Warning: SPOILERS for the Secret Invasion finale are ahead!
Secret Invasion wrapped its six-episode run on Disney+ at the end of July, and among the more exciting moments in the finale was Emilia Clarke’s G’iah battling Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Gravik. Thanks to both of them infusing themselves with the collection of superhero DNA known as The Harvest, these Skrulls showed off a variety of special abilities during their clash, including G’iah shapeshifting her arm to look like Drax’s from the Guardians of the Galaxy. However, this particular display of power has resulted in a debate unfolding through a viral Twitter thread.
This discussion originated from Twitter user @UpToTASK, who took issue with people criticizing how the CGI in this Secret Invasion scene looked, particularly where that Drax arm is concerned. See for yourself:
Just waking up in the morning, gotta thank God. The internet has been working overtime to try and convince me this is bad CGI and NAW sun. #SecretInvasion wasn’t a perfect show and had its issues but THIS wasn’t one of them. As you were. pic.twitter.com/gVWGK29DK3July 30, 2023
The MCU has received more criticism over its CGI as of late, including VFX artists claiming that this aspect of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania suffered because more resources were poured into the prior Marvel movie, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, when it comes to the above moment from Secret Invasion, opinions are mixed about the quality of CGI. On the negative side of things, at least where the Drax arm is concerned, @mattroembke had this to say:
So the overall CGI for that scene is pretty great. But we have to be able to admit that Drax arm is just doesn’t look great lol
The main complaint with the Drax arm revolves around the proportions, with many finding it weird that G’iah is boasting such a bulky arm with someone of Emilia Clarke’s figure. However, as @UpToTASK points out, the arm needed to resemble the person from which it’s originally based on, saying:
Well her arms fit the person that she was imitating. If she copied Hulk’s arms I wouldn’t want it to just be a green arm. We see it in comics all the time. This is one of those “it looks better on paper” type of things LOL.
On the other hand, maybe you fall more into @isaaac_jpeg's cape, who didn’t take issue with how the arm looked so much as how it emerged, although that did come with a caveat:
My only issue was that it forms over the jacket sleeve instead of it ripping it out from under it... But then I remembered that Skrulls can shapeshift with clothes and all, so it doesn't really matter
And then there are the people like @Nashy_LV, who didn’t like the way G’iah’s Drax arm looked, but overall thought that the CGI in Secret Invasion was a step up from past Marvel shows accessible to Disney+ subscribers.
Draxs arm is the only thing that looked a little off. But everything else was probably the best CGI out of a D+ show
It’s also worth mentioning that even though Nick Fury said that the DNA contained in The Harvest was obtained from the Battle of Earth, we see Gravik making his arm look like Abomination’s, yet Emil Blonsky wasn’t present for this conflict that unfolded in Avengers: Endgame. However, @UpToTASK said that they “refuse to believe” that Fury only collected DNA from one battle, but that’s a conversation for another time. Wherever you fall on this matter, one thing that’s clear is that Secret Invasion is not one of the more well-received MCU projects, as evidenced by the Rotten Tomatoes reviews for every episode. It’s also amusing that the battle in the Secret Invasion finale ended up paralleling a joke from She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’s own finale last year.
With Secret Invasion out of the way, Nick Fury will next be seen in The Marvels, which hits theaters on November 10. For everything else this superhero franchise has on the way, look through our upcoming Marvel movies and upcoming Marvel TV shows guides.
