SPOILER ALERT: OBVIOUSLY if you have not seen ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’, this contains MASSIVE SPOILERS. I mean… it literally says “Post-Credits Scene” in the title.
If there is one theme that runs through ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’, it appears to be lies and deception. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) find themselves outclassed when facing powerful threats like Cyclone and The Sandman. Enter the jauntily-dressed Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), a shimmering, flying superhero that seems tailor-made to replace the likes of Thor and Iron Man… in fact, as observed by Brad Davis (Remy Hii), he’s sort of like a cross between the two. Fury appears to buy Beck’s story hook line and sinker, as he even has Spider-Man (Tom Holland) unmask in front of him and reveals his real name.
But, as is revealed about halfway through the movie, Beck reveals his true colors. He isn’t a refugee superhero from a parallel universe, he’s a homegrown former Stark employee, who still holds a grudge against his old boss who squandered his powerful illusion-casting inventions as a holodeck-like “therapeutic experiment” that he dubbed “B.A.R.F.” (Binary Augmented Retro-Framing).
As it turns out, even the Elemental threats, which also include Hydro-Man and Molten Man, are simply illusions created by Beck’s tech. But he’s not the only one full of– as Fury says– “Bulls**t.”
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Following the jaw-dropping (and cheer-eliciting) mid-credits scene, the second post-credits stinger reveals that two characters– Fury and Hill– are also lying. They’re SKRULLS! Not just any Skrulls, either. Fury is impersonated by Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), the main Skrull in ‘Captain Marvel’. The immediate reaction from readers of the comics was, “Is this setting up ‘Secret Invasion’?!”
In the massive ‘Secret Invasion’ crossover event (2008-09), it was revealed that the shapeshifting Skrulls had “secretly” “invaded” the Earth, replacing various superheroes, villains, politicians, and others. (Not really pertinent, but it was in 2008-09, so there was a tie-in video blog on MySpace. MYSPACE!) The storyline was filled with cases of the heroes finding themselves attacked by supposed friends, who were secretly Skrulls in disguise.
The comic book was a MASSIVE seller, although it got negative reviews from many. It was adapted on ‘The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ animated series. Over the years, despite the earlier negative reactions, ‘Secret Invasion’ has taken on the status of one of Marvel’s most iconic storylines.
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But… maybe the movie’s aren’t setting up a repeat on the big screen. Talos calls someone, who turns out to be the real Fury. At first, it appears that Fury is lounging on the beach, but that turns out to be a holographic simulation. However, as Fury gets up and walks around, it is revealed that he is aboard a spacecraft filled with Skrulls.
The final stinger, though shocking at first, winds up being a comedic gag, with Fury wandering around barefoot on a spaceship. Clearly he’s working on something, but for now, we just have to speculate on what that is.
In ‘Captain Marvel’, the Skrulls are a peaceful race, persecuted by the warlike Kree. Talos and others appear as allies to Fury and Captain Marvel herself. And why would Fury be orchestrating an invasion of Earth? He’s clearly working on something, but it’s kind of doubtful it’s that.
But what do you think?
