Final quarter of 2023 looks exciting 

Secret Invasion is over. The show ended two to three weeks ago, and I am fighting the temptation to accuse everyone of whining.

Ultimately, people are free to hate what they hate, but because I thoroughly enjoyed Secret Invasion, I have failed to empathize with viewers that dislike the show. Also, this narrative that Marvel has somehow declined annoys me. But again, I have a bias. I have enjoyed most post-Endgame MCU projects. So, everything feels fine.

Why did I enjoy Secret Invasion? Marvel told a surprisingly grounded story in the vein of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Yes, you have shape-shifting aliens, but that adds to the paranoia because you don’t know who you can trust.

Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury is working outside the law, deprived of the limitless resources his position normally affords him. The mini-series peels back the curtain and shows us how Fury became the man we know, the vital role the Skrulls played in his ascension, and the events that eventually sent him into hiding on S.A.B.E.R.

Most of the action occurs in darkened streets, dingy rooms, and alleyways as the good guys attempt to sniff out the nefarious forces working behind the scenes to reduce the world to ash via nuclear war. The characters are surprisingly
compelling.

Many viewers hated the endless dialogue; I could not get enough of it. In fact, I could have watched an entire season of Talos and Fury talking. I loved their banter and what it revealed about their strained but solid bond. I said the same thing about Netflix’s The Punisher.

Everyone loved season 2, but the largely unnecessary brutality did nothing for me. On the other hand, I appreciated the rich drama and tragedy of the first season, but audiences disliked it.

I suppose we can agree to disagree; at least where Secret Invasion is concerned. I would rank it in third place, just behind WandaVision and Loki. But even if you hated it, the show does not matter to the bigger picture. I think we all agree that Secret Invasion takes place in an alternate timeline.

We know from WandaVision that Shield’s space station is called S.W.O.R.D, not S.A.B.E.R. Unless a screenwriter made a mistake, I think Marvel is finally dipping into the multiverse. Anyway, enough of that. Now that Secret Invasion is behind us, what comes next? Unless something changes in the next few weeks, Loki Season Two will come out on October 6, and the trailer looks fantastic.

We caught a glimpse of Jonathan Majors as Kang, confirming that Marvel has made no effort to replace him despite the domestic violence allegations dogging the actor presently. (He was arrested for beating his girlfriend. The case is still in court.)

The Marvels, the sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, debuts on November 10. Some entertainment pundits expect Disney to postpone the movie if the actors’ strike persists until late October.

The strike prevents actors from promoting AMTP (Producer’s Guild) movies. Disney is a member of the AMTP, and it usually spends hundreds of millions on marketing to make films box office successes.

But they cannot launch effective marketing campaigns if actors like Brie Larson are prohibited from discussing The Marvels on talk shows. It sounds like a pointless consideration to some of you, but many casual viewers have no idea these movies are coming out until they see the ads on social media.

I don’t know if Echo is still coming out on November 29. The Disney+ show is a spinoff that follows that deaf character from the Hawkeye TV show. And that is all for 2023. I know the popular thing right now is to put the MCU down. But excluding Echo (I don’t understand why anyone would make that show), I’m excited for the final quarter of 2023.