Secret Invasion Sets A Terrible Marvel Record
Secret Invasion is currently the lowest-ranked Marvel series on Rotten Tomatoes.
Bad news for Marvel fans who were looking forward to Samuel L. Jackson’s Marvel spin-off series, Secret Invasion. The numbers are in, and it turns out the critics just aren’t loving the newest edition to the MCU. The critics have spoken, and Marvel’s newest show has received a lukewarm 72 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which makes it the lowest-rated Marvel series—but audiences have yet to weigh in, so maybe it isn’t as bad as it seems?
Fans have been highly anticipating the release of Secret Invasion for months as not only is it a show that primarily focuses on Jackson’s Nick Fury, but it’s been marketed as the first official cross-over series, and it’s the first series in Marvel’s Phase 5. However, despite all the anticipation, the show doesn’t seem to be holding up to what the critics expected. In fact, Secret Invasion is currently the MCU’s worst-rated TV show.
Secret Invasion has yet to be released to the public as it has an official release date on Disney+ on June 21. The series, which is supposed to revolve around the Skrull invasion detailed in the comic books, has been described as an espionage thriller. This makes sense considering that Nick Fury is the director for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the peacekeeping and spy agency in the Marvel Universe.
The show is meant to be a cross-over event series, the first of its kind in an MCU series, which means that there is the potential for many characters and plot lines to cross over into Secret Invasion from other MCU content. It’s partly because of this that many fans are ecstatic to see the show. However, critics who were able to watch the first two episodes of the series in advance, are not overly impressed.
To be fair, Secret Invasion’s 72 percent is not an awful rating. In fact, a movie or series only needs to receive a score of 60 percent from Rotten Tomatoes to be considered “fresh,” and it’s when the content receives a score of 75 percent that a film or series is considered “certified fresh” by the aggregation site. A 72 percent rating is a decent score, even though it is lower than any other MCU series to date.
Secret Invasion is the only MCU show so far to have not reached the “certified fresh” level of approval by Rotten Tomatoes. The highest-scoring MCU series is Ms. Marvel, which earned a score of 98 percent, followed by What If…? (94 percent), Hawkeye (92 percent), Loki (92 percent), WandaVision (91 percent), Moon Knight (86 percent), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (84 percent), and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (80 percent).
However, there is still time for Secret Invasion to join the ranks of its fellow MCU series. Just recently, the show had a score of 67 percent, and after a few more critics chimed in, was able to clamber up into the 70s. It wouldn’t be surprising if, after more episodes are released, and critics are able to see the full unfolding of the season, Secret Invasion is able to reach “certified fresh” status along with its fellow MCU comrades.
It’s also worth noting that audiences are not able to weigh in with their opinion of Secret Invasion until the series officially drops later this month. It’s not uncommon for audiences and critics to differentiate in their opinions of popular content, and it’s entirely possible that fans will believe Marvel’s newest series is the best one yet.
