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Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for Secret Invasion
Marvel Studios’latest Disney Plus series, Secret Invasion, is focusing on an imminent Skrull invasion of Earth that’s been in the works for years, if not decades. Returning a number of familiar characters in Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), and Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), the spy thriller has also introduced a host of new additions.
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Joining new Skrull villain Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adhir) and the reintroduction of Talos’ daughter, G’iah (Emilia Clarke), is Sonya Falsworth, played by The Crown star Olivia Colman, and she’s been connected to a Marvel Comics villain who’s flown under the radar. Here’s everything you need to know about Sonya Falsworth and Spymaster.
Introducing Sonya Falsworth
Within the first episode of Secret Invasion, titledResurrection, Sonya Falsworth is introduced after a few of her men capture Nick Fury while he’s out walking in Moscow to bring him back to her hideout.
We know that Sonya is aruthless M16 agent,and she and Fury have a history together and an understanding of each other based on the banter between them. While Sonya is pouring him a drink, Fury takes the opportunity to plant a small camera on one of her owl statues–clearly pointing out that she’s keeping secrets.
The pair discuss a heist at a black market storage facility in Kazakhstan, which may have a connection toThe Ten Rings organization,now run by Xu Xialing in the aforementioned country. Sonya also wears a pin that resembles golden rings, which may be a stretch, but it could also suggest thatshe is working with Shang-Chi’s sister.
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Falsworth is responsible for protecting the United Kingdom from behind closed doors and very much operates in the shadows as opposed to the flashyAvengers. However, her intentions appear to be flawed within Secret Invasion’s premiere, and she clearly does not have Fury’s trust.
There’s also the very real possibility that Sonya is a Skrull in disguise, and the agent’s position as a higher-up M16 agent would be a great advantage to the Skrull invasion because if episode 1 has taught us anything, it’s who can we trust?
Who Is Marvel’s Spymaster?
First discussed by the YouTube channelNew Rockstars, Sonya Falsworth’s impact on the MCU could be much larger than fans think, not just with The Ten Rings connection, but with a possible link toIron Manand the upcoming Armor Wars film starring Rhodey (Don Cheadle) through an espionage leader.
Spymaster first appeared in Iron Man #33 back in 1971 and was introduced as the leader of the Espionage Elite, whosemain mission was to infiltrate Stark Industries. Created by Allyn Brodsky and Don Heck, the Spymaster mantle has been helmed by many variants, including Ted Calloway, Nathan Lemon, and Sinclair Abbott.
After the Espionage Elite disbanded and his ally, Mark Sharen, was killed, Spymaster allowed the world to believe he had died, only to return later to set up a band ofsuper-villains to steal Iron Man’s techonce again–not a bad plot for the upcoming Thunderbolts movie. Could Sonya Falsworth and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine be working together?
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In a nutshell,Spymaster is the number one nemesis of Tony Starkin Marvel Comics, and just because Tony perished in the MCU’sAvengers: Endgame doesn’t mean his greatest foe can’t have a silver-screen debut. In fact, it would make perfect sense for Spymaster to be introduced right now since Secret Invasion is designed to tee up the Armor Wars feature.
Armor Wars will likely follow the comic book plot whereTony Stark’s technology is stolen and scattered across the globe–and it’s actually Spymaster’s doing that puts this story into existence. Falsworth has certainly made herself suspicious in episode 1 of Secret Invasion, and while we don’t expect Olivia Colman to be donning a jumpsuit and mask anytime suit, her character’s red dress could be another nod to Spymaster’s color palette.
Sonya Falsworth’s Connection To The Howling Commandos
Even before the Secret Invasion show debuted, we knew thatSonya Falsworth was likely connected to James Montgomery Falsworth, who first debuted inCaptain America: The First Avenger.
James was an officer of the 3rd Independent Parachute Brigade serving in World War II and later joined Captain America’s special unit of soldiers, the Howling Commandos, in order to overthrow HYDRA. We know that his unit was initially captured by the Germans, and he was later sent to work in HYDRA’s weapons facility. Cap then freed his unit, and the soldiers marched back to Italy in order to regroup. The Howling Commandos were then established, joined by Dum Dum Dugan and Bucky Barnes, and they made an assault on Red Skull.
In Marvel Comics, however,James worked under the alias of Union Jack, dressed in a costume decorated with the British flag and a determination to represent the brute strength of the nation during World War 1. Similar to how Captain America represents the force of the United States, Union Jack did the same for the United Kingdom.
Therefore, having Sonya Falsworth be a descendant of James is quite fitting since she is also protecting Great Britain from behind the M16 curtain without the garish costume, even though it may turn out that she’s been a crooked agent all along.
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