6 Marvel Projects That Were Affected With Controversial Storylines in Samuel L Jackson’s ‘Secret Invasion’
Marvel miniseries Secret Invasion recently concluded to great reception amongst fans. The ending of the enthralling storyline left many baffled.
The show is not exempt from some controversial plot twists either. One such was a Skrull named Varra had stolen Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes’ identity while he had been held captive.
This revelation changes a lot of things. There are about six past movies and scenes featuring Rhodes which are now viewed in an entirely different light.
Director Ali Selim states that Rhodes’ partial paralysis in Captain America: Civil War “points to” him being replaced.
Captain America: Civil War
After Vision’s beam takes James Rhodes down, the latter goes through a terrible fall which leaves him paralyzed from the waist down.
Rhodes’ being alive even after an attack like that brought some relief. However, now knowing Rhodes was actually a Skrull named Varra, one particular dialogue he says to Tony Stark seems to stand out.
“138 combat missions. That’s how many I’ve flown, Tony. Every one of them could’ve been my last, but I flew ’em. The fight needed to be fought. It’s the same with these Accords. I signed because it was the right thing to do.”
Avengers: Infinity War
War Machine fought the great battle against Thanos alongside the greats like Black Panther, Thor, and Captain America. Many heroes were lost in this war but Rhodey was one of the several who survived the Snap.
It is crazy to think that it wasn’t Rhodey but Varra who didn’t turn to dust and it wasn’t him who fought in the first place.
Captain Marvel
Rhodes’ appearance in this film is very short but in no way insignificant.
In the post-credits scene, Rhodey appears with Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and Bruce Banner as they try to use Nick Fury’s transmitter pager to get to Carol Danvers.
Varra here seems to be making herself one of the team unsuspectingly.
Avengers: Endgame
Rhodey is given leg braces by best friend Tony Stark making him able to walk and be a part of the team when they locate Thanos in his Garden planet only to find that he has destroyed the Infinity Stones.
He travels in an alternate timeline with Nebula in the quantum realm to get the Power Stone.
A particular conversation he has with Nebula after grabbing the Stone containing orb.
Nebula says: “I wasn’t always like this.” which prompts Rhodey/Varra to say: “Me either, but we work with what we got.”
It is saddening to know that Rhodey wasn’t there to see his best friend sacrifice himself on the battlefield.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
Don Cheadle‘s appearance in the series was limited to one scene. In the scene, where Sam Wilson delivers a heartfelt speech at Steve Rogers’ memorial service
Rhodey asks Wilson after his speech “Why didn’t you become the new Captain America?”, this becomes the base of how the series further develops.
It’s a distasteful feeling that an impostor’s question was this crucial in the series
Secret Invasion
In hindsight, it has been pretty obvious that James Rhodes was not being his usual self all along. This is highlighted when in episode two, he fires Nick Fury.
The shocking reveal of Rhodey’s identity doesn’t come before episode 4 when Varra is seen shapeshifting into him.
At the end of the miniseries, it is shown that James Rhodes is finally released from the Skrull regime’s prison.
Secret Invasion being an extension of the MCU which will affect the grand scheme of things, had fans curious what a plot twist like this could mean for future projects.
All movies mentioned and Secret Invasion, featuring Don Cheadle as War Machine are now streaming on Disney+.
