Does Secret Invasion's Colombia Reference Suggest A Skrull Connection To Hydra?

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to set up its multiverse with films like "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and "Ant-Man: Quantumania," the studio is also taking a side road with one of their most popular characters, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). While the whole of the MCU focuses on the future, Fury and his band of secret agents like Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), and Sonya Falsworth (Olivia Colman) look to be focusing on the past as they deal with the Skrulls, last seen in the '90s set "Captain Marvel."

Many things can be gleaned from the trailers and the first few minutes of "Secret Invasion," which drops on Disney+ on June 21. However, one thing that brings us a little pause (and gets our rabbit hole diggers working) is a reference to Colombia. In a conversation with Ross, a new character named Prescod (Richard Dormer) tells him about an invasion of Skrulls. He links a handful of terrorist attacks from around the world to one mastermind. Two of those attacks seem to involve Argentina attacking Colombia and Colombia attacking the Philippines. A quick shot also displays a hastily scribbled note with the writing: "Bogota Terror."

While the Skrulls are already a nod to Fury's past, as he has been aware of their presence for decades, Colombia is also a part of his story, as it is where he worked with Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford). Does this mean that "Secret Invasion" is about to bring Nick Fury's story full circle?

We don't get a lot of information on Nick Fury's background in the MCU; most of what we know about the character is that he is the world's most talented superspy, with secrets that have secrets from each other. Outside of his involvement in the prequel film "Captain Marvel," "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" gives us the most information on his background in the form of a story of who he was when he was younger. It involved Alexander Pierce and Fury's tendency to ignore decisions from his superiors, given they are "stupid a** decisions." As we saw in "Avengers."

Pierce tells a story about five years after he met Fury when the two were stationed in Bogotá. When Colombian National Liberation Army soldiers stormed the embassy, Pierce's security team got him out safely. Still, the guerrilla group took hostages, including Pierce's daughter. Pierce wanted to try the diplomatic path to resolve the conflict, ordering Fury to stand down on his plan to infiltrate the embassy through the sewer tunnels. Fury ignored the order, getting everyone out alive.

The incident is what sparked Fury's promotion to his position as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and set him on the path to becoming the character he was when we met him in "Iron Man." However, it also showed Alexander Pierce that the diplomacy route was useless, leading him to join HYDRA and begin his plan that came to a head in "Winter Soldier." His turn to HYDRA could also have been in response to learning of Skrulls if they were posing as CNLA and attempting to destabilize the globe, priming us for an invasion.

Steve Rogers' (Chris Evans) story received a full-circle close when he ended with the long-awaited and long-promised dance with his best girl at the end of "Avengers: Endgame." Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) was given a solid ending when he made the ultimate sacrifice the moment he snapped Thanos (Josh Brolin) out of existence. And Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) got her own movie to allow her to walk away from the camera in a symbolic goodbye to the franchise. Nick Fury has had a long run in the MCU, acting as a bow to the arrow that is the Avengers and assembling them before pointing them at the target. While these other franchise mainstays were given fond farewells and had their stories concluded for a heartful closure, Fury deserves one just as much as the others.

One of the other clues to this being Fury's goodbye comes in the form of a statement he makes when Falsworth asks him why he isn't calling on his "special friends." He tells the MI6 agent that "this is personal." It could mean he takes the Skrulls personally since he has been aware of their existence for thirty years. Or, he could be referring to his personal experience in Bogotá.

If "Secret Invasion" points viewers back to his time in Colombia to bring his story full circle, it could be the closeout for the character Fury deserves. The image of him walking away from the camera in the trailer could be a mirror to the last moment we saw Black Widow on screen, Samuel L. Jackson making his triumphant exit from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.