Where are the Avengers during ‘Secret Invasion?’

Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury is at the center of all the action in Secret Invasion, to the point where the series completely excludes the Avengers – Marvel’s most potent squad – from the story. Although it seems sensible that it focuses on the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, there’s still a burning question — why do none of the Avengers appear, even in a cameo role? and where are they?

Considering that Nick Fury always came to the aid of the Avengers in fighting off threats, the absence of the mightiest MCU heroes when Fury needs them to stop the Skrulls from occupying Earth comes off as surprising, but sit tight, because Marvel has logical answers to the question.

The Avengers are lost after Avengers: Endgame

Chronologically, Secret Invasion is set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, where we last saw our iconic heroes together. The film hinted at the disbanding of the original Avengers squad and paved the way for the new superheroes to take over the MCU. With Tony Stark and Black Widow dead and Captain America lost in the past, it’s clear that they can’t return to help Fury with the Skrull problem.

This is confirmed by the dialogue during the Skrull Council meeting in episode 2, when one of them asks “What if the Avengers return?,” to which Gravik responds, “You don’t think I thought about that?,” making it clear that the no one has heard from them Avengers after the events of Endgame.

However, it still leaves Fury with an option to take the aid of other major Avengers like Doctor Strange, Hawkeye, Hulk, Thor, Captain Marvel, and Ant-Man. While there may be explanations as to why these heroes do not care about the planet anymore, like Thor and Hulk entering fatherhood (can’t blame them for choosing family over career, can we?), the second episode of Secret Invasion revealed the big secret as to why Nick Fury wants to tackle the Skrulls all by himself.

Nick Fury finally reveals why he can’t call the Avengers in Secret Invasion episode 2

The most straightforward reason is that Fury doesn’t believe that any of the Avengers are not Skrulls (and neither do we now). In fact, we’re all in anticipation to find out the big breaking of which cunning hero has been a villain all along. Previously, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Samuel L. Jackson stated that there is a “good reason” why Fury does not call the Avengers to help exterminate the Skrulls.

“What he’s not doing is calling in his super friends. So that’s part of the whole dilemma. I mean, people want them and he’s not bringing them. You’ll find that out. There’s a very good reason he’s holding back.”

And it’s every ounce true. Secret Invasion has finally decided to take the veil off the truth behind Fury’s discreet strategy in fighting the Skrulls alone. We see that Fury reaches out to his trusted ally James Rhodes in the second episode of Secret Invasion, which aired on June 28. The two discuss the threat of the Skrulls, and while in conversation, Rhodes alludes to the Avengers and says, “Maybe we should call our friends.” To this, Fury reveals the real reason why he’s all alone in saving the planet this time.

“No… we can’t jump the gun on that… You know, we get them in a fight with the Skrulls, and the next thing you know, they find themselves duplicated and turned into terrorists.”

So what are the other Avengers doing?

We last see Clint Barton in the 2021 miniseries, Hawkeye, it is revealed that he has teamed up with Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), and is preparing her to face up against foes from his past. Meanwhile, he is prioritizing spending time with his family.

Bruce Banner was last seen as Hulk in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which focuses on Hulk’s cousin sister Jennifer Walters, who becomes the titular superhero. Bruce is seen helping her navigate her powers, and also spending time with his son named Skaar on planet Sakaar.

Thor also embraced fatherhood in his last appearance in Love and Thunder, where he adopts Love, the daughter of Gorr. So the Odinson is probably not on Earth during the events of the Secret Invasion, and instead enjoying his time in New Asgard with his daughter.

Doctor Strange’s future was teased in the mid-credits scene of Multiverse of Madness, where he was shown following a sorceress into the Dark Dimension. He is likely facing a completely different set of threats in the multiverse while Fury fights off the Skrulls.

Ant-Man had his hands full fighting off his time-traveling, multiversal adversary, Kang, in Quantumania earlier this year. Though he returns back home from the Quantum Realm at the end of the film, various Kang variants are seen planning their multiversal uprising in a post-credits scene.

Whether we call it Fury’s pride to want to handle the situation alone, or an effective strategy in avoiding a graver issue, it’s clear that the Avengers won’t make an appearance in the series to help Nick Fury. Chances are that we will see a twist and discover that a major superhero has been a Skrull all along. Tune in to Secret Invasion on Disney Plus to find out!

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