The next installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off on Disney+, with another six-part series that combines some familiar characters and some new ones, creating a new threat. Adapting a major comic book story, with the required necessary changes for the screen, is always a difficult task, but I think they did reasonably well with the first episode of Secret Invasion. While there were some surprises, and a few things I didn’t care for, “Resurrection” was a good start to a big new story.

The episode opens in Moscow, with Martin Freeman’s Everett Ross, usually seen in the Black Panther movies. Ross is getting a weird rant, which also serves as the opening narration, from an Agent Prescod that I don’t believe we’ve seen before. We get such spy thriller classics as guy sounding like he’s crazy, the handover of a file full of vital information, an unexpected fight, a big chase through the streets, and then several big surprises as that wraps up. That didn’t go at all where I expected it to, I have to give them points for that.

Later, in a deserted park late at night, with a blinding light, Nick Fury returns to Earth from the space station we last saw him on back in Spider-Man: Far From Home. He and Maria Hill meet up and get settled in a new place. Fury looks a lot the worse for wear, and is not moving at all like the confident former leader of an international organization. He meets up with Talos, a Skrull we met back in Captain Marvel, and they talk about a few issues and houseplants. There’s a big briefing on the state of the Skrull refugee population, and some of the choices they’ve made about where to set up their base of operations make a lot of sense. After getting a lot of not-great news, Fury decides to go for a walk.

In the White House, the President (a different one than we saw back in Iron Man 2) is being briefed by Rhodey, who seems to have risen to a position of some power and influence since Endgame. The President isn’t happy to hear about some developments with a few familiar characters, and Rhodey seems worried as well. Back in Moscow, Fury gets an invitation to a meeting he quite literally can’t refuse, and meets up with Sonya Falsworth. She works with MI-6, and I’ve already done a separate piece on who she might be and how she ties in to various parts of Marvel history. Sonya isn’t impressed by Nick’s current efforts, although she in an entertaining smartass.

As Nick makes his way back to his current place, we leave the city and see more of the Skrull society. It’s an interesting look with a lot of background thrown our way at once. Suffice to say they are not the same refugees that were grateful for sanctuary on Earth back in the Captain Marvel movie. Later, we get some insight into what Sonya is up to, and her concerns about the Skrulls, and a few of their key players.

After deciding on a risky move, Fury, Hill, and Talos set a plan into motion which could make a lot of things really complicated if they get caught. I bet Fury and Hill are missing the resources of SHIELD at this point. Talos and Fury engage in some friendly banter, and we learn a bit more about Skrull biology and Nick Fury’s midlife shopping spree. There’s another big fight that goes badly, and Talos isn’t happy with how Nick handles things. Hill, off on her own, gets into her own fight, and doesn’t do as well as she’d like. Talos intervenes (he gets around fast) and has a talk that lets us learn a bit more about this character.

Later, Nick and Maria talk in a bar. She expresses some concerns about whether or not he’s up for this mission, which seems to be a common thread in the trailers and this first episode. No one has any faith in Nick, which is painful to see, especially when they drop some hints that the doubts might be right. That night, he has an unpleasant flashback to a seriously traumatic event several movies ago.

There’s more Skrull skulldudgery (Skrull-dudgery?) and secret meetings, and we find out more about their plans. The scheme is ruthless, but makes a certain amount of sense from their point of view. Later, Talos has a reunion with someone he hasn’t seen in a while and he gets some important intel. He, Maria, and Nick meet up and decide to take matters into their own hands. Usually, it doesn’t make a lot of sense when otherwise responsible and well-connected characters don’t try and get backup, but given what Skrulls do and what we saw in the opening scene, it actually makes perfect sense.

There’s a big crowd scene that’s a bit like three-card Monte, as our heroes try and intercept something before disaster strikes. There are twists and turns and a shocking development that I didn’t remotely see coming (and I’m impressed they kept secret). By the end of the episode, Nick isn’t making much progress, and seems to have been outmaneuvered on every front. I don’t know what’s coming next, but the good guys have a lot of ground to try and make up and a shock to recover from.

What I Liked: The plot actually makes a lot of sense, and kind of thematically ties back to some stuff from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, or at least it seemed that way to me. This is definitely one of those stories where I understand what the bad guys are doing and get their point of view. It was great seeing Fury, Hill, Ross, and Talos again. I don’t have a good enough feel for what’s going on with Rhodey to have much of an opinion about that. I’m intrigued by Sonya Falsworth. Fury’s line with Talos about midlife crisis purchases was fantastic.

What I Didn’t: The opening credits have some AI involvement, and I’m not a fan of that idea. Give the jobs to actual artists, especially during the writers’ strike. I don’t like what they seem to be doing with Fury. He’s supposed to be a phenomenally talented agent, and here he seems more like a tired old man. I really didn’t like the ending of the episode, and hope there’s a fix for that coming.

It was a well-done episode that gave us a lot to think about. I’m giving this a 3.5 out of 5, and am looking forward to part two.