How Will S.H.I.E.L.D. Be Rebuilt After Secret Invasion?

S.H.I.E.L.D. has been an extremely important organization in the history of Marvel comics. At the same time, it has also played a role in the

By Chandraboli Majumdar
September 18,2022
Featured Image

S.H.I.E.L.D. has been an extremely important organization in the history of Marvel comics. At the same time, it has also played a role in the MCU. Right from the first Iron Man movies, we saw Nick Fury approach Tony Stark in the post-credits scene. Eventually, we saw SHIELD play an important role in the final culmination of the Avengers movie. We have seen the might of S.H.I.E.L.D. with their helicarriers and quinjets. Then there are the extensive weapon systems created using the Tesseract in the organization’s underground bunker. Fans have been equally invested in this organization. They have rallied behind Maria Hill, Agent Phil Coulson and obviously the Boss himself Nick Fury. However, S.H.I.E.L.D. too has run into multiple obstacles. So what will happen to S.H.I.E.L.D. after the Secret Invasion Disney+ series?

The collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Captain America and Black Widow dismantle SHIELD
Captain America and Black Widow dismantle SHIELD

With Captain America: Winter Soldier, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s integrity came into question. We found out that it had been infiltrated by HYDRA. Even Nick Fury could not stop it. In fact, he too was in the dark about it for quite some time till his assassination was attempted by Winter Soldier. Eventually, he found out that his friend and World Security Council Secretary, Alexander Pierce was the leader of HYDRA. During the process of the movie, we follow Steve Rogers as he finds out to what extent HYDRA has taken over S.H.I.E.L.D. By the end of Winter Soldier, S.H.I.E.L.D. had pretty much collapsed. And Captain America destroying Arnim Zola’s technology released the information of hundreds of Agents including Black Widow and her controversial past. Steve Rogers insisted that the organization be disbanded especially after realizing how dangerous Project INSIGHT was and how it could rain fire on the world.

Alexander Pierce
Alexander Pierce

However, the organization was kept alive by a few of its select Agents. SHIELD was somewhat restored as a government-sanctioned organization in Season 4 of the Agents of SHIELD TV series. But the question of whether this show is a part of the MCU timeline and canon or not is still unanswered.

Secret Invasion

Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion

This is an event where the shapeshifting Skrulls essentially planned to overtake Earth by infiltrating it. They would carry this out by slowly replacing superheroes and other members of society with their own people who could shapeshift. Nick Fury and Talos will have to stop this from happening in the upcoming Disney+ Series. We have seen a sneak peek of such an infiltration during Captain Marvel. This was when Fury and Carol Danvers had to weed out the impostor using clever and subtle hints. With the release of the trailer for Secret Invasion, fans have realized that S.H.I.E.L.D. might just come to the forefront once again.

Will S.H.I.E.L.D. return to its former glory?

Nick Fury will restore SHIELD
Nick Fury will restore SHIELD

The trailer for Secret Invasion takes us back to SHIELD with what will most likely be a well-paced spy thriller. After returning back to Earth, it seems like Nick Fury is recruiting his own set of Agents and rebuilding SHIELD once again. This includes him meeting Maria Hill and Everett K. Ross, whom you might remember from Black Panther. He works from the shadows and makes his plans while wearing street clothes to blend in. His meeting grounds have become inconspicuous bars. What this denotes is a shift in the genre. Instead of large CGI-filled battles against otherworldly threats, Secret Invasion offers us skilled spycraft and a heightened sense of paranoia. In this way, Nick Fury could resume his journey as the Director of SHIELD. He can take control and restore the organization to its previous glory.

Everett K. Ross returns for Secret Invasion joins Nick Fury
Everett K. Ross returns for Secret Invasion

In the meanwhile, it does seem like SHIELD is working in some capacity under the US Government. In Falcon and the Winter Soldier, we see Sharon Carter being offered a job in her old department. And we know that before being branded as an enemy of the state, she worked for SHIELD. She is returned her title of Agent Carter and is even welcomed “home” which can only mean one thing. SHIELD still exists. But it is in dire need of some leadership as Sharon Carter as Madripoor’s Power Broker surely has something up her sleeve.