Secret Invasion Raises Major Questions About Nick Fury's Captain America 2 Oversight

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) has been a mainstay in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the last decade and a half. 15 years after his debut in "Iron Man," Fury got his own solo series with "Secret Invasion." With the new series, fans were undoubtedly hoping to see the MCU return to its spy roots we got a glimpse of in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." However, after six episodes, fans now see that the MCU mistreated yet another of their legacy characters with plot holes and one giant question.

Twitter user Jay Thomas (@GroundhogJay_) posted his observation, stating, "#SecretInvasion even retroactively made past, bonafide great MCU entries like 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' dumber. I mean, if Fury had a secret group of ultimate spies that could be anyone and in any room at any time for decades, how the heck did he never discover Hydra?" Fair question.

As one of the original stars, he is the one who put together the original team in "The Avengers" that consisted of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and his fellow S.H.I.E.L.D agents Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Now that he is the last one to be featured in a solo film or series, fans were hoping to get a deep dive into the man. Instead, we got plot holes and a ruined mystique that leaves us scratching our heads.

Nick Fury has always been the world's greatest super spy. He was the man who was always prepared for the eventuality of a betrayal or double cross. As a master chess player who always sees twenty moves ahead and is besting his opponent at every turn, it was jarring to see that the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director was unaware that his mentor and best friend had been an agent of HYDRA since who knew when. In some ways, it made Fury a relatable human. Seeing the character vulnerable gave the man depth that we, as an audience, could relate to. But the newest development doubled down on that idea and took it too far.

What made Fury such a compelling hero was his ability to read those around him and navigate the dark underworld, putting himself and his team on the edge without a safety net and coming out on top. What we got from "Secret Invasion" was a revelation that Fury was none of that. He was, in fact, a mouthpiece and frontman for a spy network of aliens that could shapeshift and put themselves in danger to feed him information that he needed to propel his career forward. While some could argue that he was the architect of this spy network, it is also apparent that he wasn't in control of them at all.

Not only did they not tell him all that he needed to know, but they also hid that they numbered in the millions, not in the thousands as he thought.

Ending the story arc of a beloved character is an undertaking that few franchises can handle correctly. While the MCU has some wins, they also have some pretty disastrous losses in that regard. Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, got a beautifully fulfilling ending where he got to get back to his beloved Peggy Carter (Haley Atwell) to have a dance promised back in World War II. Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man, got perhaps the best ending any character could ask for when he made the ultimate sacrifice to save the world from Thanos (Josh Brolin).

The others, however, have been less impressive. Black Widow would have gotten a great ending with her sacrifice for Hawkeye to take the soul stone if it wasn't for her long-awaited solo movie to cheapen the ending by coming after it as a flashback. The Hulk was criminally underused in the "Infinity War" and "Endgame" appearances when he never got his redemption moment, instead being unceremoniously replaced by She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany). Thor is still awaiting his story ending, but the studio may have waited too long, as his character gets further from the beloved version we got in earlier films.

Nick Fury has always been a character that works in the shadows, providing information and motivation to the team members when needed to allow them to accomplish their mission. He deserved the kind of end that echoed the mystique and spy-grandeur built for over a decade. And while this may not be his ultimate end in the MCU, 74-year-old Samuel L. Jackson can't play the part forever.