The following contains spoilers from Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 4, “Sic Semper Systema” now streaming on Disney+.
Daredevil: Born Again brought back beloved characters, but Episode 4, “Sic Semper Systema” just referenced some many wanted to forget. In a scene showcasing Matt Murdock’s other heroic side (as a lawyer for those no one wants to defend), his obviously guilty client offered a desperate defense. While played as a joke, the mention of Skrulls is a reminder that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a giant dangling narrative thread left over from Secret Invasion. The client is a man named Leroy who was caught stealing caramel corn, but is part of a larger scene that is very important.
Before even meeting his client, Matt Murdock is reeling from White Tiger’s murder after successfully defending him in court. The entire sequence with Leroy is meant to underscore what Angela Ayala told Matt about how the system has no justice for her or Hector. The callous way Matt treats Leroy also speaks to how he didn’t just give up Daredevil after Foggy’s death, but Hell’s Kitchen as well. Still, for what it’s worth, Matt is able to get Leroy a much more lenient sentence than anyone else would. It’s during their first meeting that Leroy asks “could it have been a Skrull” impersonating him. It’s a joke, but also a reminder of one of the MCU’s problems.
In Trying to Figure Out a Defense, Matt Murdock’s Client Cries ‘Skrull’
Played as Joke, This Raises an Open Question About the World They Live In
In Daredevil: Born Again, Matt struggles with his nature, specifically the part of him that yearns to be a hero. But in Wilson Fisk’s New York, a hero is a “vigilante,” and as much a criminal as Leroy. From his “rap sheet,” there’s an implication that criminality is simply in Leroy’s nature. Yet, he reminds Matt of something a Hell’s Kitchen kid should already know. Once the system has a person in its clutches, it’s hard to escape from it.
“You just want to shove my ass into jail, and I’m supposed to thank you? You just don’t get it do you? This shit never ends! I’ve been jerked around by the system my whole life.” — Leroy to Matt in “Sic Semper Systema.”
As Leroy tells Matt, by stealing caramel corn the system dubs him a criminal worth locking up for “five times the cost” of what it would take just to feed him. Meanwhile, the Kingpin of Crime sits in the mayor’s office making things worse by denying the city resources in favor of a vanity project to beautify the Red Hook Port. The heroes like White Tiger, who were trying to make the city better, have also been branded as criminals, pawns Fisk uses to stoke fear. In fact, the presence of Skrulls seems like a tool Kingpin could also employ.
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In this respect, Daredevil: Born Again draws from a theme present in Captain America: Brave New World. Another MCU villain in elected office, President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross based his campaign on the lingering fear around the Blip, the Celestial in the Indian Ocean and the dissolution of the Avengers. Only unlike Fisk, he was at least sincere in wanting to make things better, unaware of the monster inside of him. One other source of fear can be traced back to the previous MCU president seen in Secret Invasion.
Daredevil: Born Again Evoked the Biggest Open Question in the MCU
Marvel Studios May Want Understandably Move on From the Unpopular Series
For many fans, the Secret Invasion series was a disappointment that wasted its premise. The series introduced an interesting backstory for Nick Fury and the Skrulls, working together in secret to protect the world. However, the ending of Secret Invasion destroyed that alliance. After a violent attack on his motorcade, the Skrulls almost convinced President Ritson to inadvertently start a nuclear war with Russia. While this was averted, he ultimately declared war on Skrulls and any other beings not originally from Earth.
While President Ritson declared all aliens “enemy combatants,” it is unclear if this measure actually passed Congress.
Unfortunately, Brave New World ignoring Skrulls was a mistake, even if all it did was dismiss Secret Invasion‘s ending. While not exactly satisfying, Ross could have said Ritson’s “enemy combatants” proposal never became law. Conversely, the MCU could double-down on the idea. Since the proposal targeted all aliens, it would extend beyond Skrulls to Asgardians, Kree or any other aliens who made their way to Earth after Avengers: Endgame.
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Of the many plot holes Secret Invasion left open, the fate of the Skrulls is a chasm in the landscape of the MCU. The off-hand comment from Leroy in Daredevil: Born Again is a reminder that the series happened, and people know about Skrulls and their abilities. Yet, it wasn’t the last time that the shape-shifting aliens appeared in the MCU, but that story only made the problem worse.
Skrulls Were Part of The Marvels’ Story, but It Ignored Secret Invasion
There Is Reason to Believe the Film Was Supposed to Precede the Miniseries
Since the film’s original release date preceded the miniseries, that might be why The Marvels ignored some Secret Invasion events. Other events in the film support this idea, like Carol Danvers asking Valkyrie to resettle an entire city of Skrulls on Earth. When the dates were shuffled, both productions were limited in what they could change during concurrent reshoots. While they likely tried to make The Marvels fit better into the narrative after Secret Invasion, they couldn’t.
- The original release date for The Marvels was July 8, 2022
- Due to pandemic delays, the date changed to Nov. 11, 2022
- The date changed to Feb. 17, 2023, along with three other MCU releases
- The Marvels briefly swapped dates with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s on July 28, 2023, but they switched them back.
Beyond the constant delays for The Marvels, there was some behind-the-scenes drama on Secret Invasion, too. There were creative disagreements and a tight schedule, which all contributed to the larger problems. Still, with the way everything shook out, after the US declared war on aliens, a large group of Skrulls arrived on Earth in New Asgard.
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Perhaps Matt Murdock was too quick to dismiss the possibility of Skrull-involvement because of New Asgard. If Valkyrie made a home for the Skrulls from The Marvels there, perhaps the rest of the Skrulls around the world joined them. Since New Asgard is a whole mini-nation full of people about as strong as Thor, the US probably wouldn’t mess with them. The story was supposed to be picked up in Armor Wars, but that project is “paused.”
The MCU Has a Skrull Problem, and It’s Not the One They Wanted
Daredevil: Born Again Is Not the Right Show For It, but It Must Be Addressed
Given Daredevil: Born Again’s street-level story, it is not the right show to address the MCU’s Skrull problem. Again, Leroy’s mention of the shape-shifters was both a gag and a nod to their presence in the universe. Yet, it does serve to remind people that both The Marvels and Secret Invasion failed to bring their story to a satisfying close.
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Despite the revival series’ mature language, violence and standalone story, it is clearly part of the larger MCU. In fact, Daredevil: Born Again has a major MCU reference in a future episode that may even be relevant to the Skrull issue. It may have even strengthened the point of Leroy’s scenes in the show if it had been a Skrull who impersonated him. Again, this isn’t the show to fully tackle the issue head-on, but the MCU is wasting some dynamic characters.
At some point, the MCU has to address the Skrull issue before the Multiverse Saga ends. While fans and maybe even Marvel Studios would like to forget Secret Invasion happened, doing so does a disservice to the larger narrative. The solution to a flawed MCU story is not to ignore it, but rather more stories. A future film or show that takes the Skrulls seriously could help redeem the missteps of the past.
Daredevil: Born Again debuts new episodes Tuesdays at 9 PM, and streams with both Secret Invasion and The Marvels on Disney+.
- Release Date
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March 4, 2025
- Showrunner
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Chris Ord
- Directors
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Michael Cuesta, Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
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Chris Ord
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Charlie Cox
Matt Murdock / Daredevil
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Vincent D’Onofrio
Wilson Fisk / Kingpin
