Secret Invasion: Marvel fans 'not prepared' for first episode's major death

Secret Invasion means serious business, and nothing proves that more than the premiere episode's shocking ending which features a major character death for the MCU.

The Disney+ series sees Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) returning to Earth after being called back by Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) to help with an impending threat from Skrull rebels.

A group of the alien shape-shifters have decided to take over the planet and it is up to Fury, Maria and Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) to try and stop them before it's too late.

Read more: Secret Invasion review: The MCU enters a dark and thrilling new era

But things took a dark turn in the show's first episode because Fury's attempt to take down the Skrull rebel leader Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) ended in tragedy, and fans were understandably upset by the outcome.

Before we get into any of this, be warned this article contains spoilers.

Marvel fans react to Secret Invasion death

In Secret Invasion, Fury goes after Gravik in Russia, where the Skrull rebels are based, and they follow him and his co-conspirators to a local carnival where they struggle to discern which attendees are human and which are Skrulls.

This is to their detriment, because Gravik manages to get away from them and sets off an explosion and chaos ensues. As people try to escape, Gravik shapeshifts into Fury and shoots Maria in the stomach before changing back to his recognised human form and leaving the scene.

Read more: Secret Invasion: Kingsley Ben-Adir's new Marvel villain Gravik is full of 'hatred'

Fury manages to get to Maria but it appears to be too late as the character dies in his arms, which has led to a lot of Marvel fans sharing how upset they are about the outcome.

Several refused to accept Maria's death as fact, which is reasonable given both Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) have appeared to die on screen only for it to be revealed that they actually survived.

One person wrote on Twitter: "marvel u better give me back my maria as soon as humanly possible."

While another quoted Coulson's return by saying: "Maria Hill had better, at some point in the future, say "Tahiti? It's a magical place""

One viewer was besides themselves, as they wrote in a Tweet: "no, i do not believe that this is f***ing real, maria hill do not deserve this shit treatment just for the shock value. SHE BETTER COMEBACK"

Other viewers shared their upset over the decision to kill off Maria, with one writing: "Marvel what the actual f***. Why would you kill off Maria?? I was not prepared for that. I’m so surprised that I didn’t cry at that"

Another jokingly wrote: "WHEN I SAID I WANTED MARIA HILL TO FINALLY GET HER FLOWERS IN SECRET INVASION I DIDN'T MEAN AT HER FUNERAL???? [sic]"

Another person wrote: "That ending was crazy & upsetting kinda hurts Maria Hill is dead now really wanted to see more of her character"

While one shared: "No! They did not just do that. No!!!! Maria", and another viewer similarly added, "MARVEL BROUGHT MARIA HILL BACK ONLY TO KILL HER ????? [sic]"

In response to the shocking events of the episode, another viewer shared pictures of Smulder's character over the years and said: "if you’re in need of comfort after the #SecretInvasion ending, here’s Maria Hill smiling on your tl"

Cobie Smulders discusses Maria's return to the MCU

At a press conference for Secret Invasion, Smulders reflected on Maria's return and how her relationship with Fury has changed following the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.

Smulders said: "It was really exciting to come back, but you know, speaking of strain, I think the relationship is quite strained because she's been calling, and he hasn't been answering."

Read more: Olivia Colman's Sonya Falsworth is 'the most dangerous woman in the UK'

Fury decided to leave Earth after being brought back from The Snap, preferring to spend time in space rather than face life on the planet. Maria was similarly erased by Thanos, but Smulders explained that she had a very different reaction to it.

"I think Maria Hill came back and someone else was sitting in her desk, and immediately kicked them out and got to work," she said.

"I think there was just a mountain of cases to get to, which is part of her resentment towards Fury, 'cause he was not around."

Whether Maria's death is permanent is yet to be seen, but it appears that right at this moment it is.

Secret Invasion airs every Wednesday on Disney+, and the first episode is available now.

Watch: Samuel L Jackson and Olivia Colman discuss Secret Invasion.