Warning: Spoilers for Secret Invasion to follow
We’re just one episode into Secret Invasion, and the fruits, both ripe and rotten, of this bold new direction for the Marvel Cinematic Universe have wasted no time in rearing their heads; the glimpse of Olivia Colman’s new character Sonya Falsworth was nothing short of delightful, as to be expected from the Academy Award winner, but the apparent death of Maria Hill has many a fan up in arms at the moment.
One point of intrigue of note was Talos’ reunion with his daughter G’iah, who has since become one of Gravik’s most trusted operatives as the Skrulls ramp up their colonization of Earth. The young Skrull’s loyalties seem to be steadfast, having double-crossed her father by feeding him false info about Gravik’s plan to bomb Russia, ultimately leading to mass devastation and, indirectly, Maria’s aforementioned demise.
However, G’iah’s mentality may not be as cut-and-dry as her actions indicate; upon hearing the news that her mother, Soren, was murdered by the group she’s now working for, it didn’t take long for some newfound emotional turmoil to make itself known on her face, and it’s hard to say where her character might end up by the series’ end.
But who exactly is Soren? And what role has she played in the wider MCU narrative up until her alleged demise?
Who is Soren?
Soren, as mentioned earlier, is the wife of Talos and the daughter of G’iah, and was among the group of Skrull refugees that were revealed to be on Earth back during the events of Captain Marvel. She initially departed for space in search of a new home planet along with the rest of the Skrulls but eventually returned to Earth with Talos to aid Nick Fury and Maria Hill. During this time, Soren impersonated Maria while the real Maria and Fury, the latter of whom was impersonated by Talos, dealt with more secretive matters.
Soren and Talos aided Spider-Man during the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, the web-slinger unaware of the duo’s true identities. Shortly after, Soren convinced her husband to contact Fury and ask him to return to Earth, presumably to help respond to Gravik’s rebellion.
This brings us to Secret Invasion, where, according to Talos, Soren was killed by Gravik or one of his soldiers in the events leading up to the series.
Is Soren really dead?
As for whether or not she really is dead, Secret Invasion could surprise us yet; it’s no outrageous move to not buy the finality of Maria Hill’s death, especially since the character is slated to appear in The Marvels, and given that Soren had been impersonating Maria for quite a bit of time, this could point to any number of possibilities. Perhaps the Maria we saw die was actually Soren, which could add a brand new weight to G’iah’s turmoil in the admittedly unlikely event this turns out to be true, or perhaps the Maria Hill we’ll see in The Marvels will turn out to be Soren, who ultimately managed to survive.
Of course, this is all assuming that The Marvels takes place after Secret Invasion, which remains a dubious notion given that not only does Fury look much younger in The Marvels than in Secret Invasion, but The Marvels was also originally pegged for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s release date, which would have placed it before the Disney Plus series both chronologically and release date-wise.
Although, it’s hard to say if Marvel would be willing to jumble that particular timeline relationship with Secret Invasion, so as far as we’re concerned, all bets are off until the release of The Marvels, at which point we’ll know the final fate of Soren, Maria, and even, potentially, Nick Fury himself.