Marvel definitely hit the jackpot with Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn as the leading duo of Secret Invasion. Their on-screen chemistry is some of the best that’s graced the franchise since Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, whether they’re exchanging witty remarks, heated arguments, or heartfelt conversations.
We’d be comfortable betting that Fury and Talos are not intentionally being written by the Secret Invasion writers as anything more than good old friends. Still, it’s also totally understandable that viewers are once again hoping there could be something else there. Not only is their relationship more fleshed out than actual romantic relationships elsewhere in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but also, as we’ve mentioned, Jackson and Mendelsohn just light their scenes on fire.
We know ours isn’t the version of the universe where something could possibly happen between the two characters. And that’s not because fans are essentially delusional — every cue they’re interpreting as romantic would undeniably be so if it was a female Skrull General Fury was sharing his scenes with — but because the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still, after all these years, a place where gay dreams go to die.
It’s happened a number of times in the past where same-sex partnerships had every reason to evolve into incredibly valid romantic storylines but never did. Steve and Bucky and Carol and Maria are arguably the most popular and realistic. Loki and Thor, and Peter P. and Tony are also beloved online but don’t fit the point I’m trying to make, which is that, when gender-reversed to fit a heterosexual mold, no one watching would have any doubts that they were romantic pairings.
This scenario leaves us, queer viewers, once again feeling embittered and frankly sad that Marvel hasn’t even evolved into a space where we’re at least allowed to have hope that the romantic undertones could be eventually confirmed. 12 years on from the release of Captain America: The First Avenger, and four years after Captain Marvel, Secret Invasion proves the needle has barely moved an inch when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation in the MCU.
Loki confirmed he was bisexual in his Disney Plus show despite not using any labels or ever interacting with a male character in that way. Phastos, a leading character in Eternals, had a husband with whom he shared the first same-sex kiss in the franchise, and America Chavez had two moms in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Then there’s whatever Thor: Love and Thunder was doing with Valkyrie and Korg. Every example is a far cry from actually featuring a queer relationship at the center of a show or movie. The only time that has ever happened in a Marvel production was in the underrated Runaways with Nico and Karolina, which we were lucky enough to get three seasons of before Disney Plus decided everything outside of the streaming platform had to go.
Fury and Talos’s friendship is great as it is, and male friendships need and should be highlighted in this way — vulnerable, open, and layered. All I’m saying is, if there were same-sex romantic relationships as well-written and developed as their friendship (and Steve and Bucky’s, and Carol and Maria’s), fans would no longer have to cling to the subtext of scenes between adamantly heterosexual characters to find what they were looking for. What’s worse, even though it’s now been 15 years of the MCU, with over 30 films and several series repeating the same patterns, it doesn’t look like the scenario will change anytime soon.