Avengers: Secret Invasion

**Avengers: Secret Invasion** is a 2015 superhero film set in the Marvel Media Franchise, the twenty-ninth film in the universe. It is also a sequel to *The Avengers*, *Avengers: Age of Ultron*, and *Captain America: Civil War*. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Chris Evans, Charlie Hunnam, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Abbie Cornish, Michelle Williams, Luke Grimes, Emily Blunt, Gerard Butler, Jennifer Garner, and Samuel L. Jackson and was released worldwide on June 5, 2015. The film ran 135 minutes and grossed $2.068 billion on a $250 million budget.

## Plot

2 years after the Superhuman Registration Act was signed, Tony Stark/Iron Man is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and leader of the Mighty Avengers (Iron Man, Wasp, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, and Vision). He is also the fiancee of Pepper Potts, the CEO of Stark Industries. Steve Rogers/Captain America is an agent of S.T.R.I.K.E., an organization of former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. He leads the Secret Avengers (Captain America, Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Spider-Man, Mockingbird, Invisible Woman, and Falcon), the team of heroes who stop the threats that the Mighty Avengers are told not to. S.T.R.I.K.E. Director Nick Fury discovers that an alien ship has entered orbit. S.H.I.E.L.D. picks up the interference too. In Norway, Thor and Loki notice the ship, also. On the ship is Skrull Queen Veranke. She orders her soldier, Kl'rt, to prepare their infiltrators to reveal themselves, and to place their newest prisoners in their toughest cells.

A large explosion causes the Mighty Avengers to be split up in New York, while the Secret Avengers are scattered in the S.T.R.I.K.E. facility. Fury is found by Peter and Sue, who try to escape with him. Steve, Sam, Natasha, Bucky, and Bobbi regroup with most of the agency while Fury, Peter, and Sue and a few other agents are trapped in a small section of the base cut off by wreckage. Rogers is named temporary Director, and he deems Fury and the others dead, though the heroes want to check. Rogers refuses and decides their new main task is to rescue Agent Sharon Carter, a plan that was decided two years ago, though Fury deemed it unnecessary. Rogers and the reluctant Secret Avengers prepare a Quinjet. In New York City, T'Challa, Carol, and Vision reunite through the wreckage with several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents while Tony and Janet find themselves alone. The two reveal themselves as Skrulls, who can shapeshift, to each other.

S.H.I.E.L.D. gets itself back up and running, though Tony and Janet are unaccounted for. Maria Hill is named temporary Director. In Norway, Thor investigates the spaceship and discovers Veranke. After a fight, Thor escapes, knowing how the Skrulls plan to take over. Thor flies to S.H.I.E.L.D. and reveals to Vision, T'Challa, and Carol about the Skrulls. The Secret Avengers arrive and find Sharon. They rescue her, but are attacked by Vision, T'Challa, Carol, and Thor. The Secret Avengers manage to escape, but cannot leave New York City, due to it being shielded from the rest of the world, due to the invasion. At S.T.R.I.K.E., Fury learns Peter and Sue are Skrulls and plan to replace him with a Skrull also. Fury is replaced, though the real Fury manages to escape before being captured and runs off. In New York City, the Mighty Avengers agree to work with the Secret Avengers to stop the Skrulls, as they still have no idea why they are here.

Steve and Sharon talk about what is happening, with Sharon realizing Steve is a Skrull after he mentions the Kree-Skrull War as the reason the Skrulls are here. The Skrull reveals to Sharon that he wanted her because she is "special", a descendant of humans that were genetically altered by Kree to gain superpowers, called Inhuman. Sharon's powers have yet to be awakened, though the Skrulls plan to take her and several other unawakened Inhumans with them when they leave. He also reveals that the Skrulls went to Earth to get the Kree on Earth and then destroy the Earth, allowing the Skrulls to escape, at the cost of all human life. Sharon escapes and reveals to the others that the anyone of them could be Skrulls. Tony and Janet have reunited with them, along with Hill, who has been replaced by a Skrull. Steve escapes and attacks them, forcing Tony, Janet, and Hill to reveal themselves as Skrulls. The three escape with "Steve". Sharon and the remaining Avengers (Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Thor, Vision, Falcon, Mockingbird, Winter Soldier, and Black Widow) decide to take the fight to the Skrulls to save their friends and end the war. The Skrulls from New York reunite with Peter and Sue's doubles as they find Veranke on the spaceship and ask for further orders.

In a mid-credits scene, Hill is placed in a cell next to Tony and Steve, who reveal they have been in there since the Registration Act. In a post-credits scene, Loki decides to head to New York City to find Thor, only to meet Fury on his way.

## Cast

* Bradley Cooper as Tony Stark/Iron Man
* Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
* Charlie Hunnam as Thor
* Chiwetel Ejiofor as T'Challa/Black Panther
* Abbie Cornish as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel
* Michelle Williams as Janet van Dyne/The Wasp
* Luke Grimes as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier
* Emily Blunt as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
* Armie Hammer as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
* Adrianne Palicki as Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird
* Hayley Atwell as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman
* William Jackson Harper as Sam Wilson/Falcon
* Rosamund Pike as Maria Hill
* Will Forte as Vision
* Tom Ellis as Lance Hunter
* Morena Baccarin as Sharon Carter
* David Harbour as Kl'rt/Super-Skrull
* Jennifer Garner as Veranke
* Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

Charlie Cox and Bryce Dallas Howard also appear as Loki and Pepper Potts in minor roles.

## Reception

### **Box office**

*Avengers: Secret Invasion* grossed $936.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.132 billion in other countries for a worldwide total of $2.068 billion.

### **Critical reception**

*Avengers: Secret Invasion* received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 93% approval rating based on 379 reviews, with a rating average of 8.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads "Packed with action and populated by both familiar faces and fresh blood, *Secret Invasion* successfully reunites the series' stars while injecting it with renewed energy." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 81 out of 100, based on 54 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale; women, under-25s and under-18s gave it an "A+", while 98% of audiences gave it either an "A" or a "B".