Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the first episode of Secret Invasion. Please read at your own discretion.
Secret Invasion is an infinitely curious stepping stone for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially after that atomic bomb of an opening episode. Putting aside the fact that the series is taking full advantage of Marvel’s tendency to play with tone in their Disney Plus shows, it’s already thrown some groundbreaking nuances into the MCU mythos after just one episode, and we can only imagine how they’ll escalate as more episodes release.
One of the show’s most interesting details is its cast of characters, ranging from high-profile newcomers like Emilia Clarke’s G’iah, to legacy figures such as Nick Fury, Rhodey, and, of course, Maria Hill, who was subject to an infinitely shocking death at the end of Secret Invasion‘s opener; indeed, this bold plot beat remains the talk of the town at the moment.
It’s not hard to see why such outrage has occurred; Maria has been an important player in the MCU for a long time, and hasn’t quite been given the attention or screen time that a character of her magnitude deserves, so seemingly killing her off out of the gate is a huge disservice to one of the franchise’s most prominent female characters.
Of course, we don’t buy for one single second that Maria has actually reached the end of the line, and we reckon actress Cobie Smulders will add many more Maria Hill portrayals to a résumé already full of them. With respect to that, here’s every Marvel project that Smulders had portrayed Maria Hill in so far.
The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Avengers: Age of Ultron
Smulders first brought Hill to life in 2012’s The Avengers, where she aided the group in their fight against Loki’s invasion of Earth. Later, she assisted Fury and the rest of the Avengers in eliminating Hydra agents during the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron, the latter of which also saw Maria help combat the titular villain.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Hill made her television debut in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where she appeared in the first, 20th, and 41st episodes of the series, in which she comes to the aid of Phil Coulson as they contend with a mole among their organization’s ranks, and later passes on information about Hydra leader Wolfgang von Strucker to the Avengers.
Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame
Hill had cameo appearances in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the first being an uncredited cameo where she and Nick Fury fall victim to Thanos’ snap, and the latter being a scene where she attends Tony Stark’s funeral.
Spider-Man: Far From Home
Smulders appeared in Spider-Man: Far From Home, again reprising the role of Maria Hill, though this version of the character was actually a Skrull, specifically Talos’ wife Soren, disguised as her while the real Hill was working with Nick Fury in the shadows. As Hill, Soren aided Spider-Man in his fight against the Elementals, and later against Mysterio.
What If…?
Smulders later loaned her voice to the character of Hill in What If…?, appearing in the episode “What If… Thor Were an Only Child,” in which she becomes the acting director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and recruits Captain Marvel to help get Thor and his band of reckless partygoers under control.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
Smulders’ portrayal of Hill has gone beyond the MCU as well, with the actress having voiced the character in the Marvel Animation-produced Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. Hill only appeared in a single episode, namely “OMG Issue #1,” the 15th entry in the series, where she aids Lunella and tries to piece together why the Enclave, an organization led by Maris Morlak, decided to attack the young girl in the first place, initially unaware that Morlak has a score to settle with Grandma Mimi, the original Moon Girl.
Secret Invasion and The Marvels
At the moment, Maria Hill is back in Secret Invasion as part of Nick Fury’s posse to combat the threat of Gravik and his sect of rebellious Skrulls. She appears to have been killed off as of the first episode, but seeing as Smulders is set to reappear as the character in The Marvels later this year, we reckon Secret Invasion has a bit more in store for her yet.