Secret Invasion: How Long Has Everett Ross Been A Skrull?

Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for Secret Invasion

So far, Marvel’s Secret Invasion has revealed Colonel Rhodes and Agent Everett Ross to be Skrulls, but the big question on the community’s mind is: How long have they been Skrulls in the MCU?

RELATED: Secret Invasion: Where Does It Fall In The MCU Timeline?

The spy thriller’s season finale confirmed that Rhodey had been a Skrull for nearly a decade, which isn’t sitting right with the fans, but what about Everett? We reveal how long Everett Ross has been a Skrull.

Secret Invasion Recap

During episode 1 of Secret Invasion, titled Resurrection, we see Agent Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) visit CIA agent Prescod (Richard Dormer) in Moscow after he compiled evidence of a Skrull invasion on Earth. Unfazed by this information, Prescod is immediately suspicious of Everett and proceeds to attack him, which results in Prescod’s death. Everett then makes a run for it while being pursued by Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) impersonating a Russian, and the agent is fatally injured after jumping from a building with his death revealing he was a Skrull.

Fast-forward to the season finale, and the real Everett is rescued from captivity in Gravik’s (Kingsley Ben-Adir) pod by G’iah (Emilia Clarke). She also recuses Dr. Rosa Dalton (Kate Finneran), many of the world leaders being impersonated, and Rhodey (Don Cheadle). Everett wakes up and is noticeably confused while turning to his right to ask Rhodey how long he’s been in there.

RELATED: What’s The Next Marvel Release After Secret Invasion?

That’s the last we see of Everett in this episode, but it’s implied he was led out of New Skrullos alongside the other hostages and returned to his line of work. Since the character’s appearances in the MCU are rather sporadic, it’s hard to say when we’ll see him again. He could have a brief appearance in The Marvels to show the aftermath of his capture, or perhaps he won’t appear again until Captain America 4.

How Long Has Agent Everett Ross Been A Skrull?

It’s safe to say that Everett Ross became a Skrull after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. If we use Everett’s clothing to work out when he was captured, the same way we used Rhodey’s hospital gown to determine his Captain America: Civil War capture, we arrive at a concrete answer.

In Everett’s three MCU appearances, the character normally wears a full suit, except for Black Panther, when we briefly see him wearing a black trench coat with a gray t-shirt underneath. When Everett is freed from his pod in Secret Invasion’s season finale, the agent is wearing a black top, a clothing garment that resembles the shirt he was wearing underneath his coat during a Black Panther: Wakanda Forever deleted scene.

The scene shows Everett capturing a worker in order to infiltrate the NSA to gather information, and while it’s rather difficult to see what he’s wearing underneath his jacket, it’s clear that he’s wearing a black garment of some kind—the one and only time we’ve seen him wearing something black underneath.

RELATED: Secret Invasion: Is There A Post-Credits Scene In Episode 6?

Another piece of evidence that suggests Everett was captured after Wakanda Forever is actor Martin Freeman’s statement about his role in the sequel. Speaking to Collider, the actor confirmed that he was never told he was secretly playing a Skrull in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever:

“No, we had a conversation about it. Put it this way; I wasn’t playing anything in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as a Skrull. I wasn’t thinking, ‘I’m a Skrull,’ Secret Invasion, and Wakanda Forever were definitely overlapping chronologically, but I was never given a full definitive party line about, ‘This is the Gospel truth now.”

Martin Freeman Doesn’t Believe Everett Ross Has Always Been A Skrull

In the same interview, Freeman stated that he refuses to believe his character has been a Skrull the whole time and is confident that Everett’s appearance as a Skrull in Secret Invasion was the one and only time we’ve seen the impostor:

“I don’t wanna play Ross as Skrull. I don’t wanna believe he’s been a Skrull this whole time, so I don’t. That’s not what I’ve played. I’ve believed, all the time, in Ross’s integrity, actually. I really enjoy playing Ross, as a Skrull or otherwise. I’ve enjoyed playing him as an organic human man, so I don’t wanna lose him to Skrulldom. So, no, Ross, for me, is not a Skrull.”

However, Marvel Studios could decide to make Everett a Skrull for longer if it chooses, ignoring the evidence presented prior, and if he has been a Skrull for longer, this would suggest that his ex-wife, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, may also be a Skrull. The fact that she is the Director of the CIA makes her a prime candidate for Skrull impersonation, which could affect her role in the upcoming Thunderbolts movie.

NEXT: Secret Invasion Ending Explained: Is G’iah Now The Strongest Character In The MCU?