Warning: This piece contains spoilers for Secret invasionMarvel’s Secret Invasion has retconned the MCU so much that it’s opened a plot-hole in Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s ending, 9 years after it was released. Nick Fury’s first solo MCU project might be a stand-alone that consciously changed the Marvel Comics story to focus on a more personal story for Fury, but it has referenced several older Marvel movies in significant ways. Groot’s MCU origin was confirmed by a brief Easter egg, and the entire Avengers origin in the MCU was changed by the revelation of the Skrulls’ working relationship with Fury.
On paper, the changes to the comics story make sense: Secret Invasion is missing The Avengers to avoid the show being overshadowed by their presence (and presumably to save on cost), but some of the meddling with MCU lore is more difficult to take. Nick Fury’s status in MCU mythology was as an untouchable master spy, but now he feels like a blunted weapon who cheated his way to success. Or at least, Talos’ version of his past would suggest as much. And Fury’s time at S.H.I.E.L.D. – particularly when it was infiltrated by HYDRA during the events leading up to The Winter Soldier – now inspires several intriguing questions. So too does what happened after The Winter Soldier’s ending.
Related: Nick Fury’s Complete MCU Timeline Explained
Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s Secret Invasion Plot-Hole Explained
At the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, with HYDRA’s infiltration confirmed, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) undermines Project Insight further as the helicarriers are about to be destroyed by leaking all of HYDRA’s secrets to the world, as well as S.H.I.E.L.D.’s. Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) warns Natasha that she will be uncovering the sins of her own past, but she sacrifices her anonymity to uncover HYDRA to the world. It’s a bold move, but there’s a problem, thanks to Secret Invasion’s Skrull reveal nearly a decade later.
Secret Invasion reveals that S.H.I.E.L.D. were aware of the Skrull invasion in 1995, as Nick Fury’s official rap sheet includes mention of