In Secret Invasion Episode 5, everything moves towards the grand finale and showdown between Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir). But series creator Kyle Bradstreet, director Ali Selim and their team also find time for it two nice references to Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) — most notably her appearances in Black Widow and The Return Of The First Avenger, aka Captain America: Civil War.
The Widow’s Veil from “Captain America 2”
Most fans will have noticed the latter, after all, the name Black Widow is (almost) mentioned here: The technology Nick Fury uses to change his appearance is called the Widow’s Veil.. And that name is not only a nod to the traditional widow’s veil worn in mourning clothes, but also that the technology was first used in the MCU by Black Widow:
In Captain America: Winter Soldier Black Widow impersonated Pamela Hawley (Jenny Agutter) of the World Security Council to capture villain Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford). and switch off. The Widow’s Veil was then used in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier (by Sharon Carter) and Agents Of SHIELD, although its name is Nano Mask. However, the canon status of the Marvel series is unclear and changeable anyway.
Bricklayer from “Black Widow”
With the second, much larger allusion, things were probably a bit more difficult, after all, not all Marvel fans have probably seen “Black Widow” or remember all the details from the MCU movie that was released in the middle of the corona pandemic. In each case the pilot that brings Nick Fury to Finland was first seen in Black Widow: Rick Mason (OT Fagbenle).
In “Black Widow” he is introduced as a former soldier, helpful smuggler and mercenary with a conscience and helps Natasha Romanoff hide from the government, after the Avengers break up in Civil War and Black Widow is wanted for siding with Captain America. He first buys her a helicopter and then even a Quinjet.
Obviously, he continues to team up with the Avengers and their allies after that, as “Secret Invasion” now shows. Mason probably gave Fury the plane and a new ID and possibly the widow’s veil and also works as a pilot for him.
Secret Invasion Episode 6 will be released on Disney+ on July 26, 2023. Let’s see if any other familiar characters make an appearance in the finale…