How Agents of SHIELD Did Secret Invasion Better Than the MCU

Even though Secret Invasion had phenomenal performances from the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and Olivia Colman, the series ultimately crumbled under the weight of a lackluster plot that did no favors for either character or story. The television show was loosely based on an iconic Marvel comic series donning the same name, though the name and primary antagonists are really where the similarities ended. It’s also why a single episode of ABC’s Agents of SHIELD did a better take on Secret Invasion than the comic’s own live-action counterpart.

The episode in question is the beloved “Self Control,” the finale for the second pod of SHIELD Season Four. Over the course of the “pod,” or group of episodes, an android was able to build Life-Model Decoys of most every agent within SHIELD. Think Skrulls but robotic replicas instead. As you might expect from the scenario, the plot eventually boiled to “Self Control,” where the show’s ensemble completely broke down due the distrust involved in determining whether their colleagues were human or LMD.

“Self Control,” just 40-some minutes in length, instills viewers with a horrendous sense of dread as the main characters go as far to hold their loved ones at gun point because of the tense situation. Watching the episode five years after its initial release and the feelings remain, it’s as unnerving as ever before—feelings that largely escaped Secret Invasion entirely.

With Secret Invasion, you have a group of shape-shifting aliens that invade the highest levels of society on Earth yet the show never pulls any major surprises despite having access to one of the most helpful plot devices in storytelling. Instead of directing viewers every which way, the series allowed its shape-shifters to take the appearance of one character for the duration of the show and rehash predictable plot points.

Even though Agents of SHIELD had three seasons worth of television work to build characters and relationships, Secret Invasion didn’t even think about getting started on that. Instead, the spy “thriller” simply took the name of a beloved comics run in hope that’d carry a six-episode order through the finish line without any serious kind of character development or plot progression, and it’s why Agents of SHIELD ended up more faithful to the comic than its own live-action namesake.

What is Secret Invasion about?

Secret Invasion centers around MCU veterans Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Talos (Mendelsohn) as they deal with an invasion of shape-shifting Skrulls who have infiltrated all aspects of life on Earth. Other MCU veterans will include Smulders as Maria Hill, Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes / War Machine, and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross. New cast members will include Emilia Clarke, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Olivia Colman, Carmen Ejogo, Christopher McDonald, Dermot Mulroney, and Killian Scott. The series will be written and executive produced by Kyle Bradstreet, and directed by Thomas Bezucha and Ali Selim.

All episodes of both Secret Invasion and Agents of SHIELD are streaming exclusively on Disney+.