Secret Invasion will be the first MCU solo project for Nick Fury, but it needs to avoid making the same mistake as Captain Marvel did.

Marvel Studios’ upcoming Secret Invasion series will feature a solo adventure for Nick Fury, but it needs to be very careful to avoid the problems with Phase 3’s Captain Marvel. Samuel L. Jackson has portrayed Nick Fury in the MCU since the post-credits scene of Iron Man, which saw him approach the armored hero and tease at the eventual team-up of the Avengers. He was a character shrouded in mystery through his appearances in Iron Man 2, The Avengers, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, among others, but a younger version of Nick Fury was introduced during Captain Marvel, which took place in 1995.

As the former Director of Marvel’s SHIELD, Nick Fury gave the Avengers support in some of their biggest adventures, particularly in the fights against Loki during the Battle of New York and during Ultron’s attack on Sokovia in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Fury has been in the background of a lot of the MCU’s action since its beginning. He never received a lot of development, but Captain Marvel debuted a younger and more hands-on version of the character, filling in some of the gaps in his backstory as well as kick-starting his long relationship with the Skrulls, a storyline that will continue in Secret Invasion.

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Captain Marvel Over-Explained Nick Fury

Both before and after its release, Captain Marvel received a lot of backlash from MCU fans, with one of its biggest pitfalls being its over-explanation of Nick Fury’s backstory. As a character, Nick Fury works so well because of the mystery surrounding him. It was never clear what he was truly capable of, what aid he would be able to give to the Avengers, or even why he was chosen to lead SHIELD. This mystery kept Fury interesting, and not every question needed an answer. Captain Marvel’s exploration into Fury’s past only helped to ruin this suspension of disbelief.

While the effect of de-aging Samuel L. Jackson for his role as 1995’s Nick Fury was certainly effective, the character would have worked better had the mystery been retained. Big questions were answered in Captain Marvel that perhaps didn’t need to be, such as how Nick Fury lost his eye and why he named SHIELD’s superhero team the Avengers. These reveals were a monumental anticlimax for Marvel Studios and would have been better simply never being uncovered.

Nick Fury Works Best When He Maintains Some Mystery

Secret Invasion has the opportunity to bring back the mysterious Nick Fury from before his appearance in Captain Marvel. This is especially true since Spider-Man: Far From Home confirmed that Nick Fury has been off-planet for over a year, the details of which will surely be explained further in the upcoming Disney+ series. Despite needing to explain certain key elements of Fury’s story since his last appearance in the MCU’s spotlight during Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Secret Invasion would benefit from bringing back some of the intrigue surrounding the popular character.

Nick Fury being the focus of the Secret Invasion MCU series is great news for Marvel Studios and would be the perfect place to bring back the mysterious version of the character that was completely lost during Captain Marvel. Fury’s motivations during Secret Invasion should be kept hidden, complex, and unexpected, just as they were during Marvel Studios’ last espionage adventure in The Winter Soldier. Secret Invasion should keep explanations to a minimum, avoiding the huge missteps from Captain Marvel and bringing a bit of guesswork back into the world of the MCU.