Warning! This article contains major spoilers for Secret Invasion episode 1. If you've yet to tune in and don't want to know what happens, turn back now!
Secret Invasion has finally kicked off on Disney Plus, and its first episode doesn't pull any punches when it comes to dramatic moments. The first comes mere minutes in, when Ben Mendelsohn's Talos reveals that a Skrull has been masquerading as Agent Ross. The pilot's last scene, however, was the one that hit Marvel fans really hard, as the show looked to kill off S.H.I.E.L.D. commander Maria Hill.
Somewhat ironically called 'Resurrection', the opener sees Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) return to Earth to investigate a bunch of terrorist attacks that Talos and Maria (Cobie Smulders) believe is the work of hostile Skrulls. Later, we learn that Talos' daughter Gi'ah (Emilia Clarke) has allied herself with shady individual Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir), and that the pair's group plan of executing humankind and making the planet the Skrulls' new home.
Fury, Hill, and Talos' digging leads them to an explosives expert in Moscow, who has supposedly sold bombs to Gi'ah, and while tracking her, Talos comes face to face with Gi'ah himself. While his efforts to thwart her anger prove fruitless, Gi'ah does let slip that she and Gravik are planning on bombing a big event in the capital the following day, which prompts Fury, Hill, and Talos' to plot a city-saving intervention.
Turns out, though, that it was all just a trap and Hill gets shot in the stomach by Gravik, posing as Fury in the chaos, while the real bombs – ones that the trio didn't have eyes on – go off nearby. While we don't see Hill actually die, she's not in a good way by the time the real Fury finds her and the credits roll. Of course, there's always a chance that she could be a Skrull too but we doubt it, given how the moment plays in context.
Soon after 'Resurrection' landed on Disney Plus, viewers took to social media to share their shock, with some claiming that the twist was "sick" and "so foul".
"NO F***ING WAY DID THE MCU JUST KILL OFF MARIA HILL I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT!!! SHE BETTER NOT F***ING DIE ON US OR I SWEAR I THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY," one angry fan wrote.
"MARIA HILL WE WILL MISS YOU GIRL," another tweeted.
Check out some more reactions below...
#SecretInvasion they BROUGHT MARIA HILL BACK only to kill her in the first episode???? pic.twitter.com/65WSzho85yJune 21, 2023
That ending of #SecretInvasion pic.twitter.com/xY3EVV9DsUJune 21, 2023
MARIA HILL #SecretInvasion pic.twitter.com/nMUuxRIILSJune 21, 2023
#SecretInvasion SPOILERS I won’t believe that Maria Hill is dead until the entire season is over pic.twitter.com/ZPszUsTyqiJune 21, 2023
#SecretInvasion ----there is something so foul abt cobie smulders returning as maria hill and talking abt exploring her character more ONLY FOR HER TO DIE IN THE FIRST EPISODE THIS IS SO FOUL THIS IS A CRIME AGAINST ME PERSONALLYJune 21, 2023
#SecretInvasion ••••oh cool maria hill is in secret invasion! i can’t wait to see what she—WHAT THE HELL!!!!!June 21, 2023
maria hill HAS BEEN THERE SINCE THE FUCKING BEGINNING #SecretInvasion pic.twitter.com/3m0wnG4987June 21, 2023
Hill was first introduced back in The Avengers in 2012, so it's no wonder those who have been watching the MCU since the start are up in arms over her demise. Since then, the character has appeared in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War.
"It's the most depth I've been able to show of Maria Hill," Smulders previously said of her role in Secret Invasion, in an interview with TVLine. "That’s the beauty of these series that Marvel is doing, you're able to really get backstory of these characters. What are the conversations that happen when they're just sitting around drinking coffee?
"It's not like, 'We've gotta get the bad guys! We've gotta get the thing! We've gotta save the world again!' It's like, 'Let's just have a chat, let's go for a walk.' We get to see those kinds of moments and be a bit more intimate with the characters."
Secret Invasion continues on Wednesday, June 28. For more, check out where the series fits on the MCU timeline or our list of upcoming Marvel movies and shows.
