‘Secret Invasion:’ Is Nick Fury’s Secret Even Bigger Than He Thinks?
This article contains spoilers for Secret Invasion episode 2!
Episode 2 of Secret Invasion saw the Skrull villain Gravik’s plans escalate. It turns out Gravik is building a machine to create genetically enhanced super Skrulls, presumably to hasten the annihilation of humanity that he plans to accomplish through nuclear war. Meanwhile, Nick Fury is angry at Talos for lying about the number of Skrulls on Earth, and pessimistic about the chances of Skrulls and humans living together harmoniously on the same planet. The series is on rocky footing so far, with plot holes and a fridging that has fans up in arms, but the end of episode 2 does contain a major reveal: Nick Fury has a wife.
Not only that, but his wife is a Skrull.
Does Nick Fury know that, though? Many fans believe that he doesn’t—and, as it stands right now, there’s some compelling evidence either way. But first, let’s talk about Nick Fury’s wife, Priscilla.
Who is Priscilla Fury?
At the end of Secret Invasion episode 2, we see a Skrull woman chopping vegetables in her kitchen. Nick enters the house, but by the time he sees her, she’s shapeshifted into human form. She tells him he forgot to put on his wedding ring, and after he theatrically slides it on his finger, the two of them kiss. In the credits, the character, played by Charlayne Woodard, is named Priscilla.
Priscilla doesn’t have a counterpart in the comics. Nick’s comics counterpart has had various flings, but none of them are with a character named Priscilla. This means that we’re in completely uncharted territory here.
That last scene may not be Priscilla’s first appearance in the episode, though.
Are Priscilla and Varra the same person?
At the beginning of the episode, we see a flashback to the 1990s, when Nick first promises the Skrulls that he’ll help find them a home if they help protect the planet. One Skrull, Varra, introduces him to Gravik, who’s just a child at the time. It’s hard to say for sure under all the green makeup, but Varra does look and sound similar to Priscilla, and no actor is credited as Varra, making it more likely that Woodard plays both roles.
It’s interesting to note that you can see a wedding ring on Fury’s hand in one of the flashbacks—and, in Captain America: the Winter Soldier, he briefly mentions being married, telling Steve Rogers that his wife kicked him out. It looks like Nick and Priscilla have been together for a long time.
Does Nick Fury know his wife is a Skrull?
Why does Priscilla shapeshift the moment Fury walks in the door? Does he know she’s a Skrull? Is she hiding it from him?
According to director Ali Selim, Fury does know she’s a Skrull. “In the script, he knows,” Selim told Deadline. That knowledge makes Nick’s comments to Talos pretty hypocritical. He tells Talos that humans and Skrulls can’t possibly share a planet longterm—yet he’s married to one? Okay, Nick.
However, don’t feel bad if you weren’t sure at the end, because the episode intentionally left room for doubt. “When we shot it, it was interesting that maybe [Fury] didn’t know,” Selim said. “We ultimately edited it in a way that made people feel like, ‘I wonder if he knows or not.'”
What are the implications going forward? We’ll have to wait until next Wednesday, when episode 3 drops, to find out.
(featured image: Disney+)
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