Later, there is an explosion in Moscow's Red Square next to a lamppost banner displaying a Russian phrase that loosely translates to "national unity."
In the most ominous appearance of Russian text, an unidentifiable agent that could be Hill opens a door to a large round room where workers are welding together some sort of giant framework over a raised platform. The lettering for the middle word on the frosted glass is difficult to make out, but taken in context with the two surrounding it, the phrase likely translates to "authorized personnel only."
Whether the lettering is banning snacks and drinks or cameras and foreign agents isn't quite clear, but it is evident that there is something ominous happening in that room.
Mystery motorcade of unidentified government officials gets some bad news
Near the very end of the trailer, we see a long motorcade of black government limousines and an armored car with police escorts at the front and rear. The camera then jumps back to show a helicopter and two missiles headed right for the caravan. One of the missiles hits its target, and the SUV is launched into the air — to the horror of the stunned driver. We don't know for sure who the VIP is who warrants all this attention — both protective and antagonistic — but in typical Marvel fashion, government agencies appear to play a big role in "Secret Invasion."
Aside from whomever rides in the mystery motorcade, Don Cheadle is back as James Rhodes of the U.S. Air Force and is shown surrounded by the standard assortment of military men, including a couple of military police officers. We also see two officers from the Department of Damage Control carefully approach and open what looks like a portable cryogenic chamber.
Like in pretty much every other segment of the teaser trailer, the scene jumps to another before we get any real idea what is happening, but this first tantalizing look at "Secret Invasion" will certainly spark plenty of anticipation ahead of the Spring 2023 release.