Is Secret Invasion Marvel's Biggest Failure Ever?

Stepping aside from bright and suited superheroes, the mini-series Secret Invasion was supposed to give the audience an alternative perspective on the big battles for the fate of humanity: not the shiny and heroic but a dark, political, and devious perspective that we haven't really seen before in this Universe.

This prospect in itself is way too appealing, and with the amazing cast that joined Secret Invasion — Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, and Emilia Clarke just to name a few — this was supposed to be Marvel's new masterpiece.

The audience was excited for the mini-series and so were we… But it didn't quite work out.

As of now, Secret Invasion holds a 66% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and compared with the expectations, calling it an underwhelming result would be a massive understatement.

This rating cements the mini-series as the fourth worst-reviewed show by Marvel Studios in the past 15 years, which is disastrous for its future.

The only three shows that managed to perform worse were Inhumans which fell as low as 11% on Rotten Tomatoes (and totally deserved it), Iron Fist with its 37% (average of two seasons), and The Punisher with 64% which currently sits dangerously close to Secret Invasion, allowing it a measly 2% advantage.

This is honestly the most unpredictable flop we've seen from Marvel in years: the hype was real, the cast was amazing, and the suspense was there — and still, the initial response from the audience looks more like a backlash.

The critics suggest that the main reasons are the slow start and seemingly wasted potential, but…

If nothing changes and the new viewers that will come with the show's release on June 21 aren't more receptive to Secret Invasion's approach and choices, the mini-series has all the chances to drop lower than The Punisher and take its place as the third-worst Marvel show. Climbing up to The Defenders with its 78% would be much, much harder.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes