The Secret Invasion Finale Has Some Bizarre Implications For New Asgard
"Secret Invasion" is finished, and with it, another disappointing Marvel show that promised big stakes but delivered none. For a show about an alien invasion of Earth, where major world leaders are replaced with aliens, there was a severe lack of urgency to the show, and by the time of the finale it feels as if nothing really happened — the status quo changed but also kind of reset.
Indeed, in the final episode, we are rid of the Skrulls, Nick Fury returns to space, and we are left with virtually no real proof that the show ever happened. Worse yet, what little actual consequences there are for the events of the season either leaves a major plot hole or simply ignores a big part of the MCU. Whichever the answer, it shows Marvel is no longer the cinematic universe it once posed itself as.
You see, the season ends with President Ritson giving a TV address where he announces emergency authorization to designate "all off-world born species as enemy combatants." In essence, he kicks the Skrulls out of the planet, ending that whole storyline swiftly, while also causing a montage of hit squads hunting down Skrulls, whether innocent or guilty, as well as vigilantes killing innocent humans by mistake too. The problem is that he didn't specifically target Skrulls, but all alien-born people on Earth, which leaves us with a big Norway-sized question mark. Yes, I'm once again imploring anyone at Marvel to show they have not forgotten about New Asgard.
A disappointment
Though New Asgard was not once mentioned in "Secret Invasion," the implication here is that the little tourist town is now an enemy of the United States. But wait, you might say, isn't New Asgard technically an enclave within Norway? Why, yes, so in the "Secret Invasion" finale the U.S. technically declares war on not just part of Norway — making things rather messy for NATO — but also declares the Nordic people's literal gods to be "enemy combatants." Sure, mock the tiny nation of Norway and its tiny population of 5 million people, but they won't be happy to see the military propaganda the U.S. will put out about the Valkyries or Odinson.
Does this mean Thor will be considered an enemy sympathizer when he returns to Earth (as he's done plenty of times before)? What happened to that "mutually beneficial partnership" Ritson himself signed with New Asgard during the events of "Wakanda Forever" (via Reddit)? Unfortunately, this seems destined to become yet another world-changing event that will go completely ignored by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or at most will get mentioned in passing like so many other world-changing events. Remember the Sokovia Accords? Remember the massive alien kaiju coming out of the ocean? Apparently the MCU doesn't, and that is a big problem.
When "Iron Man" first came out and the post-credits scene promised an interconnected universe leading up to "The Avengers," audiences were promised a franchise where the individual movies impacted one another, where the plot mattered to the overall MCU. It is becoming increasingly clear that the goal of Marvel projects is to give the illusion of consequence, the cinematic equivalent of "Mass Effect 3" and its three-colored ending. If nothing really matters, then why should people keep watching? Well, turns out they aren't.