Warning: This piece contains spoilers for Secret InvasionMarvel’s Secret Invasion finally answered one of the biggest unanswered MCU Phase 2 mysteries after ten years in the dark. While Disney+’s Phase 5 opener debuted with uninspiring viewing figures and a consciously reduced scale (at least compared to the Secret Invasion comic book event), Nick Fury’s solo project is essential viewing. Not only is it a compelling, claustrophobic addition to the sprawling Marvel narrative, but it also calls back to wider MCU lore in clever – and crucially not distracting – ways.
The MCU still has a lot of unanswered mysteries, ranging from Marvel post-credits teasers that went nowhere (so far) to storylines that were left painfully dangling. Anything with 40 releases, including 32 MCU movies, is bound to have some loose ends after all. But to give Kevin Feige’s creative team their due, there is an impressive commitment at times to tying older MCU mysteries in new projects that feels organic and suits the idea that there was a roadmap all along. Even when there wasn’t. Secret Invasion continues that impressive trend.
Secret Invasion Revealed Where Thor: The Dark World’s Frost Beast Went
Hidden in Secret Invasion episode 2, alongside the reveal of Groot’s stolen DNA and nods to Cull Obsidian and the Extremis virus, was a mention of a Frost Beast. The last time MCU viewers saw the terrifying beast was in 2013, in the post-credits scene tagged onto forgettable sequel Thor: The Dark World having been teleported to London by the Convergence. The inevitable havoc wreaked by the release of a gargantuan Jotunheim monster was never shown after The Dark World, just as nobody seems to really want to acknowledge the giant Celestial hand poking out of the ocean. Like so many other MCU post-credits scenes, the credits gag was confined to Marvel history as a simple joke.
Secret Invasion has now filled in the gaps, revealing not only that the Frost Beast was somehow killed on Earth but that its DNA was stolen after its death by a Skrull agent. Presumably, the Frost Beast was handled by Tony Stark’s Department of Damage Control before a Skrull imposter took a sample of its DNA as part of the Skrull Harvest of important super-powered artifacts.
Why The Skrulls Stole The Frost Beast’s DNA
In Secret Invasion, it’s revealed that Gravik has tasked his scientist, Doctor Rosa Dalton and her husband with using the harvested artifacts for a mysterious experiment. Gravik’s so-called Avengers contingency plan is to develop the MCU’s version of the Super Skrull, a Fantastic Four villain who was bio-engineered to mimic the powers of Marvel’s First Family. Because the Fantastic Four do not yet exist in the MCU, Secret Invasion takes the same idea but replaces each of the Fantastic Four’s powers with stand-in powers taken from the four harvested artifacts:
- The Invisible Woman’s powers are replaced by the Frost Beast’s DNA
- Mr. Fantastic’s stretching powers are replaced by Groot’s DNA
- The Thing’s super strength are replaced by Cull Obsidian’s DNA
- The Human Torch’s fire powers are replaced by the Extremis virus
The Frost Beast from Jotunheim wasn’t shown to have the power to turn invisible in Thor: The Dark World, but does possess immense strength, durability and super speed, which the Super Skrull will perhaps boast instead. That combination will make Gravik a hugely powerful enemy for Nick Fury, who will not have the Avengers to call on, after refusing to call them in in fear of their powers being stolen by the Skrulls as part of their harvest. Secret Invasion trailer footage already spoiled the fact that Gravik will become the Super Skrull before the end, and it looks like the belated Frost Beast reveal is going to make things considerably harder for Fury.