So far Secret Invasion is a firmly mid-tier MCU Disney Plus show. It’s light on action but heavy on slow-paced intrigue and tension, which to be fair was what was promised in the trailers. Perhaps that’s why, in comparison to other MCU shows, it’s scored surprisingly low viewing figures.
Now MCU aficionados may have one more reason to tune out. The most recent episode confirmed that Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes/War Machine has been replaced by a Skrull agent. Right now we don’t know where the real Rhodes is or when the switch took place, but fans of the character aren’t happy that they may have been watching an imposter:
Personally, I don’t mind the reveal, though if Rhodes was a Skrull in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier it retroactively makes his scenes with Falcon far less meaningful:
One logical theory goes that Rhodes was replaced sometime after Endgame, as his potentially not even knowing that Tony Stark is dead would be too weird. It’s also hard to really argue with this take:
Maybe this storyline would have worked better if it’d had a little more run-up in other shows, perhaps with characters mysteriously turning into Skrulls on their death?
And is Rhodes simply a bad choice to be a Skrull?
With just two episodes to go, it’s unlikely the show is going to completely reverse course for audience-pleasing action everyone. That said, with Gravik and his buddies powering themselves up into Super Skrulls we’re hopeful for some bona fide superhero action in the coming weeks. Plus, the Skrull Rhodes also presumably has access to the War Machine armor, so perhaps we’ll see Fury desperately trying to bring down that steel behemoth using every trick in his arsenal.
Secret Invasion airs Wednesdays on Disney Plus.