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Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for Secret Invasion episode 6
Skrulls walk among us, and this was the theme ofMarvel’sSecret Invasion, but by the end of the six-episode miniseries, President Ritson was having none of it. Earth may be saved for now, but another factor threatens the emotional landscape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for one character in particular.
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In addition to many world leaders and Agent Everett Ross, Colonel Rhodes was also revealed to be a Skrull impostor, and the season finale finally confirmed how long War Machine had been out of the game. Here’s how long Rhodey has been a Skrull.
Secret Invasion Recap
Episode 4, titled Beloved, confirmed Rhodey (Don Cheadle) was indeedthe Skrull imposter Raava, manipulating President Ritson (Dermot Mulroney) from the Colonel’s standing for Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) and the one responsible for firing Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and instructing his wife Priscilla (Charlayne Woodard) to kill him.
The season finale, titled Home, showed Raava’s desperate attempt to get the President to launch a strike on New Skrullos, which would provide Gravik with his world war between the United States and Russia. Raava’s plea eventually expired once Fury and Sonya Falsworth (Olivia Colman) showed up at the hospital the President was recovering from the previous episode’s attack to out Raava. Fury ended up shooting Raava, revealing the Skrull’s true colors to the President, who quickly called off the strike.
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After G’iah (Emilia Clarke) defeated Gravik at New Skrullos, thanks to her new Avengers powers, she immediately went to release all the humans being held in pods, including several world leaders,Dr. Rosa Dalton, Everett Ross, and Rhodey. G’iah confirmed that Rhodey had been held hostage for “a long time,” but exactly how long are we talking?
How Long Has Rhodey Been A Skrull For?
The Secret Invasion season finale confirmed Rhodey had been the Skrull Raava for approximately nine years. That number is certainly a shock to the fandom, but there’s one crucial piece of evidence that confirms the length of Rhodey’s capture.
When G’iah frees Rhodey from the pod, the Colonel is wearing a blue hospital gown, and the only time we’ve seen the character in the hospital was back in Captain America: Civil War. Rhodey was hospitalized duringthe Avengers' fightbetween Team Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Team Cap (Chris Evans) when Vision (Paul Bettany) accidentally damaged War Machine’s Arc Reactor. This caused Rhodey to free fall from a great height, and though the suit kept him alive, the impact caused a severe spinal injury that paralyzed him from the waist down. After Civil War, Rhodey underwent rehab at the Avengers Compound, and Tony Stark made a pair of leg braces for him, which allowed him to walk again.
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The fact that Rhodey has been a Skrull for nearly a decade means that his part in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was actually Raava, and Marvel fans will likely be revisiting these projects to pick up on any clues that the Skrull may have dropped.
Rhodey Doesn’t Know Tony Stark Is Dead
The most heartbreaking fact that comes from Rhodey’s reveal is the Colonel doesn’t know that his best friend and suited comrade Tony Stark is dead. Tony perished at the end of Avengers: Endgame, and since it was Raava that fought during The Battle of Earth, the real Rhodey would have been none the wiser while he was being held captive in the pod.
This suggests that the upcoming Armor Wars movie is going to be an emotional affair since it’s confirmed to be a sequel to the Secret Invasion show and pinned to a Fall 2024 release window. Rhodey will be recuperating from his decade-long captivity and grieving for Tony at the same time, all while trying to protect Iron Man’s tech from falling into the wrong hands, as the official synopsis suggests. War Machine will be looking for answers, which suggests he may meet up with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) in the movie, who will be able to explain what happened to his friend.
One factor that isn’t sitting right with fans is the fact that Rhodey was a Skrull during Tony’s funeral. The sentiment shared by War Machine, standing among the rest of the Avengers and watching Tony’s final goodbye in his recorded video, has been destroyed with this reveal, and many were wondering why Raava would even bother to shed a tear. Even Rhodey’s final goodbye to Tony on the battlefield is completely tainted, and it will give War Machine a fiery arc going forward with a possible hatred towards the Skrulls for imprisoning him.
