[DISCUSSION} Secret Invasion S01E01 - Resurrection
[DISCUSSION} Secret Invasion S01E01 - Resurrection
Episode 1 is out. Thought I'd get a discussion thread going. Maybe @Hurts can pin it until next week?
| EPISODE | RELEASE DATE | RUNTIME | CREDITS SCENE? |
|---|---|---|---|
| S01E01: Resurrection | June 21st, 2023 on Disney+ | 55 min | None |
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If I had a nickel for every time Marvel has written a group of refugees into the big bad terrorists, I'd have two nickels. That's not a lot, but it's funny that it happened twice.
Ok yeh the Flag Smashers were more of an anti-nationalist group of displaced people, but they were still a diaspora.
And what about the Clandestines? Another diaspora, albeit exiles, set up as the villains trying to get back home. I'm not saying either group was in the right, or that their actions should be condoned, it's just weird that Marvel have chosen refugees to be the villains in 3 of their TV series so far.
Or am I way off and finding a pattern that doesn't exist?
I liked the Skrull being the good guys in the MCU, unlike the comics, and that they were using their shapeshifting abilities to survive instead of for war. I guess it was too tempting to villainise them for this series, and I get the intrigue/drama that comes with a race of shapeshifters, but it's got me feeling iffy.
Stories like these are often about protecting the status quo, or at least protecting it from change involving harm and destruction. Refugees generally want to see the status quo changed because things suck for them. The more radical among the refugees will not be above using a bit of harm and destruction to get what they want. The ends justify the means and all that. I find it better to use the term "antagonist". They are people that the protagonists have conflict with, but they aren't necessarily bad people.
I get where you're coming from, and "antagonist" is certainly less loaded than "villain", but at least with the Skrull ....
spoiler
setting off a radioactive bomb at a public event is more than just a bit of harm and destruction!
I think I find it interesting that antagonists are often a reflection (consciously or not) of a group fear and what could be a more 'ideological radicalism' antagonist is being quite coded and kinda focused on refugeeism. Maybe just to broaden the grey area and make audiences somewhat sympathize with their ideology? I dunno, there are plenty of groups that want change so I'm spitballing whether this is a bit of a pattern.
Personally, I would have preferred if the first episode really leaned into the spy/espionage/cold war element, like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy-esque, instead of this milquetoast somewhat vaguely political messaging that isn't sure what it's trying to say. But it's just the first episode, maybe I'm completely off base and what they've set up will actually develop into something.
Yeah ngl it doesn't sit right with me making this version of the Skrulls into the bad guys. I was super interested in what they would do with them after writing them as immigrant refugees in Captain Marvel. But looks like we're just going with the problematic trope of having immigrants/refugees be terrorists.
I'm still hoping to enjoy the show on the whole, but I'm going to have to overlook that part to do so.
Don't forget the Inhumans. Technically they're not part of the MCU but they are written by Marvel.
Oh man, the Inhumans show was so weird. The slave-owning, xenophobic, eugenicist royalty as the good guys? What a waste of good actors. Tbf, I was never a fan of the Inhumans in the comics either (apart from Lockjaw) so didn't have high hopes.
AFAIK, they are part of the MCU unless explicitly stated otherwise. Same with Cloak & Dagger, Shield, Runaways, and the Netflix shows.