Spoilers Ahead!
Suggested Reading
If you haven’t seen Episodes 1 and 2 of Secret Invasion, stop reading now!
OK. You’ve been warned.
Episode 1 of Marvel’s Disney+ series Secret Invasion may have ended with a bang, but Episode 2 is where the real fireworks are. After Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury fails to stop Gravik and his followers from perpetrating a catastrophic bombing in Moscow, the U.S. government is forced to distance itself from him. Following a tense hearing with other international leaders, Don Cheadle’s James “Rhodey” Rhodes meets with Fury to discuss the situation.
As Fury breaks down the full scope of the Skrull invasion for Rhodey—who’s already been read in on the shape-shifters—the former S.H.I.E.L.D. boss asks Rhodes to let him handle the fight. He even specifically tells him not to call “our friends,” so they won’t be copied and framed by the aliens. The superspy refuses to stand down and reminds Rhodey that these moments are the reason Black men like them fought so hard to gain powerful positions.
“Men who look like us don’t get promoted because of who our daddies know,” Fury says. “Every ounce of power that we wrestle from the vice grip of the mediocre Alexander Pierces who run this world was earned in blood. So let’s make the power mean something. Help a brother out.”
Outside of the Black Panther films, Ms. Marvel and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, race isn’t something that comes up very often in the MCU, but Jackson was adamant that the series explores the effects of having “that much power as a Black man, and how they can be diminished at any moment by someone else just saying a specific thing or changing the trajectory of one’s career path because of it,” per Variety.
“Rhodey and Fury have risen to this place where we have a certain amount of power, even though we’re better than the people who have power, we still got to suppress ourselves in a specific way,” Jackson said. “And Marvel’s not afraid to let us explore that.”
Incensed at the mess Fury has created, Rhodey fires him, leading to one of the spy’s most memorable moments, as he declares “I’m Nick Fury. Even when I’m out, I’m in.” Throughout the first two episodes, we see a broken, unsure Fury. He’s clearly still dealing with the trauma caused by the Blip. However, getting fired seems to be the kick in the ass he needs to remind himself exactly who he is.
Seriously, Jackson and Cheadle straight-up deliver a masterclass in this scene. They effortlessly glide between shock, fear, guilt, indignant, admiration, badassery and exhaustion. It’s one of those moments you will have on a repeat re-watch. Why didn’t we get more scenes between Fury and Rhodey? Have they been working together and running game on these white politicians all this time? I need so much more information about their friendship and more of these unforgettable scenes from Cheadle and Jackson.
There’s been a lot of questions about where the MCU is going with Phase 5, but it’s becoming clear that the franchise is going beyond the fantastical comic book stories and examining their characters as the complex humans they are.
Secret Invasion is available on Disney+, with new episodes premiering every Wednesday.
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