How does Secret Invasion connect to Armor Wars? We discuss a theory on how this might play out and why it could involve other MCU organizations featured in Disney+ shows. There will be spoilers for Secret Invasion.
Secret Invasion has now finished, ending with US President Ritson declaring war on all extraterrestrials on Earth and humans killing each other in the hope of getting a Skrull. It’s a bold way to end the series and leaves the door wide open for other MCU projects to continue the story.
One upcoming project that is already confirmed to pick up the baton is Armor Wars, which will star Don Cheadle as Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes.
Originally announced as a Disney+ series, Marvel Studios changed it to a film and has explained that Secret Invasion and Armor Wars are linked. But they haven’t announced how yet, leading to theories and speculation on how the two will connect.
How does Secret Invasion connect to Armor Wars?
Before audiences saw Rhodey in Secret Invasion, it was announced that the events of the show would influence Armor Wars. While Marvel Studios haven’t explained how this will happen, the end of Secret Invasion does set up some potential avenues for this story to go down.
Now that the real Rhodey is back, he will have to pick up the pieces of his life. He won’t know about Thanos, the Battle of Earth, or Tony Stark dying, so he will have a lot of catching up to do. The US government is unlikely to allow him near the President or any other important position in politics or the military. Rhodey will likely be on his own, with few allies.
The film itself will be dealing with the consequences of Iron Man technology getting into the wrong hands but hasn’t explained whose hands it is yet. It could refer to some Skrulls finding themselves in possession few Iron Man suits and using them indiscriminately against humans in their war against Ritson.
Will Spymaster be in Armor Wars?
Another possibility is that the US government could be supplying Iron Man technology to their army to fight the Skrulls, and it’s being given to the wrong people in the process intentionally or by accident. The MCU could adapt the original villain from the comics story, the Spymaster, to the big screen. In the comics arc, Spymaster infiltrated Stark Industries and stole designs for Stark’s technology, and gave them to different villains.
This could be changed so that the Spymaster works for the U.S. body S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division) and hands out Stark’s weaponry. S.W.O.R.D focuses on robotics, nanotech, A.I., and sentient weapons, which is clearly influenced by Tony Stark’s tech. S.W.O.R.D. was introduced in WandaVision and its job is protecting the Earth against extraterrestrial threats, so it’s likely that they will get more involved with the Skrulls now the world is fully aware of them.
Who are the Department of Damage Control?
Instead of S.W.O.R.D., the film could feature the Department of Damage Control. They are a body in the US government responsible for dealing with threats on Earth and cleaning up the aftermath of Avenger battles. They are being turned into villains, as seen in Ms. Marvel. So it’s also probably they take heavy-handed efforts against the Skrulls, as they were very liberal with the use of force in Ms. Marvel and would have access to Iron Man’s tech.
Interestingly enough, in the first trailer for Secret Invasion Damage Control agents can be seen, but they have been cut from the show. Marvel Studios were thinking about how they fit into this story but pulled back on their inclusion. It’s possible they’re being saved for Armor Wars.
How long has Rhodey been a Skrull in Secret Invasion?
One of the biggest reveals from Secret Invasion is that Rhodey is secretly a Skrull, giving the President of the United States bad advice on how to act on the geopolitical stage. Luckily, Nick Fury and Sonya Falsworth managed to kill the imposter before too much harm was done.
The show only hints at how long Rhodey has been a Skrull. During Captain America: Civil War, Rhodey’s legs were badly injured during a fight with Captain America’s rogue Avengers. He had to go for a medical scan and wore a hospital gown.
When Rhodey is freed from the Skrulls, he’s still wearing this hospital garb and he’s struggling to walk. This likely means the Skrulls took him just before this medical scan, right under Tony Stark’s nose. Throughout Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Rhodey has been an imposter.
What will Armor Wars be about?
Set in a post-Avengers: Endgame world, Armor Wars will show Tony Stark’s technology falling into the wrong hands, forcing Rhodey to take action. It will deal with Stark’s legacy as Iron Man, and what effect his technology has had on the world.
There has been no word on a release date for the project, but it probably won’t be for a while.
You can watch Secret Invasion with a subscription to Disney+.
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